KNOWING YOUR CHICKEN - or Pollo, Gallina, Cappone

There is an Italian expression “Una gallina vecchia fa buon brodo” (An old hen makes good soup)? Well, it does.

Old hen for soup

A chicken is called gallina when it starts to lay eggs (older and fatter). Once it stops laying eggs, it’s best for stock, soup or brodo).   Pollo is a generic name for a young chicken (it is always female for commercial use). It is better if cooked grilled, fried or roasted.  Then there is the capon (cappone) which is a castrated rooster for the purpose of achieving greater weight and softness of the flesh.

Stuffed chicken (Pollo ripieno)

All photo Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

In our household, we prefer to eat chicken over beef.  Chicken is soft, easily chewable and digestible, and very versatile, and why not, delicious.  Contrary to what one might think when seeing the color, chicken contains a quantity of iron almost equal to that of red meat.  There are million ways to prepare chicken, all with great success – Boiled or roasted, fried or braised, whole or in pieces, warm or cold, boned or stuffed.  Whichever way the chicken is prepared, it always turns out great; the importance is knowing the age of the chicken in order to avoid roasting an old fowl and boiling a young chicken.

Crispy Iron Skillet Chicken – Pollo Fritto

Ingredients

2 chicken breast halves (bone-in), 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs and 4 wings
or 2 ½ lb. whole chicken or fryer cut into pieces
3 green peppers (fryers) – cut into strips
1 red onion - sliced
5 cloves of garlic with skin on (slit)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
½ cup vegetable oil
10 cured, black olives


Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F.
Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat.  Add oil.  When oil is hot, add peppers and onions and sauté over medium heat.  Add whole garlic cloves and cook until tender.  Add olives. Remove and set aside. Leave remaining oil in the pan.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Place chicken skin side down in the oil remaining in the cast iron pan.
Cook 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat until a crispy crust forms. Turn a few times.  Place in oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes.
Place chicken in a serving dish with the peppers, onions, garlic and olive.

Pan fried chicken with hot peppers, garlic, onions and cured olives
Pollo fritto con peperoncini, aglio, cipolla e olive curate

Sautéed chicken with olives and peppers

Penne with Eggplant and Mint Pesto - Penne con Melanzane e Pesto di Menta

Mint is a very fresh and tasty spice, unfortunately, little used in the culinary world.  We enjoy it in string beans.  Not everyone knows but mint makes also a great pesto sauce for pasta.

This dish is a splendid variation on the classic Italian Pesto.  I use fresh mint from my garden rather than basil for a different flavor.  

   

 Ingredients
 3 small eggplants or 2 large ones
1 lb. penne
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 oz. walnut halves


For the Pesto
2 oz. fresh mint minced
3 oz. walnuts minced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes in oil
Salt and pepper

Procedure
Cut the eggplants into short strips.  Place eggplant strips in a colander with salt and leave to stand for 30 minutes.  Rinse well and drain.  Squeeze to remove excess moisture.  In a pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil and saute' eggplant for few minutes on medium heat.  Set aside.

Cook penne until nearly cooked.  Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.   Put cooked penne back into the pot.  Add reserved water.  Place pasta pot over the stove on low heat.  Add the eggplant, minced mint, garlic, walnuts, red pepper flakes, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Stir gently and mix well.   Cook the pasta for few minutes.  Add walnut halves and serve immediately.

Penne with eggplant and Mint Pesto

All photo Copyright - ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

STUFFED ARTICHOKE HEARTS for Valentine's Day

Artichokes….Rich Tradition, Spectacular Taste, Superb Nutrition

Artichokes are considered an aphrodisiac therefore they are perfect for a Valentine's Day menu.

 




Stuffed artichoke hearts make an elegant dinner.
See Recipe.
http://casa-giardino.blogspot.com/2015/12/christmas-eve-traditional-dinner-at-our.html

Stuffed Baby Artichokes

BACCALA' (SALTED COD) and POTATOES

Baccala' or salted cod is probably the most consumed fish in Abruzzo. It's hard to meet someone from our region that does not appreciate this particular fish. And for good reasons, since cod is nutritionally good as it is low in calories, low fat and rich in omega 3.

Since cod is dried and salted, in order to make it edible, it needs to be rehydrated. When purchasing cod, it must have a pleasant smell, although very sharp, and it should appear white and soft.



The first thing to do is to rinse the salted cod under cold running water in order to remove all the visible salt and then cut into 5” pieces. Place the cut cod in a bowl and fill it with cold water to cover the pieces. Put the bowl in the refrigerator and change the water every six hours or so. This process should last at least 48 hours. You want to make sure that the cod is not salty.

Baccala' soaking

The traditional way of cooking baccala’ in Abruzzo, is to cook it with herbs and spices in a pan or oven, accompanied by seasonal vegetables. It is also excellent floured and fried or roasted and made into a salad.

In our household, we prefer BACCALA' e PATATE

All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

Ingredients - 4 persons

3 lbs. boneless baccala' or salted cod
4 potatoes cubed
1 large onion chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 celery stalks with leaves chopped

Procedure

In a large pot, add oil and chopped onion. Cook until golden. Add tomatoes, potatoes and celery. Simmer for 15 minutes covered. Add pieces of baccala' or cod and continue to cook until potatoes are tender. Serve with toasted bread or cornmeal pizza.

Another great "poor" dish from Abruzzo.

C'e' La Luna (song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pflp9MdhXSM

Translation -

There is a moon in the middle of the sea
Weh, Ma I want to get married
I do not know who to give you
Ma, you worry about it.
O ma, fried fish baccala, O ma fried fish baccala

If you marry a fisherman,
He goes and comes
But he always has a fish in his hands
And if his fantasy, strikes him
He may make a fish out of you.
Chorus - O Mamma, piscia fritta baccala, O Mamma piscia fritta baccala

(woodmaker)

(plane)
Chorus (O Mamma...)

(shoemaker)
(hammer)
Chorus (O Mamma...)

(farmer)
(plow)
Chorus (O Mamma...)

(butcher)
(sausage)
Chorus (O Mamma...)

POLENTA di Mais o (granturco)

With snow on the ground and temperature dipping in the teens, there is no better food than a dish of polenta to remove the chill. Polenta made with yellow cornmeal (mais) and water is robust, satisfying and cheap.

 

Polenta with Sausage Ragύ

All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

Contrary to what one might think, polenta is not just popular in Italy but is widespread and well known in other parts of the world, such as Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia and also in Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela. You'll find variations on this dish throughout Italy.

Here is one version - Polenta with Sausage Ragύ

Ingredients - 4 persons

2 cups medium to coarse yellow cornmeal
7 cups of water
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil


Put salt into cold water in a heavy medium pot. Stir in cornmeal. Bring to a boil over high heat, add the olive oil, then reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until polenta thickens around 40 minutes.





Sausage Ragύ
1 lb. sausage meat
1 small onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can chopped tomatoes
Sprig of parsley
Sprig of basil
Salt and Pepper


In a medium pan, add olive oil, garlic and onion.  Saute' until golden and add sausage meat.  Cook meat for 10 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally.  Add tomatoes, parsley, basil and salt and pepper.  Simmer gently for 30 minutes.


Once polenta is cooked, place a small amount on a dish and add some sauce.  Repeat the layers until polenta is used up.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

If you're a vegetarian, omit the sausage meat.

CIFF E CIAFF - Braised Pork Belly with Garlic and Olives

The pig has sustained the Italian population for centuries with salumi and prosciutti.  Pork is in fact universally recognized as the "King of the table."  Pork was and continues to be a forever-present meat staple in the Abruzzese kitchen.  So important in fact, that the Pig Museum (Il Museo del maiale) opened in Carpineto Sinello, Abruzzo. 

CIFF e CIAFF is a characteristic dish usually served during the killing ritual of the pig.  The dish utilizes the”guanciale" or the “cheek” portion of the pig between the head and the shoulder.  Guanciale is similar to bacon in composition.


Pork ciff e ciaff  with broccoli di rape
All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb




Keeping with the tradition, I still make this dish but instead of guanciale I prefer using pork belly.



Ingredients - 4 persons

2 lb. pork belly with skin

4 tablespoons of olive oil
8 whole garlic cloves with skin on

1/2 cup cured olives

8 dry red chilies

Salt and pepper

Procedure

Cut pork belly into cubes about 1" in size.  Add salt and pepper.  In a hot, cast iron skillet, add the oil and meat.  Cook over medium heat about 15 minutes.  Cover and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Uncover.  Crack the whole garlic cloves and add to meat. Cook until garlic is tender and brown.  Add the olives and dry red peppers and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes.  The meat should be brown and crisp.  Serve with broccoli di rape or any other greens.

As you can see, pork is KING on our table.

Meathead Goldwyn: Lip Smackin' Pigskin Cracklins for Game Snackin

Salumi Making Continues....Sausages

As I mentioned in my previous post Home-made Pancetta, January and February are the best months to make and cure salumi.  This weekend we made various kind of sausages.

Sausages hanging in the cantina

    

Red Hot Sausages

We purchased several pork butts.  Pork butts are economical and they seem to have a good balance of fat-to-lean ratio.  The meat was then minced and seasoned with spices - salt, home-made, hot pepper powder, fennel seeds and black pepper.  The meat mixture is left to flavor overnight and then stuffed in natural casings.

The sausages are then hung for 4-5 days to dry.  At this point, they are ready to grill over charcoal or in the oven.








Natural casings under salt.


 

Minced and seasoned meat.

Sausages require 30 days to fully cure.  

 

 

If not consumed immediately, cured sausages can be kept

a long time by putting them in olive oil or lard.




  

Pork Liver Sausages

Liver sausages are for those who truly can appreciate the taste of old dishes, strong, tough, but absolutely genuine.  It's an Abruzzese tradition that goes back in time.  They consist of a combination of pork flavors - guanciale (cheek meat), pork belly and the unmistakable taste of the liver together with minced garlic, minced orange peel, bay leaf, hot pepper powder, salt and pepper.  They are hung to dry for 4 to 5 days.  At this point, they are ready to be grilled or cooked in the oven. 

Pork liver sausages dry and ready to cook

All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

Their uniqueness and fullness of flavors have no equal.