L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS DESIGN CARLA GAMBESCIA T hey're three very s imilar w ords , but they refer to very dif- ferent, vital parts of the Italian culinary and viticultural heritage, and the differences are the key to relish- ing a delightful range of Italian desserts and wines. A ll s hare the s ame root, "amaro," which means bitter, although none are actually bitter and the firs t tw o are s w eet. Amaretti and amaretto are both flavored with bitter almonds and use a diminutive ending, sug- gesting just a little or just a hint. Not so much bitter as sharp, with a bit of an edge. Amaretti cookies were the original macaroon, predating French-style macaroons by over 150 years. They are thought to have been first created in the mid-17th century by Francesco Moriondo, pastry chef of the Court of S avoy in N orthern Italy. Their close cookie relative, biscotti, (biscotto singular), has been around s ince ancient Roman times. These delectable little mors els are cris p and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside; they're ideal as an after-meal treat and can lend an unexpected sweet note and tex- tural accent when crumbled over pasta dishes such as Pasta con Zucca e Amaretti—pasta with pumpkin and amaretti. Amaretto, the after-dinner l i q u e u r , i s m a d e f r o m b i t t e r almonds and the pits of apricots. There has been an unsurprising c o n f l a t i o n o f a m a r e t t o a n d a m o r e ( " l o v e " ) , a n d n a t u r a l associations with romance. Per- haps it's just a sentimental leg- end, but a Renaissance-style "love story" has been promoted by the di Saronno family as to the "origin" of this velvety-rich, amber-colored spirit: In 1525, a church in the town of Saronno (not far from Milan) commissioned a star pupil of Leonardo Da Vinci—Bernadino Luini—to paint its frescoes. The church, like so many in Italy, w a s d e d i c a t e d t o t h e V i r g i n Mary, requiring Luini to find a model as an inspiration for his Madonna. He chose a lovely young widow innkeeper of limit- ed means as his model … and then lover. As a humble gift, she steeped apricot kernels in brandy and presented her sweet intoxi- cating creation to Luini. Amaretto, like Limoncello, is m a d e a s a n i n f u s i o n , w h i c h means that, like the legendary lovely widow, you can create your own by yourself at home. Beside the apricot kernel oil and alcohol, amaretto is made with a selection of herbs and burnt sugar, the ingredient giving it its traditional deep amber color. The story passed on by the di Saronno family also shows that actual almonds need not be used to make the liqueur So, if you have a nut allergy you can still feel the love! Curious about the love story between Luini and his model? Well, in all likeliness it quite simply fizzled our after the first few months of passion. Yet, the aromatic liqueur created to cele- b r a t e i t r e m a i n s a c l a s s i c i n many Italian homes. If you are interested in the painting paying tribute to the couple, you can see it in the Santa Maria delle Gra- zie Chapel, in Milan. As iconic as it is, the amaret- to has a strong competitor when i t c o m e s t o p o p u l a r i t y : i t s s q u a r e d , d i s t i n c t i v e b o t t l e . Indeed, a squared amaretto bot- tle was part of Gianmaria Buc- cellati's exhibition at the Louvre in 2000, where it stood as a symbol of the 20th century. It was featured in 1972's The God- father and it's classical shape is a favorite of Vivienne West- wood and of actress Sadie Frost. As for Amarone, that means "big" or "great bitter"—even though it's paradoxically not bit- ter at all and, as it happens often in Italy, there's an anecdote for that. Amarone della Valpolicella, from the Veneto region, is one of I t a l y ' s m o s t d i s t i n c t i v e a n d appreciated robust red wines. Its contradictory name came out of i t s a c c i d e n t a l d i s c o v e r y : t h e s t o r y g o e s t h a t a w i n e m a k e r found a forgotten barrel of sweet dessert wine that had not been properly sealed, allowing the yeast to continue to ferment. He tasted the wine, expecting it to be bitter, and cried out enthusias- t i c a l l y " q u e s t o  n o n è amaro, questo è un amarone!" (this is not bitter, this is a great bitter!). Today to replicate the wine- m a k e r ' s h a p p y a c c i d e n t a n d make Amarone takes a lot of time, labor, and grapes for every bottle. To produce one bottle of wine, a winemaker in any other part of the world will vinify approximately 2 1⁄4 pounds of g r a p e s . F o r e a c h b o t t l e o f A m a r o n e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 3 pounds are required. And those g r a p e s m u s t d e h y d r a t e i n t o raisins before vinification truly begins. Amarone is high in alco- hol, with intense aromatics and complex flavors that can range from dark fruits like berry, cher- ry, and plum to licorice, coffee, and chocolate. You'd think a wine like that would be better known, and it almost was. In the classic crime thriller Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter spoke to Clarice Starling about savoring "fava beans and a nice Amarone"— underscoring that it goes quite well with liver, though Lecter's choice of the liver source would not be anyone else's. But in the movie Anthony Hopkins turned that, in a brilliant moment of improvisation, into "Chianti," having devilish fun with the "eeee." And so, Amarone was ready for its closeup, but just missed it. Still this is a glass of rich, figgy, tannic red wine (which goes well with fava beans and, yes, liver), and one can definitely follow it with an amaretti cookie, and amaretto liqueur, an excel- lent combination for finishing a meal, and so a sequence well worth remembering. C a r l a i s t h e a u t h o r o f L a D o l c e V i t a U n i v e r s i t y : A n Unconventional Insider's Guide to Italian Culture from A to Z (http://ladolcevitau.com/) is the natural outgrowth of her work in the restaurant and boutique trav- el industries, as well as a lifelong love affair with the land of her ancestors. Amaretto is an after dinner liqueur made from apricot pits Amaretti, amaretto, amarone These almond cookies were probably made for the first time in the 17th century

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