L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019 LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES Pallottine are small meatballs, used in the sauce for Abruzzo's spaghetti alla chitarra © Marazem | Dreamstime.com Continua da pagina 30 and, more specifically, of L'Aquila, is saffron. The zaffer- ano dell'Aquila, which holds a protected origin denomination since 2005, comes exclusively from the Navelli plateau and is considered the best saffron in the world, both for the beauty and the length of its stigmata and for its stronger aroma, brought by the high levels of safranal. The pro- duction of 2 pounds of Aquila's saffron needs 200.000 flowers and about 500 hours of work! Winemaking tradition is also very important: we only need to mention Montepulciano d'Ab- ruzzo, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo and Pecorino to give an idea. Abruzzo's cuisine is incredibly varied and, because of the relative isolation of the region, remained very much authentic. Key dishes are spaghetti alla chitarra with pallottine, spaghetti all'Amatri- ciana, arrosticini, sheep alla cot- tora, marinated potatoes and, of course, confetti di Sulmona, Sul- mona's almond candies. Spaghetti alla chitarra from Abruzzo — we need to specify, because this is a dish typical a bit everywhere in the south — are made with a special tool called "chitarra," guitar, a sort of lyre whose strings cut egg pasta dough, once it's rolled and pressed upon them, creating square shaped spaghetti. In Teramo, you'll find them with pallottine, tiny meatballs cooked in tomato sauce. Spaghetti all'Amatriciana be- came sadly popular again after the tragic earthquake of 2016 that de- stroyed the town of Amatrice. Even if they are considered a typical Ro- man dish, they originated from Abruzzo because Amatrice was in the province of L'Aquila up to 1927, when it became part of the province of Rieti, in Lazio. They are simple and tasty, flavored with guanciale, pecorino and tomato (in Rome, onion is added, too). Arrosticini! What a mouthwa- tering word! They are a typical shepherd's dish of the area east of the Gran Sasso and the legend says they were created by two shepherds who didn't want to waste anything of their animals, so diced all the leftovers cuts into small cubes and made little meat skewers off them! When they are made by hand, arrosticini still call for small, irregular chunks of lean sheep meat with some chunks of fat between them, all placed on a wooden skewer of about 20 cen- timeters (8 inches), known locally as li cippe or li cippitill. However, the perfect arrosti- cino is made by the way it's cooked, by the charcoal used, which has to be elongated in shape, by temperature and of course by the chef's own skills. Without for- getting the wine, which must be a Montepulciano DOC! At times, the harsh mountains that dominate the territory make us forget Abruzzo is also a land of sea and of fish. You can't say you tried Abruzzese cuisine if you haven't tried these two dishes, with some red vinegar on top: fish brodetto and the scapece alla Vastese, a delicious fish from the Adriatic sea, similar to dogfish, cooked with saffron. But Abruzzo is also known for its production of cold cuts and cheeses. A local pig breed, the Nero d'Abruzzo, has been rein- troduced, after having almost dis- appeared. Aquilano salami, sausage in oil, ventricina Termana, liver sausage and Campotosto mortadella are all cold cuts repre- sentative of the Abruzzese terri- tory, that sport ancient origins and are prepared, still today, with the same traditional methods. Abruzzo's cheeses are espe- cially synonym with various types of pecorino produced in the re- gion's many valleys, but if you re- ally want to try something differ- ent, then look no further than the cacio marcetto, a cheese similar to the more famous casu marzu from Sardinia. It is a pecorino fermented with the use of bachi da latte, worms that make the cheese creamy to the point it can be used as a spread. As usual, I'd like to propose to you some typical dishes from the region. Here's a recipe, then, for spaghetti alla chitarra con le pal- lottine. For the spaghetti •2 1/2 cups of semolina flour •3 eggs •1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil For the pallottine •1 lbs of ground meat (there are several recipes: some call for a mix of beef, veal and mutton, others only for beef and mutton: person- ally, I used lamb, to make their fla- vor stronger) •3 tbsps of grated pecorino •1 egg •a pinch of nutmeg •a pinch of salt For the sauce •1 stalk of celery •1 carrot, finely chopped •1 medium onion, finely chopped •1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce •extra virgin olive oil •Salt For the pasta Sieve the flour into a bowl and add the eggs in the centre. With a fork, mix them together, until the eggs are absorbed. Move the dough on a flat sur- face and start kneading it until it gets smooth and firm (about 10 minutes of energetic work). If the dough were too dry, add some drops of water or, if it were too wet, some extra flour. Let it rest wrapped in cling film for at least 30 minutes. Using a pasta machine, roll the dough until it is a couple of mil- limeters thick, then place it on the "chitarra" and press it by passing a rolling pin on it until the strings cut the dough into spaghetti. For the sauce Sauté on a very low fire all the thinly sliced vegetables. When they are soft, add the tomato sauce and salt and let it all simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and no longer wa- tery. For the pallottine Mix the chosen meats with the salt, the nutmeg, the grated pecorino and the egg. Make small meatballs, not bigger than 1/2 inch in diameter. Cook in some olive oil until they are golden (7/8 min- utes), then add them to the tomato sauce. In the meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Drain it and pour it in the sauce. Stir and add pecorino. You should try this delicacy with a glass or two of Montepul- ciano d'Abruzzo!

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