Italiano With Jodina

~Blog Repost~

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Allora, dunque, siamo arrivati a capodanno… di già! Caspita! (So, well, we’ve arrived at New Year’s Eve… already! Goodness/Yikes!) And I promised to post a recipe for the yummy traditional Italian holiday dish of lenticchie (lentils). Often eaten at Christmas – but even more so on New Year’s Eve or Day – this hearty, scrumptious, easy-to-make ricetta (recipe) is considered to bring prosperity in the New Year. This is because the flat, round shape of the lentils resemble coins.

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Should you decide not to make this dish this year, fret not… you can still ensure a prosperous new year by crossing the threshold (of your home or that of wherever you are) at the stroke of midnight carrying some lentils! (Or, even sometime on New Year’s Day.) Thus you are ushering prosperity in with the New Year!

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So, without more ado, let me get right to the ingredients of preparing le lenticchie (the lentils), so I can get to the market and into the kitchen to prepare lentils for my famiglia!

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First off, let me say that I consider most Italian recipes as ‘approximative’… I say this because Italian cuisine is much more about accurate cooking processes and fresh quality ingredients than precise measurements (baking of course is another matter), with the exception of pasta and legumes, which are weighed.

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That said, I use recipes as a point of departure – as a guide to which ingredients to use, and the order in which to add them, and I modify and embellish from there based on my needs (the appetites of my eaters and what I may or may not have in the kitchen and my own tastes). When cooking, I tend to err on the side of abundance… as in, if the ricetta calls for 2 stalks of celery, I might use 3; a small onion, I’ll use a big one; extra spices, etc.

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And because the crew I’m cooking for tonight are grandi mangioni (very hearty eaters), I’ll significantly increase the proportions indicated in the ingredients, because even though I’m more of a zia italiana (Italian aunt) than a mamma italiana (Italian mama), I still don’t want anyone leaving the tavola (table) con fame (hungry)!

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RICETTA: LENTICCHIE CON COTECHINO (Recipe: Lentils with pork sausage)
Ingredienti per quattro persone (Ingredients for 4 people)

• – 300 gr di lenticchie secche (10-11 oz dry lentils; I’ll use the smallish brown-green kind)
• – uno a due cucchiai di olio d’oliva (1-2 tblsp Olive oil)
• – uno a due cucchiai di burro 2 tblsp (1-2 butter)
• – una cipolla trittata (1 chopped onion)
• – una costola di sedano trittata (1 stalk of celery, chopped)
• – due gambi di porro trittati (leeks: 2 bulbs/stems, chopped)
• – una carota trittata (one diced carrot)
• – vino bianco secco (dry white wine)
• – un pomodoro piccolo trittato (1 small chopped tomato)
• – mezza foglia di alloro (half a bay/laurel leaf)
• – 8-10 bicchieri d’acqua (8-10 cups water)
• – dadi q.b./quanto basta (broth/boullion cubes, as needed, per packet instructions)
• – sale e pepe, q.b. (salt and pepper, as needed/to taste)
• – qualche rametto di timo fresco (a few sprigs of fresh thyme)
• – 500 gr cotechino (approx 1 lb ‘cotechino’, a traditional Italian sausage. Since where I currently am I cannot find ‘cotechino’, I’ll substitute with the local mild Italian sausages. Normally I don’t eat pork but make exceptions for special/family occasions. You can easily make this a vegetarian dish by omitting the sausage, as I have done on many an occasion.)

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PREPARAZIONE (Preparation)

1. Rinse and soak lentils in water for 1-2 hours.
2. Heat the water with broth/boullion cubes to a boil and then keep covered at a simmer until needed.
3. In a large pan/stew pot, over low flame/heat, heat up/melt olive oil and butter.
4. Add chopped onion, leek, celery, and carrot.
5. Sauté this mix, stirring occasionally, until onion is transparent.
6. Add lentils, stirring as they absorb the oil and flavors of the vegetables.
7. Add white wine and stir mix while sautéing to allow it to absorb into lentils
8. Add tomato and stir while sautéing.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Now begin adding the broth water. Don’t add it all at once, but rather add just enough to cover the lentils. Cover the pot; check and stir mix frequently, adding more broth water as it is absorbed.
11. In a separate pot, steam the sausage(s). Be careful not to overcook. When finished, the casings will have turned white. They should be tender, not tough.
12. Frequently taste/check the lentil stew during cooking process. When ready, lentils should be soft but not mushy.
13. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
14. When finished, remove the stew from heat/flame and add the leaves of several fresh sprigs of thyme and mix. Remove the laurel leaf/
15. When sausages are cooked, remove them from heat and remove the casings. Slice the sausages and put slices over the top of the portions of lentil stew before serving.
16. As a garnish, add a sprig of fresh thyme to each plate before serving.

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Have you ever cooked or eaten le lenticchie? Do you plan to try this recipe? Have a different twist on this one? I’d love to hear about it! Leave comments below.

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E’ arrivato quel momento dell’anno (It’s that time of year) — si torna a scuola! (back to school!)

Here, to build up your repertoire, una manciata di vocaboli italiani riguardanti la scuola (a handful of Italian words related to school): Prendete nota (take note)!

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Here’s how to say them:

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1. Si torna a scuola: Back to school
2. l’educazione: education
3. l’anno scolastico: academic year
4. la scuola materna: nursery school, preschool, kindergarten
5. la scuola elementare: primary, grade, or elementary school
6. la scuola media: middle school
7. la scuola superiore: high school
8. l’universita’: university, college
9. la scuola di lingue: language school
10. la tessera dell’autobus: bus pass
11. il banco, i banchi: school desk, school desks
12. i compiti: homework
13. gli esami: tests
14. i voti: grades
15. una mela per la maestra: an apple for the teacher

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Any words you’d like to add? Jump right in — I love to hear your comments! 

~Jodina

*FALL ITALIAN CLASSES NOW ENROLLING!!*

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I recently held my first-ever official Italian cooking class.

While it’s true that I’ve been informally teaching friends and family Italian recipes, tips, and cooking techniques for years… this was my first organized class… and it was a huge success — lots of fun and laughter, and most importantly: good food!!

One of the stars of the class was the artichoke — featured in the recipe “Carciofi al cartoccio”, or Steam-Roasted  Arthchokes. Just like in Italy, artichokes in California  are plentiful this time of year.

Being that it’s my birthday week, and as a tip-of-the-hat to Italian traditions whereby on your birthday YOU treat others to something (dinner, drinks, etc) (opposite custom as in the States), I’m going to share my favorite artichoke recipe with you.

This tasty recipe will have you leccando i baffi (licking your plate, or literally “licking your whiskers”) and your friends asking for the recipe!

Info on upcoming Italian cooking classes

Jodina demonstrating the recipe in Italian cooking class

It’s easy; it’s foolproof, and here it is:

Steam-Roasted Artichokes / “Carciofi al cartoccio”

Note #1:  In Italian cooking, the term al cartoccio refers to oven-cooking food tightly sealed, usually in aluminum foil, or sometimes oven paper. The unique effect of this method is that while the food is roasting, it is also steaming because all the moisture and juices are sealed in — a technique I have dubbed “steam-roasting”.

Note #2: Within an Italian menu, this recipe would find its place as a contorno, or side dish, served alongside a secondo piatto (second course) of meat, fish, or poultry.

Ingredients (per artichoke):

• Carciofi or artichokes – 1
• Limone or lemon – ½
• Aglio or garlic – 1-3 cloves
• Olio d’oliva or olive oil – about 1 ½-2 tblsp
• Sale or salt – a pinch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°

1. Grab artichoke by stem and cut off approx top 1 in, then cut off stem. If desired trim pokey bits of outer leaves.
2. Put artichoke in a bowl to catch all juices
3. To prevent browning, squeeze juice of ½ a lemon over the cut parts
4. Use hands to open out and separate the artichoke leaves a bit
5. Use knife to poke down thru the center of the choke to open it up a bit
6. Drizzle about 1 ½-2 tblsp olive oil into the cracks and crevices between leaves
7. In the middle (purple part) insert garlic clove(s)
8. Sprinkle over top a big healthy pinch of ground sea salt (or kosher salt)
9. Place in center of a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and drizzle over the juices from the bowl and tightly wrap the artichoke. Repeat with a second piece of foil.
10. Be sure to wrap tightly to prevent the air escaping and to hold in the moisture.

Cook for approx 1 hr, 20 min

Foil-wrapped artichokes just out of the oven

When cool enough to handle, unwrap and eat. If desired, dip in melted butter.

(Optional: use roasted garlic cloves to make garlic butter.)

I’ll bet you’re on your way to the store right now for some fresh artichokes — Let me know how they turn out!

Buon appetito!

Leave comments on artichokes, Italian cooking, and anything else below!