Italy: Florence, Venice, Naples

More goodies now from Italy! Unlike many romanticized impressions of Italy, I found that good food isn't as universal as they would like you to think - especially when you are a tourist and not familiar with the language. Rome and Cinque Terre were especially disappointing. Research in advance or regret.

I very much wanted to try a lampredotto (cow's stomach) sandwich from the market but I ended up with boiled brisket. Nevertheless, it is still scrumptious with the piquante sauce that is no slouch in the spice department!

I wanted to try Bistecca Fiorentina so I selected Le Mossacce. I must say I was not too impressed with the steak but the chunky minestrone soup was a hit with Dionne.

The trick in Venice is to venture far away from the well-trodden tourist hot spots. Ai 40 Ladroni is a 10 minutes walk from the main streets in the residential district of Canneregio. Their cuisine made every step of the walk worthwhile. These mussels were cooked to precise second. Reference material for any future mussels.

The Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia is also a success. The pasta absorbed the tasty sauce which, despite its colour, was light on its feet and fresh-tasting. It looked like a crippling portion when it arrived but everyone polished off their plates.

We liked Ai 40 Ladroni so much we returned for dinner the next day. This time I tried the Spaghetti alla Vongole which is also nice but not as sublime as the rendition in cuttlefish ink sauce. We shared a platter of expertly fried fish - prawns, baby squid, whitebait and sardines.

In Venice we also tried their version of tapas called cicchetti at All'Arco.

Baby octopus stuffed with fish roe - this is really good!

I felt like I needed some vegetables in my system and these really hit the spot.

We took a day trip to Naples exclusively for pizza. The original plan was to visit Pompeii but it was so baking hot it would have been suicidal to be out in the open. We made it to Pizzeria Sorbillo just before closing. The Napoli pizza is very different from what we have here. It is cooked very rapidly in the intensely hot oven so the rims are nicely puffed and charred while the dough in the centre remains very soft and chewy. I requested for a magherita with buffalo mozzarella and was surprised at how resilient the cheese was. I would have liked to try more versions to confirm if that is a norm or an anomaly.

A Teaser

Just to torture some of my readers (you know who you are!). Here's a teaser of what to look out for in about 2.5 months during my trip:

Asador Etxebarri - Mecca of grilling perfection. My entire schedule was planned around this lunch. Read more at Yaokui.

Chez l'Ami Jean - Recommended by Gastroville as well. How can I go wrong? Read more at Hungry in Bangkok.

Pizzeria Sorbillo - We only have time for one (or two if we rush) pizza in Naples. I hope this is a right choice. Read more at Scattidigusto. Use Google Translate!

La Cuchera de San Telmo - Best Pintxos on Earth? Read more at Dudes on Food.

and many many more!

Sole Pomodoro – Wood-fired Pizzas

I read about Sole Pomodoro from ieatishootipost a couple of months back. That was close to the start of exams and immediately followed by the holiday season. So, for 2 whole months, I could only simmer in my anticipation for their pies. Therefore, it was only natural that on the first possible weekend, I headed straight there with the Sunday Brunch Club.

Unlike other wood-fired pizzerias in Singapore which uses partially gas-powered ovens, Sole Pomodoro distinguishes itself by using a fully wood-fired oven. It’s actually possible to see the chef having to top up the fuel rather frequently – the wood burns itself out much quicker than charcoal.


We shared 4 pizzas and most memorable were the Calzone Tradionalle and the Buffala. I thought the former would have been perfect as a hearty and satisfying breakfast pizza. I couldn’t recall what the exact toppings were but the egg inside, almost like a sauce, binded all the elements well. The top crust was charred but still tender, airy and aromatic – the Neapolitan style, according to literature. However, if I were to be picky about it, I would say that the crust on the underside was a touch too blonde for my liking.


Although I thought that the Margherita is supposed to be topped with buffalo mozzarella, Sole Pomodoro makes an apparent distinction between a Margherita (with basil) and a Buffala (without basil but with buffalo mozzarella). Presented with this difficult choice, I was keener to try out the latter. The buffalo mozzarella definitely set itself apart with a creamier texture and an almost yoghurt-like taste. It quite rightly demanded a solo performance on the pizza stage.



Towards the end, we were quite stuffed but still, we couldn’t resist a sampling of their Tiramisu. It was like eating a cloud.

Serious Beef Cheek Ragù Bolognese

"To most people outside Italy, Bolognese is lowly refectoire fare... But in Bologna, one of Italy's most prestigious cities for food, ragù bolognese is a legendary dish that is not only part, but defines the city's identity... Two legendary Bologna home chefs, sisters Margherita and Valeria Simili, have become the most respected authority on all things related to Bolognese pasta. In their book 'Sfida al Matterello', a manual in Italian to teach the principles of homemade pasta, la sfoglia bolognese, there is a whole chapter about making ragù. It is called 'His Majesty the Ragù'.” – FXcusine.com

Here’s my take on the recipe. To take a step further, I’ve read that the original Bolognese contained shredded, not minced meat so I used cubes of beef cheeks. This kicks the ass of any meat sauce pasta I have ever eaten.


(edit) Supplement photos:

Iron Chef Recipes – Cabbage, Scallops and Foie Gras Risotto

Iron Chef is the greatest culinary show ever produced. Even till this day, I can think of no cooking programme that approaches close to it the skills and techniques you can pick up by watching battles between real chefs using all the imaginable tricks up their sleeves to win. Unlike in scripted programmes where everything is nice and easy and the results are always perfect, Iron Chef is raw, every mistake and miscalculation is immediately apparent. Also to its benefit is that Iron Chef predates the age of avant garde molecular cuisine which I am apathetic towards. I first got interested in cuisine watching Iron Chef and I cannot imagine a better start. Visit ironcheffans.info to download episodes.

Here is a rough recreation of Challenger Hiromi Yamada’s dish in Battle Cabbage (217) – a Cabbage, Scallops and Foie Gras Risotto.


The risotto I made this time is one of my best so far after many experiments. Here’s what I learnt:
1. Use more onions that you think you need, they add sweetness and lightness to the risotto.
2. Cook slowly on low heat and stir gently. To diffuse the heat evenly, the pot was placed over a thick carbon steel pan. Towards the end, check the doneness frequently and remove just before al dente.
3. Don’t be shy with the seasoning. Also, for risotto I tend to use white pepper instead of black.
4. For a wetter risotto, add more stock and then thicken with cream/mascarpone cheese. I find that the rice alone has insufficient starch to make a creamy but wet (as in the liquid to rice ratio) risotto.
With these tricks, combined with the basic techniques which are left as an exercise to the reader (inside joke, by the way) to discover, you can apply it to any variation of risotto dishes.


The scallops are large frozen Hokkaido ones which can be found at the more upscale supermarkets. They were done in a ghetto sous vide (under vacuum) style. I never thought that I would have the need to sous vide anything until my repeated frustrations with controlling the doneness of scallops. The molluscs were bagged in a small ziplock and immersed in a large insulated mug of water at 56 ˚C (some people go as low as 50 ˚C ) for 30 minutes. Check out the results for yourself.

Brocollini Duo

Here's a duo of brocollini efforts. First up is a simple breakfast of lengths of brocollini and woodwillow mushrooms pan roasted with a soft boiled egg for dipping on the side.


The next day, I made a risotto with the the stem diced and mixed in the rice, the heads roasted and a few whittles of raw brocollini stem. For texture, there were parmesan chips and crisp pancetta.

Pizza

Not my work but my brother's recipe for the dough. Toppings are sliced cherry tomatoes, shiitake 'shrooms, Hungarian salami, buffalo mozzarella and Scarmoza.

Crab Ravioli

This crab ravioli is an idea that’s been floating around in my head for awhile. While I am one who never minds getting my hands and fingers dirty tunnelling for every morsel of crab, there are times you wish somebody has done all the work first. Unfortunately, that somebody still turns out to be me which leads to this ravioli being hands down the most time consuming dish I ever attempted.


I’d never have started on this dish if I didn’t score these amazing crabs at the market. These are some of the best I’ve had in ages – the meat was dense and sweet. All too often, crabs sold nowadays have spent so much time in tanks without room to move that their meat turns watery and cottony. Anyway, steam the crab until done and then pick out the meat. Unshell the claw meat in one glorious chunk. That will be the piece de resistance in the centre of each ravioli. Bind the loose crab meat with minced prawns, scallops and mascarpone then moisten with milk. Figure one medium-large crab to make 6 large ravioli.



For the sauce, toss cherry tomatoes and garlic in salt, pepper and olive oil then roast in a low oven for 1.5 hours. Make a stock from the crab legs. Puree the tomato, garlic and stock and strain very thoroughly.


Making pasta is tricky. None of the recipes I followed were ever exactly right. I guess that our humidity causes the flour to have greater moisture content. Yet, you don’t need to be a chemist to make pasta dough. The dough communicates with you. If it’s crumbly, the dough is too dry and you need to add something wet and if it’s sticky, dust with flour to dry it up. Personally, I use the following ratio: 20g semolina flour, 80g organic unbleached flour, 1 large egg yolk, 2/3 of the large egg white, 1 tsp olive oil, a pinch of saffron steeped in a little warm water and a pinch of salt. This yields enough dough to make 6 large ravioli or 2 small portions of long pasta.


Here, I rolled out the dough with poppy seeds folded in. Cut out 8-10 cm diameter rounds, using a bowl as a guide.


Be sure to fill each ravioli generously. Somehow the stuffing shrinks while cooking.


Cook in rapidly boiling salted water for 4 minutes, drain and serve on a pool of the roasted tomato puree. It’s really nice with a few pieces of crispy chorizo.

Prawns, Chorizo and Anchovy Linguini

Anchovies in pasta sauce is great, and it’s a shame that this flavour is hard to come by here. I guess putting anchovies in the menu still constitute a small risk some restaurants are not willing to take. The way it is done here, browned patiently with garlic, puts the anchovies firmly in the background while giving the sauce a savoury depth.

Browning the anchovies and garlic. Prawns pre-seared. Prawn shell stock boiling away.


Chorizos (not shown) were crisped and then the base tomato sauce added. Allow it to brown before adding the stock.


Add stock, reduce, dump in ¾ cooked pasta, stew and reduce.


Serve with basil and lemon peel.