Focaccia, the Montepulciano grape,
Connecting with friends and Next year's adventures!
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We have just returned from Italy after an absence of almost two years - oh, what a great feeling it was to be back and doing what we love - sharing our little corners of Italy with our guests! The flight over wasn’t so bad even though we had to mask up the entire trip... but getting back to Italy was worth the minor inconvenience! Once our feet hit the Italian soil and we were zipping along to Puglia, we were smiling from ear to ear. We stopped for our first caffe and some much-needed water at the usual AutoGrill on the highway out of Rome -- it was good to be back! Things looked and felt normal, people were wearing masks, most are vaccinated (Italy is currently at 82% of adults), and even though they were hard-hit by the pandemic, there was not the level of fear that seems to permeate the US. The bathrooms have more soap and paper towels, and hand sanitizer is at the entrances to stores, hotels, museums, churches, stations, etc which were all good changes!
We had a fabulous week in Puglia with a terrific group of intrepid women! If you followed us on FB or Instagram then you know the adventures we’ve had. The local focaccia is still delicious and of course we enjoyed our share! Born in Bari, they've perfected the oily crust topped with tomatoes. Read on for more about that.
After our week in Puglia, we ventured north to our ‘home’ in Tuscany, our favorite estate that many of you have visited with us. The best part of our time there was catching up with our friends and colleagues and planning ahead for the spring. Then we headed to the region of the Marche to do reconnaissance for planned future trips. .
It is like Tuscany 30 years ago: beautiful, uncrowded and filled with history, great food and delicious wines. Stay tuned!
We have some open spots for next year in our Tuscany, Piedmont and Puglia weeks. Are you ready to travel? Because Italy awaits! (scroll down for the dates or click for our website here.)
Buon appetito!
Gina and Mary
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Street Food in Bari - Focaccia! |
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Italian flat breads
There are as many different flat breads in Italy as there are regions. Some are lyrical as in the carta musica in Sardegna, a crisp flatbread as thin as sheets of music. Schiacciatta of Tuscany and central Italy is frequently topped with grapes and eaten for dessert after the harvest is finished. In the autumn, pan co'santi is made with walnuts and raisins and eaten for breakfast. The pizza of Naples started as a flatbread, topped with only a smear of tomatoes, but that has developed into a cuisine of its own. Roman focaccia is salty and famous for its airy and elastic chew. It is frequently sliced and stuffed with thin slices of ham or prosciutto. Crescia from the Marche is flaky and stuffed with greens, ham, sausage or cheese, whereas the similar piadina from Romagna to the north is grilled with sandwich fillings. Both of these more resemble tortillas or pita than the yeasty flat breads from other regions.
While in Puglia last month we fell in love again with the chewy, crunchy, tomato-topped focaccia made in and around Bari! Gina vowed to work on her technique until she got it down. We’re happy to say that, after making focaccia several times in the 10 days since we got back, she has some insight and a recipe that should help you recreate this delicious bread at home!
Focaccia from Bari is traditionally topped with halved cherry tomatoes, smooshed into the dough, then drizzled with olive oil, sea salt and local oregano. (A note on oregano: it is never used fresh but is picked when it flowers and allowed to dry. Both the leaves and flowers are used.) Both black olives and sliced onions can also be added before popping it into a hot oven to bake.
There are two things you must do to assure a good final product: use lots of olive oil and allow it to rise twice. Oh, and a heavy bottomed pan helps. Be sure to knead it well to develop the gluten. And also…..well, just do your best and enjoy the results! Baked in a hot oven until brown, it should be oily, crunchy and chewy, with the sweetness of the tomatoes rounding out the flavor. Buon appetito!
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Focaccia di Puglia
This recipe will make enough for two round 9” pans. You can make one large focaccia on a baking sheet as well. I find the heavier the pan, the better the final product, and even use a cast iron skillet with great results. There are several important things you must do to achieve the classic texture and crunch: knead the dough well to develop the gluten, use a generous amount of olive oil both on the pan and on top of the dough, and letting the dough rise twice.
2 teas or 1 pkg dried yeast
¼ teas sugar (optional)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cup water
2 cups all purpose flour, or 2 ¼ cups 00 flour
1 ½ cups semolina rimaccinato
1 teas sea salt
Cherry or date tomatoes, cut in half
Black olives, cut in half
Oregano, dried
Put the yeast, sugar, olive oil and water together in a large bowl, stir to dissolve. Measure the flours together and stir in the sea salt to dissipate it. Add the flour to the wet ingredients and stir, pulling together into a ball and scraping everything off the sides. If the ball is too wet to handle, add a small amount of additional flour until you can pull it out of the bowl and knead it.
Knead the ball of dough well, adding just enough flour to the board so that it doesn’t stick to your hands or the surface. Knead it until smooth and elastic. Place the dough back into the bowl which you’ve oiled well with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise until at least doubled in size, 2-3 hours.
When the dough is well risen, but not collapsed onto itself, pull it out of the bowl and cut it in half. Stretch it to fit in the well-oiled pans, turning it over so it gets coated on both sides. Do not skimp on the oil at this stage as the oil on the bottom almost fries the dough, giving you a classic crunchy crust.
Place the tomatoes all over the top and press them down into the dough, letting them squish. Scatter the black olives on top and sprinkle with oregano. Sprinkle additional sea salt over the top and a small amount of olive oil if it needs it. At this point you must let the focaccia rest and rise a second time, at least two hours. Bake it in a hot oven, 425, until browned.
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The Montepulciano Grape
Montepulciano grape is one of the most widely planted grapes in Italy, coming in second only to Sangiovese. In Abruzzo, it is the most important grape and makes up almost 60% of ALL plantings there. Montepulciano is also widely planted in southern Marche, Molise, northern Puglia and to a lesser extent in Umbria.
In the US, wines made with montepulciano are best known as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC, but several wines from the Marche can also be found with a little effort. Look for Rosso Conero (or Conero) DOC, Offida DOCG and Rosso Piceno (or Piceno) DOC.
Don’t confuse the montepulciano grape with the wine from Tuscany called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which is mainly sangiovese grape from around the southern Tuscan town of Montepulciano. This issue has been confusing people since the 16th century! Legend has it that the people of Abruzzo named the grape after the Tuscan town of Montepulciano, which was famous for its excellent wines as far back as that, hoping for a little confusion!
The wines are deep purple in color and full-bodied with a well-balanced acidity. Easily drinkable, they go beautifully with pasta and meat dishes. Or antipasto. Or just watching an autumn fire burn in the firepit!
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News of our friends at Il Carlino and a sad goodbye to La Signora
Relationships are the key to our work and anyone who come to Tuscany with us knows how much we love the family who owns the little restaurant, Il Carlino. We first found Il Carlino, at the foot of Castello Brolio in the heart of Chianti Classico, almost 20 years ago. It is a small, family-owned operation serving lunch and dinner to locals. The dad, Carlino, and the son, Fabrizio, were in the dining room, with the mom, Marisa, in the kitchen, cooking over an old wood stove and grilling over live coals in a tiny fireplace! We have seen a few changes over the past 20 years: Fabrizio got married to Roberta, who worked with her mother-in-law in the kitchen, and they had a son. They stopped serving dinners and went to lunch only. Then Carlino and Marisa retired from full-time work, but he could be seen supervising the lunch crowd and she was always at their deli next door, selling provisions to the locals. They hired another server, but both Marisa and Carlo always stopped by to say hello after lunch!
It is with great sadness that we must report that La Signora Marisa passed away this past year. She was a lovely, tiny woman with a big smile, who hated to have her photo taken, was a fabulous chef and was always ready to share her cooking methods. Thankfully, it wasn’t covid, it was just her time.
When we were in Tuscany this month, of course we made a beeline to eat lunch there again and taste the excellent pasta with wild boar ragu and grilled pork ribs! Roberta has been in the kitchen for years, along with her right hand, Miranda, cooking over the same wood stove and fireplace and turning out amazing meals! The dining room now includes the little deli case that Marisa used to run; they still continue to serve both the locals and visitors. We have enjoyed our relationship with this family, we’ve loved sharing Il Carlino with you all, and we look forward to many more years of delicious meals with them in Tuscany!
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La Signora, a lovely lady,
rest in peace
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We are excited to be back in Italy and looking forward to our tours next spring and fall! Join us for a week filled with delicious foods and regional wines. You'll learn a lot and have fun, just leave the details to us! Come to Italy with us next year. We have good availability in the spring for both Piedmont (May 24 - 31 & June 1-8) and Tuscany (June 11-18) and in the fall for Tuscany (October 8- 15 and October 15 -22) and some spots left in Puglia (call or email Mary).
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Plus learn a thing or two! |
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Gina Stipo and Mary Stipo Potter | Ecco La Cucina | 1-972-342-8308| Email | Website
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