When A Spoonful of Comfort will Help...

Memories of hot soup and snowy days bring me back to my childhod..that hot soup my mom would always make with little pastene pasta in it...we called ours 'minestre' (which in Italian is usually a soup made with pasta) so soothing to comfort a cold or the flu or any other ailment I had..yes I guess chicken soup is a 'cure' for almost anything!
And it''s nice to know that for those of you that (even though many of my readers are foodies, and make their own great versions of chicken soup) would like to send a boiling hot pot of the elixir to someone that is dear to you but far away but can't..spoonfulofcomfort.com can take care of that..They will send a pot of the stuff homemade with homemade oatmeal cookies and bread to whoever you select..and it is homemade so even though they are far from home the y will feel like you just made this..great stuff! check them out spoonfulof comfort.com  there is also a beautiful story connected with the company and my favorite thing is that they say the soup is 'made with love'...and that is the best ingredient you can put in any recipe..
Maria
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Fusilli Pasta Cooking in the Country Kitchen

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

Wanted to share a recipe from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen in Italy. We had a scrumptious lunch in the country with this..... and find more at  www.marialiberati.com/blog2

Fusili  Pasta & Sauce with a Touch of Balsamic Vinegar
Ingredients for 4 people:
  1 lb grams of fusilli pasta curls
  2lbs grams of  red, ripe plum tomatoes or tomatoes grown on the vine
  1 small onion or scallion
  parsley
  fresh tyme
  olive oil
  salt and pepper
 Balsamic Vinegar

Scald the tomatoes, then drain, peel and remove the seeds.

Cut into cubes. 

Put the tomatoes into a casserole with the chopped parsley, a bit of fresh h, and the peeled and finely cut scallion. 

Add salt and pepper to taste, a few spoons of olive oil,  and 2 teaspoons of  Balsamic Vinegar . 

Cover and let rest for half an hour. 

Boil  lightly salted water for the pasta, and cook until just done. 

Place pasta  in sauce and saute for a few seconds over high heat. 

Serve immediately in heated plates.

**Just in time for the Holidays, get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking :Holidays & Special Occasions Occasions with over 140 recipes, menus, wine pairing tips, short stories of  Holidays spent in a charming mountain town in Italy

Maria

Pasta, Pasta, Pasta...

(Copyright, Maria Liberati, 2006-2007)

Pasta is one of our national treasures (in Italy)- we have even a museum dedicated to pasta in Rome. But there are so many ideas and misconceptions about its' orgins. So with my 3 part series on this wonderful delight, although I am featuring some pasta recipes from my book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking,part I (http://www.marialiberati.com)and/ the upcoming book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking-Spaghetti at Midnight- I want to first set the record straight on many 'pasta myths'.
When it comes to Italian culture, one cannot offer an accurate description without giving due attention to the plentiful dishes that are tied to the nation’s identity and shared with the rest of the world. However, the Italian menu that is practically synonymous with the nation itself has not always been. While it is difficult to imagine an Italy without its traditional food, such a place did at one time exist. By taking a look at some of the history of what we now consider “Italian food,” we are offered an often overlooked aspect of the beloved cuisine and an opportunity to appreciate it all the more.
An obvious starting point is the origin of pasta, the ultimate staple of Italian cooking. While other traditional Italian favorites such as tomato sauce and pizza have a fairly recent history, pasta has a much older heritage that can be traced back hundreds, and perhaps thousands of years.
A common myth surrounding the introduction of pasta to Italy is that the Venetian merchant, Marco Polo, returned from journeys in China with the dish, thereby introducing it to the nation. However, this belief has been debunked, as records clearly show that pasta was already in existence in Italy at this time. While several theories still exist, the more commonly accepted one today is tied to the Arab invasions of Italy in the 8th century. Pasta was first prepared in Italy in dried form in Sicily. Some Sicilian lasagna dishes today still contain such ingredients as raisins and cinnamon, also Arab contributions, which lends credence to the fact that pasta was indeed introduced by this group. The combination of Italy’s climate, which proved favorable for the harvesting of durum wheat, and the gradual introduction of newtechnology, which made pasta easier to make, allowed the dish to thrive.
Next week we will learn how the making of pasta was transformed from a labor intensive task to a much simpler undertaking through the innovations of several individuals who contributed their ideas and inventions.

Enjoy this first pasta dish! This is a popular Roman dish. Bucatini and perciatelli pasta are thicker versions of spaghetti. If you have any questions, please email maria@marialiberati.com and for more recipes, tips, ideas, please visit us at: http://www.marialiberati.com

BUCATINI WITH BROCOLETTI

(copyright 2007, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, Spaghetti at Midnight by Maria Liberati)
1 lb of perciatelli or bucatini pasta
1 lb of brocoletti (broccoli rabe or you cn use regular broccoli)
2 garlic cloves
1 tblsp pignoli nuts
½ lb plum tomatoes
1 handful parsley
Grated pecorino cheese
5 tblsps of extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper to taste

Wash broccoletti and boil in lightly salted water. Take out of water when done, saving the cooking water. In a sauté pan place in the olive oil with finely chopped garlic and onion, and sauté for a couple of minutes. Then add in tomatoes cut into small pieces, pinoli and broccoletti, add pinch of pepper and salt and let cook for 15 minutes.
Boil the water that you used to cook broccoletti and let cook till al dente and drain, Place in pan with sauce and toss to lightly coat. Sprinkle in handful of grated pecorino cheese, toss lightly and serve.