The Flavors of Abruzzo

On a lighter note….

I’ve always been rather fond of cheese. Years ago, I remember my grandfather trying to change my mind by describing what cheese looked like under a microscope, but it was a futile effort on his part.

Years later, when I spent a semester abroad in France, I think I tried to taste every cheese I could find. Of course, 6 months isn’t enough to try all of the cheeses in France, but I gave it my best.

So, now that I find myself in Italy, I’m surrounded by luscious cheeses: fresh mozzarella, scamorza, pecorino, ricotta, grana padana, asiago, etc. And, even though I’ve been here for over 4 years now, I still haven’t tried them all, so every once in a while I have to taste a new one. Since so many of the cheeses are regional, I’m sure there are some I’ve never even heard of, so I have years of cheese discovery ahead of me. Plus, regional variations taste very different. For example, an Abruzzo pecorino is different from a Tuscan pecorino, which is different from a Sardinian pecorino. They’re all good, but they’re all different.

Now summertime is a great time for eating fresh cheeses. A dinner that is comprised of fresh cheese, some sliced tomato and cucumber is just perfect when the temperature soars. So, the other night, O brought home one of the cheeses that I really like. I guess he thought it would work as comfort food too. Anyway, it’s called burrata, which means buttered in Italian, and its very rich.

Originally from the Puglia region, it’s formed into a pouch with a rich, creamy center.  I really don’t want to know how many calories is in it and I certainly wouldn’t have my cholesterol checked the day after I ate it. Yes, it is delicious, but I only indulge every once in a while (once or twice a year at most – it’s that rich and that good).

(I realized after taking this picture that I probably should have put the cheese on a colored plate. The white plate just doesn’t do it justice, but at that point it was too late.)

This is one of the recipes I made for Luigi’s party. The mixture is rather unorthodox for Italians and some loved it while others wouldn’t even taste it. But, it’s a recipe that I found years ago in a cookbook and I used to make it whenever we had a potluck at work, where it always got rave reviews. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what cookbook I found it in, but if someone out there wants to take credit, let me know. (Oh, and by the way, as you’ll see from the ingredients, I don’t think it counts as low fat, but it’s very tasty.)

The recipe calls for pesto sauce and, since it only uses a small amount, you can get away with some jarred sauce. For Luigi’s party I made a mega-batch, so I made homemade pesto. You can’t beat the flavor.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups short pasta (like penne, twists, bow ties)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons pesto sauce
1 tablespoon sour cream
6 oz cooked chicken breast
1-2 celery stalks
1 cup red grapes (seedless is better, if possible)
1 carrot

Dressing:
1 tablespoon vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

I’m going to assume that you have some poached chicken breast just hanging around. If not, poach some up a few hours before you need it so that it has time to cool.

Mix the dressing and set it aside until the pasta is cooked. Once the pasta has been cooked, drain it, transfer it to a bowl, mix in the dressing and allow it to cool.

While the pasta is cooling, mix the mayonnaise, pesto sauce and sour cream in a bowl. Cut the chicken into strips, cut the celery into narrow slices, halve the grapes and remove any seeds and cut the carrots into matchsticks.

Once the pasta is cool, add the chicken, celery, grapes, carrots and mayonnaise mixture and stir to mix thoroughly. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

This is best if you let it sit for a while so that the flavors are fully blended, so cover it tightly and refrigerate it for a few hours before eating.

(Sorry, I don’t have a picture, but I haven’t made this since the party because we were eating leftovers for days.)

I know, it sounds like a starch attack, doesn’t it. But actually, in Italy you often find potatoes paired with pasta or even sliced thin and put on top of pizza. (White pizza that is, not pizza with tomato sauce). Pizza with potatoes does sound a little strange, but what could be weirder than pizza with pineapple and Canadian bacon? But, today is not the day to discuss pizza topping choices. It would make a good subject though because it takes me forever to choose my pizza at the local pizzeria since they have so many choices.

No, today we’re talking about pasta and the reason I decided to try pasta with potatoes and speck is that I happened to have some speck that was calling out to me to make something new and, of course, some potatoes. I had heard of the dish, but wasn’t quite sure what all was involved. After an internet search that gave me several different recipes – some that included beer of all things, and others that called for leeks (which I didn’t have) or included tomato sauce (which I didn’t want to use in this recipe), I decided to just wing it and come up with my own version.

(By the way, this is not a dish from Abruzzo, it’s more from the northern part of Italy where speck is made)

It turned out to be quite good and tasty, so give it a try. Speck is a wonderful smoky dried ham which is very flavorful. I think I even prefer it to prosciutto (gasp!). But, if you can’t find it where you are, you might try a slab of hickory smoked bacon cut into small cubes.

Ingredients

1 onion
125 grams (4.4 oz) of speck
2 medium potatoes (boiled whole)
½ cup cream (you could also use fat-free sour cream for a lighter version)
200 grams short pasta (like ditalini)
1 Tb olive oil
½ cup white wine
salt

While your pasta water is boiling, peel the boiled potatoes, quarter and slice into ½ inch slices. Dice onion and speck (or hickory smoked bacon).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and cook over medium heat, once the onions start to soften, add the speck and allow cook for another minute or two. Pour in the wine and allow it to cook off. Add the potatoes and cook until heated through. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the cream and stir to coat everything. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly.

Add the cooked pasta, stir to mix well and serve.