Category: Italian Specialities

Fig & Walnut Jam

INGREDIENTS:
1lb peeled black figs
3 tbsps granulated sugar
3 tbsps fresh lemon juice
Lemon peel
1/2 tsp grated ginger
4 tbsps walnuts, broken in pieces.

Figs


TOOLS:
1 knife and 1 bowl
Juicer
1 deep stainless steel saucepan
1 serving spoon to stir
2 sterilized glass jars with their lid
Clean towels to let the jar sit overnight

Figs ready to be cooked

STEPS:
. Mix all the ingredients, except the walnuts, in a bowl and let them sit the fridģe for a couple of hours.
. Put them in a deep stainless steel saucepan.
. Turn on the burner on low.
. Let it simmer for 40 minutes, stirring once in a while.
. Take out the lemon peel, add the walnuts, stir and  turn off.
. Pour immediately the hot jam in the 2 glass jars, close very well the cap and put the jars upside down among pieces of fabric to keep it warm and safe.
. After 24hrs, the jars are vacuumed and ready to be stored in a dark cabinet, for no longer than 2 months.
When you open a jar, keep it refrigerated and eat the jam within 10 days.
Enjoy it with buttered toasted bread or with soft cheese. It’s perfect for baking. .

Cooked Jam

About DRESSING

Iceberg lettuce with sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, salt, EVOO.

DO YOU KNOW?
What’s called “Italian dressing” or “Italian seasoning” in America, it’s not actually an Italian recipe.
Traditionally lettuce or what we call “insalata mista” (lettuce, sliced carrot, tomatoes) is served with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, white or red wine vinegar, salt and sometimes pepper.
Balsamic Vinegar is a recent introduction to Italian tables, more common in the North of Italy. I noticed that if you are in north Italy, the ingredients used to dress lettuce or what we call INSALATA are less flavourful. I really don’t know why.
My dressing’s ingredients for tomatoes are: EVOO, garlic, salt, parsley and basil mixed with sliced tomatoes in a bowl and let it sit 1 hour in the fridge.
My lettuce dressing is salt, EVOO, white wine vinegar, sometimes mixed with plain regular yogurt and some nuts.

Iceberg lettuce with salt, walnuts, diced apples, yogurt, Gorgonzola cheese DOP

Basil Pesto

Home made #basil #pesto time! Pesto alla #Genovese is a sauce originating in Genoa, the capital city of #Liguria Region, #Italy. The main ingredient is BASIL from #Genoa which has small oval leaves and a very intense smell. It traditionally consists of crushed #garlic, European #pine nuts, coarse #salt, basil leaves, and hard cheese such as #parmigianoreggiano and/or #pecorinoromano or #pecorinosardo (cheese made from sheep’s milk), all blended with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

#cookinitalywithteresa #cookinitaly #cookwithteresa #teresacolors #airforce #italianfood #food #foodlover #cooking #cookingclass #learntocookitalianfood #avianoairbase #venice #fvg https://www.instagram.com/p/CQrvlH7LH1l/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Gorgonzola Cheese

. It’s a soft cheese being produced for 1200 years.

. It is a DOP cheese, certified and guaranteed by European Community.

. In the past it was known as Stracchino di Gorgonzola – Stracchino, name of a soft cheese, from Gorgonzola –  produced in Gorgonzola, a town on the outskirts of Milan, or also as Stracchino Verde – Green Stracchino – due to the greenish color of the cheese’s marbling.

. It is produced in between Piedmont and Lombardy Regions, in the North West of Italy. The Province – County –  of Novara, in Piedmont Region, is the one with the highest number of cheese farms producing Gorgonzola cheese, with about 65% of the total cheese farms.

. It is produced with raw whole cow’s milk, selected molds and lactic ferments.

. Gorgonzola cheese is creamy and soft and there are two types: the Gorgonzola Dolce type has a particular and characteristic flavor, slightly spicy; the Gorgonzola Piccante type has a more decisive and strong flavor whose texture is more marbled, consistent and crumbly.

. As foreseen by the production disciplinary, Gorgonzola Dolce  ages from a minimum of 50 days to a maximum of 150 days; Gorgonzola Piccante ages from a minimum of 80 days to a maximum of 270 days.

It is produced only with milk from stables located in the area of ​​origin of the cheese itself.

. It is considered the king of Italian blue cheeses and about 30% of the production is exported, mostly to France and Germany, but also to North America and to some Asian countries.

. To fully enjoy the creaminess of sweet Gorgonzola, it is best to remove it from the refrigerator at least half an hour before eating.

. The guarantee of authenticity is the “g” brand printed on the background of the foil that wraps the cheese.

How it is produced
https://en.gorgonzola.com/how-it-is-produced/