Marmalata

14 February 2012

Happy Saint Valentino!

We are still snowed in - more snow than we have had in a long time...still it looks very pretty and is good for the ground - as it will gradually melt, we hope and soak into the ground and hopefully replenish some of the underground water tables - which are in many places almost dry after several hot summers in a row.

We have been using the time inside to make Marmalade for the coming season - so guests of Villa Pian Di Cascina can if they wish, enjoy breakfast on their terrace of fresh crusty white bread or croissants from the local bakery with our delicious tangy homemade marmalade...

We used to make marmalade with Seville oranges - which make excellent marmalade - but unfortunately Seville’s are not available here in Umbria.
Rightly, so all the oranges available here are varieties grown in Italy - so over the years we have perfected a recipe which uses the lovely juicy Tarrocco oranges from Sicily.

Tarroccos are a lovely sweet juicy blood orange often grown in Sicily - they are great juicers but not ideally suited to marmalade, as there is hardly any skin, almost no pith and few pips - so they lack the natural levels of pectin required to set the marmalade.
We believe a true marmalade should have a semi-sweet tangy zesty taste - which requires a bitter orange- and shouldn't just be an orange jam!

After much trial and error - the secret to getting both a good set and a lovely citrusy zesty marmalade is to add a large proportion of Sicilian lemons to the mix - the lemons add the zing, soften the sweetness of the Tarroccos and provide the pectin required for a good set.

We hope that all our guests at the villa will enjoy the fruits of our labours these last few snowy days - while they breakfast on sunny terraces in warmer times...

For those of you that wish to have a go - here is the recipe:



Isabel’s Tarrocco Orange Marmalade
2.7kg of sugar warmed
4 large Sicilian unwaxed lemons
1kg of Tarrocco oranges
2.8 litres of water

Halve and juice the lemons and oranges removing any pith and pips - set these aside and put in a muslin bag -
Put the juice and water in a large heavy bottomed jam pan.
Slice the peel of the oranges by hand fairly finely (you can use a machine if you want - but real marmalade should be sliced by hand)
Slice the lemons on a fine slice in a food processor (you don't want big chunks of lemon skin as it will be bitter)

Add both lemons, oranges and muslin bag to the pan with water and juice and bring to the boil and simmer gently uncovered for around 2 hours until the liquid is reduced by about 1/2 and the peel is soft.

Remove the muslin bag and give it a good squeeze to release all the liquid and pectin which will help the set.

Add the warm sugar and stir until dissolved- then bring the mixture up to a fast rolling boil - boil rapidly until set.
(We use a sugar thermometer to test for setting point - 105 degrees centigrade -you can also do the cold saucer test if you haven't got a sugar thermometer - put a plate in the freezer - you have reached setting point when you put a teaspoon of hot jam on the plate - and after a 1 minute the top wrinkles when you push your finger through the surface of the jam.)

Remove any scum from the surface of the marmalade and let stand off the heat for 10 minutes.
(don't skip this step - or the peel will not be evenly distributed)
Stir well to distribute the peel and ladle into cooled sterilised jars and seal immediately.

Stores well in a cool pantry for 1 year.

Farmer’s Markets

10 February 2012

We have a small but fantastically fresh and amazingly good value farmers market here in Gubbio – held every Saturday morning in front of the agricultural supply shop.
In summer we don’t get the opportunity to go to the market – as we always have guests arriving at Pian Di Cascina on Saturdays so we are busy with making the property ready for new arrivals – also in the warmer months, the orto (our own veg garden) supplies us with most of our produce.

Back to Gubbio-Smallholders and small farmers gather to sell a range of seasonal fresh fruit and veg, local cured meats and cheeses, fresh mozzarella di Buffala (buffalo mozzarella) and flowers and plants.

The produce is amazingly fresh – much of it picked the morning or night before the market and it shows in both flavour and longevity. (The market produce lasts well over a week in cold storage – if it doesn’t get eaten first that is!)
Farmers come from all around – Citta di Castello, Umbertide and Gubbio itself. Of course, oranges and Clementines have to come from further afield – Sicily – but they are still far fresher than those on sale in the supermarkets and veg stores and come directly for small specially selected farms – everything is grown or produced in Italy.

The apple juice we offer to guests at the villa here at Pian Di Cascina is freshly pressed in Umbria and on sale at the market – you can buy the apples that go into the juice from the same farmer...and they are delicious – so tasty last week, I spotted Dr Fabra eating several for his breakfast...he said he couldn’t think of a better breakfast!

The Carciofi (artichokes – Violetta’s) I bought last week were equally delicious.
I boiled them in water with a halved lemon for about 20 minutes and served them with a lemony vinaigrette – a taste of spring on a cold winter’s day – they were divine and I wish I has bought more!

It is great to be able to buy fresh, tasty local produce in the middle of winter (when our orto) is less well stocked than we would like.) We are very lucky to be able to shop locally and support our local growers –
Why not support your local farmers market – you will be buying fresher produce with more vitamins at fair prices and supporting your local community.

If you don’t make the Saturday market – there is also a market every Tuesday morning in Gubbio in the Piazza 40 Marteri.

Cime di Rapa

09 February 2012

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are snowed in here in Gubbio – an unusual occurrence – it happens about once every 6 or 7 winters... There are drifts over waist deep and neither of our 4x4’s can manage the snow...on foot is the only way out (and being 9 months pregnant that isn’t the option I was hoping for!)
Nevertheless, we are surrounded by glistening snow topped mountains and sugary white rolling hills –it looks amazing...
To cheer us up and remind us that spring is in fact just around the corner, we had one of our favourite dishes for lunch...read on for the recipe.



Cime di Rapa – little known to us Brits – is really a broccoli style turnip top. It appears in the markets at this time of year looking all fresh green, spring like and perky! It makes me want to buy it, so I had to find out what to do with it. Apparently (having not been to Puglia personally – I referred to my ever growing recipe library – the best thing to do with it is to make orecciette (ears) which is a traditional staple Puglese dish) As I keep buying the stuff – I am seduced by it each week during my trip to the market – I have now perfected what I think is my ultimate Orecciette con cime di rapa...incidentally, many restaurants here cheat and use the more readily available and cheaper broccoli –so you can if you can’t find the real thing...try it will broccoli it is still good, however it WILL NOT taste the same!


1kg good quality (buy the more expensive pasta – it is always worth it –if you live outside Italy buy, Dececco or Garofolo if you can) Orecciette
A very large bunch of cime di Rapa
4 cloves of crushed garlic
4 good quality anchovy fillets
A good slug of good extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of freshly grated grana padano
2 small (your baby fingernail, sized peperoncini (dried chillies) or one larger one crushed)


Boil a large pan of generously salted water. Wash the Rapa thoroughly – may take a few rinses as it can be gritty. Roughly chop and discard any tough ends or woody storks. When the water has reached a fast boil, add the Orecciette and cook on a rolling boil according to the time on the pack – add the Cime di Rapa to the water during the last 12 minutes of the pasta cooking time. In the meantime whilst the pasta is cooking, cover the bottom of a large non stick frying pan with a good slug of the oil, crumble in the chilli, add the garlic and anchovy and heat gently until the anchovy dissolves – turn off the heat and leave to one side. When the pasta and Cime Di Rappa is cooked, drain well and return to the pan – in the hot pan stir in the cheese, and oil/chilli mix thoroughly and serve immediately –serves 4 or 3 hungry people. Buon Appetito!
This recipe is sooo easy and makes a great healthy vitamin c a plenty lunch or supper.

Ham it up this Christmas!

14 December 2011

It’s officially Christmastime in Gubbio-

The ‘largest Christmas tree in the world ‘according to the people from Gubbio... lights up the countryside – a humungous tree made of twinkly lights that occupies the whole of the mountainside- it makes the whole valley feel very festive. We can clearly see the tree in all it’s glory from Villa Pian Di Cascina – it guides the way on our evening walks with Ollie (the black lab with enough energy for 2 dogs!).
Back to the real reason for writing today...

Christmas Fayre in Umbria
An Italian Christmas feast is quite different from our traditional Turkey with all the trimmings – in fact it varies greatly from village to village and even from family to family.

One thing that seems an essential part of the holiday celebrations is a Christmas Prosciutto – they are hanging everywhere at the moment - in shop windows, occupying whole stands in the supermarkets and dangling from the ceiling in every butcher’s shop – all creamy yellow fat and glistening with the remains of the salt cure- these are legs of ham that have been salted and matured for at least a year. Locals buy hams as presents to take to family and friends - they buy them to be hand carved with pride and joy on Christmas day and eaten with fingers –and a glass of vino before the serious feasting begins...

We are lucky to be in Umbria – for Prosciutto di Norcia – is from this region and is a tasty semi-dolce (semi – sweet) cure that is the perfect addition to an antipasto plate –not too salty, nutty and sweet. Locals rate the Norcia to be head and shoulders above the more famous (and widely exported) ‘superior’ hams– San Danielle and Parma -I, however do have a soft spot for the creamy melt and sweet flavour of the San Danielle, but I have to say – Prosciutto di Norcia is 2/3’s of the price – and therefore it graces our table on a regular basis.

As an Italian host – it is a mark of generosity to your guests to offer and hand carve a ham (rather than offering paper thin slices) – not only have you made the effort to carve it – but your guests get to eat lovely generous thick slices of it – and it is served on demand! The carving is often the realm of the Italian male – good carving skills are admired and said Italian males gather round the ham as if it were the baby Jesus - cooing and congratulating the carver and generally making a big fabulous fuss, while the women are in the kitchen doing the real work! (it makes me giggle every time...there is a certain amount of skill involved in hand carving a prosciutto- but if you have the right stand and knife – it isn’t rocket science –anyone can have a go!)

Enough on hams for now...I have only just started...but rather than bore you, I just wanted to say –

This Christmas -instead of buying Nanny a foot spa (that will ultimately end up in someone’s car boot sale) or Dad yet another woolly jumper - why not find a good Italian deli and just buy your friends or family or whomever you are partying with at Christmas a delicious Prosciutto di Norcia (you will need a stand and prosciutto knife as well – )take it round and carve it up – have some fun- and let everyone have a go and the left-overs after a few days of carving and feasting on antipasti will last at least a couple of months if wrapped in paper and stored in a cool dry place. You can even use the bone to make a delicious stock for minestrone.

Everyone will enjoy the ham, have some fun and there is no need for exchanges or returns –if there is one thing the Italian’s have taught me it is that there is nothing more important in life than being able to enjoy good company and good food with family, friends and a glass of vino!

Welcome

06 December 2011

We are madly deeply passionate about food – especially Italian food (our waistlines definitely demonstrate this...)So we have decided to document our lives as we discover new things, try out recipes and ingredients and generally indulge our passion...in the hope that somebody out there may find it interesting or at least worth a look!
We are lucky enough to live in Umbria – smack bang in the middle of Assisi and Gubbio –we spend our grown up lives owning and running a luxury farm villa which is rented by holiday makers wishing to get away from it all and relax in the Italian countryside. We also have an organic orto (veg garden) 400 Scottish raspberry plants (yes they came all the way from Scotland in my Dad’s trailer!), olives from which we press oil and a variety of fruit trees...

Welcome to the PDC blog...we aim to provide you with some fun and interesting insights into life on an Umbrian hill top...La Dolce Vita? - you decide...