SPAGHETTI VONGOLE
I love making this dish in Italy — because of the superior ingredients, of course. My version is a bit ornate and not really classic. I’ve been checking different recipes – from Venice, from Liguria, from Naples — and they’re mostly quite simple – garlic, oil, clams, and maybe a little parsley.
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We met friends at the Palazzaccio and after great deliberation I went for the strongozzi al’tartufo – local pasta with truffles. It’s a classic Umbrian dish and quite simple to make – if you know the little secret…
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MIKE’S MARINARA REDUX
The differences between this and the marinara
I talked about in my very first post on this site — on June 23rd, 2010 – is the addition of butter, the addition of two kinds of oregano, doubling the amount of garlic and a slowing of the cooking process prior to the addition of the tomatoes. Here the garlic, oil, butter, hot pepper and anchovies slowly melt together – rather than sauté at a normal temperature.
bagna cauda
(Roasted peppers in hot anchovy sauce)
This antipasto dish is heaven; this is the mother-lode; I have seen people go into a trance over this – even people who would swear they don’t eat anchovies. It’s a peasant dish from the Piemonte in Northern Italy – the same region that gives us Barbaresco and Barolo … and don’t forget to put out some crusty bread for dipping.
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NOT BOLOGNESE
Here’s a recipe for a simple meat sauce I made the other night. I was going to make spaghetti Bolognese for the kids but Jill has a little trouble with the milk in that recipe. So I improvised a simple, little meat sauce and it came out better than expected.
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The bacon and herb-infused potatoes are crunchy on the outside, creamy in the middle. It turned out to be one of the most delicious things I’ve popped into my mouth all year, and it’s beautiful on the plate. Stunning — sitting next to caramelized scallops, glistening with butter and some simply cooked French beans.
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Norcia is a secluded, walled city in the mountainous region of the Valnerina in southeastern Umbria, and there are two very different pasta dishes that go by the name Alla Norcina. Simply put, it’s pasta with crumbled sausage, cream and truffles. But it’s not really that simple.
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Here’s a recipe that makes me welcome the chill in the air. It’s a slow-cooked sauce for fresh pasta and it comes from Genoa. The translation – a touch of the roast – pretty much tells the whole story. You make a pot roast, Italian style; then you eighty-six the meat, strain and reduce the sauce into a gravy and put it over pasta.
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PASTA ALLO SCARPARIELLO
It’s a simple recipe of pasta – penne or spaghetti or rigatoni – in a sauce of fresh tomatoes, garlic,basil and a little hot pepper, covered generously with a combination of grated parmigiano and pecorino cheeses.
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There are many, many versions of this dish – some with lemon (?); some with peppers; some with onions, etc. This is my version, which includes sausage. I think it’s the best.
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I have read two of Michael Tucker’s books and am awaiting the third so I could devour it as swiftly as I did the first two. I knew he was a gifted actor, but I did not know he was such a talented and entertaining writer as well. He also comes across, in his memoirs, as an especially interesting and decent human being. I share his passion for good food, and for cooking and for cultural adventures. I will look forward to future books from Michael.
I loved “Living in a Foreign Language” for many of the same reasons as Alba. Plus, it has inspired a much-delayed trip to Italy for my husband and I. Ciao!
I just saw Michael and Jill at a reading of the Mark Twain “Diaries of Adam and Eve”. A wonderful performance.
And, as a half time resident of Italy, I was thrilled to discover this website and these recipes. What Michael calls Pasta allo Scarpariello is one of our standbys. When the fresh San Marzano tomatoes kick in, there is nothing to compare to the flavor of that simple sauce.
We are so blessed to have our home in the hills, in a small town that still follows the traditions of hundreds of years ago.
Thanks to Michael and Jill for sharing their love and their lives with us.
Hello, Michael –
Someone was telling me about an Italian hot pepper relish called “Giardiniera.” Do you have a recipe for it and the ways you use it?
Thank you!
Anne
@ Anne – Well, there’s Italian giardiniera and Chicago giardiniera. I’ll get you started on the Italian version:
half pound – green beans
half pound – sweet red peppers
one pound – onions
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
2 cups – canola oil
2 cups – white wine vinegar
3 tbsps – sugar
3 tbsps – salt
trim the beans; slice up the peppers and onions; cube the carrots and celery;
In a pot, bring the oil, vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil; add the green beans, carrots and celery and cook for ten minutes; then add the onions for 15 minutes more; then add the peppers for 8 minutes more.
Let cool; Put it in a jar, covered with the liquid and store, tightly closed.
Let me know.
I’m waiting to make it until I have garden fresh produce ~ we are just a few of months away from some great produce from the farmer’s market. Yummers!
“Living in a Foreign Language” was a gift. I read it first as a travelogue, then as a recipe book. I made margin notes, underlined, and generally marked it up as a cookbook. Then sent a note to Mike thanking him. And he answered right away! I sent out notes to a number of friends to read his book and discovered we have a long-time mutual friend!! I’m waiting for the Italy follow-up book, along with a conventional recipe book. I’m sure they are in the works! Thanks, Mike, for putting your wonderful skills out there for the rest of us who sit in our chairs at home and look at maps!
@ Walt — Thank you, Walt.
My husband and I are English but are based in Dubai and have a house in Umbria near Marsciano. I found your book “Living in a foreign language” in a small second hand book store in Dubai. Having grown up watching LA Law I was intrigued…I read the book and loved it…we experienced so many of the same trials and tribulations of renovating a house long-distance and in an “alien” language, as well as many of the joys…discovering this beautiful country with it’s kind and generous people, sampling the fabulous food, and, of course, the wine!!!
My only comment is how hard it has been to find your other books – postage into Dubai is unreliable at best, the bookstores here don’t have them, and even a request to a bookstore in the U.K. last time I was there didn’t yield any success. Please get them onto Kindle!!
Thank you for a charming and entertaining read (both the book and the blogs), and I look forward to a recipe book from you too! Kind regards, JM
My husband and I are English but are based in Dubai and have a house in Umbria near Marsciano. I found your book “Living in a foreign language” in a small second hand book store in Dubai. Having grown up watching LA Law I was intrigued…I read the book and loved it…we experienced so many of the same trials and tribulations of renovating a house long-distance and in an “alien” language, as well as many of the joys…discovering this beautiful country with it’s kind and generous people, sampling the fabulous food, and, of course, the wine!!!
My only comment is how hard it has been to find your other books – postage into Dubai is unreliable at best, the bookstores here don’t have them, and even a request to a bookstore in the U.K. last time I was there didn’t yield any success. Please get them onto Kindle!!
Thank you for a charming and entertaining read (both the book and the blogs), and I look forward to a recipe book from you too! Kind regards, Justine
@ Justine – “Family Meals” is on Kindle, I believe. My first book is out of print, but Amazon has old copies. It’s called, “I Never Forget a Meal”. And my forst novel will be out in March. It’s called “So It Goes” and it’s published by The Overlook Press.
Hi Mike,
I just came across your website and your recipes look great. I came across your kitchen in Umbria and I wanted to know who makes your in-line stove top, it looks fabulous and i wanted to purchase one. Thanks