Monday, June 04, 2007

Italian Cooking is Product, Passion, and Performance.

The ANNOTICO Report

 

What is it about Italian cooking ?  Devotion to flavour and insistence on using the freshest and best ingredients, OR cook something so simple but so amazing that it sings with flavour,OR  the natural sense of taste, OR  creating meals with flair and character, a little comedy and show, OR  the great emotional roller-coaster ride generated by an Italian cook that wears his heart on his sleeve???

 

That's Amore

 

The Age.com

Australia

Brigitte Hafner
June 5, 2007

Respect for tradition and passion for fresh food are the hallmarks of the Italian chef - not to mention the odd tantrum.

THERE are many things I love about cooking with Italians. Their devotion to flavour and insistence on using the freshest and best ingredients is one reason; another is their ability to cook something so simple but so amazing that it sings with flavour - like a just-fried egg paired with tender asparagus and smothered with nutty browned butter, pepper and shavings of parmesan cheese.

A natural sense of taste often comes from growing up with really good food cooked in the home by mothers and aunts.

But mostly I love cooking with Italians for the charisma they exude. It's rare to find Italians creating meals without flair and character, a little comedy and show. An Italian cooking in the kitchen wears his heart on his sleeve. You can find yourself on a great emotional roller-coaster ride.

I remember my time in the kitchen at Florentino, when Guy Grossi might break into operatic song at the top of his voice, or send a torrent of abuse at some new apprentice, or break out in a recital of all the things he had tasted that day. Sometimes, Guy would glance up from his work and say, "Ah, la Tedesca!" an announcement; the German girl arrives - as if to say, "There is a German here among us Italians," and pondering what might come from such a mix. A little "order" perhaps among our boisterous banter and chaos? Well yes, actually.

Another time, a box of red capsicum arrived in the kitchens of Stefano de Pieri. He went to inspect them, turning them over in his plump hands. Soon he was on the phone to the supplier, waving his free arm about and shaking his head as he exclaimed how bad they were. "Too much water, they've been pumped full of water. They're no good!" And he was right, because even though they looked good, as soon as they were roasted, underneath their blistered skin was nothing but a mere membrane and plenty of water - there was no sweet flesh and nothing of the capsicum left.

What infuriated Stefano was the grower's lack of respect and understanding about about growing something that was foremost about flavour and texture. Ultimately, for an Italian this is at the heart of their love of food.

But it doesn't take much to excite or anger an Italian.

Once, I noticed a big pot of cotechino sausages simmering on the stove. Surprisingly, they were individually wrapped in foil and pierced with toothpicks - letting out all that precious flavour and juice. My goodness, I thought, I'd never seen cotechini cooked this way! When I inquired among the junior cooks why it was done this way, they just looked at me and shrugged: "I don't know, because we've always done it this way." Indeed.

The next time we cooked cotechini I showed them my way - how I'd been taught and had always done, gently simmering in a pot of mirepoix and with no foil or toothpicks. When Stefano saw these cotechini - nude - he put one arm out and the other to his heart ... "Ahh! My God - what is this? They'll burst!" He quickly and gently scooped them out, promptly wrapping them in their foil jackets and pricking them with toothpicks. It was very funny.

He was all agitated and red when he turned to me, a little out of breath, and challenged: "Who taught you how to cook cotechini anyway?"

What could I say? I'm not Italian but I have always cooked cotechini this way and they have never burst. "Guy Grossi," I replied. " Blahh," was his response.

Which says more about an Italian's defence of their own method of cooking than what Stefano thinks about Guy (as I know they genuinely hold each other in high regard). How often have I asked an Italian why they do something this way and the answer clearly lies with their respect for tradition and cooking with passion and love.

 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed and are Fully Archived at:

Italia USA: http://www.ItaliaUSA.com (Formerly Italy at St Louis)

 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed at

 

Annotico Email: annotico@earthlink.net