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Agrumato Tangerine Gelato – Olive Oil Gelato
Warm weather or cold weather, rain or shine, I make frozen desserts all year round, and my gelato machine occupies pride of place on my kitchen counter. I enjoy trying new things, and olive oil gelati are the subject of my latest experimentation. Here a simple egg custard based gelato is made with olive oil, and not just any olive oil. I used Agrumato (ah-gru-MAH-to) Tangerine, a premium extra virgin olive oil made by the Ricci Family of Abruzzo. The olives are Gentile di Chieti, Leccino, and Olivastra cultivars. In some citrus oils the flavoring agents are added to the finished oil, almost as an afterthought, but in the best of class the citrus is pressed together with the olives resulting in an extraordinary harmony and blending of flavors that lesser quality oils can not rival. The Ricci Family presses both olives and citrus together to produce a fine oil with no sense of “added flavor.” Read the remainder of this entry »
Corzetti: The Intagliatore of Chiavari
This is Part 2 of a series – The Corzetti Files
For detailed information and photo essays on how to make corzetti, along with recipes, please delve further into The Corzetti Files:
Edible Art, The Corzetti Files – Part 1
The Intagliatore of Chiavari, The Corzetti Files – Part 2
Corzetti agli Spinaci con Gorgonzola, The Corzetti Files – Part 3
Where to Buy Corzetti Stamps, The Corzetti Files – Part 4
Corzetti Stampati – and a Giveaway! The Corzetti Files – Part 5
A Gold Coin
The pasta we know as Corzetti started with a gold coin, the Genovino d’oro. Rome had fallen, and the curtain of The Dark Ages had descended over western Europe. Trade has fueled society for centuries, and it is trade that brought gold coins and light back to western Europe. The gold came across the Sahara from north Africa and Genoa’s harbor assured her of preeminent mercantile stature. King Conrad granted Genoa the right to mint her own gold coinage in 1252, and these pieces of almost pure gold summon up the history and wealth of The Most Serene Republic of Genoa.
Coming in at about 3.5 grams, the earliest of these coins feature the city gate and to honor King Conrad and his participation in the Crusades, a Crusader cross on the reverse. The coins are covered with a beautiful relief. One of the most famous coins honors the first Doge of Genoa, Simone Boccanegra, and later coins honor subsequent families and Doges. Today one must visit a museum or be fortunate enough to know a collector to view these coins, but with Liguria’s gift to the world of the pasta known as corzetti stampati (kohr-TSEHT-tee stahm-PAH-tee), the legacy of these glorious coins is alive and well and available to us all.
A Piece of Wood
I have an ongoing love affair with handmade pasta, and this one captivated me from the start. Imagine my delight when I discovered its history, how it was made, and that I could do it at home. All I needed was a corzetti stamp, the two piece tool that cuts and imprints the pasta. By the way, you may come across pasta in shops, in recipes or on menus called croxetti, crosetti or curzetti – these are all names for corzetti. Read the remainder of this entry »