Pici, or “Fat Spaghetti,” is a a traditional Tuscan pasta that is easy to make. Only a handful of ingredients and steps are needed to make this wonderful dish. Here’s a step by step guide.

Pici is a thick, hand-rolled pasta, originating from the region of Tuscany, especially in the province of Siena. It’s sometimes described as “chunky spaghetti” due to its appearance. It has a slightly irregular, rough texture due to its handmade nature, which allows sauces to adhere to it beautifully. Pici is typically made using only durum wheat flour and water, without any eggs, though many variations – like mine – include a touch of olive oil. This makes it a vegan-friendly pasta option.

RECIPE NOTES

1. Kneading: Proper kneading is essential for the dough’s texture. If the dough feels too sticky, add a bit more flour. If it’s too dry, add a splash of water.
2. Resting Time: Don’t skip the resting period for the dough. This allows the gluten to relax, making it easier to roll out and shape.
3. Thickness: The thickness of the pici is up to personal preference. Some like it thicker for a more rustic feel, while others prefer it slightly thinner.
4. Cooking Time: Fresh pasta cooks much quicker than dried store-bought pasta. Keep a close eye on the pici when boiling to ensure they don’t overcook. They’re typically ready once they float to the water’s surface.
5. Storing: If you’re not cooking the pici immediately, you can lay them out on a tray dusted with semolina and let them air dry for several hours. Once dried, they can be stored in an airtight container for a few days.
6. Freezing: Pici pasta can be frozen for future use. To freeze, place the shaped pasta on a tray, ensuring they’re not touching. Freeze for a few hours, then transfer to a freezer bag. This method prevents them from sticking together.
7. Sauce Pairings: Pici pasta is versatile and pairs well with various sauces. In Tuscany, a common pairing is “agli e olio” (garlic and oil) or a simple tomato sauce. However, the pasta’s robust texture also stands up well to heartier meat sauces.

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Step by Step Guide to Making Tuscan Pici Pasta

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Making the Pici Pasta Dough

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour and create a well in the center.
2. Gradually pour in the water into the well, starting to incorporate the flour by using circular motions with your fingers or a fork. This will ensure the flour and water combine smoothly.
3. Once the flour and water are mostly combined, add the olive oil and a pinch of salt to the mixture.
4. Begin to knead the mixture in the bowl, combining all the ingredients thoroughly until you obtain a consistent mass.
5. Continue kneading the dough on a flat surface for about 5 minutes. Your goal is to form a smooth, round, leaf-like shape with the dough.
6. Once kneaded, cover the dough with either a cotton cloth or plastic wrap. Allow it to rest for approximately 30 minutes. This resting period will make the dough more pliable and easier to roll out.

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Rolling and Shaping the Pici

1. After allowing the dough to rest, flatten it gently with your hand. Then, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.
2. For shaping the pici, you have two methods:
   • Traditional Method: Using a sharp knife, slice the rolled out pasta into 1/4 inch wide lengths. Don’t be overly concerned if some strips end up slightly longer than others, as homemade pasta often varies in size. Once sliced, take each strip and roll it on your work surface using the palms of your hands, giving them a rounded, spaghetti-like shape.
   • Rolling Pin with Grooves Method: If you have a rolling pin with grooves, press it onto the rolled-out pasta while rolling. This will create evenly spaced grooves on the pasta. After you’ve rolled over the entire surface, pick out the individual strips, separating your thick spaghetti one by one. You can keep the shape as is or gently roll them with your hands for a more rounded appearance.
3. Ensure your work surface is well-dusted with semolina flour. This prevents sticking. Once the pici are shaped, give them another light dusting of semolina to prevent them from sticking together.

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Cooking the Pici Pasta

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add about 2 teaspoons of salt.
2. Carefully add the prepared pici to the boiling water. Allow them to cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until they rise to the surface and are al dente.
3. Once cooked, drain the pici and toss them in your favorite sauce. Whether it’s a traditional ragu (meat sauce), pesto sauce, or pummarola (tomato sauce), they’ll be delicious. And don’t forget to top your dish with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese for that authentic Italian touch!

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Step by Step Guide to Making Tuscan Pici Pasta

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• Author: Erika Elia
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 1 pound of pasta

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Description

Pici, or “Fat Spaghetti,” is a a traditional Tuscan pasta that is easy to make, as it takes only a handful of ingredients and steps to make.

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 14 oz all purpose flour
• 4 oz semolina
• 7 fl oz (2/3 cup water)
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 pinch salt

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Instructions

Making the Pici Pasta Dough

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour and create a well in the center.
2. Gradually pour in the water into the well, starting to incorporate the flour by using circular motions with your fingers or a fork. This will ensure the flour and water combine smoothly.
3. Once the flour and water are mostly combined, add the olive oil and a pinch of salt to the mixture.
4. Begin to knead the mixture in the bowl, combining all the ingredients thoroughly until you obtain a consistent mass.
5. Continue kneading the dough on a flat surface for about 5 minutes. Your goal is to form a smooth, round, leaf-like shape with the dough.
6. Once kneaded, cover the dough with either a cotton cloth or plastic wrap. Allow it to rest for approximately 30 minutes. This resting period will make the dough more pliable and easier to roll out.

Rolling and Shaping the Pici

1. After allowing the dough to rest, flatten it gently with your hand. Then, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.
2. For shaping the pici, you have two methods:
   • Traditional Method: Using a sharp knife, slice the rolled out pasta into 1/4 inch wide lengths. Don’t be overly concerned if some strips end up slightly longer than others, as homemade pasta often varies in size. Once sliced, take each strip and roll it on your work surface using the palms of your hands, giving them a rounded, spaghetti-like shape.
   • Rolling Pin with Grooves Method: If you have a rolling pin with grooves, press it onto the rolled-out pasta while rolling. This will create evenly spaced grooves on the pasta. After you’ve rolled over the entire surface, pick out the individual strips, separating your thick spaghetti one by one. You can keep the shape as is or gently roll them with your hands for a more rounded appearance.
3. Ensure your work surface is well-dusted with semolina flour. This prevents sticking. Once the pici are shaped, give them another light dusting of semolina to prevent them from sticking together.

Cooking the Pici Pasta

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add about 2 teaspoons of salt.
2. Carefully add the prepared pici to the boiling water. Allow them to cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until they rise to the surface and are al dente.
3. Once cooked, drain the pici and toss them in your favorite sauce. Whether it’s a traditional ragu (meat sauce), pesto sauce, or pummarola (tomato sauce), they’ll be delicious. And don’t forget to top your dish with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese for that authentic Italian touch!

• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Category: Primi
• Method: Rolling
• Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: Pici pasta, Tuscan pasta, homemade pasta, Italian cuisine, traditional pici recipe, pasta from scratch, pici sauce pairings, fresh pasta making, kneading pasta dough, semolina pasta, rustic Italian dishes, cooking pici, Italian pasta types, all-purpose flour pasta, rolling pin pasta techniques.

The post Step by Step Guide to Making Tuscan Pici Pasta appeared first on Honest Cooking.

Well, in my opinion this amazing liqueur means stress-free life.

Toscana is not only one of the most beautiful Italy regions, it’s the temple of relax and Dolce Vita.

Here you can forget queues and long waits:

1. small shops where buying local products
2. unpaved back roads that run through the wheat fields
3. white roads that run among the olive groves and vineyards
4. tuscan countryside and woods where you can pic-nic and feel free to pick blackberries (plentiful in season)

In a few words, during your tuscany vacations just relax, enjoy views and drink with your family and friends.

This is one of the first reasons why I love my job: Cuoche in Vacanza (Cooks on Holiday). Ours is a seasonal job: we come to wherever you’re staying in Tuscany for Private Cooking Classes and Private Dinners.

While you’re at your holiday home you can share these esperiences with your family and friends:

• Taking a cooking class in Tuscany means you’re bringing home one of the best souvenirs
• Having a Private Dinner at your holiday home in Tuscany means authentic food experience to share and enjoy with your family and friends.

With Cuoche in Vacanza, they’ll be both “homemade” experiences and you’ll taste the same flavors that our grannies passed down to us.

You’ll have to see and to taste to believe!

Well, while we often offer a bottle of Prosecco during our Cooking Classes in Tuscany, our private dinners often end with a shot of ice cold homemade Arancello or Limoncello. In my opinion one of the perfect ways to enjoy Tuscany vacations :D !

Before coming my job season, every year I pick oranges and lemons from my trees (can be sure they’re not treated with chemical products!) and I start the preparation of this amazing liqueur so aromatic and digestive.

While peeling zests and pouring alcool, I’m thinking about our next customers on their tuscany vacations.

• What kind of persons will we meet next Summer?
• From which countries?
• Will be able to keep in touch even after their Tuscany Vacations?

In fact, after a 8 years job, I’ve now a lots of friends from everywhere in the world (most of all from USA and North Europe). Im sure that Friends is the right word, not customers, because we’re in touch during Winter time, we share our doubts and opinions and we help each other even if far away.

While the scent of Orange is pervading my kitchen I think to my past customers as well:

• their smiles while tasting our homemade dishes
• our laughs while making fresh pasta by scratch
• our drinks and cheers at the end of a dinner in Tuscany

In fact Arancello and Limoncello are like a symbol of Tuscany vacations when the protagonist is the food; a bit like the cypress trees for the walkers in Tuscan nature.

The method to make this fantastic liqueur is the same for both Arancello and Limoncello and the amount of ingredients as well.

Some important tips:

1. Buy only organic Oranges or Lemons (the alchool will absorbe all the “essentials” of the zests; don’t risk to drink pesticides or chemical products)
2. Choose (if you can) Oranges with a thick skin. You’ll not risk to cut the white part of the skin that’s very bitter and will give a bad flavor to your liqueur. Here in Italy they’re called “Arance da tavola” or table Oranges, to distinguish from “Arance da spremuta” Oranges for juice.
3. Don’t keep the zests in alchool more than 5 days. It’s a mistake to leave them for a week or more. After 4 or 5 days in fact, the essential oils start to exit and separate from alchool. This will give to your liqueur a too much “spicy” flavor.
4. This is the alcohol that we use here in Italy to make Arancello and Limoncello. We can buy to the supermarket the bottle that you see in the pictures.

Arancello (orange liqueur) or Limoncello (Lemon liqueur)

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Erika (Cuoche in Vacanza)
• Yield: 3 bottles

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Ingredients

• 5 organic oranges (or organic Lemons)
• 500 gr 2 cups Caster Sugar
• 500 ml 2 cups Water
• 500 ml 2 cups pure grain alcohol (you can use 100% pure vodka, but it won’t taste the same)

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Instructions

1. Peel the Oranges (make sure you don’t get the white part)
2. Place the orange skins in a big jar and pour in the grain (pure) alcohol
3. Seal the jar and let it infuse for about 4 days in a dark place
4. The fourth day make a simple syrup: pour the sugar in a pot with the water, let it dissolve and boil for about 5 minutes
5. Let it cold
6. The day after, using a strainer, add the “orange” alcohol to the syrup (so that orange skins don’t go into the arancello)
7. Mix it well for a couple of minutes
8. Fill up some glass empty bottles
9. Arancello is now ready! Just drink it when is very cold, better if you put in freezer
10. Serve it in small glasses
11. Store in a dry and dark place the other bottles

• Category: Liqueur
• Cuisine: Italian

Don’t forget that you can make Limoncello and Arancello in the same way!

Do you think that this post could be useful ? Please leave a comment and I’ll answer you asap!

You can also be interested in other Tuscan recipes:

Caramelized Tomatoes for pasta

Italian Meatballs!

The post Tuscany Vacations: Arancello and Limoncello appeared first on Honest Cooking.

When Mary Lynne wrote me an email asking for a Private Cooking Class in Florence downtown I couldn’t imagine that we would have run it over the roofs.

Furthermore there were 120 stairs to arrive to the attic where she and her family were on holiday.

We go to Florence many times a years, usually for a trip to the Market “Centrale” followed by a cooking class with shopping done; CLICK HERE to see our experience in Florence Market.

Our Cooking School is ITINERANT.

We go all around Tuscany to run Cooking Classes and Private Dinners directly to the holiday homes of our customers. Our job is very physical (load-unload the car, to drive a lots of hours a day…).

That’s why I was very scared by all these stairs to arrive toi the apartment: once you have been injured the job season is over.

However Mary Lynne immediately reassured me:“My 4 “children” are young adults in their 20’s and are willing to help you carry everything up and down the stairs. My mouth is watering already!”

We couldn’t ask for a better treatment…let’s go to Florence for a Private cooking class, cooking on the rooftops ;)

One of the best things of my job as cooking classes coach and private dinners chef is the possibility to meet new people coming from all around the world. Each one has his own background, but they all have an insane love for Tuscany and genuine-fresh food.

Every cooking class or private dinner is often an adventure:

new people, new roads to drive, new villages or landscapes to visit, new holiday homes and villas.

Oxana (my assistant) and me were very thrilled to live this new adventure and very curious to watch the view once that you’re cooking on the rooftops.

So, after 120 stairs we finally arrived to the apartment: can’t imagine the view; it seemed to touch the Santa Maria’s cathedral!

We could really say: cooking on the rooftops of Florence

The amazing family that hosted us came from Texas: 4 sons and an incredible, smiling and sweet mother.

I’ve to declare all my love for Texans! Many customers and students from over there and all full of joy for life, love for simple but important things, desire of have fun together.

They chose the classic Italian menu:

starter, first course fresh handmade pasta based, main course meat based and typical dessert.

And so: Bruschetta to start, fresh handmade egg pasta, Arista Tuscan Style, and Tiramisu.

Anyway the queen of this cooking class in Tuscany was the sauce for the fresh handmade pasta,

fresh tomatoes (Piccadilly or Cherry) that you let “caramelize” and “flambè” in the pan. Everyone is asking me the recipe and the students in our cooking classes are starting to send pictures about their sauce and pasta, once they’re at home.

And so my friends here’s the recipe (by popular demand) of: Caramelized Tomatoes Sauce. It’s incredibly simple, incredibly tasteful, I’d better say Amazing!!

Just a few suggestions to obtain the best performance from this excellent mediterranean condiment;

follow the tips and be sure you’ll delight your guests:

• First of all the pan: a no-stick one! you can’t use another kind because the result will be completely different
• Tomatoes to buy: Piccadilly (in some countries you can find Santorini tomatoes, as my friend Jeannie told me on facebook) or Cherry tomatoes.
• Buy the tomatoes on Summer (the best months here in Tuscany are July and August). During the rest of the year you can cook a very good tomatoes sauce (salsa di pomodoro) like that one in THIS RECIPE for Parmigiana Aubergines.
• Tomatoes must be ripe, but firms and without stains.
• Here in Italy we can find very sweet tomatoes, so you can flip the step to add some sugar: in fact the sauce goes away and still remains the fruit with all its sweetness. You could maybe add 1 or 2 teaspoons max depending on amount of tomatoes.
• Add salt immediately after pouring the tomatoes and flip them (high fire) “flambé”. Be careful to your kitchen and switch on your kitchen fan.

Cooking on the rooftops was a new experience for us, but meeting this amazing family was even better. They were very happy with our sauce and I’m sure they cooked it once at home.

Caramelized Tomatoes Sauce for Pasta

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• Author: Erika Elia
• Yield: 4

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Ingredients

• 1 Kg 2 lb Fresh ripe tomatoes (Piccadilly or Cherry)
• 10 leaves basil
• 3 cloves garlic
• to taste salt and pepper
• 5 tbsp extra virgin oil

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Instructions

1. Chop the tomatoes in medium pieces (about the half part of a cherry tomato)
2. Pour extra virgin oil in a no-stick pan (large), to cover the bottom
3. add the cloves of garlic
4. cook on medium fire
5. as oil is starting making bubbles around cloves, pour the chopped tomatoes
6. immediately add salt
7. while they’re frying (noisily) you can now flip them and “flambè” (skip this step if you don’t have a big kitchen hood, because they’re going to make a big flame)
8. spread the tomatoes with a wooden spoon over the pan and let them cook (medium fire) for about 10/15 minutes (it depends on the juice they’ve inside)
9. cook until almost all of the liquid is absorbed
10. now cook high fire 3 or 4 minutes until it smells “burnt”: caramelization is starting
11. stir the tomatoes with a wooden spoon the tomatoes until they’re a bit brown on one side
12. leave cooking 1 minute more
13. turn off the fire
14. add basil leaves (broken by hand)
15. Season your PASTA directly in this pan with the tomatoes

• Category: Sauce
• Cuisine: Italian

Can you find “Piccadilly tomatoes” in your country? Do they have the same name?

Would you like to inform me about a simple but tasteful sauce for pasta that you usually eat in your country?

Salva

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The post Cooking on the rooftops of Florence: caramelized tomatoes! appeared first on Honest Cooking.

Among our cooking classes in Tuscany, the most popular main course that we teach is definitely: Arista with milk sauce.

It’s an old, typical recipe that my granny taught me many years ago. Here in Tuscany we  call this dish: Arista al latte.

Furthermore is a very simple dish: we’re an Itinerant Cooking School and we can’t face long and/or complicate preparations.

Last Summer for example we went in the tuscan countryside, near the beautiful Montespertoli for some Teen agers cooking classes. 

Kids were going to prepare a special dinner for their parents: Arista with milk sauce, garlic and rosemary.

Here’s the video for ARISTA TUSCAN STYLE.

Our students worked so hard, better than many adults.

Me and my assistant chatted with girls and boys about various recipes, fresh ingredients in season and different kinds of meat here in Tuscany.

Everyone was guided by enthusiasm and passion and I’m so proud of them and the job that they made. Sometime, while making fresh pasta for example, there was a deep silence in the kitchen…that’s why they were really concentrated.

They wanted to make a good impression with their parents! What’s better than cooking classes to achieve it?

What’s Arista

Arista is the best cut from the pork (the meaning in ancient Greek is precisely “the best”)…you know the word “aristocracy” for example.

What we’re going to make is an old Tuscan recipe that my granny thaught me when I left my birth town for going to the University in Pisa. I can’t forget her words:

“Let’s prepare Arista right now my dear, I’d like to teach you the recipe. So that you can cook it when you’re in Pisa and will invite your friends for dinner!

I know you’ll be thinking of me honey”.

Arista Story

The story of Arista dates back to 1432, when during the Council of Florence was served this tuscan meat dish. The Greek patriarchs were so excited about that they shouted: “Aristà, Aristà! (meaning: excellent)”. From that moment this is the name of Pork Loin Tuscan Style.

Anyway the recipe that I’m gonna write for you is a bit different from others here in Tuscany, it’s my granny’s one! I love teaching how making the amazing “garlic and rosemary milk sauce”. It’s a perfect way to keep the meat tender.

Tips and tricks to make perfect Arista

1. arista (pork loin) that you’re going to buy should not be completely lean but have some fat and brown streaks, indicating the most tasty and close to the bone meat. If you buy a completely lean one, you can be sure that you’ll obtain a very dry and hard to eat dish.
2. weigh the meat and count about 4 minutes each 100gr of meat. Example: you’ll cook 1 kg of meat for about 40 minutes. After this time you’ll cut the meat in slices; if you see that it’s always pink, you have to reheat for a bit over the stove with the milk sauce. If instead the cooking is perfect (white but not dry), set your slices in a tray and just cover them with the milk sauce before serving.

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Arista” (pork) Rosemary, Garlic and Milk sauce

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• Author: Erika
• Yield: 4

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Ingredients

• 1 kg arista (pork loin)
• 5 rosemary sprigs (40cm each)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 80 gr unsalted butter
• to taste extra virgin oil
• 1/2 l. whole milk
• to taste salt
• 3 tbsp all purpose (no yeast flour)

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Instructions

1. Remove all the rosemary leaves from the woody stems.
2. Chop the rosemary leaves with the garlic over a board, using a large knife.
3. Melt the butter in a small pot and
4. sprinkle all the sides of the meat with butter
5. press the meat over the board with chopped rosemary and garlic and cover all the sides
6. pour the remaining melted butter in a casserole with 2 tbsp of oil and heat
7. put the meat in the pot and let it golden all the sides
8. pour the milk in the pot and salt
9. cover with a lid and let it cook 40 minutes about (flipping 2 times)
10. Taste the milk if salted enough and remove the meat from the pot and keep it warm in aluminum foil
11. pour the tbsps of flour in the casserole and start whisking with a hand whip to be sure there are not lumps. After 3 minutes while is boiling it should be creamy, if necessary add 1 more tbsp of flour.
12. Cut the meat in slices of about 0,5 cm (not so thin) and place over a serving tray.
13. Pour the milk sauce over the meat
14. Serve immediately and eat

• Category: Main
• Cuisine: Italian

Maybe you can be also interested in:

1. The real Ragu (meat and sausage sauce)
2. Gnocchi with asparagus and courgette flowers
3. Italian Meatballs

Did you already join some cooking classes?

What do you think about this post? Please spend just 1 minute of your time to leave a comment or liking this post.

Do you know a similar recipe? Any question? I’m at your disposal to answer you.

The post Tuscany Cooking: Pork with Milk Sauce appeared first on Honest Cooking.

Tell you the true this is a very popular question on my blog as well, that’s why I decided to write this post explaining all the “secrets” and tricks to obtain a perfect dough, crust, in short a perfect Italian Pizza at your Home, the same that we usually make here in Italy.
One of my greatest wishes is to have an Online Cooking School, where I can keep in touch with everyone abroad, without worrying about distance or language; in fact we made a first step: we’re an Itinerant Italian Culinary School, we go throughout Tuscany and we can release a Diploma to our students after each cookery course.
I already wrote many “pizza” tips here, in my Granny’s tips section, but today I’d like going into more depth, leaving you my fav recipe with right ingredients and steps to respect.
PIZZA history
Pizza, has a long history, complicated and uncertain and the first written records date back it in Latin volgare language. Nel 16 sec. in Naples they gave the name of “pizza” to a pressed bread; in fact this name derives from mispronunciation of the word “pitta” (pressed bread indeed).
At that time the “pizza” was a tool: the bakers were using it to check the temperature of oven.
On September of 1889 to honor the Queen of Italy, Margherita, the chef Raffaele Esposito created the pizza “Margherita”: a pizza topped with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil to represent the colors of Italian flag.

While running a Cooking Class in Tuscany, I often wish that my students and customers understand the difference between the various yeasts making pizza, that’s why I give them some handouts which explain it.
Tell you the true, I try to explain the differences during our Private Dinners in Tuscany as well. In fact I believe that having the possibility to know someone local and chef as well, must be an added value for all the tourists and travelers which come visit Tuscany; if you just prepare and cook, without explaining a dish and the diffrence between the ingredients, customers don’t take this value.
Ok, they’re enojoing their holiday in Tuscany and they just like having someone cooking for them at their holiday home, but in this way you give them the opportunity to eat real tuscan food in a real tuscan atmosphere.
You can find many informations reading down here, together with a basic Pizza recipe.

PIZZA Yeasts
First of all it’s important to know that here in Italy we’ve 4 kinds of yeast to make Pizza:
•    NATURAL YEAST The natural yeast, also called acid yeast, sourdough, mother yeast, sourdough  increasing, is a mixture of flour and water acidified by a complex of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria which are able to start the fermentation.

Unlike the so-called yeast, natural yeast includes, among the yeasts, different species of lactic bacteria  of the genus Lactobacillus. The fermentation of lactic acid bacteria produces organic acids, and also allows greater growth of the product, and a greater digestibility and shelf-life. Method used prior to the selection of the brewer’s yeast, which is now more common in bread making, in the countries the sourdough was jealously guarded by the baker that maintained it in life with the appropriate refreshments and redistributed it to families that weekly had the bread in the house. Currently it’s rediscovered by bakers in search of traditional flavors. The use of natural yeast (mother acid) is essential in the preparation of Italian baked cakes such as

nettone”  , “Colomba Pasquale”    , “Pandoro”     etc. , and for particular types of bread including, for example,  the Bread from Altamura    and the Black bread from Castelvetrano   which provides the exclusive use of the Mother yeast.
•    FRESH YEAST (it comes from beer).  Fresh yeast is pressed into cubes is ubiquitous in grocery stores in Italy and Europe as well. It feels somewhat like a very compacted marshmallow with a very soft feel to it and it crumbles into chunks once you break the cube. It is merely wrapped in foiled paper identical to the one European butter is wrapped in. It must be refrigerated, with the typical shelf life being about 20 days. It requires proofing prior to using it. It is a greyish-beige color and starts to develop a darker brownish layer on the outside the longer it sits- that’s how you can tell if it is really fresh (besides the stamped date on the package) and if it has been handled properly. Each cube is about 30g and the most general recommendation is to use one cube for 1 kilo of flour. This is the general standard for packaging here in Italy. We mostly use it making Pizza and Focaccia.
Rising time: 2 hours around
•    ACTIVE DRY YEAST     Preparing dough with dried yeast is very similar to that with fresh yeast; it’s granular, with a consistency similar to cornmeal. It’s a living organism that’s dormant until proofed, or dissolved in a small amount of  lukewarm warm water (about 110°F) in which is also added sugar… as fresh yeast. It’s then added to the rest of the ingredients (as fresh yeast), where it will cause dough to rise. Active dry yeast is typically sold in individual packets (pictured here) or small jars. (quote by Kitchn). The positive aspect is that you can think to make pizza every time you like, because you can store your dry yeast; while the fresh one needs the fridge and has a tight deadline.
Rising time: 2 hours around
•    INSTANT YEAST    Instant yeast is another type of dry yeast that was introduced after active dry yeast in the 1970s. It is made using a similar process as active dry yeast, although is dried more quickly. As you can see, this yeast is also milled into finer particles. Because of this, it dissolves faster and activates quickly. But unlike active dry yeast, instant yeast doesn’t have to be proofed first; it can be mixed straight into the dry ingredients with the same result.?This yeast also gives you two separate rises and it can be used interchangeably with active dry yeast. (quote by Kitchn).

Well, here in Italy we mostly use (even in PIZZERIE) Fresh Yeast; many people use dry yeast, so few people decide to make pizza with instant yeast and, tell you the true, we use the instant one just for salty tarts when we’ve to make a lots.
Some passionate people (like me) use Natural yeast as well, but as you understood, is a bit complicate to “refresh” it every week storing in a fridge and having the time for the rising each time. My Natural yeast is around 35 years old (it comes from a very old original mixture), it comes from a very small village in the north part of Lucca Province and it was given to me from my mother in law, Rossi.
Now that you understood the important role of yeast for making a perfect Pizza, let me inform you about other important ingredients, first of all:
1.    Tomato Sauce/Passata. It has to be sweet, not acid. The best for me is labeled MUTTI, anyway you can find many good tomatoe puree passata, just be sure it comes from Italy. Here in Tuscany we use fresh chopped tomatoes on Summer, if you’ve sweet and red tomatoes use them thiny sliced.
2.    Mozzarella Cheese.  Preferibly the “FIOR DI LATTE” fresh one, anyway you can use that one in loaf as well.
The important thing is the quality of ingredients.

Italian Pizza recipe from Tuscany: all the right steps and tips to have a perfect one!

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• Author: Erika Elia (Cuoche in Vacanza)
• Yield: 4 people

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Description

All the tips from Italy to make a gorgeous pizza

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Ingredients

• Flour: 500 g (3 1/2 cups,)
• Dry yeast granules: 7 g (1/4 oz)
• Warm water: 300 ml (11 Fl.oz)
• Salt: 2 pinches
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Extra virgin olive oil: 6 tablespoons

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Instructions

1. Preparing this dough has the same procedure to that with fresh yeast
2. Dissolve the yeast inside a glass with the half of warm water and sugar and wait 3 minutes until there’s a foam on the top
3. Pour the flour on a pastry board and make a well in the center of flour
4. Add in the center the dissolved yeast with its water, and then the oil and the salt
5. Begin to incorporate the flour to the ingredients in the center, adding the rest of warm water hand by hand
6. We must get a soft, smooth, and easy to work mixture
7. The amount of necessary water may vary from time to time
8. Make a ball and leave the dough to rise about 2 hours, covered with a cling film or a plastic bowl
9. after this time flour a worksurface and flatten the dough using your hands;
10. knock the air out of it using your fingertips
11. stretch it out as you go until it’s as thin as possible, leaving a thicker ring of dough around the edges
12. slide on to an oiled baking tray, adding some olive oil while adjusting it over the tray
13. season with tomato puree (previously salted) and all the ingredients that you prefer.
14. pour oil on the top
15. Remember: put the mozzarella cheese (sliced or crumbled) just 5 minutes before turning off the oven, otherwise you risk to burn the cheese.
16. Bake to the max temperature for about 25 minutes

• Category: Main
• Cuisine: Italian

The post Pizza Tips from an Italian Chef appeared first on Honest Cooking.

Shutterstock: Paul Cowan

Here in Italy meatballs are with you from an early age. My grandmother would preparing them in many different ways, depending on the age and also the state of health of herself and the person eating them.

• Steamed meatballs are seasoned with fresh pureed tomato for young children
• Baked meatballs are made for a lighter meal without sacrificing any flavor
• Fried meatballs are always made for a “party” atmosphere and are ideal for a lunch or dinner between friends
• Meatballs can also be cooked in any sauce that they will eventually be served with for great, versatile flavor

In short, so many variations, not to mention the various ingredients contributing to what (for us) is the perfect meatball: bread, potatoes, bread crumbs, milk …

And then there is the size, that can vary according to their use:

• Very small for baked pasta with meatballs (south of Italy style)
• Medium for a main course, and to fry them
• Large, almost like small hamburgers, if we want to take them with us to a picnic, to the beach, for a trip …

And so we like to eat the meatballs … you’ll never see them on spaghetti, unless some restaurant should bend to this not Italian trend.

Meatballs’ versatility means that we do not ever get tired of them , and their flavor changes with the seasons, just like the ingredients that we put inside this dish.

Today I prepared these kinds of meatballs:

• Steamed in tomato sauce (recipe for tomato sauce is here)
• Baked, instead of being fried

With this recipe below, you can choose the meatballs form of cooking you prefer.

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• Author: Erika Elia

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Ingredients

• 1 lb beef minced meat
• 2 eggs
• 2 oz stale bread
• 2 oz whole milk
• 1 oz parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 oz grated parmigiano (parmesan)
• to taste Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• to taste salt
• to taste pepper

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Instructions

1. soak the bread in milk for about ten minutes
2. meanwhile chop the parsley and the garlic
3. squeeze the bread
4. mix together and stir in a big bowl (by hands or with a big fork): meat, bread, salt and pepper, parmesan, parsley and garlic
5. add the eggs continuing to stir to mix all together
6. let it rest for about 20 minutes
7. form some meatballs (about 3 cm size) helping by your hands
8. season with Extra Vergin Olive Oil and cook them:
9. Twenty minutes (if steaming)
10. Twenty minutes (if baking at 400 °F)

• Category: Main
• Cuisine: Italian

The post How to Make Italian Meatballs appeared first on Honest Cooking.

Pasta and chickpeas puree is a typical dish from Lucca, belonging to the same category of farming cooking as recipes such as the onion soup.

When I was little I did not love this dish, it seemed tasteless, devoid of personality and especially monotonous, like many soups. Then one day a friend of my father, chef and owner of a famous restaurant in Maremma, made me taste this dish and finally, for the first time I appreciated it. It seemed immediately flavorful, so that I finished the whole plate, under my father’s surprised eyes.

The trick there was anchovy fillets!

Here in Tuscany, the kind of pasta to use with chickpeas puree is the “Tagliolini”, but actually there are many varieties suitable for this dish: capelli d’angelo, ditalini, gramigna…

Since chickpeas are the protagonist, one can say that this dish may be enjoyed in any season.

When I make this dish, I immediately think of our small house on the mountains and of the winter in general, aspects that represent for me the search for new recipes for our private dinners, and new dishes to be included in our cookery courses.

My tips:

• Do not skip the fresh rosemary sprig
• Choose a pasta with a cooking time no longer than 4 minutes, otherwise you risk compromising the right texture of the puree.
• If using dried chickpeas: soak them in cold water with a teaspoon of baking soda for a whole night. Throw away the soaking water and boil them in salted water for about 40 minutes (20 minutes with the pressure cooker). Use their liquid to prepare the chickpeas puree
• If using canned chickpeas, throw away the liquid in which they are immersed and use only the vegetable broth
• If you do not like a strong garlic flavor, remove it before using the immersion blender

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• Author: Erika Elia

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Ingredients

• 3 cups boiled and drained chickpeas (liquid reserved)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 5 anchovy fillets
• to taste salt
• to taste black pepper
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 tbsp parmesan cheese (optional)

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Instructions

1. Over medium heat, pour 4 tbsp extra virgin oil in a pot with the garlic cloves cut in half; add the rosemary sprig and the anchovy fillets. Wait until anchovy melt, stirring well with a wooden spoon.
2. Add drained chickpeas continuing stirring until they take all the flavors of the sauce with anchovy, rosemary and garlic
3. add their liquid and 1 cup hot veggie broth and let them simmer for about 10 minutes
4. remove the rosemary sprig and blend the chickpeas directly in the pot with an immersion blender (or transfer them to processor)
5. taste and add salt if needed
6. add tomato paste and stir to mix and to have a nice hot color light orange
7. bring to boil and add other broth if the cream is too thick; you need to have the texture of yogurt if you add “capelli d’angelo” pasta (3 minutes cooking) and that one of a soup if you use a pasta which requires a longer cooking.
8. Pour the pasta in the soup
9. as it boils again (crumble capelli d’angelo by clenching them in the fist)
10. continue stirring medium-low heat and be careful it doesn’t stick
11. finally you have to obtain a soft puree, a cream
12. add salt if you need and turn off the heat when pasta is cooked
13. pour in soup bowls very hot
14. add a grinding of black pepper,
15. tbsp of parmesan cheese (optional)
16. and 1 tbsp of extra virgin oil (top down) over each bowl
17. bring immediately to the table

• Category: Primi
• Cuisine: Tuscan

The post Tuscan-Style Chickpea Puree appeared first on Honest Cooking.