San Francisco Ritrovo Style

This August, we were fortunate to visit San Francisco, check in with some  of our customers and supporters, and take part in a Farmer’s Market cooking class at Tante Marie’s Cooking School.  It is one of Ritrovo’s missions, as well as one of our very favorite practices, to experiment with local vegetables, meat/poultry/fish, and grains and continue learning the benefits of eating globally and thinking locally.  For this reason we had planned all year to attend this special cooking class that coincides with peak summer season at the famed Ferry Terminal Market. Here are a few highlights from our trip to San Francisco.

Upon arriving to the foggy city, we ventured out to lighten our travel woes with an authentic Sardinian meal at Massimiliano and Lorella’s La Ciccia in Noe Valley.  After a bite of house made pane carasau (Sardinian flat bread with rosemary), our selection for a first course was obvious: an impeccably delicate yet rich spaghetti with bottarga—followed by the secondo:  tender pork with saffron cooked onions. Our Cannonau wine-bathed meal finished with a memorable goat cheese and fig gelato, and a saffron semifreddo. Their truly regional meal inspired us to pull out our jar of Casina Rossa Sea & Salt as soon as we got home (see below).

We managed to squeeze in a quick aperitivo at Flour & Water, to savor a beautiful melon salad, and the halibut crudo with sea beans—very nice presentation, inventive, colorful and fresh.  Taggiasca olives were featured on the watermelon salad, and as importers of these we were proud to see them as part of a seasonal, local dish.

Saturday began with three hours at the Ferry Terminal Farmer’s Market (naturally preceeded by checking out displays of our own products at Far West Fungi, Village Market and Bee Kind).  The gray day was no match for the wonderful local produce and cheeses we picked up to bring back and cook up among new friends and Tante Marie Cooking School Instructor, Jennifer Knapp.  One of our favorite dishes from the class was savory mushroom bread pudding, with a sprinkle of Truffle & Salt to bring all the seasonal flavors to life.  Another fun summertime treat was a watermelon and feta skewer appetizer which we quickly adapted at home with our own Controne Hot Pepper Flake and Ferrante Denocciolato extra virgin olive oil.

Wild Mushroom Savory Bread Pudding (Adapted & Modified from Tante Marie’s Cooking School, Fine Cooking, 12/98. Jodi L.)

3 tbsp. + 2 tsp. Marino Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 c. finely chopped onions

1 ½ lbs. mushrooms, sliced (Chanterelle, Crimini, Shitake, etc.)

Casina Rossa Ritrovo Selections Truffle & Salt®

½ c. Madiera

1 ½ c. beef stock (natural, with low sodium)

1 cup heavy cream

2 eggs/ 2 egg yolks

9 oz. Italian bread, i.e. Pugliese, cut into ¾ in cubes and drained

Heat 1 tbsp evoo in lrg skillet over med heat.  Add onions, season with pinch of salt and cook until soft, 5-7 minutes (stir often).  Remove onions and set aside.

In same pan heat another tbsp evoo and add half mushrooms, and another sprinkling of salt. Cook over med heat until mushrooms are browned and softened, and liquid has evaporated.  Set aside and repeat with another tbsp of evoo, and remaining mushrooms.

When the second batch of mushrooms are cooked, return the first batch of mushrooms and onions to the pan.  Add the Madeira.  Cook, stirring frequently, over med high heat, until liquid evaporates and the mixture is a rich brown, about 5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.

Heat oven to 350*, Brush the remaining 2 tbsp evoo all over the insides of a 9×13 in baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together stock, cream, eggs, egg yolks, and a generous pinch of RITROVO Truffle & Salt.  Add the bread and the mushroom mixture and toss.  Let sit for 15 min, stirring occasionally, to saturate bread.  Transfer to dish, evenly, and bake until lightly browned, and set, 40-45 min.

Watermelon Skewers with RITROVO Ferrante Products (Adapted & Modified from Tante Marie’s Cooking School)

1 Watermelon (seedless and ripe)

2 packages Queso Fresco Cheese, approx. 16oz.

1 jar Ferrante Controne Hot Pepper Flake

Michele Ferrante Denocciolato Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Drizzling

Your Choice of Herb: Purple Basil, or Fresh Mint Leaves

Acetorium White Balsamic Vinegar

Wood Skewers

Chop the watermelon in small cubes.  Chop the Queso Fresco in equally sized cubes, to match the watermelon.  Toss in evoo.  Arrange the watermelon, cheese and herbs one after the other on the skewers.  Sprinkle with Ferrante Controne Hot Pepper flake and Acetorium White Balsamic Vinegar.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS FOR CASINA ROSSA BOTTARGA SALT, “SEA & SALT”

• Sprinkle on grilled or sautéed seafood dishes

• The perfect condiment for La Romagna Orange Stringozzi

• Unbeatable over steamed vegetables such as cauliflower and zucchini

• A natural with potatoes

• Brightens up cottage cheese and fresh mozzarella

• Sprinkle over shrimp or dressing in shrimp salads

• Perfect condiment for Ritrovo’s Grilled Fennel and greens

• Use on eggs and omelettes
• Add new flavor to Caesar Salad Dressing: use Casina Rossa lemon olive oil and Sea & Salt instead of anchovies and fresh lemon

• 

  Watermelon Skewers at Tante Marie

Celebrating Our Success One Delicious Bite at a Time

Ah, the sweet taste of success! Earlier this month, Ron and Catie returned from NYC with our fourth NASFT sofi^TM Gold statue.(For those who don’t know, the sofi^TM gold statue is the specialty food industry’s equivalent to Hollywood’s Oscar^®.)

RITROVO^® SELECTIONS^TM Mt. Townsend Truffle & Salt Seastack Cheese represents our first gold win for a product developed in the U.S., in partnership with Mt. Townsend Creamery in Port Townsend, WA. It’s the crowning success to our new line of Truffle & Salt products, all incorporating RITROVO^® SELECTIONS^TM Truffle & Salt, a 2005 sofi^TM gold-winning product.

A Truffle & Salt celebration was in order! We broke out the bubbly, and among the other delicious delights we pulled from our “warehouse-sized” pantry, made a crowd-pleasing batch of Truffle & Salt popcorn (Look for this recipe, and a few other favorite seasonal recipes below, including fresh chickpeas with our Controne Hot Pepper glaze and “floral” potato made with our Fiori & Salt.)

As the bubbly went to our heads (and maybe the success a bit too), we began to reflect on what Ritrovo^® means to us. There are the academic definitions of ritrovo:

“Ritrovo” [in Italian] denotes a reunion or “gathering again” of friends, family, or colleagues. In regional parlances such as Tuscan or northeastern Friulian, a ritrovo is a place where people come to eat, drink, and be merry. Additionally, the verb “ritrovare” means “to find again” something once lost.

But, what’s been most important to us from the start, is showing people how to incorporate the beauty of food into their everyday lives. We want Ritrovo^® to encourage people to rediscover the value of slow-paced, socially-based mealtimes, and to consciously select foods from small, organically-focused farms and producers.

So here are some dishes so you can celebrate right along with us.

Green chickpeas with controne hot pepper glaze

2 cups fresh chickpeas in the husk

1/2 cup Italian white wine

2 Tbsp. Michele Ferrante or Madonna delle Olive extra virgin olive oil

pinch or so of Casina Rossa Cervia Limited Edition Sea Salt

1/2-1 tsp. controne hot pepper

Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Place 1 Tbsp. exztra virgin olive oil in a heavy saute pan. Add fresh chickpeas and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the controne pepper and salt. Add the white wine and stir gently. Add remaining olive oil . Reduce heat to low and continue stirring over low heat. After about 10 minutes test to see if  chickpeas are tender. Add more white wine, if needed, to continue to cook chickpeas in some liquid.  Serve hot as an appetizer.  Try with Campanian Falanghina white wine.

“Confetti” Potato salad with Casina Rossa Fiori & Salt

The multicolors of edible flowers in the fiori & salt, together with two colors of potatoes and microgreens give a colorful, “confetti” –like feeling to this classic.

One pound Purple and white potatoes

Casina Rossa Cervia Limited Edition Sea Salt

3 hardboiled eggs, microplaned

1 tsp. Fiori & salt

1 Tbsp. Feudo delle Ginestre Cerasuolo rose wine vinegar

¼ cup Mannucci-Droandi Chianti Classico Extra Virgin Olive Oil

One cup Microgreens

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a pinch of the Cervia Sea Salt. Peel potatoes and boil in water until tender. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Fiori & Salt, mix well.  When the potatoes are completely cooled, chop into 1-inch cubes and mix into oil-vinegar mixture. Gently toss in hardboiled egg.  Serve over microgreens.

Authentic Italian Food, Truly RITROVO® Style

Though we at RITROVO® have brought many shipments of regional artisan foods from Italy to the United States over the last decade, our most recent shipment has been special.

With the arrival of the June 2010 shipment, RITROVO®’ celebrated 11 successful years of guiding small-scale Italian farmers and organic producers to the U.S. market — this accomplished in a comprehensive collegial fashion, from “farm-to-marketplace.”

The contents of this month’s shipment has brought the total of individual products that RITROVO® has successfully selected, developed, imported, and marketed in the United States to over 250, comprising products arriving from producers in 17 of Italy’s 20 regions.

Contained in the shipment were numerous new products, including three which have just been chosen as our 13th, 14th, and 15th sofiTM Nominees for Outstanding Product Awards. Overall, these nominations span 11 different categories, and were co-developed through collaborations with eight different producers.

This month RITROVO® formed its 4th successful U.S. joint venture with Miller Farms Almonds of Modesto, CA. This added to our existing joint ventures with Xocolatl de David of Portland, OR, Idaho’s Ballard Dairy, and Washington’s Mt. Townsend Creamery.

As we moved each pallet of the shipment into our warehouse I was struck not only by the years of hard work that had prepared us for its arrival, but I also could feel the presence of each of our multi-faceted cadre of proud producers in each of the pallets we off-loaded. It has taken considerable struggle over the last decade, but somehow, in some way, it feels like we ourselves are “arriving” too — working with our customers to increase recognition of the human importance of slow-paced, socially-based meal times.

RITROVO® has been fortunate to have been organizationally recognized as well:

The Italian Agricultural Minister invited RITROVO® to participate in “True Italian”, a celebration of Italian culture and cuisine held in Vancouver, B.C., during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

RITROVO® was chosen along with important chefs, restaurateurs, retailers, writers, and points of culinary reference to discuss issues such as regional authenticity, sustainability, and local produce consumption. The event culminated in a multi-course Italian ‘cook-off,’ playfully judged by the Italian Olympic team.

The Italian Trade Commission and Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West chose RITROVO® as a regional partner for their “Authentic Italian Food” promotion.

Of the amazing network of restaurants and retailers that buy RITROVO® SELECTIONS™, and share our concern for quality and authenticity, we were given the honor to choose nationally-acclaimed, local chefs Ethan Stowell of Tavolata and Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita to develop special menus showcasing both their respective culinary talents and our Italian regional product selections. They were magical evenings.

Of special note was our evening at Tavolata, booked for later in the evening, after we had off-loaded our most recent shipment. Dining with the tired but inspired RITROVO® crew was good friend, faithful customer, and visionary retailer Pat McCarthy, owner of DeLaurenti Specialty Food and Wine.

From the first taste of chef Ethan Stowell’s first dish — Tonno Crudo, accented by award-winning Tenuta Cocevola’s D.O.P. Extra Virgin Olive Oil and highlighted with Radici of Tuscany’s potent, Organic Wild Pinenuts—we realized that this would be a delicious adventure.

We are proud to present Tavolata’s full menu for “Authentic Italian Food”—
with its nine accompanying RITROVO® SELECTIONS™  ingredients below:

AHI TUNA CRUDO
Radici of Tuscany Wild Pinenuts, Salina
Capers, Tenuta Cocevola DOP Terre di Bari Extra Virgin Olive Oil

ESCAROLE BRODO
Organic Ceci Piccini Chianti Heirloom
Chickpeas, Pancetta, Anchovy

RICOTTA AGNOLOTTI
Organic Stone Ground Tuscan Chestnut Flour,
Dr. Pescia Corbezzolo Honey, Butter, Sage

SEARED HALIBUT
Maida Wild Campania Chicory, Due Vittorie 25 year Balsamic, Artichoke Puree

PECORINO TOSCANO
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Grape Chutney
with Walnuts

Buon appetito!

More Farro-philia, Courtesy Lentz Farms

wheat_pedigree[1]

So much farro, so little time

We recently started importing a new couscous made in Italy from farro. Farro is a resurgent yet heirloom grain common in the Mediterranean, favored for its high protein, mineral, and fiber content. It contains 8-19 percent of daily protein and 14% of daily fiber.

Recently, one of our most attentive customers, Gail Murphy of Minglement Market on Vashon Island www.minglement.com, Washington, noticed that our producer, Biaitalia, had translated the grain as “spelt” on the package. We hadn’t noticed this British version of what we have long translated as “farro”, thus sparking a new round of controversy on “What is farro”?.

Here at Ritrovo we have always imported farro with its latin name, Triticum dicoccum to distinguish it from common wheat, Triticum monococum. And we translated it in English as farro. Nonetheless, some local controversy arose when a couple of Washington farmers began growing related grains. More debate was ignited when our chef friend Seth Caswell opened his restaurant Emmer & Rye, theming his restaurant on locally grown farro/spelt/emmer that fit some of his signature dishes.

We had searched far and wide in Italy and among the few experts on Italian food that we know here in the U.S. for a definitive answer to the botanical and naming question posed by farro. As usual we like to be experts at our own products, particularly since we import two kinds of raw farro :Radici of Tuscany and Tenuta Castello, plus farro-based Primopan cookies, and the Biaitalia couscous.

Finally, as if following our :”Think locally, eat globally” motto, our controversy over this grain that we import from Italy was resolved by a local Washington farmer –Rene Weatherstone—who was contacted by Gail Murphy of Minglement Market. He presented us with the full genealogy of farro from its eikhorn origins, confirming our correct association of farro with Triticum dicoccum and spelt with Triticum spelt. Technically, this genealogy calls it emmer farro, thus affirming what Chef Seth believes, but also making us feel comfortable with our Ritrovo naming of this precious grain.

Just for fun we are presenting our “pun-intended” farro “rice” pudding recipe with its many variations, a sweet finale to a complicated food mystery. Enjoy this recipe, especially with the reassurance of how nutritious farro grain is.

Farro “Rice” Pudding

This recipe is a snap to make, creating a very comforting bowl of warm, creamy, lightly sweet farro that can be seasoned in countless ways. It’s made even simpler if you use the pre-cooked farro available from Radici of Tuscany, though you can also start with dry farro from Tenuta Castello or Radici.

1 cup cooked farro
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon Dr Pescia Acacia honey
1/4 teaspoon Sweet and Salt

To Cook farro:

Cook 2 parts water to one part farro either in a large, heavy pot or in a pressure cooker. Tenuta Castello farro takes about 30 minutes to cook conventionally or about 15 minutes in a pressure cooker. You can also soak it for 20 minutes, then cook directly in a rice cooker. Radici of Tuscany IGP farro will cook more quickly by all methods.

Combine the cooked farro, milk, honey, and Sweet and Salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the milk boils, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring often, until the farro has a creamy consistency, reminiscent of rice pudding or risotto, 12 to 15 minutes.

Makes 2-3 servings

Variations:

– use half-and-half, coconut milk or soy milk in place of the whole milk

– use other types of honey in place of the acacia, the aromatic sulla a particularly delicious option

– for seasoning you can use cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ground ginger, other warm spices in place of, or in addition to, the Sweet and Salt

– consider adding a tablespoon or two of other ingredients such as chopped candied ginger or orange, raisins or other dried fruit (including Michele Ferrante dried Cilento figs), chopped toasted hazelnuts or almonds.

Don’t forget to try the farro fries at Emmer & Rye, Chef Seth’s signature appetizer.

Authentic Italian Coming Up!

ITC_AI_RestaurantPosters_2_Seattle

More Cheese Festival 2010

A CHEESY YEAR

In preparing for our continued participation at the SEATTLE CHEESE FESTIVAL 2010, held May 15-16 in the Pike Place Market, we are reminded that it’s been a cheesy year at RITROVO.

To begin with, the standard visitor-exhibitor exchange that will take place over-and-over again, at the RITROVO ITALIAN REGIONAL FOODS stand at the festival will take a different turn:

 

* Standard visitor’s question: “So, do you sell cheese?”

 

* Standard RITROVO  reply: ‘in fact, we do represent two new cheese producers this year, along with two delicious new cheeses that we’ve co-developed…”

Brief Explanation: since company inception, we at RITROVO have always supported and encouraged sales of quality cheeses. We have done it through the complimentation of cheesemakers by serving their products with RITROVO SELECTIONS(tm) such as Il Mongetto’s mostarda d’uva, Casina Rossa’s mosto cotto, Feudo delle Ginestre’s fruit conserves, and 2009 NASFT national / sofitm award winner, RITROVO SELECTIONS’ AGED BALSAMIC VINEGAR, as well as with cheese-friendly crackers such as Tenuta Castello’s ‘Rubata’ grissini and Tenuta Cocevola’s taralli. All will be found at our stand this year, making for fantastic cheese pairings. 

However, this year we will also be sampling two special cheeses resulting from collaborations with U.S.-based cheese artisans. Mt Townsend ‘Trufflestack’ and Ballard Dairy Truffle cheddar are both made with the addition of our international favorite, Truffle & Salt, a RITROVO Selectiontm. 

 

These two co-creations are definitely worth coming to the RITROVO stand to taste. ‘Trufflestack’ is a national finalist for the 2010 sofitml award, for OUTSTANDING CHEESE of 2010.

Now, for a touch more cheesiness…

Cheese is a foundational element in Italian cooking, be it on the classic cheese plate or piatto di formaggi, or melted into a fonduta or frico, or used atop a pasta or risotto. 

Over the course of the year, here at RITROVO, cheese has been prominent in our culinary lives and events, beyond the 2010 SEATTLE CHEESE FESTIVAL: 

* Eating outstanding homemade pizza with mozarella, made by Craig Marocco (our gifted graphic artist and expert pizza chef) in his gorgeous backyard pizza oven. A favorite Marocco creation featured Siclian bottarga and Meyer lemon, Casina Rossa Sea & Salt, and Tenuta Cocevola extra virgin olive oil

* Serving crostini made with just-melted gorgonzola dolce cheese and our Feudo delle Ginestre Montepulciano d’Abruzzo grape chutney, served at the benefit and fundraiser for earthquake-affected victims of the Regione Abruzzo, sponsored by Pacific Lutheran University alumni

* Having a remarkable housemade focaccia stuffed with Bel paese cheese and drizzled with RITROVO SELECTIONS White Truffle Oil , causing oohs and ahhs during lunch lunch with Chef Walter Pisano at Tulio Ristorante;

* Presenting our Dr. Pescia honeys as condiments for taleggio, gorgonzola dolce, and parmiggiano reggiano cheeses at the TrueItalian event in Vancouver, British Columbia, judged by the Italian Olympic team

 

* Tasting the inspired combination of  three different cheeses with Maida wild Chicory and Dr. Pescia corbezzolo honeys, in a sandwich created by Louann Dobbs at her cheese store Foster & Dobbs in Portland, Oregon

 

* Eating real piadine flatbread topped with typical squaquerone cheese at our favorite wine bar, Ca de Ven, in Ravenna, Italy

Yes, it’s been a cheesy year. Buon Appetito, a tutti.

Ron and Ilyse

RITROVO

FULL CIRCLE

One of the ways we first got into a deeper appreciation of food in Italy—years before Ritrovo—was through shopping at our local farmer’s market at Piazza Alberone in Rome. The daily beckoning of fresh produce from the Roman countryside and the rest of Italy was a constant food inspiration. In winter there was the charred fragrance of red bell peppers roasting over embers in a giant metal drum, in Spring the delicate purple artichokes and tender fava bean pods marked the season’s beginning and in early summer the first voluptuous figs begged to be taken home for lunch. All of these stimulated us to cook, to savor, to eat seasonally, locally.

Many times over the years we have written of our devotion, here in Seattle, to our local farmer’s market network and the farms affiliated with it. Some of these connections were the impetus for our 2010 catalog’s featured theme of “Think Locally, Eat Globally”.

Thus we were delighted when one of our favorite local farms, Full Circle (www.fullcirclefarm.com) , approached us to ask if we would be interested in providing some of our products for their weekly produce delivery boxes. They began with Ritrovo Selections Truffle & Salt to feature with roasted squash during winter. Then this Spring they introduced our Tenuta Castello Carnaroli rice in which to enrobe the first asparagus of the season. And for Mother’s Day our Ritrovo Selections Balsamic Vinegar was paired with strawberries. How fulfilling, to partner with the same people who deliver our very own box of vegetables to our back porch every Wednesday morning. After 11 years, our products are offered through a beloved local farm to Seattle consumers of locally-raised produce.

Since our days in the Piazza Alberone, you could say we have come full circle.

We created this recipe for using the Full Circle Farms-grown red radishes, and inspired b our friends at Portland’s fabulous DOC Restaurant (www.docpdx.com) On a recent evening they served roasted radishes over spring pea vine puree with local greens. We just had to try the same technique of roasting with our own Wednesday morning radishes.

Roasted Radish Salad with Cherry Vinegar and Sweet & Salt

Ingredients:

One bunch fresh radishes
¼ cup Casina Rossa Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Acetorium cherry vinegar
1 tsp. Casina Rossa Sweet & Salt
Four cups fresh salad greens

Preheat oven to 375F. Wash and peel radishes. Cut into quarters. Place olive oil in a heavy baking dish.and set radishes, cut side down, atop oil. Toss lightly. Bake radishes until just soft, about 30 minutes. Add cherry vinegar. Toss the mixture with salad greens and serve immediately.

Tender Transitions

Ah, the sensations of spring’s arrival in the Pacific northwest… blossom-speckled breezes, sun-warmed smiles, and tender bites of pastel-green, local produce.

But until the passing of Easter, these sensations are capricious and teasing. It’s not quite time to drag out the grill and brush aside the residue of last year’s festivities in favor of this year’s. No, not just yet. You still have to hunt for signs of spring, pounce on what you can get, then savor your bounty as it appears in our seasonal markets.

Several regions of Italy also savor and even glorify the first tender green vegetable arrivals of Springtime. In Lazio, a classic blend of peas, artichokes, and baby favas makes its appearance as early as March after the first droopy black and white fava flowers have faded from local garden patches. Tender, fresh young fava beans are husked and eaten on Pasquetta (day-after-Easter) picnics in places like the Colli Albani, washed down with simple local white wine. In Sicily, the same classic blend is formed as a stew to be eaten with local bread, bathed in rich olive oil. And in the zone of Lucca in Tuscany a dish called garmugia may contain as many as four early spring vegetables (add asparagus to the three above) and derives its name from the Italian word germogli or “buds” for the first Sping emergences.

In order to try to make one of these seasonal dishes at home, I headed to Seattle’s Pike Place Market. I felt cautiously encouraged. Arriving early I found fresh but compact fava beans to inaugurate the coming of spring. These were flanked by respectful stackings of out-of-state artichokes, both small purple ones and large, flower-like green ones. In my opinion, California artichokes don’t compare to our painstakingly-cultivated Northwest ones, even if ours are still months away from harvest, alas. So I grabbed up a bulging bag of favas and headed home, with a transitional plan.

I planned to use some notable stand-ins in the mean time, for a tender transition…

A lovely red onion from our Full Circle Farm delivery formed the base of our Easter vegetable dish, sautéed along with some 2009 Michele Ferrante “Denocciolato” olive oil.  Then we tossed in the fresh favas from the Pike Place Market; bright green –even if frozen—peas; and finally the tenderest and most redolent of new growth and Spring renewal: baby artichokes from the Maida farm in Campania (to stand-in for the future local NW ones).  The result was fresh-tasting, bursting with a seasonal palette of pastel green and pinkish colors, and complex in vegetal and sweet flavors.

We served the vegetable mixture over a piadina and topped with a local poached egg. But the same mixture could be used to enliven a bowl of Biaitalia Corn Couscous or La Romagna Grattini pasta. Or, it could be used as the topping to a plate of La Romagna Saffron Stringozzi. Even a plate of poached local halibut would benefit from this side dish.

Tender Transitions “Spring” Salad

Ingredients:

¼ cup red onion, finely chopped

¼ cup diced prosciutto or speck

2 Tbsp. Michele Ferrante “Denocciolato” Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ cup white wine

3/4 cup fresh fava beans

½ cup frozen or fresh peas

¾ cup Maida baby artichokes

Pinch Casina Rossa Riserva Sea Salt

Pinch dry or fresh rosemary leaves

Saute onion and prosciutto in Ferrante extra virgin olive oil.  When onions are tender, pour in white wine. Add fava beans and peas and cook until slightly softened. Stir in artichokes, salt and rosemary leaves.  Taste and serve warm over pasta, bread, or seafood.

Several regions of Italy glorify the first tender green vegetable arrivals of Springtime. In Lazio, a classic blend of peas, artichokes, and baby favas makes its appearance in March after the first droopy black and white fava flowers have faded from local pea patches or orticelli. Tender, fresh young fava beans are husked and eaten on Pasquetta (day-after-Easter) picnics in places like the Colli Albani, washed down with simple local white wine. In Sicily, the same classic blend is formed as a stew to be eaten with local bread, bathed in rich olive oil. And in the zone of Lucca in Tuscany a dish called garmugia can contain as many as four spring vegetables (add asparagus to the three above) and dervies its name from the Italian word germogli or “buds” for the first Sping emergences.

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