Cucina DiBella

Pane Toscano

If there's one thing that has always intimidated me about cooking, it's yeast.  I had some pretty unsavory results from my first attempts at dough making. Recently I've tried to overcome this, first getting my toes wet with some simple pizza dough and then moving up to loaves of fresh bread.  My first attempt at bread was a Pane Toscano.  It's a little time consuming, taking over 24 hours.  You have to first make what's called a "sponge" that is a starter dough.  Despite this extra step, with only flour, water, and yeast, it's pretty straightforward; the perfect recipe for a first attempt at fresh bread.

 

If the ingredient list looks a little plain, that's because it is. Pane Toscano is a traditional bread from Tuscany.  It has no salt, giving it a very bland flavor.  This isn't as much of a tragedy as it sounds though, because the bread isn't really meant to be eaten alone.  Instead, it is dipped in olive oil or used as a base for fettunta. Check out the next post for some other ideas for how to use Pane Toscano!

 

Pane Toscano

Makes 1 loaf

Adapted from Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito  

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup all-purpose flour

For the dough:

1/2 package active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Procedure:

1. Begin by making the sponge. Pour the warm water into a bowl.  Sprinkles 1 package yeast over the water and let sit for 10 minutes to get foamy.  Add the flour and stir well to combine.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 24 hours in a warm spot.
2. After 24 hours, continue to make the dough.  Pour 1/4 cup of the warm water in a bowl.  Sprinkle the 1/2 package of yeast over the water and let sit for 10 minutes.  Add the remaining 1 cup warm water and the sponge and mix it well with your hands to incorporate the water into the sponge.   Add 3 1/2 cups of flour and mix well.  Continue adding flour a little at a time until you can form a soft ball with the dough.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.  Lightly coat a bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the oiled bowl and turn it over so that the dough coats in oil as well.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 3-4 hours to rise.  The dough should double in size.
4. Take the dough out of the bowl and form it into a round loaf shape.  Place the loaf on a greased baking sheet and let rise for 35 minutes.  If desired, brush the loaf with an eggwash to produce a golden color. 
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the bread loaf for about 35-40 minutes until it is golden brown on top. 

Ryan's rating of Pane Toscano - 5.  I think it's time to try some more bread recipes!

1 - Awful. If you make this again I'll shove a fork in my eye.

2 - Meh. It's not my favorite, but I won't threaten self-harm if it shows up
again.

3 - Good. I wouldn't feel forced to order a pizza behind your back.

4 - Great! I will fight you for the leftovers.

5 - Love it! Make it again tomorrow. Or immediately and I will bathe in
it.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

This is something I have been waiting to make ever since the idea for this blog came to form.  I love biscotti, particularly with a cup of espresso.  While biscotti is another one of those ambiguous Italian foods that doesn't have a clear place of origin, it is a very commonly consumed dessert in Tuscany.    Twice baked, biscotti are a hard cookie that in Tuscany is typically eaten with Vin Santo, a sweet dessert wine.

Personally, I was super excited to make biscotti.  This was my first attempt, and I was looking at it as a run through for the holiday season.  You can make all kind of biscotti, and my plan is to make several different kinds (cranberry with white chocolate, milk chocolate with orange flavor, white chocolate with crushed peppermint) and give them out in nice tins for Christmas gifts.  This recipe was definitely easy enough and delicious enough to make for the holidays!

Almond Biscotti

Adapted from Joy of Baking

-makes 15-18 biscotti-

Ingredients:

1 cup whole almonds

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Process:

1. If your almonds are not already roasted - preheat the oven to 350.  Toast the almonds lightly for about 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degreed.  Chop the almonds coarsely.
2. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla and almond extracts.  Set aside.
3. In a the bowl of an electric mixer, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Mix for 30 seconds to combine.  Slowly add in the egg mixture.  Beat until a dough forms, adding the almonds about half way through. 
4. Grease a cookie sheet.  Put the dough onto the cookie sheet and form into a rectangle, about 3 to 4 inches wide and about 14 inches long.  The dough will expand when cooked.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes on a rack.  Using a cutting board and a serrated knife, cut the biscotti into slices about 1/2 inch thick.  To make them look fancier, you can cut them on a diagonal.
6. Return to the cookie sheet and bake for another 10 minutes.  Flip the biscotti over and bake 10 minutes on the other side.
7. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.  Either dip half the biscotti in the chocolate, or drizzle the chocolate over the biscotti.  Let the chocolate set before eating.

Ryan's rating of Almond Biscotti - 4

Florentine Style Sole

Exploring the cuisine of Tuscany and it's most well known city, Florence, has given me the chance to make a new fish entree.  Generally when Ryan and I cook fish, it is breaded tilapia.  It was great to get a new recipe that features both a new kind of fish and a new way of cooking it.  Served on a bed of spinach, this dish is pretty good for you as well (with the exception of the bechamel sauce served over it).  Even with a heavier milk sauce though, this dish stayed light.  Florentine Style Sole was definitely a hit with us!

Florentine Style Sole

Adapted from Amuse Bouche

-Serves 4-

Ingredients:

1 pound spinach

salt and pepper

1 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/8 cup flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 sole fillets (or flounder, haddock, or any other flaky white fish)

flour for dredging

1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Rinse the spinach.  Still wet, move to a pan and sprinkle with salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until the spinach is wilted.  Spread the spinach out on the bottom of a baking pan.
3. Make a bechamel sauce.  Heat the milk in a small saucepan, but do not let boil.  In a separate saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the flour and whisk until lumps are removed.  Slowly add the heated milk.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let simmer until the sauce thickens.
4. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Salt and pepper the fish.  Dredge in flour. Saute the fish for several minutes on either side until a light golden brown color. 
5. Lay the fish in a single layer over the spinach in the baking pan. Pour the bechamel sauce over the fish.  Top with the parmigiano cheese.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown in color.  Serve hot.

Ryan's rating of Florentine Style Sole - 5.  Either I'm hitting my stride, or the last few regions have really given me some great recipes to work with!

Tuscan Potato Soup

This Tuscan soup is perfect for a first course, but can also be used as a meal since it includes hearty ingredients like sausage and potato.  Now, I also want to emphasize that this is NOT the soup from the Olive Garden.  Though it is very similar, I am an Italian food snob and want to make it known that this recipe was not based on the Olive Garden recipe, though it's possible that the Olive Garden soup was based on this Tuscan recipe.

Anyway, this soup is a great winter soup.  With the cream added to the broth, it is slightly thicker, and the addition of hot Italian sausage really gives the soup a kick.  If you don't eat red meat, you could easily substitute ground chicken or turkey and just add some powdered mustard and cayenne to get that same kick.  This was a quick meal as well.  I never expect soups to be quick, but now I have two speedy soups in my arsenal!

Tuscan Potato Soup

Adapted from All Recipes

-Serves 6-

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 links hot Italian sausage

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

6 cups chicken stock

2 large yellow potatoes, cubed

1 1/2 cups kale, chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream at room temperature

salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Remove the skin from the sausage and crumble the meat into the skillet.  Add the onion and cook until the meat is no longer pink.
2. Move the meat and onions into a large pot.  Add the stock and potatoes and bring to a boil.  Boil until the potatoes are tender.
3. Add in the kale and boil until the kale is lightly cooked, about another 5 minutes.
4. Turn the heat down to low.  Stir in the heavy cream.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve hot.

Ryan's rating of Tuscan Potato Soup: 5.

Fettunta (aka Bruschetta)

One of my Italian language pet peeves is when people mispronounce the word bruschetta.  The correct Italian pronunciation of bruschetta is broo-SKEH-tah, rather than the American pronunciation of broo-SHEH-tah.  However, we don't need to worry about pronunciation at all today because Cucina DiBella is moving into the region of Tuscany, or Toscana, where bruschetta is actually called fettunta.

Wherever you eat it, bruschetta or fettunta is really the original garlic bread.  Slices of bread drizzled with olive oil, toasted and then rubbed with garlic create the base for any version of fettunta.  However, from there you can get creative.  Most versions of bruschetta in America includes tomatoes.  The toppings for bruschetta can really be anything though.  Olives, roasted red peppers or cheese all make great fettunta toppings.  My personal favorite is a mixture of tomatoes, black olives, fresh mozzarella, basil, and olive oil.

 

  

Fettunta (Bruschetta)

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread or similar Italian bread

1 garlic clove

olive oil for drizzling

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 cup black pitted olives, chopped

2-3 ounces fresh mozzarella, cubed

4-5 leaves fresh basil, minced or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Slice the loaf of bread on a diagonal into about 1/2 inch slices.  Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for several minutes until lightly toasted, flipping the bread halfway through.  Peel the garlic clove and rub on one side of each slice of bread.
2. Combine the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil in a bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spoon some of the tomato mixture onto each slice of bread.

Ryan's rating of Fettunta - Actually, Ryan didn't have any of this.  I made some for lunch and didn't leave any for him! So, I'll have to give you my rating, which is a 4.  It would be a 5, but I didn't have fresh basil at home, so I had to use dried instead.