Italian Cooking and Religion: Part I — Why 'La Cucina' is like the Bible

In the beginning there was the word and the word was La Cucina. Our regional Italian cooking adventure began with this cookbook and I think now, after some six or seven months of cooking from its pages, we should pause and reflect on the cookbook and how well it has performed.

For my part, I have found the cookbook (so far) to be a mixture of the instructive, the enlightening, the quaint and the bizarre. For example, I now know that pizza di verdure is best served the day after it is made, reheated in a frying pan with a little oil. I have admired the many different uses to which bran can be put. I have enjoyed the effects of the mixture of Germanic and Italic cuisine in the border regions. I have been ever shocked at just how much butter, cream and lard appear in everything.

The cookbook has a special place in our hearts. Yet, from time to time, it lacks enough specificity to deal with real-world cooking problems, such as that vexed question, how big is a ‘large’ sweet potato? And so we have found ourselves dipping into other sources, looking at other recipes for instruction. It’s not that we have lost faith. It’s just that we have realised one book cannot hold the answer to everything.

And for those reasons, I have come to the realisation that La Cucina is like the Bible. We accept its central place in setting out the important foundations of the culinary traditions we are looking at; yet, at the same time, we realise that some of the recipes are, as it were, ‘out of touch’ with our modern views. Mammella di mucca (cow’s udders cured in brine) is as incongruous in twenty-first century Australia as is the biblical injunction not to wear clothes of mixed fabrics.*

I also hope, that, like the Bible, La Cucina gets better as it progresses and that the ‘new testament’ recipes from the central and southern regions are less austere and more lively than most of the northern regions’ offerings.

* Instructions on the preparation of mammella di mucca can be found on p 43 of La Cucina. The biblical injunction referred to comes from Leviticus (of course) 19:19—‘Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.’

Size does matter...when it comes to Sweet Potatoes

When I saw the recipe for a sweet potato cake for our Venice lunch I thought "awesome - vegetables and sugar together". The recipe looked so simple - some flour, sugar, eggs, bit of butter, apples and raisins... and four large sweet potatoes.

I didn't think about having a  conversation with myself full of double entendre about "what is large?" I just went down to woolies, bought the four largest sweet potatoes I could (totalling to 2.2kg) and went through with the recipe. The result was mashed sweet potato that had been cooked for an hour and was a bit brown around the edges.

When I unclipped the spring cake tin, the cake sunk by about an inch and spread on the plate.

So it made me think - what is large?

Well it turns out a very similar recipe suggests 2 cups of cooked peeled sweet potato. Once again, the book needs to be verified.

Buon Natale - Veneto

Trentino/Alta Adige

Trentino, it would appear, has had the kind of Austro-Hungarian/Italian battle of ownership that Alsace Lorraine has had. Originally conquered by the Romans, it was then taken by The Hapsburg Empire in 1363, and remained under Austrian rule until the end of World War I when it was given to the Italians. Mussolini, who was not afraid of extreme changes and rewriting history where it suited him, began the Italianization (which should always be written in Italics) of the area. During World War II, it was used by the Nazis as the Operation Zone of the Alpine Foothills. It is now an Autonomous Region of Italy.

But what about the food?

We are proud to say that the entree of Potato cake (giant potato hashbrown) and Radicchio salad were both BUTTER FREE. To continue the amazement, the main was also SENZA BURRO! We're practically losing weight by eating this...

The Meal consisted of:
Potato cake - which as Sikeli described as "Fancy McDonalds Hashbrown" and, lets face it, who doesn't like Maccas Hashbrowns?

Potato Cakes

Radicchio salad


Beef Goulash & Spatzle (Gnocchetti di farina) with Red Cabbage Timbale

Followed by Melissa's amazing Apple strudle

Lega Sud

Many of you would know about the Lega Nord, the crazy right wing political party in the North of Italy that wants to cut the peninsula in half to separate the north from the south. The reasons for this are based on economics and immigration from North Africa.

I however, after eating food from 4 regions -  Piedmont, Liguria (actually Liguria was good), Valle D'Aosta and Lombardia - have come to the conclusion that I would like to create a culinary Lega Sud, where Italian food focuses on the regions of the South and separates itself from the North. The Northern cuisine, afterall, is focused on French cuisine, with far too much butter and not enough tomatoes or oil.

April - Lombardia

Lombardia's capital is Milan. It's cuisine has more rice (Arborio is the type used in Risotto) than other regions, and butter is used more so than olive oil, due to it's border with France.

Our Meal

Saffron Risotto

Roast Beef cooked in Milk

Apple Charlotte - before being cooked.

Throughout the preparation of the meal, we continued playing Blokus, which is in no way related to Lombardia, but is great fun none the less.

March - Liguria

Here are some things we know about Liguria*:

1. It is Christopher Columbus' birthplace 

2. Traces of the Neanderthal Man were found here

3. The city was awarded a gold medal for military valour in WWII for its struggle against German occupation 

More importantly, it's the land where foccacia, meringues, pesto, panettone and other such yummy things originate.  After all, Genova is the capital and Liguria is best known for the Cinque Terre aka the Italian Riveria and as such, knows how to have a good time.

And so do we. Or at least, we know how to eat. 

So, the menu for Liguria was: 

1. Triofie al Pesto (both nut and nut-free versions for yours truly)

2. Veal roll-ups and stuffed zucchini 

3. Olive oil raspberry cake with meringue topping (not from our Cucina Italian cookbook but thanks to Martha Stewart)

Yum yum in my tum... 

*Souce: Wikipedia (ie read: disclaimer for not-my-fault-if-this-is-not-strictly-factually-true).