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Buona lettura, your cookery writer
Monica
May I introduce myself?
I usually let the memories do the talking. At some point, however, I realized that there was, on the part of some, a desire to get to know me better. Besides, I hope my presentation will help you understand the upcoming changes to the newsletter.
A short while ago, I wrote that, after a cycle about the seasons, I was looking for new insights and a new road to walk together. And if I have to walk with someone, I like to know who is by my side.
And so.
I was born at the beginning of the Seventies in Imola, on the border between Emilia and Romagna. I have lived alone since the age of 22. And I have been working since I finished high school.
After the degree, I lived many lives and enjoyed them all:
journalist,
editor for an Italian publishing house,
public administrator in Imola.
Above all, I was and am a researcher in contemporary political history with a Ph.D. in History and Computer Science. During my career, I built several historical databases.
In particular, I have been concerned about the action of lobbies in Parliament and their influence on political decisions. The Historical Archives of the Italian Chamber of Deputies has included my work on Freemasonry among the landmark research on this topic.
I have worked extensively in women's history, allowing me to travel and meet people from diverse backgrounds.
A few years ago, a personal moment of difficulty generated a radical change (I wrote about it in that newsletter, Something Personal). Was what I was doing what I wanted? Or rather, was it a choice dictated by social and perhaps even family expectations?
Have you ever had to start over? An Italian aphorism claims that flying brings freedom. But no one mentions the broken bones you must heal before learning it.
Leave a comment to share your experience.
The turning point
I must admit that years ago I never thought that my passion and interest in food would come close to eclipsing how I felt about my chosen profession.
Lectures and seminars, exam committees, thesis, department meetings, and dealing with students have been crucial parts of my working life.
Reading, studying, researching, and living for months in some archive had always defined me.
After my short circuit, I found that cooking and the table now play that role.
Food not only feeds me, it enriches me and opens new perspectives and scenarios.
I also realized that the kitchen is a mighty historical archive. It is full of forgotten stories and voices, especially those of women and Italian immigrants.
In 2021, I attended a conference at Casa Artusi where I spoke about the role of the home kitchen in history and delivered a message that sounded something like this:
”Do you know where the revolution that will, perhaps, save the world will begin? From home kitchens”.
Quiet.
After a few years, many others support that thesis, and as I write, the process of recognizing Italian cuisine as a Unesco Intangible Heritage Site is underway.
Such is life.
What do I do today:
I left teaching at the university, although I continue researching food history, which, in my opinion, is always political history.
I got a culinary diploma in Florence.
I've had experience. I have catered some events, including a wedding buffet; I cooked breakfasts and lunches for two years in the family bed&breakfast.
I write this newsletter and am the voice of a blog about my region's recipes, memories, stories, and history.
I do themed speeches for national Institutions and Academies.
Since January, once a week, I have been going to a fresh pasta lab in Bologna to increase my skills.
My family does not understand what I'm doing now.
Gone are friends and acquaintances who no longer find me socially interesting (but something tells me it would be different if I had millions of followers). Sometimes, it is not easy for me either. Often, the kindest question I ask myself is, "What the hell did I do?"
Nonetheless.
Cook.
Study.
Smell.
Read.
Taste.
Write.
Eat.
Share.
For better or for worse, those actions are now the definition of the person who is writing.
And you know what I'm thinking?
That in this newsletter I would like to mix stories and history.
I mean the history I have always loved, studied, taught.
I always told my students that history is like a fresco, only made of words.
We have to understand and not memorize history. We cannot judge the actions of previous generations, who, by the way, acted following rules and values that were proper at the time. We can’t to rewrite it.
Instead of wasting time, we can do something useful: learn from it and not repeat the same mistakes.
Knowledge is the key to thinking as free people, and believe me, it is everything in an age that pushes toward uniformity and not thinking. And knowledge of cooking stories and things is even revolutionary (we'll talk about it!).
I hope you will still follow my newsletter among history, stories, family, life, and kitchen smells.
Please feel free to introduce yourself in a comment. I would be delighted to read it.
Fettuccine Alfredo
In the previous newsletter, accessible by clicking here, I conducted a poll to determine which recipe you wanted to find in the next one.
I received an equal number of votes for pasta and the main dish, and I will begin with the pasta.
I chose two recipes.
The first tells a story, and the latter belongs to my family repertoire.
If I say fettuccine Alfredo, what do you think of it?
Perhaps it takes you overseas on the wings of a carpet of buttery fettuccine.
About it, I'm sharing two things, and the second may be a surprise.
It is one of the signature dishes of Italian-American cuisine.
It was born in Italy in the early twentieth century.
Who is Alfredo?
Alfredo Di Lelio sees the light in Trastevere-Rome in the second half of the 19th century.
He soon began working in his mother's restaurant.
If you look on Google for the fettuccine Alfredo, you will read that Mr. Alfredo invented the fettuccine that bears his name.
And you will say, sorry, isn't pasta in bianco widespread since the Middle Ages?
Right observation!
What happens is that Alfredo Di Lelio becomes a dad in 1908 and nourishes his wife with some restorative pasta in bianco dishes.
The lady eats in the dining room, and, you can guess, the smell of butter and Parmigiano pasta is so good that the guests start to request it.
Mr. Alfredo, time by time, perfects his art by making the dish creamy, inviting, and voluptuous.
The dish gets on the restaurant's menu.
Thus, fettuccine (by) Alfredo was born.
Fettuccine Alfredo
The world's most buttery fettuccine is also about to become the most famous thanks to a fortunate encounter: that with Douglas Fairbanks (one of the founders of the Academy Awards, which has been giving out Oscars since 1929) and Mary Pickford, two of Hollywood's silent film stars.
The two famous and beloved American actors enjoy fettuccine at Via della Scrofa eatery that Alfredo opened in 1914 after moving from the historic Piazza Rosa location (where the Alberto Sordi Gallery stands today, near Parliament).
Once back in Los Angeles, the couple told the recipe and determined its success.
The dish changed slightly in the U.S. with the introduction of heavy cream.
In 1927, on the occasion of a second visit to Rome, the two gave Mister Alfredo two solid gold cutlery with a dedication, "To Alfredo the King of the noodles."
The gift recalls the cutlery the Roman restaurateur uses in the dining room to whip fettuccine.
In the following decades, many Americans passing through the Capital enjoyed and appreciated the Italian specialty, increasing its fame in the States.
The restaurant, meanwhile, has moved again, and Mr. Di Lelio gives up his name and business to some former employees. But after a few years, it reopens in a different location.
That's why today you can enjoy fettuccine at Alfredo's on Via della Scrofa and at Il Vero Alfredo (also known abroad as Alfredo di Roma) on Piazza Augusto Imperatore No. 30.
Or you can prepare it at home.
Did you know the true history of fettuccine Alfredo?
Something about the recipe
Several Italian cookbooks began to include the dish in the 1940s. The name of the specialty, however, does not refer to Alfredo but to the amount of butter needed to make them creamy.
It is a staple recipe made with a few ingredients, and fresh egg pasta is the absolute protagonist. Butter and Parmigiano Reggiano are the co-stars in a ballad where the queen is and must remain the fettuccina. In the original version, you don't find pepper or even pasta cooking water (which I included to reduce the amount of butter).
I am not leaving you the anonymous photograph of the pasta I ate.
I prefer to share the (short) video that Elisabeth Minchilli made at Il Vero Alfredo.
The gestures speak more eloquently and poetically than a thousand explanations. That twirling of the pasta between cutlery and dish is the authentic secret to making pasta in bianco al bacio, whether fettuccine, tagliatelle, or dry pasta.
Watch the video, I think it deserves it!
Recipe. Fettuccine Alfredo (or the perfect pasta in bianco) / My heretical version
Serves 4
Ingredients
a large ceramic terrine
high-quality butter, 125 g
fettuccine pasta, 280 g
pasta cooking water, 1 cup
grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 100 g
Method
Preheat the oven to 130C degrees (266F) and then place the dish inside.
Soften the chopped butter outside the refrigerator for an hour or more.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water.
Scoop out the cooking water with a ladle until it fills a cup.
Arrange the chopped butter in the bottom of the warm serving dish.
Drain the fettuccine, arrange them on the serving dish, and cover with an even layer of Parmigiano.
Helping yourself with a fork and spoon, start stirring the pasta, using the spoon to lift the melted butter from the bottom of the dish. If needed, which I needed, add a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water.
Imitate the gestures from the video at the table and entertain your hungry guests.
Spaghetti with creamy zucchini
Talking about simple flavors.
This recipe has been part of my family repertoire for as long as I can remember.
Over the decades, it has changed slightly.
First, it welcomed lemon zest in two variations:
grated fresh and mixed with the Parmigiano of the final sprinkling,
cut into thin fillets cooked with zucchini (which I suggest).
Next, also the bay leaf, which, let me tell you, cannot and should not be missing (unless your palate dislikes it).
Recipe. Spaghetti with creamy zucchini
Serves 4
Ingredients
zucchini, 600 g
butter, 60 g
olive oil, 3 tablespoons
fresh or dried bay leaves, 6 leaves
yellow onion, a small piece
chopped fresh parsley, 10 g
salt, to taste
lemon zest fillets, about 10 g
fine breadcrumbs, 30 g
spaghetti, 320 g
pasta cooking water, 1 cup
grated parmesan cheese, 50 g
Method
Wash zucchini, remove ends, and cut into rounds. Set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter with olive oil over low heat on a small stove.
I mix olive oil and butter to enhance flavor and creaminess in dishes, a trick passed down from my grandmother. In addition, olive oil delays the moment the butter starts to burn.
Put bay leaves and a small piece of onion without the peel in the pan.
The onion transfers its flavor to the base without annoying those who cannot eat it. You can also do the same thing with garlic (but not in this recipe! The zucchina absorbs the flavors with which it comes in contact, and garlic would lead you toward a different taste than in this dish).
After two minutes, add the parsley, stir, and add a pinch of salt. It helps the aromatic to lose its water without burning.
After another minute, add half of the lemon fillets and the sliced zucchini. Add a pinch of salt again and mix.
Add 10 g of breadcrumbs to the zucchini. Raise the flame of the small stove slightly and continue cooking for 10 minutes uncovered. Stir and keep your eye on the pan. The zucchini should be soft (not almost melted). Turn off as soon as the miracle is accomplished.
At this point, with the heat off, taste, and according to your palate, if necessary, adjust the salt.
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water, setting aside 1 cup of the cooking water.
Drain the pasta, but don't forget to put away a cup of the cooking water.
Pour the spaghetti into the pan.
Stir on medium flame to mix pasta and zucchini.
Add what remains of the bread crumbs and lemon zest, one or two tablespoons of the pasta cooking water, and stir.
Turn off, add the Parmesan cheese, and mix with one last vigorous spoon stroke. If they seem dry, use cooking pasta water.
Bring to the table with Parmigiano aside.
Thanks for Reading
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