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Traditional recipes from Florence: Grapes Cake

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Coming back from the summer holidays, the Florentines and all the ihnabitants of the Chianti area soothe themselves with the coming of  “Canaiolo” grapes, a particular kind of grapes from central Italy, and with a special cake prepared using it – the typical “schiacciata con l”uva”. It’s a very simple dessert, done with the same mixture as bread with a little oil and so and sooo much of grapes. Every bakery has its special and unique recipe, some use anise, some add more sugar, some less. The recipe we report here it’s not too sweet, it’s enriched with a glance of anise, and in the end it’s not too thick. By the way, a real “schiacciata con l’uva” must dirty your hands with the grapes sticky purple and must leave all the little seeds in your mouth (never use seedles grapes)!!!!

(For a thin backing-tin of about 30×23 cm)

Ingredients

  • 350 gr of flour
  • 15 gr of brewer’s yeast
  • sugar
  • salt
  • extra virgin olives oil
  • 1,2 kg of Canaiolo grapes
  • anise seeds

Method

Let the brewer’s yeast melt in a bowl with some tepid water. Add some flour, and start to mix with one hand. Add some salt and some sugar. Then put the mixture on a pastry board and work it until it appears to be firm (if necessary, add some flour in the beginning of the process). Add a spoonful of oil and keep working it for at least 20 minutes. Grease a bowl and put the mixture inside, covering with foil (without sealing it).  Wait until it gows double its size.

In the meantime, wash the grapes and dry it.

When the mixture is grown, put it in a pastry board (which has to be covered previously with some flour). Grease a backing tin with oil and let half of the mixture cover it (the other half must remain outside the tin). Now, put on it two-thirds of the grapes and 2-3 spoonfuls of sugar, a little anise and a spoonful of olive oil. Fold it with the other part of the mixture, push it on the whole surface and add the rest of the grapes. Another time, add sugar, anise and olive oil. Push it again and cook in a pre-heat oven at 180°C for 45-60 minutes.

Learn the secrets of the Florentine cuisine with the Institute Galilei’s cooking courses!

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Traditional recipes from Florence: the “Ribollita”!

Friday, March 6th, 2009

The Italian Cuisine is famous all over the world for its full tastes and unforgettable dishes: how could someone forget the taste of Lasagne, Pizza or Pesto?
With hundreds of different recipes, which can be different from region to region, lovely smells and genuine
ingredients, coming to the “Belpaese” will be a wonderful experience for your palates!

But why not learn how to prepare something by yourself? It’s easier than it seems! Let’s start with a special recipe coming directly from Tuscany, the heart of Italy: ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you the “Ribollita”.
Well, the name could sound quite strange and actually means “re-boiled”, beacuse during the poor periods the Italian farmers used to cook it on Friday and to reheat it on Saturday in order to have something to eat until Sunday. It’s a simple stale bread and vegetable soup.

INGREDIENTS
500 g stale Tuscan bread (not salty, really important)
300 g dried white beans
250 g ripe tomatoes
3 carrot
1 Tuscan black cabbage
3 potato
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 stalk of celery
a few springs of parseley
thyme
extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
chilli powder

LA RIBOLLITA
There are many versions of this traditional Tuscan dish, depending on the season and the availability of the ingredients. Start by preparing a good bean soup. Leave the dried beans tio steep for at least 12 hours, then drain them. Cover with fresh water and cook over a low heat in a covered pot. Meanwhile in a pan cook the diced onion, carrot and celery in a little oil. Add the crushed garlic, the skinned and chopped tomatoes, the red chilli and the thyme and after about 5 minutes add the potatoes cut into small cubes and the thinly sliced cabbage. Cook over a low heat, adding a little water. Pass the beans and their liquid through a food mill and add this mixture to the vegetables. Check the seasoning just before removing from the heat, after about 20 minutes. meanwhile, in a large ovenproof dish arrange two thin layers of bread and pour the soup over them. Make another two layers of bread and cover with more soup. The ribollita is obtained by reheating the soup over a very low heat. Make a dent in the centre, add some olive oil and boil very slowly, protecting the pot with a heat-diffuser plate.

Try it and you will be surprised – absolutely delicious!

This recipe is included in the Italian cooking course  “Da Lino” offered by the Institute Galilei.

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