A number of years ago, a young American student spending his junior year in Rome failed to doff his hat somewhere men were expected to, and a policeman in uniform asked him to. The guy did, but in typical snooty student fashion muttered something about pigs under his breath as he obeyed. Big mistake: The cop understood English and arrested him for insulting a public official. Every country has its laws, and Italy frowns upon those who insult public officials who are merely carrying out their duties. This does make sense if you think about it, because violence frequently begins with insults that then get out of hand, and at a higher level a well-orchestrated attack can be used to attempt to influence a magistrate or judge who proves insensible to bribery or other forms of coercion.

If misused, however, the law can become grotesque. Last week a group of Neapolitans who had been found guilty child molesting were released, despite the objections of the prosecutor, from protective custody pending the outcome of the appeal (there wasn't any doubt about their guilt, but the Italian judicial system requires an appeal, and in many cases a second appeal as well before the sentence can be served). With no place else to go, they returned to the same crime-ridden neighborhood they shared with their victims; within a day two were dead, likely killed by local Dons bent on meting out justice or simply related to the boys, while the rest were either hiding under their mattresses or had simply vanished.

This outcome, as the newspapers all said, was quite predictable, and is doubtless why the prosecutor objected to the men's release. The neighborhood's parish priest, however, went further, and said that if the people who released the men had failed to foresee this possible outcome, then perhaps they were not competent to hold the posts they have and should think about doing something else. Now he's under investigation for insulting public officials. And in the meantime, the surviving child molesters have been arrested and imprisoned under new charges.

At last, protection for traditional foods!

Not all is grim this week, however. I have often written about the dangers the EEU health bureaucracy poses to traditional gastronomic preparations, by demanding that artisans adopt industrial techniques and equipment that cannot help but compromise the product, in the name of "sanitation" -- for example, that the producers of lardo di Colonnata, a heavenly cured lard made in the Apuan Alps, do the curing in steel vats rather than the stone tubs they've been using for centuries. Well, the Italians have found a workaround: Products made only for local consumption need not meet the EEU requirements. Therefore, the guy who uses stone tubs for his lard can continue to do so, provided he doesn't sell beyond the Italian borders. Likewise, the cheese maker who cannot put separate men's and women's bathrooms (another EEU requirement) in the barn where he makes his cheese in the high Alps (for whatever reason) can continue to operate. This is a major victory for both taste and common sense, and is one more reason to visit!

Florentine Hotels & Restaurants

Moving on to other things, Jayne writes, "I would like to recommend a wonderful restaurant in the center of Florence, the Buca Lapi, between the station (SMN) and the Duomo. It's hard to find; if you are walking on the main street from the station towards the market/Duomo, you can stop in any bar and ask directions, or, since it is said to be the oldest restaurant in Florence, any hotel concierge should be able to give directions. Buca Lapi has a Bistecca alla Fiorentina second to none and many other Tuscan/Florentine specialties."

And Mort writes, "Florence's Adria 2 Hotel is a jewel of a budget hotel conveniently located near the Arno River, the American Consulate and the city's opera house. It's just a fifteen-minute walk to the city center, the Ponte Vecchio, the churches, museums and shopping. An electric bus also runs by every fifteen minutes and stops at several popular locations in central Florence. The hotel is owned and operated by Leo and Annabella Porzio and their son, Cristiano, who are very responsive and accommodating to guests. Moreover, as natives of Florence, they are very knowledgeable about the shops, restaurants and markets and other places that the locals frequent but visitors miss. Leo speaks perfect English.

"Contact: Leo Porzio, Adria 2 Hotel, Via Montebello, 49, Florence 50123, Italy; phone: 011-39-55-212-086; fax: 011-39-55-215-029; e-mail: adria2@dada.it."

A Hundred Tuscan Tables

While we're on the subject of food and travel, the English edition of Leonardo Romanelli's Cento Tavole in Toscana, A Hundred Tuscan Tables, is just out from Edizioni Aida. Leonardo is head of Florence's chapter of the Slow Food movement and a professor at the hostelry school besides; his suggestions are excellent -- I tried a few as I was translating the book. Aida has not yet succeeded in getting the book listed by the American Internet bookshops, but you should be able to find it, and its companion volume dedicated to 100 Tuscan vintners, in any bookstore in Tuscany that sells English-language books. The ISBN numbers are 88-8329-003-8 and 88-8329-004-6. Highly recommended. Aida's website (they have a number of interesting publications) is http://www.aidanet.com.

And, you can get it from an Italian site, as Paul Brodie kindly says:

By the way - I DID find a copy of Leonardo Romanelli's book for sale on the internet. If you go to Internet Bookshop Italia at: http://www.internetbookshop.it/hme/hmepge.asp , click on the button at the top of the page marked "Ricerca Completa", then put the title "Hundred Tuscan Tables" into the Titolo field, you will find the book, priced reasonably at ITL 14,000.

I've dealt with this company, and they are exceedingly helpful and friendly. I have actually ordered two books from them: the Gambero Rosso Ristorante d'Italia, and the ACI Guida Touring.

Folks using this site should know that:

1) Shipping can be expensive. They charge 34% of the value of the order to ship to the US and Canada, minimum of ITL 19,500, maximum of ITL 50,000. They do ship FEDEX, so your order comes in a few days. In this case, you'd wind up paying the minimum shipping, so it would cost a total of ITL 33,500 for the book. Since the shipping is more than the cost of the book, I think that I'll wait until I get to Italy to buy it!

2) The site is only in Italian. I tried to use it the first time, but my Italian wasn't good enough to figure things out. I then e-mailed them (in English), and they answered me back by e-mail. They placed the order, gave me a number, then requested my credit card number to complete the order. They give you the choice of e-mail (not too secure) or fax (better choice) to send the credit card number. I faxed mine over, got an e-mail confirmation, and I'm enjoying the books!

Finally, a few recipes. This no-fail gnocchi recipe comes from Leatrice, who writes,

"I thought I'd send you a *no-fail* recipe that's shockingly easy. Generally I'm not a "short-cut cook" but I think you'll agree that this is the way to go. The recipe was passed on to me from my sister-in-law, who is married to a Sicilian, and it was given to him by his Italian restaurant-owner friends."

GNOCCHI (depending on how much you like to eat serves 2)

• Mix: 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup water
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 teaspoon soft butter

Whir this at low speed in a food processor.

In another bowl mix:

• 2 cups instant potato flakes
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 salt
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

"Add this mixture to processor and mix at low speed until dough forms.

"Flour hands and table and knead dough then roll out flat, cut into strips and roll the strips into ropes. Cut the ropes into bite-sized pieces and roll each piece with the tines of the fork (for that "gnocchi look"). Boil in salted water for about 3-5 minutes. Drain with slotted spoon rather than a colander because they are a bit delicate. Add sauce of your choice.

"You can play around with the dough by adding parmesan, minced sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, whatever takes your fancy."

Made with good quality potatoes this will be quite good; about the only change I'd make is to use fresh rather than dried herbs.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

Torta di Ricotta

I've had a number of requests for a torta di ricotta, ricotta pie, of late. Like all other traditional recipes, there are many variations to this, some simple and others quite complex. This Neapolitan version is on the complex side, and is drawn from Caròla Francesconi's La Cucina Napoletana.

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups (250 g) flour

2/3 cup (125 g) unsalted butter or rendered lard

2/3 cup (125 g) sugar

3 yolks

For the filling:

2/3 pound (300 g) fresh ricotta

2/3 cup (125 g) sugar

The grated zest of half an orange

2 yolks

1/4 pound (100 g) finely minced candied melon peel -- you can use other candied fruit if need be

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the four and sugar and cream the butter. Combine the ingredients of the dough, using a pastry cutter and working the dough as little as possible with your hands. Form it into a ball and let it sit in a cool place for an hour.

In the meantime, put the ricotta through a strainer, combine it with the sugar, and beat the mixture with a fork until it is smooth and creamy. Lightly beat the yolks and work them into the mixture a bit at a time, and finally stir in the minced candied fruit.

Divide the dough into two unequal pieces. Use the larger one to line a buttered 8-inch pie pan. Fill the pie with the filling, cover it with the second piece of crust, tamping down around the edges, and bake it in a moderate oven for about an hour. Let it cool, remove it from the pie pan, and dust it with powdered sugar.

This Sienese version, once an Easter treat but now made year round, is drawn from Giovanni Righi Parenti's La Cucina Toscana. It will come out much simpler, though the recipe is harder to follow:

Begin by making a dough from 1 cup flour, three yolks (reserve the whites), 1/2 cup less 2 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, and 1/2 cup less 2 tablespoons (70 g) sugar.

Spread it in a well-buttered pie pan, covering both bottoms and sides.

Bake the crust.

In the meantime, prepare the filling; take about a pound of ricotta and put it through a strainer, adding sugar to taste. Separate three more eggs, lightly whip the yolks, and combine them with the ricotta, then whip the whites to soft peaks and fold them into the ricotta mixture too. Fill the pie crust with the filling, dot the pie with candied roasted almonds and walnuts, and bake everything for about 10 minutes more, to give the eggs time to set. Dust the pie with powdered sugar and sprinkle it with cocoa powder as soon as you remove it from the oven.

Serve with Vinsanto.

For making the dough follow Mrs. Francesconi's instructions. Mr. Parenti doesn't give a pan size; I'd guess 8-inches. Nor an oven temperature; for baking the crust I'd go with 400 F (200 C) for about 10-15 minutes, and for the filling I'd reduce the heat to 350 F (175 C). You don't want the ricotta to brown.

A printer-friendly version of these recipes.

Thanks for visiting, and have a wonderful day!
Kyle Phillips

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