Liguria- the Home of Pesto and 2 Quick Dinners

          

    My mother has one brother- my Zio Franco. GianFranco is 12 years younger than my mom and was just hitting adolescence when his big sister married an American soldier and moved to "America" (say that with a beautifully rolled "R"). Franco was a very bright boy and grew up wanting to be a pilot. This love of airplanes came from his Papa. My grandfather was always fascinated with planes. When his only daughter flew away to the other side of the world, he brought his camera to the airport. In going through these old pictures, I noted that there were as many shots of the plane on the runway as there were of the people who were there to bid Maria Grazia farewell. Throughout my childhood memories of summers with my grandparents are woven wonderful memories of weekly drives my Nonno took me on to the local airfield. He loved to converse with the pilots and never failed to tell whoever he was speaking to that I was his American grand-daughter. To my Nonno, having a loved one living in America was VERY special and a source of great pride.


     One time he was stopped for speeding. Now this, in itself, is incredible. if you've ever been on the roads in Europe, you know that there really is no such thing as a speed limit. Anyway, Nonno told the policeman that HE couldn't possibly get a ticket because HE had a daughter who lived in America! I'm quite sure that was a new excuse for the officer!

I was about 3 1/2 years old in this picture with my Nonno at the airfield

   GianFranco grew up, joined the Italian Air Force and flew fighter jets. My Nonno was the proudest Papa you've ever seen.

Zio Franco circa 1965 in the Academy

These were taken October 1966

        Eventually, after leaving the Air Force, Franco became a pilot Captain with ATI which is a subsidiary of Alitalia Airlines. He met and married a stunning girl named Luciana. I remember meeting my soon-to-be Zia Luciana for the first time and being awe struck. She was a stunning, statuesque girl (could have been a model) and as sweet as could be. She was also an incredible cook. To this day, one of my aunt and uncle's favorite things to do is have a beautiful dinner in a fine restaurant, then go home and replicate it.

I am 9 years old and standing behind Zia Luciana and her first-born, my cousin GianMarco

         Some of my best dishes and techniques are the ones I learned from watching her. She was the Queen of the 10 minute dinners as she called them- she could whip up a fabulous dinner in a snap after we spent the day shopping the furniture and antique markets. (we also shared a love of interior design) <3

 Today I'm going to share 2 VERY quick, but satisfying dishes- one that can be ready in the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta. The other is also quick to put together , but takes an hour in the oven. It can be made ahead and served at room temperature for a wonderful lunch or light dinner. Add a salad, some wonderful crusty bread, and a glass of wine and you'll feel like you're sitting on the terrace of an Italian villa feeling your daily stress melt away.

         Liguria is the smallest of the 13 regions of Italy and is mainly comprised of narrow strips of land between mountains and sea. This land produces the most flavorful basil, exceptional olive oil, and due to the richness of algae and strong currents, the tastiest fish. It is known as the original "home of the Pesto Sauce". Traditional Ligurian dishes are known for being very flavorful due to a blend of intense flavors. While the daily dishes tend to be simple (though flavorful), the region is also known for dishes such as "cappon magro" or thin capon. It's a laborious construction in the form of a pyramid made up of six or seven types of both fish and vegetables cooked separately and then built layer by layer on a base of crackers and covered with a rich sauce based on olive oil and anchovies. The decoration of the dish is elaborate, slices of hard-boiled eggs, medallions of lobster, large shrimp, oysters and other fruits of the sea. Sugo di Noci or walnut sauce, is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle (you need a fairly large one), but feel free to use a food processor. My only tweaks to the recipe are the addition of the roasted garlic ( because it makes my heart sing) and the use of heavy cream. The original recipe calls for soured milk, but plain yogurt can also be substituted if you want some extra tanginess. 

Sugo di Noci

1 fairly thick slice of a coarse or artisan type bread (I use my Italian bread)- soaked in a bit of milk for a few minutes

about 3/4 cup shelled walnut pieces

3 cloves roasted garlic

1 clove raw garlic, pressed

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper

handful of fine chopped marjoram (or basil if you don't have marjoram on hand)

1 pound of pappardelle or wide fettucine pasta

Boil a large pot of water, well salted, and throw in the pasta. Squeeze excess milk out of the bread. Combine remaining ingredients except for marjoram in mortar and pestle or processor and blend to thick, creamy paste. Drain pasta, reserving a couple of tablespoons of pasta water to add to sauce. Top pasta with sauce and marjoram and toss till coated. top with some julienned basil

Sardinian Stuffed Peppers make a lovely light lunch

I originally got this recipe years ago from an Italian cookbook that belonged to my aunt. It took me quite some time to translate the recipes I wanted and convert the measurements. I always groan when I browse online and see these same recipes with Google translate available and conversions readily available. Today's cooks are so fortunate to have this wonderful invention called "the internet" at their fingertips.

These are excellent warm or at room temperature

Sardinian Stuffed Peppers

2 1/2-3 cups fresh bread crumbs from a coarse textured bread (again, I use my homemade Italian bread)- about 3-4 good slices

1/3-1/2 cup raisins (I use currants- I prefer the smaller size and my Zia and Nonna both used currants)

about 1/3 cup  pignoli (pine nuts), toasted

3 ounce jar capers, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup chopped oil cured olives- I use Kalamata

1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil, plus more

salt and pepper

abot 4 large bell peppers, halved vertically, stems and seeds removed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put pepper halves, face up, in a casserole sprayed with cooking spray. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well. Fill pepper halves and drizzle with a bit more olive oil. Bake for 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature with more good olive oil for drizzling and some shaved Parmesan cheese. 

We will be linking up today with Marty at for Tabletop Tuesday. head on over anytime Tuesday and see what the most creative minds in Blogland are up to. Marty, thanks so much for hosting and inviting us all!

As Always,

Buon Alimento, Buon Amici,

Pattie and Allie