Tartufo! (And in my cucina)

Each day I walked quickly through Piazza Navona on my way to Cantina del Vecchio.  From my building, I turned left from the door. Walked about 30 yards to the corner. Turned left. Crossed Corso dei Rinascimento and diagonally crossed Piazza Navona (from south to north) and turned left at the corner of the restuaruant Tre Scalini. 

Tre Scalini means "three steps" and that's exactly what greets  you at the door, three shallow steps into the eatery. Outside, even in inclement weather, is outdoor seating. Diners will always, when possible, dine facing the piazza (not the building). 

Waiters outdoors will invite folks walking by to eat at the restaurant (as they do at all tourist spots). I always just rushed by on my way to-and-from work -- 4 times a day. Never did the waiters begin to recognize me. I was just another American. 

I knew from Lisa that this was a famous spot -- especially for the Tartufo. What is tartufo? The word itself translates into "truffle." Here tartufo is a dessert, chocolate gelato that's molded into a rough sphere and dredged in cocoa powder (to resemble the gourmet funghi). Imbedded in tartufo is a surprise -- a maraschino cherry and bits of chocolate. It's served with whipped cream and a sweet crunchy pirouette cookie.

My last afternoon, before the evening shift, I met my new friend Wendy (an amazing and lovely singer from Indiana, now living in Rome) for coffee and tartufo at Tre Scalini. I ordered. It came. I studied it. I poked it. I used a knife to cut into it. I gingerly inserted my spoon and scooped up a morsel. I tasted. Rich. Chocolate. Cold. 

In short, Tartufo starts with deep chocolate gelato. Keep in mind that I had, for the last several weeks, eaten gelato daily -- often twice a day. I became an expert in gelato consumption and a whiz at flavor identification (much like I became a Jelly Belly pro during a certain jelly-bean phase).  The tartufo was delicious. And eating it there, at that restaurant in that piazza in that city in that country was a "bucket list" experience. But it was gelato. So, it was good, but it was gelato for 9-euro (about $13 or so).  Wendy graciously treated.

As with any great memory (especially of food), gestalt came into play in my enjoyment of tartufo. Here it wasn't just the tartufo -- it was Wendy, it was my last day in Rome, it was Piazza Navona, it was a changed and improved Annabel, wiser and more fulfilled in my new life. It was one small dessert for me, one giant leap for Annabelkind. 

Here is my version of Tartufo.

Tartufo

In a pinch, use very good quality dark chocolate ice cream as a stand-in for the gelato.

1 pint dark chocolate gelato

1/4 cup finely chopped good quality bittersweet chocolate

2-3 maraschino cherries

1 cup cocoa powder

Fresh lightly sweeteened whipped cream

Pirouette cookies (or sweet wafers)

Soften the gelato slightly and stir in the chopped chocolate. Form the gelato into spheres (2 to 3 spheres per pint). Use your fingers to insert one maraschino cherry per sphere. Transfer the spheres into a dish and freeze until hard. Remove from freezer and use your hands to form the tartufo into a slightly flattened sphere (see photo above). Just before serving, roll the tarfufo in cocoa powder and serve with whipped cream and wafer. Makes 2-3 servings.

In the Cucina #9

I have a passion for fiore di zucca or zucchini flowers. At Cantina, every few days we would receive a fresh delivery of these golden blossoms, wrapped as delicately as eggs and handled just as gingerly. Whenever i saw them at Campo di Fiore, I wanted to buy them. But for what? I wasn't cooking in my penthouse and if I bought them, it would be only to ogle their loveliness. I wanted them any way -- stuffed with cheese, or meat or potatoes or simply dredged in flour or cornstarch and quickly fried and used as a garnish for Cacio e Pepe or rissoto. I've only ever experienced fiore di zucca fried, which is just fine with me. 

Zucca means squash (they call pumpkins zucca in Italy), so zucchini is the diminutive of zucca. Zucchini, botanically, are a fruit (like tomatoes and cucumbers -- it has to do with ovaries and flowers and seeds and stuff), but are always referred to as vegetables. Sometimes you'll find small zucchini still attached to the flowers or the bigger blossoms on stalks from male plants). Any variety squash blossoms are perfect for all recipes. 

Here are two recipes -- one stuffed, as when I ate them in a restaurant in the Jewish quarter and fried simply, as a necessary garnish, at Cantina del Vecchio.

Fiore di Zucca (Fried) 
Zucchini flowers

Cornstarch

Vegetable oil for frying
Place a grate or many layers of paper towel over a baking sheet. Set aside.

Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. The oil must be quite hot (rippling) or the flowers will be soggy.

Pinch-out the pistils or stamens (the things sticking up, if any, in the centers of the flowers). Dredge the flowers in cornstarch.  Drop the flowers in the oil and and fry, quickly, until golden. Carefully remove the flowers with a slotted spoon or tongs and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Drain well. Use at room temperature as a garnish (topped our caccio e pepe with the flowers) on just about anything from salad to pasta. 

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

12 large (male) or smaller (female) zucchini blossoms
1 cup of ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

1/2 tsp. saltVegetable oil for frying

Batter:

3/4 cup flour

1 cup sparkling water or club soda

Place a grate or many layers of paper towel over a baking sheet. Set aside.

Pinch-out the pistils or stamens (the things sticking up, if any, in the centers of the flowers). 

Combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Add additional salt to taste. 

Combine the batter ingredients in another bowl and whisk well.  Set aside.

Using a teaspoon or a pastry bag, fill or pipe the filling into the zucchini flowers. Pinch and twist the flower tops lightly to enclose the filling. 

Heat at least one-inch of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. The oil must be quite hot (rippling) or the flowers will be soggy.

Dip the filled flowers upside down (holding the stem ends) into the batter and fry them until golden. When cooked, place on the prepared baking sheet. Serve immediately, or rewarm before serving. Makes 4 appetizer portions. 

I'm Lovin' it.

Lisa T. says her late father said the best bathrooms in Italy (indeed the world) are in McDonald's restaurants. So whenever I spotted a McDonald's, I went (if you know what I mean). I went at the Mcdonald's near the Pantheon. I went in the McDonald's at Piazza di Spagna.

Fact is, I love McDonald's and I'm not too snotty to admit it. And I make a point of going in every country I visit. Why, you may be thinking, with all the amazing food in Italy, would I want to go to Mickey-D's? Because in every country the food is different.  In India there was no beef served (see my blog whossarinow.com). My New Delhi experience included a Maharaja Burger, for example. So, I've chowed in Rio De Janeiro, Bangkok, Moscow, Paris, Marakesh, Tokyo, Beijing and Rome.  

I must confess, I didn't actually feel like eating at McDonald's in Rome. In Thailand I craved American fast-food after two weeks of the local grub. Same thing in Tokyo. But in Rome, my diet was so exquisite, I had to force myself to order a Big Mac meal. 

McDonald's restaurants in Rome are really quite chic -- they have that contemporary, designer look that's tasteful and somewhat luxurious with granite-topped tables, plenty of wood accents and nary a golden arch. And the menu's include simplistic images so that ordering can be accomplished via a point and order method for all the turistas. The Italian menu includes items you'll never find in American. There's the special  Sfiziosita, triangular spinach croquettes with real Parmigiano Reggiano. And there's crunchy fried shrimp, among other things. And beer. 

I walked into the McDonalds near Largo Argentina one Thursday after shopping at Campo de Fiore. I ordered from the McMenu and asked for a Diet Coke -- a big one finally.  I wanted some ketchup for my fries, but for about 30-cents for each packet (on top of the nearly $9 you pay for a meal), I decided to eat my fries neat. My entire meal, packaged in universal wrapping. It looked and tasted exactly like I was eating it in Bloomfield Hills. Exactly. 

And, afterwards, I peed in the lovely, clean bathroom. 

Here's what Romebuddy.com wrote about McDonalds in Rome. 

McDonalds have about twenty joints all around town now. They first opened here about fifteen years ago with a place in Piazza Di Spagna. At that time Rome city council was very suspicious of the whole idea, so they specified to MacDonalds that they had to build a restaurant which was in character with the historical architecture and culture of the area, both inside and out.

McDonalds responded by building the most bizarre McD's restaurant you'll ever see - The facade is very low key, not the familiar red and yellow corporate colors, but gold lettering on dark grey marble, so it's difficult to spot at first. Inside, you'll find mock-marble replica fountains, real terra-cotta brickwork, fresco murals, salad bars and displays of fresh fruit in wooden barrows similar to those in Campo dei Fiori.

Other branches added later around other districts of Rome are more conventional in appearance. Although there's now a McDonalds in every far-flung suburb of Rome, the main locations you'll need as a tourist in the central Rome area are at:

Piazza Di Spagna
Via del Corso
Piazza Barberini
Via Nazionale
Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza della Rotonda (opposite the Pantheon)
Piazza Sidney Sonnino (in Trastevere)