Italy has started to whisper her secrets to me, I am starting to peel back the layers of the onion and learn what it means to cook the Italian way. “Sto imparando, piano, piano” (I am learning, slowly, slowly)
Last weekend we went to our friends house in San Felice, the same young couple that previously had introduced us to the delights of fresh octopus caught right off the rocky shores of San Felice. This time they served a steaming bowl of mussels that we slurped right out of the shell and sopped up the delicious liquid with a crusty piece of bread. So simple and fresh, the mussels were plump and sweet. Davide had shown Jeff where to buy the mussels from the source, there in San Felice Circeo.
So this week we decided to go to San Felice and take a hike on the trail that follows the ridge line of San Felice Circeo. This is the headlands that look like a profile of a woman laying on the shore, her hair becoming one with the sea. This is “Circe” from Homers Odyessy, the ancient Poem that dates back before Christ. Of course it’s based on Greek mythology and the characters are fictional but this woman who was eventually spurned by Ulysses is where San Felice Circeo gets its name and these shores are the setting for a section of the story.
As we hike the headlands we walk along the ridge and soon find ourselves looking right up the nose of the dead and immortalized Circe. On the other side of the ridge we see a man made area that has utilized the sea water to grow mussels. Jeff tells me that this is where Davide bought the ultra delicious fresh mussels that he prepared for us that day. We head back after taking in the view and dream of the delicious mussels that we will prepare tonight for dinner.
We drive up to the place that raises the mussels and buy a kilo (almost 2 pounds) for €2, I love a deal as much as I love purchasing fresh food from the source so it is a win, win situation. We drive home on the road that runs along the Mediterranean Sea and take in the warm golden tones of the sunset until it sinks into the deep blue sea.
Once we are home we get to work preparing the mussels. We sizzle some garlic on a little olive oil, add water and wine, squeeze in a lemon and steam our mussels. We also cook up some pasta. We are excited to dig in but are disappointed that the liquid the mussels were cooked in was a little bitter (from the lemon peal that we threw into the pot) and the pasta was a little bland. How did we go wrong?
The next day I was talking with my friend Pasquale and I told him of our great find of a kilo of mussels for €2 in San Felice and he said “oh, you don’t have to go to San Felice for that, everywhere sells them for that price”. Hmmmmm, we didn’t know that. I told him about the bitter taste and he said “why did you add lemon? Never put the peal in, it will make it bitter!” But no worries, he said “I will show you how to make Cozze” (mussels). Since he also had previously promised to show me how to make Carciofi alla Romano (Roman style artichokes) we decided to make an afternoon of it.
First stop was to buy the Cozze, sure enough, it was €2 for a kilo. The lady at the market put them in a machine to clean the mussels and threw in some parsley for good measure, we were certain to need it when making Cozze. Next stop was to buy the artichokes. Pasquale showed me how to select the artichokes that were firm to the touch but had an indentation at the top that was perfect for sticking your fore finger into. These are different from our artichoke in California that tend to be more pointy and elongated.
These are wide and round like a softball with a violet color. The indentation at the top means the “choke” (or the growing flower of the thistle) has not yet developed. This is desirable since you eat the whole artichoke when you cook them Roman Style. Since it is the season for artichokes we get them 15 for €5 from a truck selling them on the side of the road.
Next we made a stop at the bakery to buy a nice crusty loaf of naturally fermented bread, another perk of living in Italy is the accessibility of good quality, naturally fermented bread at a cheap price, only €1.50 for our crusty wood fired loaf dusted with flour. Next we popped into the produce stand for some potatoes because Pasquale says they take on such a nice flavor when cooked with the artichokes. This was all easy to do since the different shops were all in a row.
Finally we are back at Pasquales house in Pomezia near the sea, close to Rome. We pull up a couple of wooden stools and sit at the sink to prepare the artichokes. Pasquale shows me how to snap each leaf in half and pull back at an angle so as to remove the tough fiberous part of the leaf. This process reminds me of how we prepare asparagus, instead of cutting it, we snap it, assuring that it will snap off at the tender point. I am surprised how tender the leaves actually are and keep snapping away at the first couple of rows of outer leaves. Then Pasquale shows me how to cut off the remaining leaves in the center, all of these are tender enough to eat after having their tops cut off.
We trim the long stems to about two inches from the base, but Pasquale says to save these stems because we will peal them also and eat them. This surprises me and Pasquale proves his point by having me eat raw the tender, pale center of the stem that he has just pealed. Sure enough, it tastes like artichoke but raw and crunchy, yet tender. I marvel at this revelation as I munch away on my artichoke stem. We toss each trimmed artichoke into the sink that Pasquale has filled with cold water and lemons to keep the artichokes from turning brown.
After we finish preparing the artichokes, Pasquale has chopped garlic and Mentuccia, a type of Oregano that tastes like ment. This herb is essential in Roman artichokes. He salts the garlic and herb heavily and cracks fresh pepper on the mixture. While grinding the salt he tells me how important it is to use fresh ground salt because fine salt has preservatives that keep it from clumping up and that adversely affects the flavor. He stuffs the indented center with a pinch of the herb mixture and places each artichokes face down in a pan.
He peels and slices up some potatoes and fills the gaps between the artichokes with thick slabs of potato. He generously douses the artichoke filled pan with olive oil and fills the pan with water “up to the artichokes shoulders”. These get set on the fire, brought to a boil and then simmer, covered until tender, about a half hour.
Next we turn our attention to the Mussles. Jeff gets the job of removing the “beard” from the mussels and proves himself to be equal to the task and Pasquale praises him for his diligence. Pasquale puts a splash of olive oil into another pan and adds several cloves of roughly chopped garlic to the oil. He puts the heat on very low and says you must cook the garlic “piano, piano” (slowly, slowly). The garlic is lightly bubbling in the oil but it must sit here lightly cooking for about 5 minutes but never browns.
Then he adds about a half a cup of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, then about half a cup of white wine, Then he tossed the mussles into the skillet, jeff and I asked if he needed to add more water and he said “No! The mussles will add their own water!” Sure enough, after he topped it with the lid and let it steam for about five minutes we looked into the pot and there was so much water!
Next up was the pasta, Pasquale had already put a pan of water on the stove that he had salted heavily, I would say at least two tablespoons of salt went into the water. He boiled the pasta until a little firmer than al dente. He scooped maybe 2-3 cups of the mussle broth out of steaming pot and put it on another pan to boil down. He added the “al dente pasta” and let it soak up the broth until it made a nice “cream” and was no longer watery.
Time for the taste test! Pasquale had me set the table and served the pasta first. Italians do not eat it together with the mussles or the artichokes, the pasta was in a very light sauce just barely tinged with red and tasted like the Mediterranean Sea. Perfect in its simplicity. Next he placed the steaming bowl of mussles in their broth on the table and we all heaped piles of the black mollusks onto our plates and happily slurped the broth and delicate plump mussle from the shell. Alternating this with dipping our crusty bread into the rich broth.
Actually at this point we were full but we couldn’t end this evening without trying the artichokes, so we each took an artichoke and a wedge of potato on our plate and cut into the soft-juicy-artichoke-wonder-of-it-all. So delicious.
I had attempted to make Roman artichokes on my own and did an ok job for a non Italian novice, but there had been some tough outer leaves that were not edible. While Pasquale and I worked together on trimming the artichokes he said “don’t worry, if you don’t trim it right. You will get some tough bits in your mouth, then you will know how to do it better next time” sure enough, from my earlier attempt I knew the folly of not trimming it correctly. These I trimmed with Pasquale were soft and delicate, no tough bits in your mouth, it definitely helps to be schooled by the Maestro.
I am encouraged by this cooking class and look forward to learning more tricks of the trade. How is it I have lived so many years in California without learning how to properly trim an artichoke or steam mussles? I had to come to Italy and learn, Sto imparando, Piano, Piano.
For Other Great Travel Stories from Italy in our Archives:
A Morning Run in Nettuno (Published September 10, 2017)
A Visit to Castelli Romani (Published September 13, 2017)
Dinner for Six (Published October 1, 2017)
Italian Cooking School (Published October 8, 2017)
Culinary Tour of Napoli (Published November 17, 2017)
Changing Seasons in Italy (Published November 25, 2017)
Our Trip to Englands Cotswolds (Published January 12, 2018)
Cooking with Pasquale (Published January 28, 2018)
A Tour of the Garden of Ninfa (Published May 7, 2018)
A Trip to Montefiascone (Published May 17, 2018)
San Gimignano, a visit to a Tuscan Hill Town (Published June 9, 2018)
Tuscan Hot Springs of San Filippo & Saturnia (Published June 13, 2018)
