Trippa alla Fiorentina

The use of tripe (in fact cow’s stomach) is quite common in several countries, including Brazil and Italy.  I’ve already posted a few lines on “Mocotó“, a Brazilian dish containing tripe as one of its main ingredients.  Travelling around Tuscany, but specially in Florence, you will certainly find tripes in the menu of the most typical and popular restaurants.  If you happen to be around that wonderful city, cross the “Ponte Vecchio” (Old Bridge) and go south in the direction of the Pitti Palace. On Via Michelozzi 9r, between Via Maggio and Piazza Santo Spirito, you’ll find the “Trattoria Casalinga”, home of Florentine cooking as it should be, with over 400 years of tradition.

"Ponte Vecchio" in Florence/Italy

Trattoria Casalinga, home of traditional Florentine cooking

I recommend you try “Trippa alla Fiorentina”, a simple but very tasteful dish.  Tripes are very well cleaned (blanched and boiled) and cut into finger-length strips. Garlic is fried in olive oil with a mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery).  Tripe is then added and stirred frequently for 15-20 min.  Then it’s time to add some peeled tomatoes (the recipe calls for around 500 g for 1,0 kg of tripe, but I suspect that at Casalinga they put a bit less) and let the mixture boil over low to moderate heat for about one hour.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  It has to bee stirred now and then and it should not be let to dry.  I had mine with a nice Italian bread.

"Trippa alla Fiorentina" from Trattoria Casalinga in Florence/Italy

My great grandmother was Italian, and thus “trippa”, from a recipe that passed on to my grandmother, and then to my mother, was a common dish at our home.  No need to say the meal we had at Casalinga tasted just like home.

Via Michelozzi 9r

Food with a soul

A person without a soul is nothing but a corpse.  It’s similar with food.  It doesn’t matter how great the ingredients are or how wonderful the recipe is, a good dish needs soul.  For me this culinary soul, this thing that turns ordinary food into a real gastronomic experience, is the sum of various factors, including, but not limited to, the ambiance (the special atmosphere or mood created by a particular environment), the chef”s passion for what he’s doing and the staff attitude towards the food and the customers.

It was late afternoon and I was driving with a motor-home around Innsbruck/Austria heading to a camping place I’d chose a couple of weeks before on the Internet.  For my surprise the place had closed down.  The only alternative was to rely on the Garmin GPS and let it choose the nearest camping, which was “Camping and Pizzeria Stigger” in the small village of Völs.  What a nice surprise.

Camping and Pizzeria Stigger - Völs/Austria

The owner, Mr. Walter Stigger, proved to be the most wonderful host.  We found a good spot for our motor-home (even though the camping place is rather small), and what was even better, a warm and friendly atmosphere in his pizzeria.  He even offers “caipirinha” (the Brazilian national drink) in the menu, probably a resquice of his years married to a Brazilian.

We had more than a couple of his pizzas, but also a few shots of his homemade “Schnaps”, a strong, clear, colorless alcoholic beverage distilled from fruits.  He took us to the restaurant kitchen, which is nothing more than a extension of the main serving saloon, and made us taste several different types of them. The one made from pears (“Birnenschnaps”) was something special.  You could really feel the pears on the side of your tongue as an aftertaste.

We also had some Austrian beer, which the ever smiling Cuban waitress would serve whenever she remembered in between her sips of red wine (sorry, but I didn’t write down her name). As a matter of fact she seemed to be more a friend than a waitress, what only helped to improve the overall atmosphere.

The Stigger Pizzeria with the ever smiling Cuban waitress

The price?  I forgot (probably a side effect of the “schnaps”), but I believe it was around US$ 15,00/person, including a couple of beers.

Were the pizzas good?  Yes, they were very nice, with the right thickness and the right amount and distribution of toppings.  I wouldn’t say they were great (it would be a bit too much), but definitely they were part of an experience full of soul, this thing that turns a simple body into a living being.  They are prepared right in front of you by Walter himself, with the aid of a beautiful and also ever smilling assistant (she would assume the whole preparation from time to time when Walter would sit down and chat with his friends and customers – or customers friends).

Although he would not give me the entire dough recipe (“it’s a secret”, he said) I was told that an important part of this secret is the use of lard (pork fat) (sorry Walter, I just couldn’t resist telling everyone else).  If you ever happen to be around Innsbruck (Völs, in fact) stop by and tell Walter I said hello. He may even offer you a Cuban cigar.

Pesto alla Genovese

Ocimum basilicum, or basil, is a member of the mint family, or Family Lamiaceae, originated in northern Africa, but playing a major role in Italian cuisine.  It’s the central ingredient of “Pesto alla Genovese”, a mixture of first quality ingredients (basil, extra-virgin olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and cheese – Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino) made to a paste and typical of Liguria/Italy.

Ocimum basilicum (basil)

Although you can probably find industrial pesto in your neighbourhood supermarket, nothing really compares to the one you can prepare at home with fresh ingredients.  Even if you don’t have any culinary experience I believe you should try it, as I am 100 % sure you will end up with a much better final result.  If you want to know the secrets, history, recipes, etc, take a look at “Pesto Perfect“.

The best pesto I’ve tried was at “Trattoria da Maria” (Vico Testadoro 14 r), a small restaurant hidden in the dark streets of Genoa/Italy.

Trattoria da Maria - Genoa/Italy

The pesto was served over a fresh, long, flat, narrow ribbon pasta, similar to tagliatelle, but typical of Genoa, the “bavette”.

Bavette con pesto alla Genovese from Trattoria da Maria (Genoa/Italy)

For dessert Maria served some almond cookies dipped in Marsala wine topped with a mascarpone cheese cream.

Almond cookies dipped in Marsala wine covered with a mascarpone cheese cream

The price was quite fair, around US$ 13,00.

Chicken tandori masala

I just had my first experience with Indian food, on a restaurant called Raja Rani (Friedrichstrasse, 15, Heidelberg/Germany) and, although I don’t have any parameter for a fair comparison, I enjoyed it. The chosen dish to start this experience was the famous chicken tandori masala.

Raji Rani, place of my first experience with Indian food

I’m quite sure everyone knows what a chicken is, although I can’t even imagine how many do know that it’s a member of the Phasianidae family of the species Gallus gallus.  Anyway, I’ll not waste my time (or yours) talking about that. On the other hand, I’m also not sure of how many of you do know the meaning of either “tandori” or “masala”.

Tandori refers to a traditional way of preparing food in several Middle East countries, as well as in India and Bangladesh.  It’s based on the “tandoor”, a cylindrical vertical clay oven where the heat is generated by charcoal or wood fire. That’s where the traditional chicken tandori is cooked.

Masala is a mixture of spices, with variations throughout India, usually containing cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, chili and turmeric (curcuma) yellow.  In this case it’s a mixture used to cook in the tandoor, hence, “tandori masala”.

For this dish, typical of the Punjabi cuisine, the chicken is covered with a mixture of yogurt and the tandoori masala, and then slowly roasted in the tandoor.

It’s usually served with Basmati rice, a long grain delicate rice grown mainly in India and Pakistan.

Chicken tandori masala over Basmati rice

I really enjoyed the dish, the chicken was tender and the sauce full of taste.  It mixed quite well with the Basmati rice, kind of breaking its natural delicate taste.  The price was also quite interesting, around US$ 5,00 for a small portion, which was more than enough for a single person.

Tandoor Cooking

Das bier

It seems there’s no agreement concerning where or when beer was created.  Most evidence points towards the Sumerians, in the Iraq region, some 6,000 years ago, but some historians place the beginning of this history in China, around 1,000 years later. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of agreement concerning one point, the Germans are the modern kings of beer.

Beer is the world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea (take a look at Wikipedia). Basically, beer resembles bread, as it’s a product of cereal grains starch fermentation.  Any cereal?  Yes, virtually any cereal can be used, like wheat, corn, rice or barley (the most common one). Other agents and herbs, like the flowers of the hop vine (Humulus lupulus), may be used as preservatives and flavouring agents (H. lupulus adds a distinctive bitterness).  Want some additional and nutritional information?  Take a look at “Beer is liquid bread?“.

I’m not much of a beer drinker, but while in Germany I just can’t resist the temptation.  My favorite type of beer is based on wheat as the starch source (“weiss bier” or “weizen”), and I prefer it with the yeast (“hefe”).  I also don’t enjoy it too bitter, thus a little extra malt makes sense for me (the beer becomes darker though – “dunkel”).  In conclusion, when I order a beer in Germany I usually ask for a “dunkel Hefeweissbier”. Alles klar?

Two of the best ones I had in Heidelberg are produced by Vetter (Brauhaus Vetter, Steingasse, 9) and Sanwald, which I had in a place called Bierkrug (Hauptstrasse, 147).

Brauhaus Vetter

Vetter Dunkel Hefeweissbier

Bierkrug on Heidelberg main street (Hauptstrasse)

Sanwald dunkel Hefeweizen

A few things might go together well with these beers, among them the original German “bratwurst”, from brät meaning “finely chopped” and wurst meaning “sausage” (no, it’s not related to the German verb “braten”, meaning to roast or to grill, although even most Germans think it does – take a look at “Brät” ). Pork is a traditional meat in bratwurst, although beef and veal may also be used. It is heavily spiced with things like marjoran, cardamon, nutmeg, pepper, and other regional ingredients, what makes it perfect to be followed by a nice beer.

"Bratwurst mit Senf" (Bratwurst with mustard)