Italy Part 6

Denver's weather pattern has shifted from being consistently scorching hot to having repetitive popcorn thunder bursts in the afternoon and evenings. These storms, with their cool wind gusts and thunder and rain percussion, arouse my desire to cook. Last Friday, this is exactly what happened and I opened to the Italian section of my cookbook.  I decided on a dinner of:

Arancini (p. 90)

Chicken cacciatora (p. 122)

Shaved fennel salad (p. 98)

Fresh fennel, often mislabeled as "anise" in supermarkets
(like King Soopers on Friday morning)! I chose female bulbs, which
have smaller, thinner bulbs compared to males.  Taking the time to
select for fennel gender s is worth it because females contain a more
potent flavor profile.  This salad only uses the bulbs, but I saved the
top leaves for future recipes (very fragrant herb).  Did you know that
fennel is a main ingredient in absinthe and it is
speculated to have many medicinal benefits?   

Let's eat!! Cacciatora translates to "hunter's choice"
and the recipe varies by region.  Generally, this dish calls for
tomatoes, onions, and chicken. This particular recipe called for
pancetta, mushrooms, and dry vermouth too. I browned
the chicken in oil first, then simmered it until the meat fell
off the bones. So delicious! I just wish I had a big casserole
dish that the recipe called for.  I tried using my biggest frying
pan and it was just barely containing its contents  (it was so full,
the lid rested on the chicken)! Served with white rice.
Yes, rice is used in much of Italy.

A closer look at the Arancini (stuffed rice balls).
For this recipe, I was forced to buy saffron... ugh,
it is just so darn expensive! But I had to follow my rules, no
 cutting corners.  Tasting just one of these rice balls
made me glad I bit the bullet. The rice was cooked with the
saffron, making it a bright yellow, sticky mess. The rice
was then combined with parmesan and eggs, stuffed
with fried minced beef, onions, oregano, and wine.
Once the balls were formed, they were rolled in white flour,
dipped in more egg and then coated in bread crumbs.
After brief refrigeration, they were dropped into a
hot pan of oil for 3 minutes until golden brown.

The stuffed rice balls required frying in oil, and I think this is a good chance to make a note about choosing oils for frying. Every oil is not the same. For Italian cooking, they use primarily olive oils, and if you ever stand in the baking isle of the grocery store to pick out an olive oil you have probably noticed the spectrum of types to choose from. There is "extra virgin" to "extra light". What does this really mean? It has a lot to do with processing, as well as ripeness (acid content) of the olives. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed, meaning that the olives are pressed once without chemicals or heat. This is the highest quality, and most expensive, type of olive oil to purchase because it requires more olive input (usually less ripe ones); however it embodies an intense, fruity and almost buttery flavor. Extra light olive oil is composed of a filtered combination of refined olive oil with small amounts of virgin olive oil added back. The "light" descriptor doesn't come from having less calories, but instead it describes the pale color of the oil relative its dark green extra virgin cousin. The two other types in between these two extremes include, "virgin" that is pressed similarly to extra virgin but has a higher acidity from riper olives, and regular olive oil that has an even higher acidy with a bit of refined oil added back. 

Why bother with extra processing of olive oil? For culinary purposes of course!  I tend to choose my olive oils at the two extremes: Extra virgin, for garnishing foods after they are prepared or for low-heat cooking, and light olive oil for frying and high-heat cooking. The higher processing of the light olive oils allows for a higher smoke point. For example, for the rice balls, I needed to heat the oil to about 350 degrees (this was off the scale of my Martha Stewert thermometer, ha!) and extra virgin would have started stinking from oxidation long before reaching that temperature. Also, it is best to store your olive oils in a dark, cool place (like your pantry) to guard the oils from heat and light exposure, which can accelerate the transition to rancidity. Other oils, such as vegetable oils, have a unique story too, but that will have to save for future entry.