Andrea Bocelli's E Chiove

Benvenuti / Welcome!

My family has had many good cooks. I come from a line a great kitchen junkies, among them my great grandparents, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, and brothers and sisters. We are 100% Italian with origins from Campania (my dad's side) and Sicilia (my mother's side). Such a combination makes for great tastes and remarkable dishes. It was a pleasure to prepare food for my best friend and partner in life, Wally (in middle of picture above). He loved the many foods I prepared. Very sadly he is no longer with us and is sorely missed at the table. This blog is dedicated to him and to our friends who shared our company. One of our friends, Susan Arnold (seen in picture above), travelled with us to the Amalfi coast in 2006-2007. The picture was taken just after New Year's day at the ristorante Aurora (www.sorrentotour.it/aurora/) in Sorrento located at the Piazza Tasso.

My Father's Side of the Family: Campania



The Zeoli-Pozella families have their roots in Campania from the historic town of Benevento (which the Romans called Beneventum), Santa Croce del Sannio, and San Nazzaro just northeast of Napoli. It is nestled in the Appennini with fertile earth great for growing grapes and raising livestock. Some Italians refer to the Beneventini as montanari (the mountain folk), very hard-working people with unique ways, as seen in their culinary creations.

My Mother's Side: Sicilia



Our maternal ancestors (the Stornello and Tarantello families) are from southeast Sicilia, from the city of Siracusa and town of Pachino. The Ionian sea plays a major part in the cuisine of these locales. The Greeks, Romans, Turks, North Africans, Spaniards, and French influenced the culinary traditions of this ancient island. For those who prize seafood, legumes, nuts, grains, lemons, oranges, pasta, tomatos, cheeses, and zesty sauces, Sicilia awaits you.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Vegetable Quiche with Prosciutto


Quiche di Verdure e Prosciutto Crudo
This Italian quiche is one that I learned from a Sicilian neighbor at the flat in Siracusa – it came from her aunt who lives in a small village not far from Roma. Wally really liked this one and told me he wanted it again – he thought it was French. Unlike the French quiche, this one uses puff pastry for the crust rather than a pâte brisée. What is nice about this one is that you’re free to put other kinds of ingredients in it. It is wonderful eaten warm or cold as a primo piatto or antipasto – you would cut it accordingly – larger pieces as a first course, or in small squares for hors d’oeuvres.
Ingredients for 8:
1 box of frozen puff pastry, thawed for about 1½ hrs. in frig
4 eggs
About 1 c of cream
1 lb of zucchini, sliced in rounds
About ¼ lb of peas, fresh or frozen
About ¼ lb of carrots, diced
About ¼ lb of potatoes, cubed
About 6 slices of prosciutto di Parma, sliced thinly
Olive oil for frying (does not need to be extra-virgin)
Sea salt to taste
Ground pepper to taste (optional)
Preparation:
Boil the cubed carrots for about 10 minutes. Remove from saucepan and set aside in bowl.
Cook the cubed potatoes in enough salted water for about 10 minutes. Do likewise with the peas.
Cut the zucchini in rounds and fry them in oil until slightly brown.
Salt the vegetables and let them cool.
In an aluminum foil tin (one that would be used as a lasagna tin, square, with sides no higher than 2 inches – see image) lined with parchment paper, stretch out the puff pastry, making a border along the sides of just under an inch (see image).
Lay out the prosciutto slices on the bottom, distributing evenly.
Then, lay out the zucchini, carrots, potatoes, and peas evenly on top of the prosciutto.
Mix with a whisk the eggs and cream. Add salt and [pepper] and pour on top everything in the aluminum tin. With the remaining puff pastry make little strips and lay on top of quiche in a crosshatch pattern (see image)
Bake at 350°F for around 30 minutes.
Cool and serve.
Buon appetito!
Posted by at 7/25/2009 04:08:00 PM
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