I adore new beginnings. They don’t always have to be the beginning of a new year, but any new adventure.
When I first left the USA in 1984,I had no idea I would end up living in Italy. It was real culture shock actually living here rather than being a tourist. Learning to function in a country which is not yours and in another language, can be exhausting daily. So may different things to learn to adapt. But it is always exciting.
Little things like when shops are open and closed. Shopping for food took planning, the market was open until 2pm. Food stores were closed on Wednesday afternoons and most shops were closed on Sundays. Tradition was strong here and regional cooking as well.
I remember only being able to eat Florentine food. There were some Napolitano pizza restaurants and one Sardenian place up in the hills above Florence. Two Chinese restaurants, which were kind of expensive, but nothing else. I missed the variety of foods I could get in San Francisco.
Today that is all different. Stores are open all the time. What bothered me before, I now miss. That includes the food.
Not sure about the rest of Italy, but Florence is very HIP now. I am all for creativity and innovation, but I really adore going to old school trattorias and restaurants. One of the reasons I adored living in Florence was that it was so untainted. When I arrived, tourism was just really building up, now, high season is almost all year long.
I moved from downtown Florence in 2000 and it was hard to adjust to living in the countryside and missing all the access to musuems, people watching and city life in general.
Now, I relish the quiet! This holiday season I always make my Bollito Misto so I can have Lesso Rifatto. These sort of dishes used to be normal to find in trattorias all over town, but not so much anymore. You rarely see Lasagna al Forno anymore either. In Italy, lasagna is a first course, but when tourists come into a restaurant, lasagna is a meal for them. Times are changing. Often you would see a restaurant post a sign, ” We only serve full meals”, that meant a first course and a main course. Italians when they want to eat lightly, one thing, go to a Vinaio, a wine bar or what is called a self service, In florence there were several of these in town, more like a cafeteria where you took what you wanted from prepared food “tavolo caldo”
I distinctly remember eating out in Piazza Pier Maggiore, near where I was living and having my an appetizer I had never seen before. Insalata Russa. It is like a potato salad had a party and invited friends.
Small cubes of boiled potatoes, carrots and peas are the base in an insane amount of mayonaise. At our friends luncheon on Santo Stefano, December 26, my friend Patrizia went all out with a classic menu. Chicken liver crostini, a must at any meal of importance. Tortellini in brodo and bollito misto with capon and then also cotechino, the fatty pork sausage boiled in the pig skin which makes it even more unctiuos, unto in Italia! At my first Italian Christmas with friends, I learnt my lesson to pace myself! So after crostini and tortellini in brodo this is what I took to eat. I always save room for dessert! Some of the boiled capon, preserved artichokes, and a small piece of tongue. Salsa Verde, a slice of Cotecchino, mayonaise and I had made some orange cranberry sauce and brought my Turkey “porchetta”.
At the end of the meal, she discovered she forgot to serve two dishes she had prepared. One was a twice cooked fennel, the other was a flash from the past. The infamous Insalata Russa Ricca!!! This version has everything plus garnished for the party! The classic potato, carrot and pea version is made richer by adding pickles, olives, capers, tuna and hard boiled eggs. Then garnished with larger pieces as decoration. We were lucky to get some to take home and had it the next day.
I realized that these sort of dishes are disappearing in modern day Italian restaurants. So I have decided to spend 2019 writing up some of the classic recipes, call them retro or vintage, that I adore.
I had peas in the freezer and a couple of carrots and potatoes in the pantry. I made my simple mayonaise with one whole egg, 1 cup of oil and the immerstion blender.
I will do a little video on this for you!
I defrosted the peas, then prepared the other vegetables for boiling. It is important that they should be about the size of the peas.
Here is my little step by step preparation of Insalata Russa
Have a pot of salted water come to a boil. Peel and cut the potato and carrot.
Boil the vegetables separately, around 7 minutes or until tender, don’t overcook.
Mix the cooked vegetables together in a large bowl. Make your mayonaise or use from a jar your prefered brand. They use a LOT!
It should look like this.
Then plate as you wish. For a buffet, it is served on a platter or in a deep bowl with decorations on top, using hard boiled eggs, capers, olives and boiled carrots for color. I decided to simply plate up our portions on individual places and simply added a little dry dill on top, since that is what I had in the pantry.
I hope you enjoy this Italian potato salad! They do so much with potatoes here. One of my favorite recipes which is a simple potato, tuna mayonaise recipe, is Pesce Finto. It is a similar base, but quicker and easier to make. Another recipe my mother-in-law made often in summer for a quick lunch.
Great Article Judy, Love the Insalata Russa, have found a good supply of vegan gluten free mayonnaise at Fiano!
I agree with you about the quiet of the countryside, particularly during the long lunch breaks.
Wishing you both very good health and happiness for 2019.
Amore from the two of us. xx
all mayo should be gluten free!!! but i do have a simple eggless recipe for you too!
It is from Portugal, made with milk.
there is a link at the end of this post!
https://divinacucina.com/2012/08/tomatoes-tonnati/
so easy to make with an immersion blender. Ready in a minute!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! MUCH JOY, GOOD HEALTH AND LAUGHTER IN 2019
thank you!!! hope 2019 is fabulous for everyone
I remember the insalata russa well from my first trip to Lucca in 1964. My cousin would beat the eggs until they emulsified into a glorious yellow mayonnaise while adding the olive oil and lemon juice. Before that trip I had only seen mayonaise that comes from a jar here in the states.
I too, noticed a difference in eating in Lucca on my trip last year. The lasagna al forno thick with becehemela(sic) was not to be seen and the fresh fruit and cheese tray that always followed a meal was also not seen.
Oh well, life goes on, but thank you for the memories.
yeah the bowl of fruit at the end of the meal. little mom and dad places still have it.. what a nice way to finish a meal! usually places which serve a worker’s lunch still have it. People that eat there daily and tend to eat smaller portions and lighter meals, like at home.
Buon Capodanno🌠
I was very happy to find you or bump into you serrendipitously via the internet.
My husband and I are living north of San Francisco. We have an apartment in Lucca
and travel there 1-2 times per year. Both our grandparents came over from Naples
and Calabria. I love to cook mainly italian style however, the Tuscan cuisine is
heavier in animal foods than I would prefer and miss the abundance of fresh vegetables
in restaurants especially from living in California.
I look forward to meeting you one day and have enjoyed your story and explorations in and about Firenze as well as your tempting recipes! I bought and love your cookbook on my kindle.
Grazie mille,
Shirla
ciao! i moved here from san francisco in 84. i may be coming to bay area ..
I was a vegetarian and really Tuscans are called Bean Eaters.. especially in Lucca.. no need to eat the meat when you go out, there are plenty of alternatives!
enjoy the cookbook, it is really “florentine” recipes… than “tuscan” as there are so many regionl recipes even in Tuscany!!!
Hello. I purchased your cookbook for my husband Drew and our friend Tim. Both are pleased to see some of your recipes from the cookbook they have of your’s when they were your students in fall 1993 while studying in Florence. We all have fond memories of you and all that you shared and taught. Someday we will return and connect with you again!
Our family uses your original cookbook for many things we love to prepare, eat and share with others. In reading your blog today, I hope Trattoria Mario is still serving the traditional recipes!
Happy 2019!
GREAT! yeah it is the basic old cookbook with some new favorites added. if you make something, send a foto on FB! I have a group @dining with the diva where I also post more recipes have some PDF’s in the files!!! etc
Mario’s is still going strong and packed!
I love the your idea of sharing some traditional/disappearing recipes this year! Thanks! Buon 2019!
My favorite potato dish I had in Tellaro. Pasta (can’t remember the shape), green beans, cubes of potato and dressed with pesto. Oh my, luscius. Have since served to surprised friends who are now all fans also.
Mary Jane
usually trofie a flour and water shape.
I adore your posts Judy, and am so happy to reconnect here! One day we will revisit Italy, and when you are back in the states please come to visit us in Carmel Valley, near Monterey! In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy your posts and recipes here! Cheers to a beautiful 2019!
thanks! I may be back end of feb… and march.. will let you know.
Looking forward to seeing your “trip down memory lane” recipes…such a fun thing to do as well as revisiting old favourites that hopefully won’t disappear completely, perhaps thanks to your efforts! Buon Anno Judy! Have a year full of wonderful adventures!
i think already people have forgotten…traditions.
Thanks for the lovely post, Judy! Retro and vintage recipes sounds great to me! Wishing you lots of happiness and good fortune in 2019.
thank you Lucy! I hope to help people make simple good old style food and relax in the kitchen!