Summer Rosso

We were hit with more rain and cold weather again! BASTA!

Finally Summer has arrived. It felt like we were going to have a long wet summer with all the rain we have had. The cold which hit earlier in the year but so much agriculture at risk. I will be walking down the hill later today to see if grapes are forming on my neighbors vines. He was convinced that the frost killed off the part of the plant which produces the grapes and that he would not have a havest this year.

The markets are finally bringing on the summer fruits and vegetables and inspiring a change in the way we eat. I can now have a mozzarella with a seasonal tomato! We tend to respect the seasons and celebrate the first time we can eat something in season. That first bite when it is perfect is something which doesn’t happen with something that comes from a fridge.

There is nothing like your first tomato of the season! This called for a celebration. A simple Caprese salad is the best way to celebrate. It could only be better if I had a freshly made mozzarella too! But I can buy a delicious buffalo mozzarella at the grocery store.

My husband loves basil on his Caprese, but I prefer oregano. Which one do you like? I think I had a bad experience with too much basil in a recipe here in Italy, it is so strong, you really need very little.

Another question. Do you leave the mozzarella whole or slice it?

You can see that here a really fresh mozzarella when sliced starts to leak out the milk and will thin any oil you put on it.

That’s FRESH.

I know it was too early,but couldn’t resist making my first Pomorola of the season. These plum tomatoes were the first of the season, coming from a local farm hot house. Ripe but not sun-ripened which really makes so much difference.  I have started to put my online video classes in a library now if you want to “cook with me”. The Pomorola is from the first week of “Summer School”. I thought it was a good idea to get people ready for when the market gets full of ripe tomatoes. You don’t want to miss that moment.

The first tomatoe sauce can be a little acidic. We don’t add sugar to the sauce but rather serve it with a little dab of butter. The pasta is drained and then heated in the sauce for the last few minutes of cooking time so it absorbs some of the sauce into the pasta and then topped with another spoonful of sauce and the butter. The parmigiano is passed at the table.

Last week we stated buying cherries as well. Mostly we simply eat way too many as they are. In Italian they say, “una tira l’atra” One makes you take another one.

Again, they are hitting their flavor peak, I remembered a recipe from my Russian grandmother for a cold cherry “soup”. I used the Italian way of finishing a meal with fruit in wine and cooked them in red wine and sugar and then lightly thickened the “soup” with corn starch. It is addicting. We served it in a bowl with a dollop of plain yogurt, but gelato would be delicious as well. I am dreaming of making more to have with duck breast.