Cook Here and Now

Pizza Margherita: Justice is served.

Buonasera.
This is the sequel to my previous post: Thin pizza crust: The Roman way.
To make the dough for this pizza, start there.

This post will cover one of our most famous pizzas: Pizza Margherita.

The name comes from the Italian Queen Margherita of Savoia, wife (and cousin... yes, you read that right) of Umberto I, one of our most controversial kings. A Neapolitan pizzaiolo (pizza-maker) made the pizzas as a tribute for the royal couple, and the one with the 3 colors of the Italian flag (red tomato sauce, white mozzarella and green basil) was so liked by the queen, he named it after her. The irony here is Umberto I is also known for the 1898 bread riots in Milan. When a general opened fire with cannons on the demonstrators, Umberto I decorated him. So that patriotic pizza was made with a special ingredient: fear.

King Umberto I fought in the third Italian war of Independence (it took us a while, we weren't that effective). But when he was elected king, he allied himself with Austria and Germany, our former enemies and masters, and began a rather repressive regime in Italy at the end of the 1800s. He expanded the Italian colonies in Ethiopia and central Africa, and as a result of his domestic and foreign politics, he was the only king to be assassinated after Italy's unification (by an Italian-American anarchist).

To me this pizza is a reminder that justice, like a delicious meal, will be served in due course.

Buon appetito — and don't forget to share.
Marco Flavio

Pizza Margherita

Ingredients

1 recipe of Roman pizza dough, out of the refrigerator for 2 hours. Makes 4 pizzas.

1 2-lbs can of Muir Glen organic tomato sauce, or 2 lbs of homemade tomato sauce. If you are going to use canned peeled tomatoes, drain them first through a colander, and chop them finely.

1 lb fresh mozzarella, diced in small cubes (Do NOT use a cheese grater, as the pressure of passing it through even the larger holes will change its texture, and it will not make the lovely melted mozzarella puddles on the tomato sauce.)

1 cup of basil leaves (fresh and fragrant)

Salt and pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil (use the best you have, we’re going for flavor here.)

Finely chopped garlic

Extra flour

Necessary tools

A pizza stone

It would be very useful to have a peel. Otherwise, use an edgeless baking sheet.

A rolling pin

Directions
Divide the dough in 4 equal balls and set them aside, covered with a kitchen towel.

Preheat the oven to 500F with your baking stone on the bottom oven rack for about an hour, and no less than 30 minutes (in case you forget, I know how these things go...).

Take one ball of dough, sprinkle some flour on the peel, center the dough on it and with the rolling pin, pushing always in one direction (don't go back and forth, it won't work) start rolling the dough flat. Add flour as needed; it shouldn't be sticky. As you push the dough with the rolling pin, turn the dough 1/4 turn. Then roll again, keep doing it until it's approximately a 12" circle and 1/16 of an inch thick (like a vinyl LP record, if you remember them). Always make sure it's not sticking to the peel. Add flour under it, if needed; it should slide on the peel freely.

If you don’t have a peel, use an edgeless baking sheet. It'll work in a pinch.

Spread the tomato sauce with a spoon, and use the back of the spoon in with circular motions, touching the surface of the pizza with it to spread the sauce.

Do not soak the dough. The layer of sauce should be fairly transparent. With such a thin crust, if you put too much sauce it’ll become soggy.

Add 1/4 of the mozzarella (more if you like).

Scatter a few of the basil leaves on top of it.

Sprinkle with the garlic, salt and pepper.

Finally, top it with the fragrant Extra-virgin olive oil. We’re going for flavor, so don't use the cheap stuff.

Slide the pizza off the peel/baking sheet and onto the preheated baking stone in a 500F oven. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until crust is browned and cheese has melted.

Slide the peel under the pizza to remove it from the baking stone. Place it on a cutting board, slice, and devour immediately. Repeat with remaining dough balls for the next pizzas.

Buon appetito!
Marco Flavio

Tomato: The fruit of love.

Buongiorno.
Among my Italian friends, we often speak of a most wonderous creature, an elusive being that we await for all year that reminds us we are not that far from home after all.

One taste, one look, and we're right there, if only for a few precious moments. Sun in our face, loud conversation surrounding us, words ending in vowels, and heat so intense, even thinking makes us sweat: This is the role of the tomato in Italian lore.

Last year, thanks to a fortuitous series of circumstances, a few Italian friends and I discovered a particularly phenomenal one. It was an organic, dry-farmed tomato from the Bartle family farm: Two Dog Farm. We all agreed it had the perfect flavor and texture, and we started buying up the stock at the only 2 markets in San Francisco that carried it. When the season ended in September 2005, we resigned ourselves to the fact that it would be another year until such a treat would grace our plates again.

Well, it's back! I quickly emailed the interested parties: Let the eating begin. Summer fog be damned! For us the tomato defines the season, not the lousy weather.

This past weekend, I'd just bought a couple of pounds at Buffalo grocery in the Castro, when I did my regular walk through the Alemany farmers' market — and lo and behold, what do I see?
Could it be? It was! I swiftly looked up and asked: Are you the Bartle family?
That's how I met Nibby and Miles (below), two farmers whose product allows me to feel just a bit closer to home.

The Bartles are a family of four from the Santa Cruz area running a small family farm, and it was their very first day at a San Francisco farmer's market.  I told them what their tomatoes meant for me and my friends, and how we looked forward to eating those dry-farmed beauties all year.

All their effort means something very special to me, to Ilaria, and to many others — on a personal level, not in some abstract way. From their care, to the market, to my hands, to me and my dinner guests.

Now if we could all reap such rewards from our daily work...

In Italian the tomato used to be called pomo d'amore, pome of love, back in the 1800s when it was the custom for a gentleman to bring a small tomato plant when  visiting his beloved. It was only introduced to Europe from central and south American plant in the 1500s, so it was still an exotic gift, like bringing an orchid these days. It wasn't eaten; its kinship with the notorious Deadly Nightshade (in Italian, belladonna) affected its popularity as an edible vegetable. Between the lethal belladonna (literally, "beautiful woman" in Italian) and the supposedly poisonous pome of love, you can make your own deductions about the Italians' particular outlook on love and relationships.

Over time, the pomo d'amore's red, orange and sometimes bright yellow colors turned its name to pomo d'oro (pome of gold), and that's how it remains to this day: Pomodoro. The word in English and most other western languages come from the Nahuatl (the language used by the Aztecs) tomatl.

Which ones do I buy?
Taste them and buy only the fresh, ripe, spicy-scented ones — put your nose to them already! When fresh, they're a nutritional powerhouse. If they're allowed to ripen on the vine, tomatoes develop a very rich, full flavor thanks to the presence of the savory Glutamic acid (present in most meats). Glutamic acid is responsible for one of the basic five flavors: Umami. At full ripeness you'll also notice a a carmel undertone that comes from the production of the desired furaneol aroma compound (also present in strawberries and pineapples).

Don't bother buying supermarket-variety tomatoes, the poster children of flavorless produce. These tomato species are selected for their capacity to tolerate long shipping, instead of flavor. They're picked when still green, and their red color is produced with exposure to ethylene gas.
 

Now, do everyone a favor: Go to the market, sample a few Bartle tomatoes and bring some home. Slice them, dress them with a touch of extra-virgin olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar, indulge their demand for a few leaves of sun-drenched basil, add some fresh, creamy mozzarella, and devour.

Let the textures and flavors overwhelm your palate. It's great to let summer in.

A presto,
Marco Flavio

King Flavor: A plum choice.

Buongiorno.
A plum is a plum, right? Well—yes and no.
There are 2,000 varieties of plums and according to the Center for Disease Control more than 140 are sold in the States. That doesn't even include pluots (3/4 plum, 1/4 apricot hybrid) which are also frequently labeled plums.

Here's the problem: Supermarkets have been telling us less and less about what we eat. We have 14 types of peanut butter, but only one or two labeled plums? I don't think so.

One plum you might like because of its gingery, tart flavor, one for its sweet and delicate aroma. Many may be too perfumy or tangy for your taste. If you only have the one you don't like and it's called a plum, you'll assume that you don't like plums. Wrong. You haven't been given sufficient information. Go and sample. Just like with customer service: Always ask for a name.

Last weekend I was pleased to discover that one of my favorites is finally on the stands: King Flavor. It's a red or maroon pluot, very sweet, with a rich, broad but not perfumy scent and a tangy underflavor. Now, we all agree: They were not going for subtlety with that name, but sometimes you have to tell it like it is.

I bought a couple of pounds of these maroon organic beauties from Ferrari Farms from Linden, CA ($2 a pound; thank you Señor Mario for the advice) thinking that with the other fruit I bought they would last me through the week. Not so. They're gone. Bye-bye. And I'm a happier man for it. They were here, they were delicious and I ate them all in no time flat.

Plums are one of those summer treats that bring back memories—and if you have no plum memories, now's as good as any other time to start making some. Nutritionally, they're rich in Vitamin C, fiber (4% of your daily allowance in 1 plum), have a good amount potassium, and are cholesterol- and sodium-free. It's great snack after a hike or a run, or between meals.

How do I select them?
When you're about to buy them, make sure they're firm to the touch but give a little.  They will not get any sweeter as they ripen—so if they're tart when you sample them, that's how they'll remain.
They'll ripen and soften further if left outside the fridge 1 or 2 days, especially in a warm room. At that point they can be refrigerated 2-3 days to prevent them from becoming overripe. If they're too hard (don't give almost at all to the touch, tennis-ball-like) they might've been too underripe when picked, and may never be ready to be eaten.

If you get them from a farmer's market they often still have the "bloom", that fog-like patina that indicates minimal handling and freshness. Before eating them (if you can find it in you to wait), let them come to room temperature. Their flavor will bloom; cold temperatures inhibit aromas (this goes for almost any food or beverage).

What enhances their flavor?
Savory spices, especially when poached or roasted. Try cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg. Vanilla also works well; try dicing some and eating them with a little vanilla ice cream.
If you can resist eating them out of the bag and want to cook with them, here are some ideas from RecipeZaar.com. Hint, hint: Try the Vanilla Poached Plums or the Plums in Marsala (but forget the yogurt).

When are they available?
They peak in August and September. Drive, walk, run to the market!
They're on the stands June through October.

On a (more) personal note...
Plums are a really important artistic motif in Asian art, and one of the images that directed me toward the study of Japanese woodblock printmaking was Ando Hiroshige's "Plum estate, Kameido" from his series 100 famous views of Edo (on left). It's a strikingly modern image that went on to influence Western art via the Impressionists and Van Gogh, who made a well-known oil painting copy of the print.

A presto,
Marco Flavio

Milk, Part I. What to buy?

Buongiorno.
Milk is something we purchase on a weekly basis, whether to dilute the much-needed morning caffeine that allow us to face the day, or to turn an otherwise average pan sauce into the creamy wonder our meats and palate covet. When I arrived from Italy I thought purchasing milk would be an easy undertaking. Milk is milk, after all. Right? No. Not these days. There are a lot of options that have turned this simple choice into a bit of a maze.

Like many of you, I have been trying to do the right thing and buy food that is not filled with antibiotics, hormones and pesticides and still retains most of its nutrients. At the same time I would like my purchase to benefit the people and community that grow it, not pollute the environment (excessively) and ensure that the animals it comes from are treated in a humane manner.
These days that is quite the tall order.

But fear not: Here's some information I gathered for you, in the hope it will help you as it has helped me. Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll examine the offerings and claims of readily available milk in Bay Area supermarkets.

Types of Milk

Whole milk:
1 CUP: Calories 149, Fat 7.7 grams, Calcium 291 mg
This is the milk to use for sauces and baking that has the most fat (aside from cream). In most recipes, where milk is called for, the fat is one of the reasons for its use. If you decide to use reduced fat or skim milk, your baked good may turn slightly dry and your pan sauce less creamy—so you may have to compensate with other ingredients. I say use the full fat and eat less of it. We only live once.

2% Milk:
1 CUP: Calories 121, Fat 4.4 grams, Calcium 296 mg
This milk works well for coffee drinks and it's fine for most baked goods. Try it and adjust the recipe as needed. For pan sauces it works also pretty well. Add a little flour (1tsp scant) to the pan to make your sauce thicker. I use it for baking muffins and reductions all the time. Go for it.

1% Milk:
1 CUP: Calories 104, Fat 2.2 grams, Calcium 312 mg
This has too little fat to bake or cook with. Use it for drinks or cereal, or wherever else calls for milk straight out of the carton, uncooked.

Nonfat Milk:
1 CUP: Calories 90, Fat 0.5 grams, Calcium 316 mg
Yikes! This is milk-flavored water.

Raw Milk:
This is milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized. It has a deeper, stronger flavor.
There is a lot of controversy at the moment as not pasteurizing the milk can be unsafe due to the fact that salmonella and other harmful bacteria may not have been eliminated from it. Proponents of raw milk correctly assert that its flavor and nutritional values are superior. It's currently illegal in some states, but not in California. It's available at select groceries in San Francisco; Rainbow carries it. Go to Real Milk for more information. Note that the USDA discourages the consumption of raw milk.

(Nutritional information changes from producer to producer, as the various breeds of cows produce quite different milk. These are average quantities; read the Nutritional Label on your milk for specific information.)

Labeling

Pasteurized
Pasteurization is the process of heating up the milk in order to eliminate a large amount of the bacteria living in it. Unfortunately the process also eliminates part of the flavors, nutrients and vitamins. Hence the proponents of raw milk.
There are the two main methods of pasteurization:
HTST (high temperature, short time) is the most common. The milk is heated for at least 15 seconds at a temperature of 161.5°F. Most milk available in U.S. supermarkets uses this one.
UHT (ultra high temperature) The milk is heated for at least 2 seconds at a temperature of 280°F. This is used for milk that needs to be stored for a much longer period of time (it has a refrigerated life of 2 to 3 months). It tastes like old sneakers. Fortunately it is not very common, except in survival kits and in those single-serving containers they have in diners.

Homogenized
If you leave milk sitting around for a while, its cream will rise to the top and its fat will create a nice layer at the top, leaving an almost skim solution at the bottom. All you have to do is give it a good shake before serving. However, most consumers don't want to see this separation, so the dairy industry "homogenizes" the milk by passing the milk through a high pressure system; the fat droplets are broken into much smaller droplets and their surfaces become coated with protein more easily making it much more stable.

Vitamin D added
Vitamin D is actually not quite a vitamin but more similar to a hormone (see the definition). It aids the absorption of calcium. Milk is fortified with it so that people can actually absorb one of its most known nutrients.
Labeling the milk "Hormone-free" when Vitamin D is added is incorrect.

Vitamin A added
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble, antioxidant vitamin important in bone growth.

rBST
Bovine growth hormone re-engineered by Monsanto. This is a controversial hormone that regulates the production of milk in cattle. It can increase milk production from 10% to 40%. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require special labels for products produced from cows given rbST. When producers decide to label that their milk does not contain it, they must also state that by USDA standards there is no difference. However, hormone-free organic milk can be labeled as "hormone-free."
"Monsanto fought this labeling, and sued a small dairy called Oakhurst in an attempt to block organic dairies from labeling their milk hormone-free; they lost.
Demand for hormone-free organic milk in the US has increased 500% since Monsanto introduced their rbST product, and is the fastest growing sector of the organic food market." —Wikipedia

Organic
This is the USDA definition of organic: "Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.  Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.  Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation."
"Before a product can be labeled 'organic,' a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards.  Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too."
Sadly there is no mention of access to pasture, humanely raised or grass-fed. There is an ongoing effort to change these standards and how they are applied to livestock, specifically their access to pasture and a diet that is compatible with their digestive tract and therefore humane: Cattle do very poorly on an all-grain diet (I will resume this topic at a later date, meanwhile see Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and Eatwild.com).

So many choices, and in the case of organic, a bit of exploiting our best intentions to sell us something that falls quite short of what we imagine we are buying. But more of that in the next installment. Some producers make a superior organic milk. Some do not. The problem always comes back to the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law. Oh, and profits.

A presto,
Marco Flavio

Pesto. Don't get me started.

Buongiorno a tutti.
Given the abundance of delicious produce this particularly warm summer has brought us, let's talk about a very popular herb sauce. Many of you have had it, yet too few restaurants do it well. Judging by the quality of the pesto you find around, I am often surprised by its popularity. Trust me.

It's a sauce that requires no oven to be turned on or burners to be lit. It's raw, it's earthy, it's simple and it coats your mouth with the one of the essential aromas of summer: Basil.
Now, for some peculiar reason people have decided that they would improve on this sauce and add lemon, various cheeses, butter, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, strawberries with cream (well, maybe not the berries, but I am Italian and do need a little hyperbole to state a point, you get the idea). Nothing wrong with that once you have it down, but let's get back to basics: The reason why it became so popular. After all, when Sinatra launched his Italian food line in 1975 he gave pesto a starring role.
Pesto is supposed to be simple harmony of few ingredients, so you can easily make it at home with a very moderately stocked pantry. Really. And you can even freeze it for later use. I am serious.

Genoese pesto
(Pesto alla Genovese)

You will need:

Basil leaves: 2 cups tightly packed (no stems, washed and patted dry with a paper towel, organic and as fresh as  possible, those leaves should look bright green and shiny from the essential oils you will enjoy shortly)

Pine nuts: 1/4 cup (toasted in the oven 7 minutes at 350 degrees)

Garlic: 2 medium cloves, peeled

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 1/3 (start here) to 1/2 cup, depending on taste (no regular Olive Oil, please, we do want some flavor here, eh? Bariani perhaps, I am a big admirer; they are local and sell all over San Francisco)

Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano: 1/2 Cup, grated (Trader Joe's is fine)

Pecorino Romano: 1/2 Cup, grated (NOT the Trader Joe's, they have a new importer and it does not taste like anything, if you need a vendor please ask me, it needs to be spicy, peppery and savory)
If you want, you can omit one of the cheeses and use a full cup of the other. Adjust the pepper accordingly, more if you use just the Parmigiano, less if just the Pecorino.

Salt and pepper to taste (that pepper is freshly ground, right?)

That's it.

Now, pesto in Italian means crushed, as it used to be made in a mortar and crushed with a pestle, but today... use the food processor, I won't complain, it works well. Excessive purists be damned.
I do want to give you a word of advice, though. There is a reason why the pestle was used for this recipe. The essential oils in basil are contained in the little veins on the leaves. If you simply cut them in the food processor, the leaves get cut to pieces, but on the individual pieces the veins stay intact. When you crush them with a pestle, you tear the leaves.
What I do to simulate that is I put the washed and dried leaves in a plastic bag and either bruise the leaves with the back of a large knife, or even better I use my rolling pin and roll over them a few times until they are bruised. That releases more of the oils and makes it taste like basil quite a bit more. Try it.

Once your ingredients are ready, put the oil, garlic, basil and pine nuts with 1/4 to 1/2 tsp tsp of salt (depending on personal preference) and a little pepper in the food processor. Pulse and do not just let it liquefy, so that you have a way of making sure that it is all getting ground evenly. When it starts to come together taste for salt and garlic, if necessary add some. Remember the cheeses are salty so don't add too much salt. Garlic flavor should be mild, but it should be present. Leave as much texture as you like, it should be fairly chunky but homogeneous and not too liquid, like a thick batter for cookies.

Take it out. Now you have two options.

One, put the sauce in a freezer ziplog bag and freeze it; this way (without the cheese) it holds well for a while, and mid-week if you have guest, you thaw it for 2 hours add the cheese and you are ready to roll.

Two, add the cheese to the sauce in a serving bowl, cook a pound of pasta al dente (texture, people, texture); linguine love the sauce, but rigatoni or little shells store some of it inside and become a little flavor explosion, can't go wrong there. Add a couple of Tbs of water from the pasta to dilute it a hair so that it flows and coats the pasta properly when you toss it, serve and enjoy.
A perfect slice of summer.
Ciao,
Marco Flavio

Come on, buy local already.

Buongiorno.
One of the points I wish to make, which is also one of the main reasons for this blog's existence, is the importance of acquiring locally produced meat, fruit and vegetables (and whatever else you can get your hands on). In this household we make a conscious effort to purchase fruit and vegetables that are in season and grown locally (except for Porcini mushrooms, I get those bad boys back home) so for us, for example, cherries are gone until next year. The season in California ended 2-3 weeks ago, so be it.
I enjoyed them while they were here, perhaps more than usual as it is the first year we decided to do this, with the pleasure and relish that comes only from knowing that something will soon be gone, until the season returns.
Maybe it strikes a familiar chord in me as when I am back in Italy, I eat the same three or four dishes again and again, as I know the moment I get back on the plane for the States, I won't have them again until I return in 1, 2 or in the worst case so far 3 years.
Let us remember that the majority of food in supermarkets in not selected for taste, but by how it will look on the shelf after an average of a 1,500 miles trip (gas cost for that lettuce to get to your table, anyone? Anyone?). That means they choose strains that will not bruise, will not discolor and will (hopefully) look great in a week to ten days from picking. Remember: it is not chosen for its flavor. Tasted a supermarket tomato recently? 'Nuff said.
I rather buy something fresh, and store it myself until I have the time to shop again, which could be in a few days. That way it's still relatively fresh, not 2 weeks old. After a few days from picking most nutrients from produce are long gone.
A question I often get here in San Francisco is how to cook a great recipe people had back in Italy. Ok, let's get straight to the point. The exceptional taste of Italian food is given by the alchemy of few ingredients, oftentimes the best known recipes are fairly simple and truly harmonious. Think of it as a perfect chord. 5, maybe 7 flavors come together and make that dish that stuck in your head for years. How did they do that?
Well, I can tell you, because they picked 5 or 7 near perfect ingredients. The best extra virgin olive oil, the best tomatoes and so on. If you start with a supermarket tomato (I know, I am particularly  disgusted by supermarket tomatoes) you wil NEVER creat a good tomato sauce, or salad, no matter how much you work at it, cook it, spice it... whatever. It is just not going to happen.
And no, I am not one of those snobs that say you cannot make good Italian food here. Trust me, you can. I do all the time. You just have to learn what to buy. It's not even expensive. Remember: Most food we think of as Italian was the people's food, what most Italian ate, not just those who could afford it.
Another important element is that farmers can give you information about what you are looking to buy. They know what is good this week, what you should wait for, what is at its peek and will stir you in the right direction. I was just lamenting the peach crop a few weeks back to the guy I buy them from, and he poined out that the extreme heat caused them to be soft near the skin, yet unripe in the core, too crunchy. So I waited and was rewarded for it.
Nothing like a perfect peach, I don't care how long I have to wait.
One more thing: buying locally is extremely important to mantain local farmers and biodiversity in existence. Family farms are progressively disappearing in this country, as commodity prices fall year after year and money is made in value-added services (processing any ingredient into a product, like corn into high-fructose corn syrup into Coke, the real profit is in selling Coke not corn). Currently the average farmer makes 10 cents out of every dollar a retail supermarket makes in selling their produce. When you buy directly they get the full amount. This ensures their continued existence, the fact that we don't have to pay in oil the transportation of food from elsewhere to our market, and that we have access to food that is fresh, picked at the right ripeness and delivered to our plate in a timely manner, still laden with nutrients, color and flavor. Want to give that up? I didn't think so.
Lastly, we live in the San Francisco Bay Area, very close to some of the best produce-growing regions in the country, maybe the world. We have access to a diversity of fresh produce that some people cannot even conceive of. Year-round.
If we can't make the effort...
A presto,
Marco Flavio

PS
There is a good NPR story you can listen to about organic vs. local. Check it out.

Those strawberries look delicious...

Salve, it seems to me that one of the greatest advantages of living (and therefore eating) in San Francisco is the ubiquitous presence of organic strawberries usually grown in Watsonville (see this for their nutritional info, they are truly remarkable).
Strawberries are in full swing at this time of year, and I do recommend you buy them organic; there has been quite a bit of research on pesticide residue on them, and organic is a must (please see this for pesticide information, and download their wallet card for reference).
Now, with my advice on purchase out of the way, let's get to those organic strawberries. At Alemany they cost only $1 or $2 more for 3 baskets than the regular one, usually $5 for 3 organic baskets and are absolutely worth it.

First word of advice: when at a farmers' market sample the food you are about to purchase whenever possible. I know that for americans it is a bit of an unusual approach, but that is how the rest of the world does it, and it serves a specific purpose. Not all produce is the same, and just because they are selling it, it does not mean it is ripe or good.
Strawberries are a case in point; a lot of them can be underripe, tasting sour, like a green tomato, or overripe, in that case they have a deep red (almost maroon) color and are fragile, so they bruise terribly in transport and when served their consistency is way too soft. Taste them, and you will know. They must be sweet, flavorful and somewhat firm. You will figure it out fast enough, especially if sampling 3 or 4 different vendors in a row and having the possibility of a quick first-hand comparison.

Once you take it home, here is a couple of Italian ways of making quick work of them, adding something just to complement their splendid flavour (there is a reason why they are so popular):

Strawberries with balsamic vinegar syrup
(Fragole con sciroppo di aceto balsamico)

Wash them quickly in cold water. Cut off the top green part and slice them to a desired size.
Place them in the serving bowl and pour (or spray) the syrup on them. Trust me, there are few recipes as simple, but the rewards, I tell you, are plenty. The balsamic perfectly complements the sweetness of the berries, and it adds a savory and tangy touch. Just add to your liking and toss well. Now, you ask, where do I get the balsamic vinegar syrup? Well, it is easy, you make it and it lasts a long time.

Balsamic vinegar syrup
In a small sauce pan, heat up 2 Cups of balsamic vinegar and bring it to a boil. Lower the flame and simmer until reduced by half. Let it cool off, then put it in a spray bottle for ease of use, or a jar and spoon it when needed. Try to buy a good balsamic (but not the $20 and up for a small bottle), hopefully not the Trader Joe's. Whole Food carried the 365 line (about $5), that works really well. This syrup can also be used on meats, salads, even cheeses. I use it to top my portobello mushroom, carmelized onions and fontina pizza (that is for another posting). The slight sweetness and zing take the savory over the edge.
Enjoy!

Strawberries with lemon and brown sugar
(Fragole col limone e lo zucchero marrone)

My other favorite recipe my aunt in Roma used to make just for me, as the whole family just ate them with fresh whipped cream and a little powdered sugar (actually, that IS good...) is with lemon juice and brown sugar.

You toss the sugar to taste with the lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon for 2 servings).  Mix really well to melt the sugar in the juices and make a syrup that will coat the berries and your palate; the molasses in the brown sugar acts to add a little savory note, like the balsamic vinegar. After you are done, then toss in the berries and coat them thoroughly; if you mix it all at once, you may bruise the berries in an effort to mix the syrup.
Try it, you won't regret it.

If you make any of these, please let me know, and tell me how you and your guests liked them.
I would really like to hear about it. And if you have any questions, just ask away.
A presto,
Marco Flavio

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