101 Street Food: Tacos Radici e Fasioi

a few weeks ago i was kindly asked to enter a contest about street food and wine, organized by Quota 101, an awesome farm in Veneto. if you go to their home page you can easily see that i share one of my great passion with them: i'm talking about picnics. (oh, you're right: wine, too!) so, i simply had to say yes. the recipe i have to share for the contest must be written in italian, so i'm sorry but the words below will be written in my beloved mother tongue.

un paio di giorni fa ho scritto una piccola introduzione al tema street food, una riflessione che mi ha portato a scegliere le mia ricetta, in modo che avesse delle storie dietro, che non fosse solo inchiostro su un pezzo di carta. veloce, tipica, e street. cioè semplice da preparare, fatta con ingredienti tipici, che parlino di un luogo, delle sue facce e dei suoi sapori, e street perchè devi poterla mangiare dappertutto, in ogni occasione.. anche una cena improvvisata con le amiche o una sosta dopo una corsa in lambretta.
a me è piaciuto raccontarli così, questa ricetta e questo vino, il Malterreno.

radici e fasioi è uno dei piatti che più raccontano il luogo da cui provengo, parla di lunghi inverni, di cucina povera ma gustosa, di famiglie numerose, di dialetto veneto. usare ingredienti di stagione mi sembrava il minimo, e cosa può esserci di più stagionale che il fiore d'inverno, il radicchio rosso di Treviso?
le tortillas sono un grande classico dello street food, rimpinzate all'inverosimile e mangiate con le mani, piegate in tanti modi diversi: io le ho preparate con la farina di mais Biancoperla, un altro orgoglio del territorio. la salsa era di zucca e pancetta, leggermente piccante, in cui intingere il taco.
il Malterreno di Quota 101 è un bianco veneto IGT, per cui è andato felicemente a sposarsi con degli ingredienti della sua terra.

angelina e bobi (le avete già conosciute all'osteria senz'oste) sono venute da me per una seratina tra gossip e bicchieri di vino, cucinando insieme.
ecco la ricetta completa (le dosi sono approssimativamente per 3 persone):
tortillas
280 gr farina di mais biancorperla, 300 ml acqua, 2 pizzichi di sale, 1 cucchiaio olio d'oliva. sciogliere il sale nell'acqua tiepida. aggiungere l'acqua e l'olio alla farina. impastare bene, lasciar riposare per 15-20 min. tagliare due fogli di carta da forno (25x25), fare una pallina di impasto e schiacciarla tra i due con la mano, stendere col mattarello. scaldare una padella antiaderente (tipo crepiera). appoggiare i fogli sopra e toglierli uno alla volta. cuocere 2-3 min per ogni lato.
ripieno
radicchio rosso di treviso tardivo (700-800 gr), fagioli borlotti. cuocere il radicchio tagliato a pezzetti nel soffritto. salare e pepare. aggiungere i fagioli precedentemente cotti in una casseruola coperti da 3-4 dita d'acqua. 
salsa
soffriggere la cipolla, aggiungere la pancetta (6 fette di pancetta arrotolata, a pezzetti), sfumando con il Malterreno. aggiungere la zucca a tocchetti (mezza di quelle piccine), sale, pepe e peperoncino, cuocere aggiungendo brodo finchè la zucca si spappola bene. frullare tutto con il frullatore a immersione! 
n.b. i tacos vanno farciti e piegati quando le tortillas sono ancora calde.

abbiamo cucinato, mangiato e brindato con il Malterreno, che con il nome racconta la bellezza imperfetta delle colline in cui crescono le sue uve (tai/tocai e garganega). in una delle prime gite primaverili che faremo in lambretta speriamo di riuscire a spingerci fino a vederli, questi colli! è un vino morbido e delicatamente fruttato, bilanciava armoniosamente l'amarognolo del radicchio, e il piccantino della salsa lo esaltava. (ad ogni modo mi sono divertita più a creare situazioni ed esperienze dietro a questo abbinamento di ricetta + vino, che a lambiccarmi su proprietà organolettiche e schede tecniche.. dubito che i signori di Quota 101 me ne vorranno, dato che stando al loro manifesto, anche loro preferiscono far parlare storie e suggestioni ♥)

dopo giorni di pioggia e neve, il sole di domenica ha permesso una scampagnata dicembrina in sella alla lambretta, sulle collline della pedemontana. solo le ore appena prima e appena dopo pranzo sono abbastanza calde da permettere un bel giro, e i tacos appena fatti si sono mantenuti tiepidi. in questo caso, ho messo la salsa di zucca e pancetta direttamente dentro la tortilla. 

quando facciamo dei lambretta picnic solitamente io e marco non ci portiamo del vino (chi guida non deve bere!), ma una sua versione street e invernale che adoriamo è sicuramente il vin brulè. 

provate a scaldare il Malterreno con un cucchiaino di zucchero, dei pezzetti di mela e pera, un chiodo di garofano e una puntina di cannella! (e poi prendete la bici, i picnic sono fantastici anche così)

Street Food, an introduction

I was asked to invent a street food recipe, paired with a wine. So, I thought: what does it have to do with me, and with my blog? This is not a blog about food. Not a blog about wine. But I like wine. And I do love good, fresh, locally produced food. It's not about travel in general, either. I love to travel, of course. But this is a space where I'd love to talk about a way to enjoy a land, its streets, spots, traditions, products, flavours.
That's what I have in common with street food.

When I think about "street food" I can't stop thinking about how refreshing that pineapple I bought on the hot & wet street of Bangkok was, and about how I felt, eating yakisoba at Mitama Matsuri in Tokyo: I was alone, not lonely. I was living the place, fitting in, understanding something about that land.

Street Food is quick >> but just because it's simple, easy to prepare, you don't have to eat it quickly! On the contrary, it's better if you take your time, and enjoy it with someone else: you'll never forget its taste.

Street Food is typical >> it talks about a place: tradition, culture, history, folk, are its ingredients.

Street Food is, well, street! >> you can eat it in your cozy living room ( with that friends of yours that showed up at your door on sunday evening), sitting on your couch watching a movie, on a bench in the park, during a picnic or a roadrip: everywhere.

Watch out, or you'll stain your shirt (I usually do).

no weather for lambrettas. November.

Novembrrrrrrr
Lots of work, lots of rain. Lately, we haven't had the chance to ride our Lambretta around. It was better to stay indoors, where it's warm and cozy. We had a couple of lovely cooking night in with Ani and Giovi, like gnocchi night.

Stanage Edge

The light was stunning, the place simply wonderful. Never thought that we would find such a bright day in Britain in November.

Just a perfect perfect morning.
(don't be fooled by these warm colours, the wind was chilly)

highlights from our east midlands roadtrip here.

East Midlands roadtrip

A countryside roadtrip by car and not by Lambretta this time {we haven't found a cheap way to carry the Lambretta with us...yet} driving around the East Midlands in Britain.

We're so glad we found exactly the kind of villages and scenery we were looking for.. I was expecting to see Elizabet Bennet or Lady Mary Crawley around every corner!

Autumn colors really suit Derbyshire and its historical and natural jewels, making us love every single mile.

Some highlights:
° drove for 363 miles {584 km}, embracing the scary opposite side {of the road}
° had 4 cream tea with homemade fruit scones, jam and butter
° saw 3 castles {Bolsover Castle, Peverill Castle, Nottingham Castle}, 2 stately houses {Hardwick Hall, Chatsworth House -hello, Bess!-}, 1 national park {Peak District}, 2 counties {Notts, Derbs}
° sang in a cavern (Un'avventura, by Battisti. And it was the Blue John Cavern -the white haired guide is the best-)
° listened Adele's Skyfall 10 times at BBC radio {at least}
° said hello to the 1150 years old Major Oak in Sherwood Forest
° learned how to fill out an English IRF
° ate too much bacon
° recreated the Pride and Prejudice movie scene above Stanage Edge
° visited the Little John's oversized grave
° slept in a house in the woods listening to the rain

more here.

educational farm. October, Sunday 14th

Veneto region, where we live, is basically a rural area, rich in farms. many of them are educational farms, which means that they collaborate with schools, teaching kids about how a farm works, where their food comes from, the importance of the enviroment.
usually, these kind of practical lessons are just for the students, but on sunday there was the Open Day of Veneto Educational Farms, so many farms opened their gates to show to anyone interested how their work is done. for someone who loves his land, cares about enviroment, and about eating well, this was a good chance to learn something.

we spent the day in Borgoluce, a farm managed by the Collalto family {mentioned here, too}, located in the famous Prosecco hills, between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. they produce wine, meat and charcuterie, flours {from Biancoperla corn too, a Slow Food Ark of Taste}, dairy products {I have to come back for the red fruits yogurt..}, oil, honey and, above all, clean energy.  
we saw the buffalos stable {they are lovely}, and were impressed by the biodigester and cogenerator, which  produce biogas from animal effluent and agricultural products, to be then transformed into electricity and heat.

and then? We ate, of course. we cannot talk all morning about km 0 food {local food from-farm-to-table} without tasting it. in case you wonder, it was delicious. we had some samples of buffalo milk mozzarella, stracchino, robiola, salame and cotechino.  

thank you so much Borgoluce, we'll come back soon
pictures taken with my nikon and iPhone VSCO Cam

info
Azienda Agricola Borgoluce
loc. Musile,2  Susegana (TV)
www.borgoluce.it @borgoluce

fall picnic. October, Saturday 13th

time to spend some outdoor hours, to enjoy chilly air and warm colors. time to read a book wrapped in a warm blanket, using a reddish leaf as bookmark. time to cook using the delicious gift of Autumn, pack everything up and take a path in the woods.

deciding what to put in my picnic basket, i was inspired by the Under the Tree project, that made some tempting fall-themed menus {you can find them here, but italian only!}. so, i tried two of their recipes: mushrooms & mozzarella panzerotti, and carrots purée with speck.

then, my autumnal trump card: pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting. i haven't cooked it for months, they tasted so good.

the trail we choose is near home, known as Sentiero del Patriarca. i used to come here very often in the past, with the Scouts. at the very beginning of the path there is an abandoned house, i remember we called it Casa Bianca {white house} when we were kids but actually it's not white at all. anyway, it still has a beautiful painted sundial.

Abbazia di Sant'Eustachio. September, Sunday 30th

Dear Autumn, you're very welcome. But, could you please stay warm a little bit longer?

 I'm afraid Lambretta season is slowly ending.. and Sunday was a glimpse on our foggy, wet Winter.
We couldn't stand an indoor afternoon, and despite the light rain we went to see a little gem we've never seen before, near Montello.

Sant'Eustachio Abbey  is completely in ruins. The grey sky, the soft murmur of the rain on the shiny green.. It suited the romantic side of the place.

History lesson! The Abbey was founded by the Counts of Collalto in 1062. For its blessed position and peace, it was chosen between the 16^ and 17^ centuries as a place of retreat and meditation by many intellectuals of that time. Here, Giovanni dalla Casa wrote the Galateo, a treatise of manners.

The Great War has left a tragic sign here, too. The Montello was at the forefront.

So, if Lambretta season is ending, that means gelato season is ending soon, too. Uva Fragola {Strawberry Grapes} is a gelato flavour made by our favourite gelateria Gasparetto, only for this last month, before closing. We stopped by after the Abbey visit, enjoying the shy sun after the rain.

Last pic is taken with iPhone, the others with lomography Diana F+.

September. harvesting grapes

Pinot grigio, Pinot bianco, Sauvignon, Manzoni, Prosecco, Merlot, Verduzzo friulano, Cabernet. Me and my sister spent September in the vineyards harvesting grapes.
It may seems poetic and sometime it is, and fun, too, but it's hard work.

I took some photos, not too many cause it's kind of difficult to bring the camera when you have to work no-stop and you're covered in dirt.
Too bad I didn't shoot Marco and Giovi while they were driving the tractor ♥ Maybe next year.

Photos taken with lomography Diana F+.

desmontegada. September, Sunday 23rd

 

the Desmontegada {the Transhumance Fair} of Primiero Valley is an event that we look forward to see every year. the transhumance is the seasonal movement of the livestock from winter to summer pastures. the fair is aimed to traditionally celebrate the end of the summer mountain pastures, and the cows coming back to the valley, where the herders have their permanent home.

Anna's boyfriend Giovanni has a cozy maso in the Primiero Valley, in Trentino region (where I would like to live happily ever after) and his family got a farm, so they take part in this parade where all the local farms and families show their animals around the town's tiny streets.

it's a wonderful example of Trentino's local folklore, and we love it. (One of Giovanni's cow walked into a cafè, too! That was adorable)
Tosela, beans, luganega, polenta... i'm still dreaming about the food we had in Tonadico. too bad I don't have photos of that (next time, I promise), but you can enjoy all the parade details I loved the most.

 

 
on our way back home we took the Passo Cereda direction instead of the usual road, to enjoy the amazing -but sometimes spooky- panorama of the Val del Mis (I was so frightened by the unlit rock tunnels!).

i know we look overdressed but believe me it was cold on the road.  

i'm not posting any analogue photos lately, my Nikon EM is under repair!