|
Corti Brothers Newsletter for December 2005 Page 6 Olives solve a lot of entertaining problems: they are easy to use, can be flavored in different ways and practically everyone likes them. Easy to use, olives just need to be drained from their brine and put out as hors d’oeuvres. Added to stews and braises, they lend a haunting flavor and become one with the dish; drained and flavored with good oil, different herbs, spices, also citrus peel, they can add distinction to a buffet table or tapas lineup. Two styles for you to try are the Penna California Kalamon Olives and Penna Dryland Sevillano Olives. Both these olives are new to California. Kalamon is the cultivar name of what is known as Kalamata olives from Greece. Less vinegary than the Greek import, they have the variety’s distinctive almond shape and can be added with great effect to salads, sauces or just enjoyed as they are. Dryland Sevillano is the famous Andalusian variety that makes very large olives, but grown without irrigation, hence, “dryland” and picked as ripe fruit rather than green, they are different. Faded purple in color, they have a naturally dark, tender flesh since they were harvested as ripe olives and a meaty, tangy flavor. We do not have much stock left of these two delightful examples of California olives. They would make a good gift for food loving friends outside of California and a delightful base for your own entertaining needs.
Cotechino is a special pork sausage which is one of the glories of the cuisine of the Emilia Romagna, especially Modena, Lombardy, and surrounding areas. It is made from leanish pork and cooked pork skins (cotene) from which it gets its name. It is only since October 2001 that the Levoni Company of Mantua has been allowed to ship cotechino to this country. The Levoni cotechino comes precooked, requiring only that it be heated in its pouch, in simmering water, for some 40 minutes producing a delicious sausage that you merely slice and serve. Cotechino is a rich, unctuous sausage that is traditionally served with cooked cannellini or borlotti beans, simply cooked lentils, or not too buttery mashed potatoes. Shelf stable, packaged one sausage per box, it needs no refrigeration. Levoni Cotechino di Modena is an I.G.P. product that has a protected geographical indication of origin. This means that it has to be made in a specific area and have a certain flavor and texture to the exclusion of all others. It is easily prepared; just follow the directions on the box. Cotechino is one of the great pleasures of the winter table. Served cold, sliced as a cold meat it is a wonderful part of an antipasto plate. In fact, cook two at a time; one to eat hot, the other cold later.
Chorizo Pork Sausage: Spain's Gift to the Food World Cured Chorizo sausage is the original tapas sausage. It is also one of the informing ingredients of Spanish cooking. Slow cooked beans or garbanzo dishes would be unthinkable without it. The Rioja based firm of Embutidos Palacios sends us an entirely traditional CHORIZO, both in mild and picante forms made in Spain from Danish raised pork. Pimentón (Spanish paprika), salt and garlic are the only other elements. Stuffed into a particularly sturdy, very thin casing, it is then air dried. Just allow it to come to room temperature so its flavor blossoms before eating. The word “chorizo” is peculiar to Castillian Spanish and to Portuguese. Of unknown origin, datable only to 1576, it does not have a traceable genealogy. However, it's present form is very datable since it uses pimentón (capsicum pepper) which only began to be grown in Spain at the end of the 1600s. Mexican chorizo is a different style of sausage altogether and is not interchangeable for the Spanish. If you have not tried Palacios Chorizo yet, you owe it to yourself to do so. Use it in steaming clams or mussels; flavor soups with it; add it to fried potatoes; serve it sliced with a like sized piece of bread for a very quick tapa. It is seductively addicting.
<< Back to Top |
Corti Brothers
Sacramento CA
