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In today’s economy everyone is trying to stretch dollars. One way to do this is to begin cooking from scratch or almost from scratch. Sometimes, this means having to think more than one meal ahead. Beans fill this bill very nicely: they can be cooked ahead, reheated or other wise used at different times. A bowl of cooked beans in the “fridge” can solve a lot of problems with menu planning. One is serving them with tuna, extra virgin oil and chopped parsley, and presto, a simple, tasty and nourishing first course or even main course. The beans: Caponi di Sartocchio; the tuna: Consorcio. I have written about both of these products previously, now you just have to take to heart what I’ve said, buy some and use them together. But then, with the Consorcio tuna, you can make some delicious dishes with it using staples already found in your kitchen or from this newsletter. Caponi di Sartocchio is a cultivar of white kidney or cannellini beans. Corti Brothers buys them from a grower in Pescadero, California, whose father brought the original beans from his home village, Saltocchio, just outside of Lucca. (The linguistic phenomenon of the name is another story.) Due to their larger size and thinner skin, Caponi di Sartocchio are not like normal cannellini beans. Caponi cook easily and quickly. Cook them with gentle heat, and just don’t overcook them.
Grown by Dickson Ranch in the southern end of Napa Valley, Regina Taggiasca oil is one of the very few oils produced in California from this cultivar. The Dicksons, who own the property, accompanied me on an oil trip to Italy several years ago and fell in love with the soft Riviera style oil and planted Taggiasca on their property. Regina is very different, yet similar to Riviera oil. Recently it was tasted by a noted Italian expert, who was surprised to find it a medium fruity intensity oil rather than the light intensity of its home. This is due to the fact that in southern Napa Valley the fruit can be harvested slightly under ripe, whereas in Italy the fruit is allowed to fall dead ripe into nets for collection. The mild flavor and light pungency of the cultivar comes through. This is a delicious, light medium fruit intensity oil which is perfect for those looking for delicacy and not power in extra virgin oil.
Vinegars for Summer Salads
Everyone knows that the heart of a great salad is vinegar and oil. Or at least, it should. Presently oil does not seem to be a problem. There are many and varied ones available. Just remember what fruit typology you prefer: light, medium, or intense fruitiness. However, vinegar is a bit more problematical since really good vinegar is difficult to make and even more difficult to find. At Corti Brothers, with a sampling from our selection, we hope to be able to solve this problem. Ever since the early 1970s and Paul Bocuse, Sherry wine vinegar has become the darling of a lot of kitchens. At one time it was a product that the ruling authorities did not even want to think about: vinegar=spoiled wine=sherry. But now there is even a special section of the Sherry Consejo Regulador that controls sherry vinegar. So much for the perceived image. But sherry vinegar comes in two forms: normal and the reserva. For several years, we have bought from the historic firm of Garvey, Garvey Reserva Sherry Vinegar and it is a wonderful product. This is a dry vinegar with age to it. (Another form produced is flavored and sweetened with Pedro Ximenez wine, the sweet blending wine of sherry, to make a style similar to aceto balsamico.) But if you already have aceto balsamico, what you need is a forceful, flavorful, aged dry vinegar without sweetness. (Here it is like wine: we talk dry and drink sweet.) Garvey Reserva vinegar is dry, and intense. You need to use less, making the bottle go further. Softening the vinegar merely means you add a bit of water, lemon juice or dry white wine to the amount used in a salad. It is up to your taste. But the vinegar should give you this opportunity to arrange its taste to yours. With tomato salads and for gazpacho, Garvey Reserva vinegar is required.
We have had our own vinegar for years. Sometimes we are sold out. Right now, our red wine vinegar is back in stock–only in 375ml bottles–and is everything you expect a red wine vinegar to be: red colored, fragrant but not overpowering and very flavorful. You need good vinegar for everyday salads. Ours is again available. Please do not wait to buy some. Perfect for panzanella or fatoush tomato and bread salads.
This is the young version of aceto balsamico tradizionale we have offered from San Geminiano since 1982. Made from boiled down grape juice or must, this is only three-four years old, having that authentic “saba” taste with a nice vinegar tone. This is not “tradizionale” balsamico, but is as close to it as you can get. Mastro Acetaio (the master vinegar maker) can be used directly, not cut with other vinegar as the tradizionale must be. Use it in any salad where you want flavor and sweetness. Drizzle it on grilled meats; perfect for milky mozzarella caprese salad.
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Corti Brothers
Sacramento CA
