Besides the wonderful words of wisdom I heard today, at lunch filled with good friends and great conversation the air, of course, was filled with the scents of wonderful dishes from our The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen. Here is a traditional recipe from Umbria, perfect for the cold weather here in Orvieto, but for a view of the Duomo of Orvieto, I can withstand the cold temperatures…a work of art in itself…
Here is a recipe for today from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:
Minestra di Farro Umbra
(Minestra of Farro)
*8 ounces of farro
*1/2 cup of speckled beans (dry and soaked in water for 12 hours)
*1 onion
*1 celery stick
*1 carrot
*2 tablespoons of plain tomato sauce
*5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
*2 tablespoons of pecorino cheese grated
*salt & pepper to taste
After soaking the speckled beans overnight, cook them in 4 cups of boiling water for 1 hour and 3o minutes. Wash carrot, celery and chop onion, celery, carrot. Place olive oil in saucepan and heat, add in chopped vegetables and saute. After 5 minutes add in tomato sauce and 2 tblsps of hot water, stir and let cook for another 10 minutes. Add sauteed chopped vegetables with tomato sauce into beans and boiling water.
Place in farro and let cook for an hour. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and grated pecorino cheese.
Today’s lunch conversation at Borgo Fontanile we discussed the importance of the connection of the Italian culture to it’s food. Food has much more of meaning in Italy since it is strongly connected to the history of the people and their land and their culture and much more. In Umbria, it was so important to people here in Orvieto that when we opened The Basic Art of Italian Cooking school here we taught people not only about cooking food to eat but to teach them also about the connection that food has to the people, its culture, family, art, history and more. My culinary colleagues, here in Italy, insisted on that, or they would not be involved in our cooking program.
So we give everyone a total immersion in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, not only the food but the feeling of eating with good friends that become family during a meal. It is a feeling that is hard to experience in even other parts of Italy but still remains here in Orvieto…the feeling of family that the residents of Orvieto and the surrounding area are so proud of and the feeling that is so important to them. When I leave I feel as I am leaving family behind, a feeling that you can’t explain but must experience. Join our next The Basic Art of Italian Cooking school here in Orvieto (the little nearby town of Baschi) and you will experience not only good food and culinary art at its finest and tastiest.
For more great recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http;//www.marialiberati.com
Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene
Maria
Minestra di Farro in Orvieto
