True professionalism consists in the ability to improvise.
Sometimes – actually often – there is no time to go shopping. How is possible that we cut our lives in such a way? Running all the time…. Is seems that Italians are “americanazing”, in the sense that one minute of waiting or of “nothing” seems a waste of time without remedy. The “nothing” is not accepted or utilized to relate or meditate. We all get crazy for a “lost” minute.
Staying in line at the cash of the supermarket it is unavoidable to notice what there is in the others shopping carts. It is no more with surprise but still with a certain disappointment that I see they are often filled with frozen ready meals, canned sauces, dehydrated foods – powders with a not defined color and a bad smell.
Why do people buy such things?
One: they believe this things are good because the advertising says they are good.
Two: they wont waste precious time they would rather use to read a magazine full of advertising.
Three: they do not know what to buy: they feel lost in forest of foods wondering if they are fake, organic, GMO, worthy.
Four: they do not know how to cook.
Five and most important: they believe they have nothing to eat at home and that their refrigerator and their pantry are empty.
The refrigerator and the pantry are usually NOT EMPTY.
Using UOZINDEFRIG is the real Italian way of cooking.
UOZINDEFRIG is the Italian pronunciation of WHAT’S IN MY FRIDGE.
When people ask me what I like to cook….well…there is not a precise answer. Do I like to cook Lamb in Crust? Do I like to do molecular cuisine? Do I like to make fancy shapes of pasta? Yes…but what I really prefer is to go to my “empty” fridge and to my “empty” pantry, collect something of what is inside, and create a recipe that I don’t write down, that I had never done before and that I will never replicate. Even if it comes out delicious.
Old pieces of cheese can become a succulent creamy sauce…make it more interesting: any leaves of sad salad forgotten in the bottom drawer: arugola, lettuce, baby spinach… chop them and mix in the creamy cheese sauce, for a superb pasta dish.
Just a handful f rice in the pantry? Butter, avocado oil, olive oil, pumpkin oil, sesame oil….: any of these fat left in the kitchen? Are you sure there is not a piece of any vegetable? Sure there is not a spoon of nuts somewhere?
I will do an exception for you: I will collect some of the every-day – the ones I would forget – recipes and write them here: I am sure you will find inspiration.
Omelette, Risotto, salads, sauce for pasta: all these can be improvised.
Ah, I forgot: “The art of reusing leftovers” is a book written by the poet Olindo Guerrini in the second half of the nineteenth century. It has recently been revisited by chef Bruno Barbieri. But our cooking magazines, from the smallest and inexpensive ones, to the large and patinated ones, have always been full of useful tips.
FRITTATA DI ZUCCHINE E CIPOLLE
FRITTATA WITH ZUCCHINI AND ONIONS
Ingredient for 4-6:
3 large eggs
2 zucchini
1 potato
1 onion
20 gr ( 2/3 oz) grated Grana chese
Optional fresh herbs (oregano,basil, parsley, mint…)
Salt and pepper
30 gr ( 1 oz) olive oil
Rinse the zucchini and cut them in small cubes.
Peel the potato and cut it the same size.
Peel and slice the onion.
In a skillet, scald 15 gr ( 1tbs) olive oil and cook the onion – optionally adding a little water – on low flame with the lid on. When it is translucent, add the cubed potato and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are done but still firm.
Let them cool and drain off the excess liquids.
In a bowl, breakthe eggs. Add the cheese.
Mix in the cooled vegetables. Optionally add minced herbs.
In a no sticky skillet, scald the remaining olive oil. Pour in the egg mixture and let it cook on ne side. With the help of a large lid, remove the frittata upside down. Cook it on the other side.
Remove the frittata from the pan and place it on a large tray with absorbing paper, before serving.
Marcella Ansaldo