Episode 21: La Cucina Povera and the Beauty of Simple Ingredients, and yes I recorded this in the chicken coop!
Welcome to Episode #21.......
“Poverty rather than wealth gives the good things of life their true significance” - Patience Gray - Honey From a Weed
(First Publication 1986, my copy 2009)
This little episode came about spontaneously on a day at home when the bounty of spring erupted into me sitting in the chicken pen to record this episode on my I-Phone. It was good fun and a little random but certainly it was also something that had been percolating within me for sometime now. This is a sweet dive into the simplicity of seasonal ingredients and the wonders that are available in my own garden.
Spring is always full of good things, yet after all of the winter work is done I often feel that I have something else to do, but in reality it is just fine and it is time to just revel in the sweet joy of spring. Right now the crabapples, the lilacs and the flanders poppy are surging forth. We have had regular rain, an unusual occurrence in this part of the world at times and the garden has doubled in size in quite a short time.
Somewhere in here I foraged for the stinging nettle to add to my pasta, wild happy garden.....
I wanted to share my thoughts on seasonal food, the merits and heritage of la cucina povera, the beauty of food foraging and the work-in-progress lifestyle to waste less in the home and the kitchen.
La Cucina Povera translates roughly to the “poor kitchen”.....Certainly in the times of war, famine, rationing and an environmental crisis this style of living (or mere surviving) was and is still common. In Italy particularly at the time of and beyond the second world war food was scarce and it was necessary to source as much as possible from the land and the environment. At the same time many recipes and books have been shared about Southern Italy and the lifestyle for many of less abundant means. Many Italians moved to the north of Italy for employment to move beyond a lifestyle of poverty and frugality. Foraging for fungi and edible weeds was not just a way of life but indeed necessary for survival in lean times.
“It is estimated that between 1952 and 1968 more than 2.5 million Italians in what the press called at the time the hemorrhage of the Mezzogiorno migrated from the south to the north and abroad” - Adam Federman Fasting and Feasting: The Life of Visionary Food Writer Patience Gray
The more I read about Italy from the present and the past I see that traditions regardless of position in society are often passed onto the next generation. Many stories are shared and nurtured. Patience Gray not only honoured the peasant culture but acknowledged and celebrated the simple genius of the people of the land in her books and essays on food.
An appetite for life, how beautiful is this book cover….celebrating the good things in life
I have noticed an interest over the past few years in people and myself moving toward an attitude of self-sufficiency, less waste and seasonal eating....Since I have been growing things and living in a landscape where the four seasons are a foundation for my days this area has continued to open up to me over the years.
I have been attracted to Italian and French cookbooks as the rely heavily on a seasonal approach to cooking. I have found this terribly interesting and inspiring to say the least. It seems with the flourishing of books available over the past thirty to forty years it is of interest to many. When you consider the success of Elizabeth David and Patience Gray for their seasonal recipes and books it seems to me people are interested in this way of living too. I have taken much from the books I shall list below, some are old and some are new yet all utilise the availability of seasonal ingredients and honour the cycles depending on the time of the year.....
Lastly, on the podcast I couldn’t help but move into the kitchen to make an excellent pasta using the stinging nettle I sourced from the garden as I progressed from the chicken pen to the kitchen. It is so easy to just pull a few staples out of the cupboard and make a pasta, quite Southern Italian style too adding a little chilli flake at the end to elevate the flavours of the onion, tomato and olive oil.
A fine lunch from the garden and pantry, happy.
If you are reading this post-podcast, I was a little scattered, however three things came to mind later......I was talking about cherry tomatoes (the small petite ones), the fig tree that did not seem to come to life in the orchard and later I mentioned the olive oil that is on tap at The Italian Providore and Bottega. Now the good thing is not only is there wonderful Italian wine but super beautiful local options from the Lerida Estate Winery on Lake George.
Not only has this providore on Mort Street Braddon created some local jobs in Canberra but they have created the perfect space for cheese making workshops and cooking classes. So really what more could a girl ask for? Obviously I cannot get to Italy to sit in Trastevere and sip the local vino and people watch but I can enjoy the ambience and a cannoli or two down at Mort Street when I need a little reminder of the good life in Italy.
Australian and Italian Wines at the Italian Providore and Bottega
Shownotes:
Honey From a Weed: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apulia and her book on French Cooking...... Plats Du Jour by Patience Gray
Recommended Reading: Fasting and Feasting: The Life of Visionary Food Writer Patience Gray by Adam Federman
Acquacotta: Recipes and Stories From Tuscany’s Secret Silver Coast by Emiko Davies ***Recipe discovered Torta Salata con Asparagi Selvataci - Wild Asparagus Tart P. 38 from the chapter: ‘From the Woods’
Simplicious and Simplicious Flow by Sarah Wilson (I quit Sugar and the brilliant must read book.......This Wild and Precious Life: A hopeful path forward in a fractured world.......also by Sarah Wilson that I listened to on the recent road trip to Byron Bay)
Bread is Gold: Extraordinary Meals made with Ordinary Ingredients by Massimo Bottura and Friends
Cucina Povera: Tuscan Peasant Cooking by Pamela Sheldon Johns (This I did not mention but it is on my reading list so why not?)
Hungry: Eating, Road-Tripping and Risking it All with the Greatest Chef in the World by Jeff Gordiner
* Not exactly mentioned this time, but I like the force behind this book, the layered story of Jeff Gordiner and Rene Redzepi of Noma.
*Great detail on Indigenous Ingredients including Australia and the Sydney Noma pop up....A perfect listen on audio too…
Sitting on the red bucket to record this episode....... the chooks loved the company!
Music Composed by Richard Johnston
“I just think food is so important to us, it is the most important thing we do, so why not enjoy it”...Rick Stein
The sweet joys of a bountiful spring can all be found at home