Ugly, but extraordinary

In the Mediterranean Sea there is a little animal that is so ugly – I mean really ugly – that I’m sure that if it weren’t for its delicious taste nobody would have the courage to eat it.

It’s a grey white (with few pink shades) crustaceous approximately 20cm long that at one end has a little alien head and, at the other, a black stain that looks like two gigantic eyes…

The canocchia

Not yummy right? But this little thingy, the canocchia (also known as pannocchia, or panocchia, or by its scientific name Squilla mantis), is one of the tastiest examples of seafood that one can have.

A clean canocchia

Its meat presents a very mild taste – much more delicate than shrimps, for instance – and since it is very soft, it almost “melts” completely when cooked, creating a sort of cream that is one of the best pasta sauces I’ve ever tried.

Spaghetti alla chitarra with canocchie

In fact, my boyfriend knows how to cook some Linguini alle canocchie that always blows me away. In this recipe, apart from some olive oil and garlic at the beginning and a sprinkle of parsley at the end, has nothing else but the canocchie’s meat (added just at the end). It practically “dissolves”, creating this sauce that embraces each string of pasta.

Actually, the meat is so tender and sweet that eating it raw is also exceptional (I’ve written about raw fished and seafood here). And specking about that, as it happens with lobsters, the canocchie should be preferably bought alive, so that any doubt about its freshness is gone.

Their only flaw is the fact that they’re a little tricky to clean; it’s difficult to detach the meat from the exoskeleton without breaking it. But don’t worry, I can give you two options: (1) simply let it go, grab the little animals with your hands and suck out the meat (in fact this alternative is also valid when it comes to eating a canocchie dish at a restaurant, if served with the “skin”); or

After 40 minutes in the freezer it gets easier to detach the meat

…from both sides of the exoskeleton

(2) 40 minutes before preparing them, put them in the freezer. After that, the meat should be much more compact and all you have to do is to cut the laterals with some scissors and delicately detach the meat. I swear it comes out much easier.

And before concluding this post, I just would like to make a little disclaimer. In my opinion, writing about ingredients that are not found outside of Italy has good and negative sides: on one hand, I’m aware that it can be a little frustrating, because unless you come to Italy, you’ll not me able to eat them.

On the other side, I think it’s really interesting to share some curiosities and local facts that are indeed fascinating (at least to me), since even someone who’s far away can start to get more familiar with the Italian cooking. Therefore, whenever you get to opportunity to come, you’ll already be an expert! 🙂

Have a good week!

Broth: a useful pastime

Portuguese Version

Tortellini in brodo, the best way to use it

Alright, I know that is not everyone that decides to make brodo (i.e. broth) whenever there is a little free time. However, assuming that this is just one of my eccentricities and considering that I unconditionally love the most typical Bolognese dish – the tortellini in brodo – I give you a few reasons to “waste your time” with that.

One: knowing exactly what it is: the broth is noting more than water, vegetables and meat boiled together very slowly for a long time. Know the artificial stock? Well, this natural one is much better and do not make things salty. It is excellent for soups, risottos, to give more taste to vegetables, meat, etc. And, of course, if you’re lucky to find fresh tortellini (filled with meat), cooking them inside the broth gives origin to one of the best dishes in the universe.

Two: it’s really easy. It takes time to make the broth, but it’s really easy. If you wanna start with the vegetables one, you just have to add to a big pan filled with water the following ingredients: onion, carrot, celery (the last two already clean and cut in big pieces), parsley and, if you want, other seasonings such as garlic, grains of pepper, bay leaves… One particularity: you should not add salt to the ingredients – at least not until the brodo is ready. The tip is to adjust it later, depending on what you’re going to prepare with it.

Three: sophisticate it. Once you understood how the vegetable broth is made, you’ll know how to prepare also the ones with meat. Do you know those cuts meat that no one wants to buy? I’m talking about old chicken (in Italian gallina), meat that contain a lot of cartilage and bones, etc. Well, those are the best ingredients for a tasty broth.

And you don’t have to do anything with them. Just through them inside a pan along with the ingredients that I mentioned before. Personally, I usually make the traditional Bolognese recipe, with vegetables, chicken and meat – all together!

After you cook everything for hours in a very low flame, they became a delicacy (please see the next item). Also, in order to make the brodo light and almost fat free you just have to wait for it to cool, throw away the fat that starts to float on the surface (after it’s cold it’s really easy to do it with a spoon) and, finally, filter the liquid with a sieve covered with paper towel. (Obs. If you’re impatient or if you plan to use the broth right after making it, just filtering it whith the paper towel is more than enough.)

Let me show you exactly how to make it:

Start by washing the vegetables and cutting them in big chunks…

… don’t forget the onions!

Meat: cheap cuts and half chicken

Just to make sure: if there are still some feathers on the chicken’s skin, burn them directly in the stove’s flame

Put everything inside a big pan…

Fill it with water and light the fire. It should be really low; the broth should not boil (maybe just little bubbles)

In the first hour, there will probably some “foam” on the surface. Take it out carefully.

After at least three hours, it’s ready!

Remove all the ingredients

With the remaining meat you can do a lot!

Leave it to cool (if you can, put it inside the fridge when it’s cooled a little). The fat will start to float on the surface and it becomes really easy to remove it with a spoon.

Finally, filter the broth with a sieve covered with paper towel (be patient and change the paper a couple of times).

The brodo is ready to be consumed or frozen! Don’t forget that there’s no salt. So adjust it according to what you plan to do with the broth…

For instance, tortellini in brodo!

Four: it lasts forever. Don’t’ worry, you can freeze the broth for three months. And to make things easier, just put them in ice cube trays so that you can have little portions whenever you want.

Five: tomorrow we party! Did you actually think that you would have to throw the meat away? Of course not! With the meat you can make wonderful dishes, such as deliciously rich soups or meatballs. In fact, the traditional Milanese meatballs (“polpette alla milanese”) are made with the leftovers from the broth.

On the other hand, you can use the lovely soft chicken to garnish salads, pie fillings, rice and whatever else you can think of!

After having said all that, I understand if someone finds something more exciting to do in three hours, but I promise that in those rainy days when you just wanna stay in watching a long movie, cooking broth will only make you happier.