Italian Secrets 🇮🇹

Pillowy 🥔 Gnocchi, Cravable Red 🍅 Sauce & More Pantry Essentials!

Welcome Friends, 🍝

We are continuing a dive into the ideal Italian 🇮🇹 Pantry with Part II today.

Remember, Part I we dove deep on Canned Tomatoes & Dried Pasta’s. 2 quintessential Italian Pantry staples.

Italian 🇮🇹 Pantry

Continuing today we are going to talk some cheese, cured meat and also breakdown why I rarely use balsamic vinegars… and if I do, for very specific preparations. 

We will finish by 🐙 dropping recipes for Pillowy Potato Gnocchi… and a Red 🍅 Sauce that is so delicious, you won’t believe the simplicity. (Classic Italian Mantra: Stellar Ingredients, Minimal Fussing)

First, it’s that time of the month of again… Coffee Time! ☕️ 

March Coffee Selections:

Octopod Premium Coffee’s have been picked and lined up for March. After tasting through these coffee’s since we launched at the end of 2021, I can confidently say that you won’t find a better quality, sourcing and roast than the Coffee’s we are sending out on a monthly basis. 

We send these coffee’s out once a month so you have the freshest coffee’s, bursting with flavors and delivered right to your door. 

Pulling coffee off the shelf of your local Supermarket is pretty much bottom of the barrel, and even your local roaster may have coffee bags that have been sitting around for weeks at a time before purchase. 

These coffee’s are shipped to you within 36 hours of Roasting… ready to brew! 

March Tasting Notes:

Ethiopia 🇪🇹 (Natural Process):

*This Ethiopian is a firework display of flavors that will wow your taste buds and send you through the stratosphere. 

Notes of: Grape, Fruit Punch, Dark Chocolate

Colombia 🇨🇴 (Washed):

A round, thoughtful and perfectly balanced coffee that is the perfect start to your day. The “Yin” to the Ethiopian flavor “Yang”. 

Notes of: Brown Sugar, Red Grape, Cocoa 

Get these preordered now, and secure the best coffee experience possible for the month of March!

Continuing Part II let’s check out some other important pantry staples that are benchmarks in Italian cuisine 🇮🇹 

Charcuterie:

A French word that has become a blanket term for cured meats. Italy has a rich tradition of curing meats. You are probably most familiar with Salami and would recognize names like pepperoni, soppresata, mortadella, Genoa, and more. These are all cured meats that normally undergo a fermentation process and then aged, giving that distinct flavor we all love. 

Bacon is also included charcuterie. While salami are made by grinding meats and spices, then stuffing in casings, bacon is cured and smoked pork belly. Not ground, but rather cut from the whole muscle and cured directly. 

Italy has their own version(s) of bacon. 

Pancettta:

This is cured pork belly. Salt, and other spices/seasonings can be used (depending on regions) to infuse the meat while it cures. Classically black pepper, juniper berries, bay leaves, nutmeg, and thyme are used. 

The big difference is that pancetta is not smoked. Unlike bacon, there is no smoky infusion into the pork belly. You’re getting the straight porky goodness with whatever spices the maker added. 

Further, unlike bacon, Pancetta is traditionally rolled after curing and then hung to dry for a further 10-14 days. 

Quality Pork will be the difference maker in bland pancetta vs mind-blowing, Pancetta Nirvana. 

Pancetta is the traditional pork component of the iconic Spaghetti Carbonara dish. Many adaptations use bacon, but Pancetta was the OG. Another spin that’s now popular on Carbonara is using Guanciale; another noteworthy Italian staple

Guanciale:

Coming from the jowl (pig cheek), Guanciale is cured in salt and spices such as pepper, sage, rosemary, and garlic. The cross-section looks very similar to bacon and is usually sold sliced thin. 

The higher fat content makes guanciale a step up in the richness department, which is slicing thin is a good call in most applications. 

When very thin, Guanciale crisps up into heavenly garnishes for fruit or salad plates. Also makes a great pizza topping and is an integral part of the iconic pasta Bucatini all’Amatriciana

There’s a fair number of online options from small, artisanal charcuterie chops. One that I recommend to start would be La Quercia. These guys have a solid reputation, started small and then figured out how to scale successfully while retaining quality. 

A good price point to start your journey down the Pancetta & Guanciale rabbit hole!

Cheeses:

While Italy has a wide variety of cheeses, styles and flavors… let’s keep it to the hard cheeses of note today. These are umami bombs. Any rinds should be saved and cooked in births, soups or beans for free added flavor. 

Parmigiano Reggiano: 

In Italy, known as the “King of Cheeses”, Parmigiano Reggiano holds the title for good reason. Not to be confused with “Parmesan” (an unregulated term in the US & Italy), legit Parmigiano Reggiano has strict requirements to be named and certified as such. 

Made from skin cows milk, the cheese must be aged for a minimum of 12 months. You can find 12-16 month aged Parm, but is often aged 2 years.  As the cheese ages longer, you get more intensity, less moisture, and pay a higher premium. (Stravecchio means it has been aged 3 years and stravecchiones, 4 years)

In my opinion, try to find Parm Reg. that is 24 months at a minimum. This gives you a versatile Parm on hand in your pantry that you can “dress up or down”. If you’re going to luxe-out and make a dish that has Parm Reg. as a key, forward, component… then maybe look for 3+ year aged offering. 

Legit Parmigiano Reggiano has the name branded on the rinds. Available in any quality cheese shop, and now most Supermarkets with a decent cheese counter, look for the above recommendations and you can’t go wrong. 

This Flavor Bomb has sharp, complex fruity/nutty tastes with a strong savory flavor and a slightly gritty texture.

A few caveats: 

Pre-grated sucks. Don’t get it. So many of the volatile aromatic compounds have been lost or dried out; further, some pre-grated Parm is treated with anti-caking agents. 

“Parmesan” Cheese is an unregulated term that can be compromised of pretty-much anything. No joke. I’ve done enough blind tastings and these score so far below Legit Parmegiano Reggiano that if you’re looking for a more economical option, you can do better… 

Speaking of… 

Grana Padano: 

If you’re looking for an Economy version of Parmigiano Reggiano, then skip the “Parmesan” and grab some Grana Padano. While still maintaining a high quality, GP is softer, and has a milder flavor than Parmagiano Reggiano. More buttery soft vs the assertive flavor bomb profile of Parmigiano Reggiano. Predominantly used in cooked applications, if you want a softer flavor or more economical price point… Grana Padano will be still miles ahead of “Parmesan”. 

Pecorino Romano: 

Moving from the Cow to the Goat. Pecorino Romano would be the Queen to Parm Reg’s King.  A hard cheese that’s salty, grassy, earthy and assertive. 

This cheese is one of the reasons Cacio e Pepe might be my pick if I had to choose only one pasta preparation to eat for life. 

You want to find a good, Italian produced Pecorino. If you want to take it up a notch then get a wedge of AGED Pecorino… and your Cacio e Pepe, fries, risotto, whtatever… will dazzle your taste buds. 

If you’re looking for a good Cheese Purveyor in the US: MURRAY’S CHEESE

Balsamic Vinegar: 

Traditional OG Balsamic vinegar is divine. Carrying flavors like fig, cherry, molasses, chocolate, and prune. The vinegar also picks up the flavors of the wood barrels it was matured in, sometimes imparting a slight smokiness and above all, mellow tartness. 

From the reduction and evaporation that happens over years and years (some, well over 25 years), balsamic should run like a thin syrup; a viscosity that lightly clings to whatever it is poured over. 

This should be used to finish dishes, not to cook with. Poured over aged Parmigiano Reggiano, over braised short ribs and also certain risottos… and over strawberries or ice cream works too. 

Traditional balsamic is rigidly controlled and regulated. Certain grapes, times, barrel rotations all play a part in ensuring quality. You’ll know a true Balsamic by: “Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale” and carries a D.O.P. ("Denominazione di Origine Protetta") stamp.

A more economical option would be Condimento Balsamic. Falling just below the restrictions of Traditional it carries great flavor but much lighter on the pocketbook. Condimento will not have D.O.P. stamp on the label, but it should carry an I.G.P. stamp — "indicazione geografica protetta”

Compared to what mass-produced, vat cooked “Modena Balsamic Vinegar” has become, this is why I rarely use supermarket balsamics. They lack any nuance, and come across overly sweet.. and hotly-sour all at the same time. Balsamic glaze reductions have a habit of overpowering anything they are drizzled over; I avoid at all costs. 

One exception would be plums preserved in balsamic, honey and copious amounts of black pepper… which makes a perfect cheese plate garnish. 

🐙 recommendation: get a good quality balsamic that is used just for finishing dishes… and skip the supermarket balsamics which usually overpower.

Now 🐙 is going to show you a simple, yet mind blowing red sauce and the secrets to pillowy gnocchi…