Cooking With Grandmothers

GALLINA RIPIENA (CHICKEN STUFFED WITH BREAD, BORAGE, AND PARMESAN)

Armida only stuffed and boiled a chicken for Christmas and Ferragosto (August 15, the assumption of the Virgin Mary). We ate the simple chicken together on Ferragosto. To this day Armida's chickens are her most prized possession; she has many, and the hens all produce dozens of orange-yolked eggs. She said that although she has no money and was not able to marry well, at least now she can feed everyone very well. Armida used foraged borage leaves as the greens for her stuffing; if you do not have access to them, spinach, chard, and stinging nettles all make good substitutes.

CHICKEN SOUP WITH POACHED EGGS AND HERBS

After Armida had prepared her bone broth, she cooked with it to create a variety of different dishes. Her favorite way to consume the broth was simply, with only a small handful of tiny pasta simmered into it; she didn't miss her absent teeth in her enjoyment of it. When Armida sent me home with a jarful of broth, a freshly laid egg, and a shoot of green garlic, I discovered my own favorite way to use the broth: I made a simple chicken soup by simmering the garlic, fresh herbs, and Armida's orange-yolked egg right in the mineral-rich broth. Just as Armida described, I found the broth to be deeply restorative, and cooked in this way it seemed the perfect joining of chicken and egg.

WALNUT BLACK PEPPER COOKIES

Carluccia loved the earthy, creamy taste of her land’s walnuts; for this cookie I combined their flavor with one of her favorite spices, the black peppercorn, which we foraged for together along Calabria’s wild coastline. The mixture of the peppercorns and walnuts with the butter and honey creates a light, nutty, and ever-so-slightly spicy tea cookie.

CHARD-SESAME BALLS WITH RED ONION JAM

Although Carluccia was not accustomed to cooking in the early afternoon, when I went to say good-bye she pulled these emerald-green polpette di bietola (chard balls) piping hot from her oven. Out came some Tropean red onion marmellata (jam) and a fizzy glass of the family’s red wine to accompany them. It was the perfect, verdant last treat with Carluccia, and she sent me off with an extra paper bag filled with them for the long plane ride home.

ROASTED LEEKS WITH EGGS AND OLIVES

This appetizer dish is a tribute to the three foods Armida loved most from her farm: alliums (members of the onion/garlic family), eggs, and olives. In particular, Armida favored alliums, always growing many varieties of them to add to soups and sauces, and to pound into pesto for testaroli. One of my favorite ways to eat leeks is slowly roasted in a cooling wood-burning oven until they become crispy and slightly sweet. Roasting them in a regular oven produces a very similar effect, one that is complemented perfectly by a dip into a soft-boiled egg and a bite of salty olive. These leeks are rich, and make for a somewhat addictive and unusual hors d’oeuvre.

PLUM ALMOND TART

While this tart is at its most beautiful when made with susine (dark purple oblong prune plums), other plums and stone fruits will also work well here. Make sure that the fruits are ripe—they will melt down beautifully when baked, releasing their juicy syrup.

GNOCCHI WITH TOMATO-BEEF RAGU

The airy flesh of the ubiquitous russet potato makes it the perfect choice for gnocchi. To create light, pillowy gnocchi, make sure that your dough is neither too wet nor overworked. Armida uses the fine markings of the back of her cheese grater to mark the gnocchi; I recommend using the fine side of a box grater to do this, or forming the gnocchi and running them along a wire whisk to mark them. The gnocchi are wonderful with Armida’s easy, rich ragu. They are also delicious with a simpler dressing of melted butter and grated cheese.

BEEF RAGU

The ragù con carne over spaghetti alla chittarra is the dish that most reminds me of my grandparents’ relationship: it cooks for very long and when ready it takes on a particular color, somewhere between dark red and brown, that always makes me think of their dark bond. This recipe changed as we let go of some […]

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