Zero-waste attitude is the luxury translation of “non si butta via niente”. Besides being an extremely creative process, zero-waste attitude is economically rewarding and politically correct, provided that the cook is in the right mood. Appetibilis team is always in the right cooking mood, no matter what the fridge contains. Our leftover quiche is made with “schizophrenic” ingredients: rice milk cream, gluten-free puff pastry, peas, for the healthy side; eggs, smoked bacon for the glutton part of our tastebuds. The outcome has been surprisingly good, despite of the heterogeneity of the raw materials. Yours, Lorenza… Lunch Box :: The “Leftovers Quiche”
We all complain about the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We are all looking for some quiet places where we can spend some days off. We always say that we need to get rid of mobile phones, computers and all those gimmicks that, like an invisible umbilical cord, keep us “connected”. But when we eventually find a place like this, a few minutes after we put down our suitcases, we start wondering if there is wi-fi connection, if our mobile provider is available, if there are enough plugs to recharge our energy-sucking devices.
Places: Maiella National Park, Abruzzo, Italy
If you want to spend some days in the Maiella National Park, you won’t be much concerned about wi-fi connections or mobile coverage. Simply because you’ll be too busy at enjoying the landscape, hiking up and down the tracks on the Tavola dei Briganti, tasting typical recipes like pizza fritta, sagne e ceci and the delicious Sise delle Monache pastry.
View of the town of Rapino, (Chieti)
Rapino (Chieti) is a small village in the Majella Park, a stone’s throw away from the Maielletta peak (ski area in wintertime, hiking paths galore in summer), from medieval villages like Giardiagrele, or “big” towns like Chieti.
In Rapino a good Appetibilis friend, Mauro Caramanico, renovated a former “frantoio” (oil mill, in local language “trappète”) and transformed it into a cosy b&b.
Mauro Caramanico
I asked Mauro why he chose this building and the style he intended to give.
“When I first inspected the building, it was badly ruined but I immediately got good vibes from it. I recovered every single stone, every brick and I tried to “respect” it by using the original material to give it a new life.”
This does not mean that you’ll be living as in the XIII century. Modern luxuries (heating, air conditioning, fridge, shower) are available, no need to worry about that.
In his free time, Mauro likes traveling, but not so often as he would like to, so he thought that a nice way to have the world within a reach of hand is to rent his cosy flat to people from all over the world. Thanks to word of mouth and the magic of the net, Mauro can meet people from the US, France, Belgium, Germany. He says “In this way I can meet new people, and they can get to know a corner of Italy off the beaten tracks”. Without Google Earth.
I love testing recipes, especially the ones that require slow cooking… Last week I tried to slow roast a whole rabbit, (a bit too much for a dinner for two). No specific recipe and I didn’t bother to write down what I’ve been using, (oops). I tend to work with what I have available at home, particularly those ingredients that risk to be on their way to the wastebin. (I always manage to find a lonely carrot or a single tomato…, but this is another recipe).
Chef all’opera… (un po’ disordinate ‘ste polpettine!) Photo: OCKstyle
Here I am with a lot of roasted rabbit, some beef-mince, half courgette, a chunk of stale bread and one egg. It’s “Polpette time!”, however the mix was a bit too soft for classic polpette, ergo I opted for a quenelle shape. And into the oven they went, 180C (about 370F), 15-20 minutes.
Chi ha preso le due polpettine che mancano? Photo: OCKstyle
Grazie dell’invito, era tutto molto buono! Photo: OCKstyle
Polpettine di coniglio pronte per il forno… Photo: OCKstyle
Delightfully yours,
Orsola CK @ Appetibilis
Inspiring source:
~ How to cook rabbit via greatbritishchefs.com
~ Oven Baking Temperatures Conversions via joyofbaking.com
Once upon a time, when the zero-waste attitude was an integral part of our living, there was “la frittata di maccheroni”. There are no particular recipes for this one-dish meal usually made out of leftover pasta with its sauce, beaten eggs and eventually “aggarbato” with cheese (usually the grated crust of aged-old pecorino).
Notes: Aggarbato comes from the verb aggarbare and in neapolitan language it means to fix something. In this case aggarbato means “adjusted to achieve the tastiest result”
Here’s the Frittata di “Maccarunə Carrati” aka “Spaghetti alla chitarra“ with asparagus and aged pecorino cheese.
Frittata di Maccarunə Carrati… Photo: Lonza65
Delightfully yours,
Orsola CK @ Appetibilis
PS: #dilloinitaliano – della serie “non si butta niente”
You don’t need to be a musician to enjoy “spaghetti alla chitarra” [chitarra, pronounced key-tahr-rah, is the Italian word for guitar]. You just need to be a curious foodie, since spaghetti alla chitarra, or simply “chitarra” is one of the many signature dishes of the Abruzzi cuisine.
Chitarra – the artisanal cooking tool – is made of a wooden frame with steel wires stretched on it. Once you have a classic fresh pasta dough, the entire process of making spaghetti is relatively simple.
First you’ll need to make a “sfoglia” (= dough rolled-out to form a sheet), then you lay it onto the the chitarra and press it with the help of the rolling pin to cut the delicious strands (by means of the pin or by hand). The outcome is this.
Spaghetti alla chitarra is durum wheat square-shaped egg pasta that goes virtually with any sauces you can think of. Be it fish or meat, or a simple “pommarola”, it is the most popular main course in the Abruzzi.
