Naples – A Culinary Tour of Italy

Authentic Italian Food and Wine -  Neapolitan Pasta and Beans, Plus Pizza

Italian Orchards

Our second day in the Province of Naples was a bit different from that of the average tourist. We had a very light breakfast with Melina and her immediate family, Peppino her husband and their two boys Pierro and Giovanni.

After breakfast Peppino took us on a tour of his family’s orchards. It was explained to us

Italian Peaches

that each fruit has its own time for ripening and picking. Each variety of fruit has its own time frame from budding flower and baring fruit.

It was peach picking time. Each peach tree ripened about 1/8th of its fruit per day. Therefore, every day all the trees had fruit to be picked until all the peaches ripened and were picked. The ripe peaches were huge, about the size of grapefruits. They were sweet with a slightly al dente bite from skin to pit.

Some of the fruit was hauled to various parts of Italy. Most of the fruit was sent to canning factories. The immature fruit that fell to the ground was placed into antique root cellars, for cold storage ripening.

We went to the orchards where the trees’ fruit was picked, and then to the orchard where the fruit had yet to mature. Most interesting was that in between each row of trees vegetables were growing. Every inch of the land was utilized.

It was explained to us that each fruit had its own growing time frame. While the farmer waited for the fruit to mature, the vegetables grew and were picked. After the fruit was picked another crop of vegetables were planted.

We were told that the most difficult fruit to harvest were cherries. They would be green one day and then show a little color the next day. The time it took for the cherries to be fully ripened and ready to be harvested changed from season to season. On the morning that the farmer saw one cherry the color of red wine, all the cherries were red. The fruit had to be picked immediately. Literally, a twenty-four hour job, no sleep, no dinnertime.

Pot of Melina's Minestrone

After touring the orchards we went back to the house for lunch. A platter of local spicy salami, sliced Cacio Cavallo cheese, bread and Melina’s Neapolitan Minestrone was waiting for us. To make her minestrone, Melina simmered about 3 ounces of salt pork in about 3 quarts of meat broth for about 10 minutes. Melina then added two diced carrots to the pot and one diced yellow onion. The soup was simmered for 10 more minutes before she added 2 cups of cubed cabbage; 2 cups cubed escarole, ¾ of a cup of diced potato to the pot. The soup simmered for 5 more minutes. She then finished her soup by adding ¾ of a cup of raw Ditalini pasta and 1 cup of peeled diced tomato, and cooking the pot of food until the pasta was al dente. Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese was served on the side. The soup was cooled to almost room temperature before being served – a summer practice, I guess.

After lunch we did the Italian thing – ripose, rest. Then we went to visit Zia Maria in the town of Santa Maria A Vico. Zia showed us her home. It was the house that she and her brothers and sisters grew up in. She raised chickens, and took us up on the roof of her house to show us her chicken coop and chickens. After petting the chickens we went

Betty & Zia Maria

back down to the living room where other family members were waiting for us. We sat around chatting over espresso. The conversation turned to dinner and we expressed our desire for pizza.

That night the family took us for pizza. I was under the impression that we would go to the City of Naples. That was until I saw a sign Benevento and we started to twist and turn up the Apennine Mountains. About 1/3 of the way up the mountain we approached a building with a sign that read “Pizza.” We entered the building with one room the size of the Waldorf-Astoria banquet room. It was hustling and bustling with guests and servers. In a far corner of the room was a large wood burning pizza oven.

We ordered 3 pizzas, 2 regular and one with mussels. As soon as the pies arrived at the table my eyes popped out. They were the largest pizzas I had ever seen or have seen since. With the pizza we drank local wine from the vineyards around Mount Vesuvius.

It was a night of great pizza, fabulous wine, and very warm-hearted folks.

Pizza

First and foremost is what type of flour to use for the best pizza. The American pizza men that I am familiar with use bread flour. Some folks that I know use cake flour. In Italy they use Italian 00X flour which I believe has a little less gluten than our bread flour. My mother-in-law used all-purpose flour and so do I. The key to a good sauce is fresh tomatoes, or Italian canned tomatoes, without citric acid.

Pizza dough is a basic dough. It can be found in most Italian cookbooks.

Pizza Slice

In a mixing bowl with a dough arm, or in a regular bowl to mix by hand place 10 ounces of all-purpose flour.  In an other bowl, place ½ oz fresh yeast or ¼ oz dry yeast. Mix in ¾ cup of luke warm water and mix in 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey. When the yeast mixture begins to bubble, add it to the flour. Mix it all together and knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Set it aside covered in a warm place to rise. It should double in size.

As the dough is rising make a quick pizza sauce. In a sauce pot heat ¼ cup of regular olive oil and add a tablespoon of chopped garlic. As the garlic begins to brown add two cans of chopped tomato, a nice sprig of fresh basil, a fresh sprig of oregano and a sprig of parsley. Cook at a low simmer for 20 minutes, taste. It should have a slightly raw taste, add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Spread the dough out by hand or with a rolling pin until it is 3 sheets of paper-thin. Put a light coating of tomato sauce over the pizza dough and place large droplets of fresh mozzarella cheese to taste on the sauce. Make it Margarita with basil leaves.

Place the uncooked pie, which you placed in a sheet pan into the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. The cheese is melted and the sauce is finished cooking.