 She's a phenomenally
successful restaurateur and a star on television.
Lidia Bastianich comes from one of Italy's
least-known regions, and she thinks Americans should know. Let's
meet Lidia Bastianich.
Q: Do you serve any dishes from Friuli-Venezia-Giulia in your restaurants?
Most of my restaurants have a diversified menu that features all the regions
of Italy, but there is an accent on my region. Some of the dishes that reflect
that region could be yota, a sauerkraut and bean soup; or sarme, which
are stuffed cabbages; or gnocchi con susine, which are potato dumplings
with plums. So it's a unique and different region with northern and central
European influence.
Q: How do you get Americans to order these dishes?
It's not an easy task, but after 32 years, the public has developed
a sense of trust in me. Of course, instructing the captains and service people
is extremely important so they can explain correctly and coax the client into
it. Sometimes, we give them a little taste—for example, baccala
mantecato, or salt cod whipped with olive oil. Customers think "Baccala?
No," but we sell quite a bit because I'll put a little on toast
and serve it as an amuse-gueule. Before you know it, they order it.
Q: What Italian regions should American chefs know more about?
Most travelers go to Tuscany or Rome. Some go as far
as Sicily, but there are other regions that offer exciting tastes. My region —Friuli-Venezia-Giulia—is
one of them. It's where the best Italian white wine comes from, and because
of our high altitude, we have great pasture and great cheese. Montasio comes
from there, and frico (cheese chips).
The other region I love is Puglia, the heel of Italy,
where you get magnificent vegetables and fish. I don't think American
chefs understand the role vegetables play in Italian cuisine.
Liguria is another great region thanks to its great olive oils and pesto.
Ligurian cooks use a lot of herbs in their crostatas and spaghetti and make
a wonderful pasta sauce with walnuts.
Q: Can you think of some dishes from Puglia that might appeal to Americans?
Pugliese cooks use a lot of vegetables in the chicory family, like puntarelle. It's
a long chicory [similar to dandelion] with little sprouts that are cut thin
and made into salad with anchovies, garlic and olive oil. They use it in Rome
a lot, too.
Fava beans, fresh and dried, are used in Puglia in appetizers
and soups, or eaten raw with a nice pecorino. Broccoli
rabe is used a lot in the south, and Americans have
fallen in love with it. It has a sort of intensity,
or almost bitterness, that hasn't always been
appreciated. The heel of Italy is surrounded by sea,
so when you combine these great vegetables with fresh
fish—mackerel, tuna, cuttlefish, octopus—great
dishes come out of Puglia.
"To transport culture through cuisine is not an easy task. I feel almost
sacrilegious if I go off track. How can you transport a recipe? The traditional
ingredients are the pillars. If you cook with the traditional ingredients,
there's no question that you're transporting culture."
—Lidia Bastianich
What
are the up-and-coming Italian ingredients in American kitchens? Check out
Bastianich's predictions.
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