Blog Archives - Page 16 of 17 - Dominique Rizzo

Ten reasons to hail the legume

There is wide speculation at the moment about the legume and its health benefits in some of the food diets and food trends. And legumes have been given a bit of a boot out when it comes to what is the healthy food pyramid. I am here to say that the legume is one of the most important aspects in our whole food diet and I’m giving you 10 tips as to why your diet and pantry should include these humble ancient beans.

Eating like our ancient fore-fathers has never reigned truer than including the legume. Cultivation, preparation and consumption of legumes is evident from the royal tombs of ancient Egypt to the classical Greece of Homer’s Iliad and even in the Old Testament. The use of legumes as a basic dietary staple can be traced back more than 20,000 years in some Eastern cultures, while the common bean, the lima bean and the pinta, were being cultivated for the first time in the very earliest Mexican and Peruvian civilisations more than 5,000 years ago, being popular in both the Aztec and Inca cultures.

I am a huge fan of keeping legumes stocked in the pantry, and any sort of legume, beans and peas in both the tinned and dry varieties. Legumes, are often referred to as ‘pulses’, and they are all forms of beans and peas coming from the Leguminosae family. The Leguminous plants yield seeds of variable sizes, shapes and colours within a pod and have huge nutritional and health benefits. Some of the more popular legumes and beans include chickpeas, broad bean, field pea, lentils, mungbean, azuki bean, navy bean, butter beans, haricot (navy) beans, cannellini beans, red kidney beans, broad beans, black-eyed beans, soybeans, mung beans, lentils, and split peas. The legume is fundamentally a meal in itself although a couple of tips when cooking and using the beans.

For your dried varieties, usually soaking is required except for split peas and lentils and generally overnight in room temperature water is best, changing the water to fresh just before boiling. This soaking rehydrates the bean making it easier to cook them. Before soaking, pick through the beans, discarding any discoloured or shrivelled beans and depending on how much time you have there are two soaking methods to produce the perfectly cooked bean.

Option 1, In a bowl cover 1 cup of dried beans with 5 cups of water. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Option 2, In a stockpot, bring 1 cup of dried beans and 5 cups of water to a boil. Cover and set aside and let beans soak for 1 to 4 hours at room temperature.

Cooking the legumes is usually done in simmering unsalted water salting the water produces a tough outer skin, although you can flavour the water with onions, spices and bay leaves. Depending on the bean usually 20 – 30 minutes is required to achieve a well-cooked bean, to test simply squash the bean between your fingers and if it squashes easily then they are ready for the draining. Once the water comes to the boil I will quite often boil for 3-5 minutes, cover and let them stand for one hour, then discarding the soaking water, I then rinse and cover with new water and cook as directed.

It is best to skim any scum that rises to the surface of the boiling water as this is just the impurities from the beans. This aids in the digestion of the bean.

Cooked beans can then be used for salads, purees curries and dips, for soups and casseroles vegan pates’ and bulking out meat dishes, legumes are the perfect addition when the weather chills up, quite often soaking is always required and then the beans are added to the soup liquid to simmer until cooked through.

If you are using a variety of different beans then you may need to cook them separately and then add them to your dish.

Beans need flavour! Add salt or acidic ingredients, such as vinegar, tomatoes or juice, near the end of the cooking time, when the beans are just tender. If these ingredients are added too early, they can make the beans tough and slow the cooking process. Beans are done when they can be easily mashed between two fingers or with a fork. To freeze cooked beans for later use, immerse them in cold water until cool, then drain well and freeze. Cooked beans freeze very well making them a great sand by as you can then just tip them into your dishes when needed if you don’t have tinned on hand. 1 cup of dried beans will give you about 2- 2 ½ cups of cooked beans. Or 1 x 400g tin of cooked beans will give you about 1 ½ cups of cooked drained beans.

Always drain and rinse tinned beans.

Beans love flavour so don’t be shy to season them with spices, dressings, sauces, garlic, herbs and olive oil after they are cooked depending on your dish.

They are very inexpensive and a small amount yield a lot usually 1 cup of dry beans will yield 2 ½ cups of cooked beans. So leap for the legumes, save money, increase your fibre and protein and discover why they are an amazing kitchen staple world-wide.

The Big Story – Sicily

0 Comments/in Blog, Travel Blog/by Dominique Rizzo

The Courier Mail’s the Big Escape story is one of the best articles about Sicily… Book now into Sicily 2020.

The Sicilian Carretto

0 Comments/in Blog, Travel Blog/by Dominique Rizzo

A beautiful cultural symbol you will find repeated throughout the region when you travel to Sicily is the Carretto. These carts, with their beautiful bright colours, are seen across Sicily. So how did Sicilians come to have the Carretto as such a rich part of their culture? Find out a little bit about the origins, the craftsmanship and the subtle differences of the Carretto.

Origins

The original idea of carts was introduced to the island by the ancient Greeks. However, the history of the now highly-recognised traditional Sicilian cart is relatively new. It dates back to the early 19th century and the need for transportation on the poorly-developed roads. It was thanks to the decree of 1830 that major routes, called “royal trazzere”, were opened. This is where the first appearance of the original type of wagon, the “stràscinu”, appears in history. This was a four-wheeled wagon whose front wheels are smaller than the rear, as in a type of carriage or cart.

The Sicilian carts reached the height of their popularity in the 11920s when many thousands were on the island. The carts were mainly drawn by horses in the city and on flat plains. Donkeys or mules were more often used in rough terrain for hauling heavy loads. The carts commonly used for pulling light loads, such as produce, wood, wine, and people, were called “Carretto del Lavoro” (cart for work). They were also used for ceremonies and festive occasions such as weddings and parades, where they were called “Carretto de Gara”. The Carretto was almost like the taxi or truck of today.

Craftsmanship

The cart has two wheels and is primarily hand-made out of wood built by woodcarvers, metal workers, and painters. The woodcarvers carved the many panels that were often historic reliefs. The metal workers worked the iron in a “ferro battuto” style, which included highly-decorated metal undercarriages with iron metal components. The painters had great skill depicting brightly painted scenes from Sicilian history and folklore, as well as intricate geometrical designs. These scenes also served the purpose of conveying historical information and important historic events in Sicily. Originally meant to keep in memory the turning points of local history for those who couldn’t read.

The colours of Palermo’s flag, yellow and red, feature prominently on the carts, along with details in bright blues and greens. Many of the carts showcase, in intricate details, religious scenes. They may depict the story of Jesus or that of his mother, and patron saints in Sicily, such as St. John the Baptist, Santa Rosalia, the patron saint of Palermo, or Sant’Agata, the patron saint of Catania. Some have been found to have scenes or visions of the saints, Charlemagne, operatic scenes, and the histories of Napoleon, Columbus, Cortez, and even Mussolini.

Provincial differences

The Sicilian Carretto is still made in several provinces in Sicily, each with its own style. Carretti made in the province of Palermo have more of a square box design. Those made in Catania are made with more elaborate “keys.” Then, there are the carts made in Agrigento which have their own distinctive style. The craft of making the carts is handed down from generation to generation through the training of apprentices. The animals pulling the carts are often elaborately adorned as well, with a decorated plume covering their head and a headband decorated with plaques of leather and gilt nails and bells. They also wear another elaborately decorated piece in the middle of their back.

Today the Sicilian Carretto can be found available for tourists to enjoy in some museums, while smaller Carretti can be bought as souvenirs. They are often depicted in artworks, postcards and pieces of the old Carretto can now be found on the walls of hotels and homes.

See it for yourself

Just one of the fascinating aspects of Sicilian life. Learn more about this beautiful region by visiting it yourself. Join Australian Chef Dominique Rizzo on a gastronomic and cultural food, wine and cooking tour of Sicily. Click here for more information about touring this amazing region.