TISH Festival: An Archipelago of Flavours – a culinary online workshop with Alessia Di Donato dedicated to the cuisine of Jews from the Italian island of Murano
fot. Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich
Did you know that the name of Warsaw district of Muranów comes from an island on the Venetian lagoon? Towards the end of the seventeenth century, a royal architect Giuseppe Simone Belotti, originally from Italy, bought a plot of land in the area of today Muranów and built a palace there.
He named it Murano, after the island he hailed from. During the culinary workshop with Alessia Di Donato you will find out more about the cuisine of the Jews from the Venetian island of Murano - you will learn how to fix dishes from this region and what do the food and glass factory share in common.
Online premiere of the recorded workshop, held in English with Polish subtitles.
Recipes from the workshop >>
Sautéed agretti (salsola soda)
Ingredients:
- 100 g of agretti
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 chili pepper
- the juice of half a lemon
Method:
- Carefully clean the agretti, remove the roots and the soil. Rinse them several times, then drain them in a colander.
- Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, salt lightly and boil the agretti for 3-4 minutes.
- Drain them and dip them into a bowl filled with ice to preserve the colour.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and the sliced chilli pepper. Remove garlic when is lightly browned.
- Add the agretti and leave to take on flavour for 3 minutes.
- Serve the agretti with a squeeze of lemon.
Agretti in oil ( salsola soda)
Ingredients:
- 100 g of agretti
- 250 ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- a bunch of fresh oregano sprig
- 5 juniper berries
- 1 x 700 ml jar
Method:
- Carefully clean the agretti, remove the roots and the soil. Rinse them several times, then drain them in a colander. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, salt it just a little and boil the clean agretti for 3-4 minutes.
- Drain them and dip them into a bowl filled with ice. Dry them well and put them in a glass jar.
- Add a few leaves of fresh oregano and the garlic cloves. Cover well with olive oil.
- Place the lid on the jar and close securely.
- Wrap the jar in tea towels and arrange it in a large, deep pan. Fill the pan with water, making sure that the water level covers the jar by about 4-5 cm.
- Place on the stove and boil for 20 minutes. Allow the jar to cool in the pan.
- Once cooled, store it in a cool dark place for at least one month before opening.
- This should store well for up to nine months.
Cugoli with tomato sauce (breadcrumbs dumplings)
Ingredients for cugoli:
- 400 g of breadcrumbs
- 2 whole eggs
- 70 g of parmesan
- 400 ml of whole milk
- salt
- pepper
Ingredients for the tomato sauce:
- 1 glass of olive oil
- 4 fresh tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 4-5 of fresh basil leaves
- grated zest of half a lemon
Method:
- Mix all the ingredients and shape into small balls. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a pan, heat the oil and fry the garlic until it is browned.
- Remove the garlic and add the chopped tomatoes, the fresh basil leaves and the grated lemon zest. Let the sauce cook just for 10 minutes.
- Cook the cugoli in boiling salted water. As soon as the gnocchi start floating, they are ready (usually it takes 2 or 3 minutes).
- Drizzle with the tomato sauce.
Suca desfada (mashed pumpkin)
Ingredients:
- 750 g of pumpkin
- 1 white onion
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil
- Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
- Chopped parsley to taste
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- A few fresh mint leaves
Method:
- Heat oven to 400 F. Using a large metal spoon, scoop out the seeds and insides of the pumpkin. Save the seeds for roasting.
- Cut it into slices, 1-inch thick. Place pumpkin slices on baking sheet. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and rub on both sides of pumpkin. Season with salt and black pepper. Roast for 18-20 minutes, depending on thickness of pumpkin slices (check at 15 minute mark).
- Mash the pumpkin using a fork.
- Brown the onion in oil and add the mashed pumpkin. Cook covered until the pumpkin becomes very soft.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon and a few of fresh mint leaves and add more salt and black pepper if necessary.
Bolo (sweetened bread with raisins)
Ingredients:
- 700 g of bread flour
- 25 g of brewer's yeast
- half a glass of warm water
- two tablespoons of grated orange zest
- 3/4 of a glass of rice oil
- 3/4 of a glass of sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 200 g of raisins
- 2 tablespoons of sesame
Method:
- Dissolve the yeast in the water; then in a bowl whisk 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks. Then add the yeast, oil, sugar, orange peel and mix well.
- Once all the ingredients have been blended, add the flour a little at a time, mixing carefully. Add the raisins.
- Once you have a smooth dough, cover the bowl with a cotton cloth and let it rise for about 3 hours.
- After the rising time, deflate the dough and divide into 5 loaves.
- Place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and leave to rise again for about 40 minutes.
- Before baking, make small incisions in the bread and then brush the surface with beaten egg yolk. Bake at 180 C for 45 minutes and at 140 C for 20 minutes.
