Le Marche - Italy

                             

 

 


This week brought the down-to-earth cuisine of Le Marche, a region located on the Eastern coast of Italy.  Le Marche is located between the Adriatic Sea and the Appenine Mountains with abundant farmlands in between the two.  With three very different terrains Le Marche is known for having a variety of approaches to cooking varying from seafood, to meats and poultry, and of course pastas and lasagnas.  I at first considered cooking vincisgrassi, a lasagna type meal made with a béchamel sauce and onions, mushrooms, chopped chicken livers and nutmeg.  I was even going to suck up my pre-established prejudice of eating anything with liver in it for the good of my little project here and paying tribute to the traditions of the region.  Vincisgrassi actually dates all the way back to 1784 and is known to be one of Le Marche’s most traditional fares, especially in the farmlands.  Ultimately, however, I decided to go with a recipe calling for more seafood to explore the luscious flavors and interesting combinations along the coast.  I prepared a fairly simple recipe of noodles with a calamari, shrimp, and artichoke sauce.  This was actually quite different for me as I have never even tasted an artichoke, nor do I regularly partake in calamari if it isn’t fried and completely wiped of its natural flavor and essence.  During the cooking process I commented to my husband that I thought this would turn out to be a delicate tasting meal with a lack of flavor. I was sure this was going to be an epic failure.  I was pleasantly surprised when the final step of the process called for a half cup of cream.  The cream seemed to cling to the noodles and other seasonings to form the most delicious explosion of flavor!  While I loved the meal, my husband commented that while he could tell I did a “good job” (he’s smart and knows he has to say that) it was not quite to his taste because it was “a little to sea-foodie.”  Well, yeah! It’s loaded with fresh shrimp and calamari! That’s what I loved about it.  In the end, I accomplished just what I wanted.  This is a meal I would NEVER even thought of cooking before. It seemed kind of boring and bland on paper, not to mention it contained little squids! Go figure I have now discovered how much I like those little squids when they’re not drenched in oil and bread crumbs and fried to a crisp.  The ingredients, while few in number and simple in preparation, created something totally out of my realm of tastes and I have now added another meal to my repertoire! 

Noodles with Calamari, Shrimps and Artichokes

For 4 people you’ll need:
1 lb of noodles like tagliatelle
11 ounces of cleaned calamari
11 ounces of cleaned shrimps
1 onion
3 artichokes
1 cup of vegetable broth
1 glass of white wine
3 spoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of liquid cream
salt
pepper

Cut the onion and the calamari in thin slices and cook them in a deep skillet on medium fire with the oil, the onion and half a glass of wine. Just before the wine is completely evaporated and the calamari are ready, add the shrimps.

Clean the artichokes, discarding all the hard leaves and slice them in small pieces. Cook them on a low flame with half a glass of wine, a cup of broth, salt and pepper. When the artichokes are tender, make a thick sauce of them with a blender.

Cook the tagliatelle al dente, drain and add them to the skillet with the calamari. Add the artichoke sauce, the cream, a little fresh pepper and toss over medium heat until the noodles are well coated with the sauce. Serve immediately.