At a time when we buy more prepared
food and have become more disconnected from the land from which our food is sourced, my time in
Italy was an eye opener. My few weeks there taught me not only to appreciate its food, but more importantly, its preparation. With my training as pastry chef, I made a point during our trip to chat with chefs and line cooks during our recent honeymoon throughout Italy. From the posh hotels to a rustic hazelnut farm, one of their universal habits struck me: Italian cooks still use and save everything the way our grandparents did while they worked in the kitchen. Vegetable stems and fruit peels are saved and used to make stock; what we call “gizzards” end up in countless dishes; and leftovers from dinner are not just re-heated, but transformed into even more delicious breakfasts and lunches the next day. And yes, shrimp are often served whole--after all, it should not be a trade secret . . . the flavorful heads of shrimp make the best seafood stock!
The shrimp pictured here were boiled with
Amalfi lemons. One word:
sublime.
Read and see more about
Italian food. Our in
one picture thread is growing, too.
Shrimp with Amalfi lemons...nothing like it (or them)
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