Here are the ingredients and very rough method of how I put together a couple of crostata's this morning because I had dozens of eggs from our wonderful chooks to use and my nonna handed me some sweet red ripe strawberries yesterday she got from a farm she went to with her friends on the community bus. (Her social life at 94 years of age is more full on than mine!)

First of all : make some custard! and let it cool. 

Pasta Frolla Ingredients:

250gr butter

approx 250 grams (half packet of) La Molisana Flour 00 

5 tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of lievito per dolci

1 small satchel of vanilla powder

Lemon rind from 1 lemon

2 eggs (whipped by fork and poured in at the end)

Mix, knead and let rest in fridge for half an hour

Strawberry Mixture

Cut up a 2-3 punnets of strawberries, add a few tablespoons of brown sugar and a tablespoon of plain flour. Stir through and let sit.

Roll out your pastry wider than the pie dish you are cooking it in. Fill it with custard on the bottom layer and then top it with the strawberries. Don't use all of the juice they have made while soaking in the sugar, but a little bit is ok. Flap the pasta frolla hanging over the dish on top of your pie as shown below. Cook it in a really hot oven (mine was on fan forced 220 degrees but it's old and almost had it's day I think). When it's nice and brown take it out. You'll should be able to smell when it's cooked.

Ecco la crostata! Let it cool to set. Don't worry if the juices flow out while it's cooking. They add a nice sticky sweetness to the edges. We don't mind imperfections in our home!  

Enjoy :)

Pictured Paola's parents just arrived in Australia

Tell me a bit about yourself and where in Italy your parents were born?

When asked what I do, my first response is that I am a cookbook author, a photographer and a home cook who runs an Italian cooking school at home. But there are many who know me as a public health dentist and manager, as over the years I ran a number of clinics.  The urge to write, cook and take photos came to me quite late in life; some 10 years ago. My parents came from the northeast corner of Italy; mamma from a town just out of Treviso in Veneto, and papa from Istria, a region that became Yugoslavia as part of the Paris Treaty after WWII. However they met and married in Monfalcone, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. If asked, I say I am a Giuliana.

How old were they when they came to Australia? Which suburb did you grow up in?

My mother was 22 and my father had just turned 27. They had been married for just under two years when they migrated.

They came to Australia as war refugees; they had to work for 2 years in exchange for the passage over from Italy. They ended up in the suburb of Box Hill South, which at the time was on the outskirts of Melbourne. My mother’s two brothers were sponsored by my parents and moved out here and the three families formed a community of houses built on neighbouring blocks. This is where I grew up until I was six, when we sold the house and moved back to Italy (only to return to Australia disappointed some two years later as my father could not find work).

Pictured Nello Bacchia, Livia Bacchia e Zio Fidenzio Carli (Paola's mum's brother)

What is your favourite memory about growing up in your childhood home?

As I moved out of my childhood home at 6, the memories are not that distinct. The memories I do have involve different spaces within the house: the backyard where my father grew vegetables and the garage in which he made wine and grappa; and the kitchen where mamma used to cook. My fondest memory is probably the musty smell of fermenting grapes emanating from the garage when papà was making wine. He used to get the grapes with his friend Signor Silvano (which is what I called him). I remember him pouring the dark red liquid into giant 4 litre glass bottles and sealing them with a cork. And seeing the bottles all lined up in a cool corner of the garage to be used through the year.

What school did you go to and were the other students predominantly Italo-Australians? Did you feel different or did you fit?

I went to Catholic schools for both primary and secondary school. My parents were very conscious of my sister and I fitting in with the country they had migrated to and so went to great lengths for us to fit in with all the Australians. Many of their friends were Australian and what Italian friends they had were from Istria and Venezia Giulia. My sister went to school knowing no English but because I am ten years younger than her, I spoke English with her at home (out of earshot of my father who insisted we speak dialetto in front of him).

At school I was known as Paula, though to my parents I have always been Paola. I was always the tallest girl in the class and with blonde hair; so I did not look obviously Italian compared to most of the other Italian-Australians at school. My friendship group was all Australian girls until the later years of school when I bonded with two other girls whose parents were from Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Istria. My school lunches were much like the other kid’s lunches – white bread sandwiches with vegemite or Strasbourg; Monte-Carlo or Mint Slice biscuits for play-lunch. I saved the mortadella and salame for meals at home. When friends came over they LOVED the food my mother made; it was like another side of me that was revealed to my friends but not obvious in the school yard.  

Thinking back on it now, I went to great lengths to fit in and it is only when I was in high school that I really felt my Italian-ness.

Pictured zio Mario, zio Livio, zia Clara, Paola, zia Dina Taken in Monfalcone about 12 years ago

What was it like growing up as an Italo-Australian? Were you proud or embarrassed of your culture?

Interestingly I viewed my parents as being Italian “new” Australians (the term that was used a lot in the 1970s). I was proud of my parents; my father was quite intellectual and had studied in Italy until the war broke out; and my mother was incredibly supportive of her daughters to make sure we were loved, well-fed and well-clothed. I felt at one with the Australian culture especially at school but had Italian traditions at home – we spoke only Italian at home and ate Italian food. I was never embarrassed of my Italian-ness.

Growing up did your parents take you back to Italy to visit relatives? Do you return to Italy often now? How often and how important is it for you?

We went to Italy a couple of times when I was of primary school age: once when I had just turned six. We then returned back to Australia to sell our house and then migrated to Italy. I therefore did grade one (la prima elementare) in Monfalcone, where I was teased for being an Australian and for only speaking dialect. The Australians had never teased me.

When I met my husband (who is Maltese) some ten years back, I started wanting to connect with the Italian heritage as he wanted to connect with his Maltese heritage. So we went back a few times together and in more recent times my work has taken me over there more often. I have run a couple of workshops at the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking school in Sicily, and researched both my cookbooks in Italy. In September I will be returning to run a food tour of Trieste and the surrounds; and in April 2019 I will be running one in Puglia with Southern Visions Travel.

Did you speak Italian at home growing up?

We spoke dialect at home, a type of Venetian dialect that is spoken in Trieste and in coastal Istria. My father insisted we only speak Italian at home when he was present. My sister and I would get into trouble otherwise. He would tell us that we had plenty of time to speak English at school and we were lucky enough to know a second language, so we had to practice it or else we would lose it. I am forever grateful to him for this.

My Italian language skills were excellent when I was 15 and lived in Monfalcone for a year and completed my junior high school certificate (Scuole Medie). It was pre-internet days so I spoke and read no English whatsoever as I lived with my nonna and aunt and uncle.  These days I find it difficult to write creatively in Italian though I watch TV shows in Italian on RAI a couple of times a week and have at least one Italian novel on the go. I listen to the Italian show on SBS radio most mornings.  

Pictured Paola and her mamma Livia

How important is it for you to teach your children the Italian way of life and culture even though they are growing up in Australia, and how do you do it?            

My daughter learnt the Italian way of life from her grand-parents. She spent a lot of time with them when she was younger as I was a young single mother and worked full-time from when she was two. More so than the language, she learnt the Italian way of life from spending time with her nonni and being involved in the activities that were at the heart of their culture: growing produce in the garden, cooking from scratch and shared meal times. She went to Italian social clubs with them on weekends, playing card games and helping the women cook a feast to share at the club.

These days it is pretty cool to have an Italian background; Italy is held in high regard for its design, food and fashion. Also if you want to practice Italian, it is so much easier than it was; everything is online; travel to Italy is comparatively cheap (an economy airfare from Australia is not that different in price then it was in the late 80s) so you can get a good dose of Italy often. But it is difficult to immerse yourself in Italian culture in Italy when you are bombarded by advertising and social media in English. In many ways I think it is harder now to maintain that Italian cultural immersion, even when in Italy.    

Do you have an Italian passport? Is it important to you and why?

I do have an Italian passport and have had since we migrated there when I was six. It was personally important to me when I was in my 20s to somehow prove my Italian-ness. These days it is less important to me; I book all my travel tickets with my Australian passport. I have been caught switching between passports mid-trip (in Germany actually) and officials at passport control were not impressed! So I carry it with me when I travel, just in case. If I ever live there or decide to work there, then it will be important, I carry my Italian identity in me; I do not need my passport for that. 

How do you identify? Do you feel more Italian or Australian and why?

That is a difficult question! I am an Australian, I was born here and live here. My parents are of Italian heritage but chose to live in Australia; I grew up in an Italian home and I have learnt so much about Italy through travelling there, living there and researching the food traditions for my two cookbooks, “Italian Street Food” and “Adriatico”.  Italy is also my passion. I am therefore going to fence-sit and say I am an Italian-Australian.

Pictured 2011 - Nello, Paola, Barbara e Livia Bacchia - the whole family the year before papà passed away

How much do you know of the Italy of today? Has it changed significantly in your eyes? Would you want to go and live there or keep it as a holiday destination and why?

I keep up to date with the Italian news so know quite a bit about Italy of modern times. I lived and went to school there during the terrible days of the Aldo Moro kidnapping, of the endless strikes and of the terrible problem with organised crime. It has changed since when my parents lived there (under the fascist regime of Mussolini) and left (aftermath of World War II) but I do not think it is an easy place to live.

I see the current employment difficulties especially for young people and the continued political problems. It has a wealth of history, beauty, culture and food but has a lot of bureaucracy; a difficult marriage of trying to do modern business with an old way of doing things. It is not consistently that way across the country but there is enough of it to leave you an impression of it being that way in general. I love Italy very much but as a place where I could spend up to 3 months a year happily; however I could not live there. Several Italian friends who live in Australia say the same – they love Italy even more now that they are in Australia, and miss it terribly, but do not see it as a place that is easy to live in, and frankly would prefer to live here.       

You can find Paola on the following:
website:      www.italyonmymind.com
email:          italyonmymind@gmail.com
instagram:  italyonmymind
facebook:   Italy on my mind

It's Almost Pasqua!

For every region it Italy, Easter comes with many different traditional recipes. In my papà's region, with 'Pasqua' come 'I Fiadoni Molisani', sweet or savoury. It is a recipe you'll need a load of eggs for! 'Le uova' (eggs) being symbolic of spring and abundance. 

Other names for 'i fiadoni' are 'casciatelle', 'sciarone' or 'fiarone'. Whatever you choose to call them, they are delicate and delicious, and pair beautifully with an aperitivo, or a simple glass vino rosso or bianco.

They are shaped like a mini calzone, and are filled with a tasty cheese & black pepper mixture, or you may prefer the sweet version which is filled with ricotta and choc chips or candied fruit. While cooking they puff out, like a balloon ready to burst. Each town has it's own variation of how to make these little traditional Easter morsels, but the one I'm going to share with you is my mother-in-laws savoury version. They are very easy to make and smell absolutely delicious while they are cooking. Enjoy!

La Ricetta 

Il Ripieno

Let's start with the filling....

500gr of grated pecorino cheese 

5 eggs

1 small sachet of yeast for sweets (lievito per dolci)

Black pepper (I put a few pinches but you can put more or less)

Nutmeg (a couple of pinches)

2 beaten eggs put aside to paint the tops of the fiadoni before they go into the oven which should be preheating at 180 - 200 degrees

Once mixed together it should look a similar to this. 

La Pasta

Now for the pastry...

500g of plain flour 00

4 eggs

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 sachet of yeast for sweets (lievito per i dolci)

Place everything in a bowl like so and mix into a messy ball

Knead away!

Make smaller balls to roll out with a rolling pin before putting them through the pasta machine

Work the dough through the pasta machine until you get to around number 6 or 7 on your machine 

Flap the pasta in half so it covers the filling and with your hand gently push around the edges of the filling. With a glass or cookie cutter, make a half moon shape.

Place them onto a tray, snip the top of the pastry with some scissors or poke with a fork, then paste them with the beaten egg before placing them in the oven.

Place them in the over until golden brown. They should puff up and some of the cheese will ooze out of the small hole you made in the pastry.

Buon appetito and Buona Pasqua!

Benvenuti a casa nostra !

Around November last year I had the pleasure of having the company of  Kristie Castagna from Elements at Home and Denise Rix Photographer at my Italian School. Kristie wanted to shoot our home above the school for one of her blogs.

When a vision becomes a reality

I always knew our home was very close to my heart. It’s a twelve year old girl’s vision made a reality. With a lot of double shifts and penny saving over the years my husband and I were finally able to make it happen. Though I wasn’t really aware of just how close to my heart it was until Kristie drove up the driveway with a boot full of props to style it! My heart sank and I had a million things running through my head. I wondered where on earth she would put all of it and I had visions of this minimal contemporary Italian farmhouse becoming a ‘trendy’ space of clutter.  

I like what I like

We all have different taste, and to be honest, when I designed and styled our home, I didn’t design it so it would appeal to anyone but myself. I’ve never been one to be influenced by what others think or by what’s on trend. I simply like what I like. For me, it's classic, timeless, less is more beauty. The only thing we like to clutter our home with is family and close friends eating and drinking! I'm not a big fan of colour because I find it too busy and I tire of it easily. I’d say it reflects my personality a lot too. I'm just a black and white, what you see is what you get kind of person. Fancy is definitely not my forte! Boring for some but perfect for me. Probably not the ideal person for Kristie to work with! 

The first room Kristie wanted to shoot was the dining area. She used an old table cloth I picked up at the markets in Italy last year and put our citrus bowl in the middle of it. The most colourful I've ever seen our home look! On the fireplace, I usually keep a little ceramic sculpture our friends gave us for our wedding in Italy. Kristie replaced it with a small sculpture of la Madonna that my nonna gave me, an African wooden wall piece our friends gave to us in Italy when we left to move to Australia, an enlarged photo of my nonna from her passport when she moved to Australia, and a print of a religious piece I bought in Italy about fifteen years ago.
Once the kitchen/dining was done, it was onto the bedroom, bathroom and terrace. One of Kristie’s beautiful floor vases I really loved was used in the corner of the main bedroom where I usually keep a pretty white cane chair.

Hand Me Downs     

The handmade bed spread from Italy was given to me by my nonna who is 94 this year and as amazing as ever, and it’s so stunning it takes my breath away every time I walk past it. For me, most of the beauty of our home is in the architecture more than the furniture, and most of all, in the energy of all the little hand me downs from family members here and in Italy. I’m very sentimental and I just absolutely adore all of our little family hand me downs. They are part of what gives life to our home, and they create warm conversation when we are entertaining and tell our stories. I think they also help to create that 'lived in' feel we are told our home has.

A Great Experience

In the end, it was a fantastic experience, and the girls did an amazing job considering I'm not the easiest person to persuade!  Kristie’s blog at Elements at Home is where you’ll be able to see the final product soon. Denise and Kristie both did a wonderful job of capturing the spaces of our family home above the Italian school. Lessons are held in the ‘tavernetta’ part of the home where we entertain and make our sausages, vino and pickled products from the garden when it’s not full of students learning ‘la dolce lingua’ or making pasta and other traditional Italian dishes.

C'e` or Ci sono ?

This week in one of my private classes I touched on when to use c'e` (there is) and ci sono (there are).

C'e`

Ci in Italian means a variety of things, but in this case it means ‘there’.

So ci means there and e` means is. Ci + e` = c’e` (take away the i and throw in an apostrophe. (When there are two vowels together one usually gets dropped.)

Therefore c’e` means ‘there is’.

Ci sono

Ci again meaning there, and sono means ‘are’.

So, ‘ci sono’ means ‘there are’.

Ecco ! some examples:

There is an apple on the table– c’e` una mela sul tavolo

There are two apples on the table– ci sono due mele sul tavolo

There is a boy at school – c’e` un ragazzo a scuola

There are five boys at school – ci sono cinque ragazzi a scuola

There is a car ……– c’e` una macchina.

There are eight cars ….– ci sono otto macchine.

If you are using c’e` or ci sono when asking a question, you would simply change the tone of your voice using the same sentences. For example, 

"there are two cars" - ci sono due macchine (statement) and "are there two cars?" - ci sono due macchine (question).

If you want to make the sentence a negative affirmation you would use ‘non’ at the beginning:

There is not an apple on the table - Non c’e` una mela sul tavolo

There aren’t two apples on the table – Non ci sono due mele sul tavolo

There isn’t a boy at school –  Non c’e` un ragazzo a scuola

There aren’t five boys at school – Non ci sono cinque ragazzi a scuola

There isn’t a car… – Non c’e` una macchina…

There aren’t eight cars… – Non ci sono otto macchine…

So as you can see, if we are speaking about something in the singular (one of something) we use c’e` and if what you are speaking about becomes plural (more than one) we use ci sono !

Esercizi

La frutta  (fill in with the missing c’e` or ci sono)

1.               una pere verde      2.                un’arancia grande.     3.               tre mele rosse.    

4.                 delle fragole piccole.     5.               un’anguria grande.  

6.                una banana gialla.    7.               tre pesche dolci.       8.                  sei albicocche.

 C’è o ci sono? Complete the following phrases

1. ………. una scuola vicino casa.
2. Sul tavolo ………… un piatto.
3. Sulla scrivania ……….... due penne.
4. Sotto il tavolo ……… un cane.
5. Accanto alla banca …….. un bar.
6. ……….... tante persone al bar.
7. Non ………..… piu` ragazzi a scuola.
8. ……….…. tutti i nostri amici.
9. Guarda, ……..….. un topo!
10. …………. due persone.

1. Non ………….. più pasta?
2. …………. qualcuno a casa?
3. I miei amici ………….… ancora?
4. Non ………….. più speranza.
5. ……….….. un cane in piazza.
6. ………..…tanti studenti.
7. …………..… molte persone in chiesa.
8. ……..….. ancora molta strada da fare.
9. Non ……….…. più pane.
10. …………….…… tante fragole.

My childhood memories of ‘mamma’ and ‘nonna’ are fond. Very fond!  I was raised by a mum I call ‘ma’ and a nonna I also call ‘ma’, because she looked after us while my parents ran restaurants. Mum and nonna raised us as a team. For Italians there's not much difference between the two. Italian mothers live for their children. Here are some common traits of ‘la tipica mamma italiana’ (the typical Italian mum)…

My eldest child and I

Sleep overs

Absolutely not. Not a chance. Unless of course you sleep at your cousin's house or your nonna’s house. That’s different because that is ‘famiglia’ and your mum knows your family will treat you exactly the way she treats you. They will make sure you are fed, and that definitely puts an Italian mothers mind at ease!

My mamma and I

Affection in public

Age is not an issue for an Italian mother. She will show you affection in public whether you like it or not. She is the matriarch. The boss. You have no say! But you respect her like no other and you like it just like that…

My son and I at the family farmhouse in Italy

No vitamin supplements required

You will always come home to a two to three course meal and there will be enough to feed an army! It’s actually ‘the norm’ to you and you only realise this when you bring your non Italian friends over for a feed and their eyes pop out of their heads.  Pasta, carne, insalata, verdura, zuppa, pane, formaggio, frutta, acqua, vino, caffe`, amaro and the list goes on….
Every part of a balanced diet will be waiting for you at meal time and she does it with such ease.She even has her own cure for the common cold via food. It’s called ‘pastina in brodo’ (little pasta in chicken broth).

My bambini with their nonna Luisa making lasagne

Mum’s night out?

I don’t think so! An Italian mother won’t even go to a wedding unless her children are invited.  ‘Wherever I go, my children come!' She’ll tell it loud and proud and won't care who she offends. As a matter of fact, it’s her who’s offended! And oh how that makes us feel loved.

My nonna (94 year old) and I

Cuore mio (or mia if she is referring to a daughter)

This is what Italian mums call their kids. It means ‘my heart’, which really says it all. That love is so profound it hurts, and it’s no wonder Italian kids are as sassy, confident and as bright as they are! I’m so darn proud of my Italian mum and nonna. They’ve made me ‘la mamma italiana’ that I am today !There are so many songs in Italian about la mamma it was really hard to choose one! I picked this very old, beautiful classic Italian song you may be familiar with. I have also added the English translation of it.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNmT7UswM7E

Mamma

Mamma son tanto felice

Mamma I’m very happy

Perche ritorno da te

because I’m returning to you

La mia canzone ti dice

My song tells you              
ch'è il più bel giorno per me!                                               

That this is the most beautiful day for me
Mamma son tanto felice...

Mamma I’m very happy
Viver lontano perché?

Why would I live far away?

Mamma, solo per te la mia canzone vola,

Mamma, only for you my song flies
mamma, sarai con me, tu non sarai più sola!

Mamma, you’ll be with me, you’ll never be alone again!
Quanto ti voglio bene!

Oh how much I love you
Queste parole d'amore che ti sospira il mio cuore

These words of love that my heart sighs to you
forse non s'usano più,

Perhaps are no longer used,
mamma!,
ma la canzone mia più bella sei tu!

Mamma but my most beautiful song is you!
Sei tu la vita

You are life
e per la vita non ti lascio mai più!

And for life I will never leave you!

Sento la mano tua stanca:

I feel your tired hand
cerca i miei riccioli d'or.

Search for my golden locks
Sento, e la voce ti manca,

I hear you fading voice
la ninna nanna d'allor.

The lullaby of once upon a time
Oggi la testa tua bianca

Today your grey hair
io voglio stringere al cuor.

I want to hold close to my heart

Mamma, solo per te la mia canzone vola,
mamma, sarai con me, tu non sarai più sola!
Quanto ti voglio bene!
Queste parole d'amore che ti sospira il mio cuore
forse non s'usano più,
mamma!,
ma la canzone mia più bella sei tu!
Sei tu la vita
e per la vita non ti lascio mai più!
Mamma... mai più!

Venerdí Santo - Good Friday

I have spent a few Easters in Italy and loved everything about them of course! I learned how to make
'i fiadoni molisani' with my mother-in-law, a traditional puff type pastry filled with ricotta, and I experienced the Good Friday Easter Procession which was unlike anything I'd experienced before. There was a heaviness in the air all day, and when the procession began, with it's band and choir walking through the 'centro storico' (the historic centre) of Campobasso in Molise, followed by a sea of people dressed in black, I felt the goosebumps rise all over me and watched as a small city came together to mourn the death of Jesus Christ. I'm not particularly religious, but it was a very deep reflection of tradition and culture and one of those moments you don't easily forget.
There are many processions held right across Italy on Good Friday. You can find and watch a lot of them on YouTube. Here is a snippet from the one held each year in Campobasso.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gLy1-OS1-g

Pasqua - Easter

You won't find the Chocolate Easter Bunny in Italy! L'uovo di Pasqua (Easter Eggs), La Colomba di Pasqua (Italian Easter Dove Cake) and La Pastiera (wholegrain ricotta pie, traditionally from Naples) are just a few of the sweets you'll find at an Italian Easter lunch.
Easter eggs represent new beginnings, and doves, the symbol of peace.
​
There is a saying in Italy though : Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi! Which means, Christmas with family and Easter with whoever you like! Easter lunch is usually eaten like every other day at home with immediate family, and consists of a pasta dish for first course and for the main meal some capretto (baby goat) with a 'contorno' (side dish) like potato, greens and salad. For desert it is usually some 'Colomba di Pasqua', 'un amaro' (a digestive alcoholic drink) and an espresso. At Christmas we'd tend to hang around all day after lunch, but at Easter it would be out and about with our friends afterwards...

Here's a link to the Colomba di Pasqua Recipe -
http://www.academiabarilla.com/the-italian-food-academy/historical-recipes/alboino-colomba-easter-dove-cake.aspx
​

Pasquetta - Easter Monday

Easter Monday, the day after Easter known as 'Pasquetta',  is a national holiday. It is tradition to go on a picnic that day as by then the weather is usually perfect for it and just what's needed after the extremely long and freezing cold winter.
We would take panini (rolls) with cold meats or leftover meat from the main course served at Pasqua lunch, frittata (omelette), bread, cheeses, leftover pasta and of course il vino! It is definitely a fun day.

Buona Pasqua a tutti! (Happy Easter to all)