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Panna Cotta Paola
Serves 8

1 liter (4 cups) whipping cream
1/2 liter (2 cups) fresh milk
200 grams sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 packages Knox gelatin (or 8 leaves of fish gelatin, available in Italy)

Soften gelatin as directed on package.
Bring to boil cream, milk, sugar and vanilla, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in gelatin until melted. Allow the mixture to cool a little.
(Do not allow the cream to boil with the gelatin or it won’t set.)
Pour into ring mold, or individual serving bowls or goblets, and refrigerate for 12 hours.
If using a ring mold, dip the bottom very quickly into a pan of hot water to loosen. Turn it onto a pretty plate and fill the center with pureed cooked fruit, frutti di bosco, or warm chocolate sauce.

Melchiorre and Paola, of panna cotta fame

High summer harvest

Melchiorre’s Sale Aromatico

Melchiorre gathers the wild fennel seeds, juniper berries and mint from our Umbrian compagna. We use this herbed salt to flavor grilled meats, vegetables, and salads.

In a stone mortar grind together:

One cup of coarse salt and the following ingredients, to your taste. Use a lot of the juniper berries, rosemary and sage.

Black pepper, garlic, rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel seeds, juniper berries, and sometimes mint.

Melchiorre’s Basic Tomato and Vegetable Sauce
Serves 12
Cooking time: 1 ½ hours

We start making this wonderful, fresh sauce in the spring, as soon as the flavorful cherry tomatoes from Naples and Sicily show up in the markets. However, it is at its best at the height of summer when our own local tomatoes are at their peak. This sauce can be used for pasta or polenta, or whenever a rich tomato sauce is called for.

¼ cup olive oil
2 stalks celery
1 white or yellow onion
6 unpeeled carrots
Handful flat-leafed Italian parsley
2 cloves garlic
¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (peperoncini), optional
A few leaves of fresh basil
2 pounds fresh cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 quart tomato puree (called passata di pomodori—look for the Pomi brand in the U.S.)
2 cups water (or more)
1 cup dry white wine (or more)
1 cup grated pecorino romano cheese, to be added at the end.

Pour enough olive oil into a heavy frying pan (11 inches diameter, 2 inches tall) to cover its bottom, and place it over medium heat.

After washing the vegetables, chop the celery and onion coarsely, mince the parsley and garlic together, and grate the carrots on the largest holes of the grater. Add to hot oil, stir, and cover pot. After the vegetables have softened, add the pepper flakes, basil and the de-stemmed, washed cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with the salt and cover.

After 20 minutes, add the tomato puree and stir. Continue to cook, covered, for 15 minutes more, stirring regularly with a flat-bottomed wooden spatula to assure that the sauce is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Remove cover and add wine and water as needed, continuing to cook uncovered on low heat for another thirty minutes, stirring regularly.

When the sauce is thick and creamy, remove it from the fire and set aside, covered, to keep it warm. Add to the pasta or polenta, then top with grated cheese and serve.

For information about the forthcoming book, Shepherd to Chef by Melchiorre Chessa and Elizabeth Wholey, contact elizabeth@amoresapore.com.