Showing posts with label videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label videos. Show all posts
Friday, July 5, 2019
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
THE PA MELTING POT: Western Europeans: 8-2 The Basques and the Portuguese Recipes, Links and Videos
A look at the
evolution of food in southwestern Pennsylvania – WESTERN EUROPEANS: Part 8 – 2 - The
Basques and the Portuguese
I have
combined three cultures in this column due to their proximities, cuisines and
early reasons for immigrating to the United States (whalers, fishermen and
sailors): Spanish & French Basques
and the Portuguese.
The Basques
Around 200
BC there was a country formed called Basque. They spoke a language called Euskera. Immigration
records had to be inaccurate when the first Basques (1400) came to the US
because they didn’t speak French, Spanish and were from an unknown country
which got split in half by the newer borders of France and Spain. Later they began
speaking French in SW France and Spanish in northern Spain. Their Euskera
language and their original country disappeared. There are also many Basque
communities out west in the US.
Their cuisines have had an impact on western PA cuisine as you will see even
though it is difficult to get any numbers on the Basque immigration. The
sophisticated cuisines of France and Spain were simplified into an early
peasant cuisine but became more sophisticated as time went on.
Now in
western PA you can easily find paella, chicken & rice, tomato sauce (beef
stock, red wine and mushrooms), Ezkualdun Itarrak (pork and beans), Gazpacho
(chilled tomato soup), Spanish omelet, Spanish Salad (red kidney beans, onion,
green pepper, hard-boiled eggs & seasonings), Seafood stew (like Italian cioppino),
frijoles (pinto beans), chili con carne, sponge cake (flavored), Bistek
Ranchero (T-bone, onion, butter, tomato, jalapeno & spices), Huevos al Rabo
de Mestiza (salsa served on tortillas over cheesy fried egg) and finally Arroz
Doce (rice pudding).
Some beverages include Txakoli wine and Basque cider.
Spanish restaurants in Pittsburgh, PA
The Portuguese
The first
Portuguese immigrants (1511) were sailors and whalers looking for work along
the eastern coast of the US. The first were Jewish. More came in 1849 for the CA
gold rush and in 1910 Roman Catholics came when the Portuguese monarchy
collapsed. 1958-1980 and on a very large contingent came. They were creative and
thrifty.
Their cuisine
consists of hearty & bread soups, sausages like linquica (made from pork
butt and and seasonings), baked dishes and egg-rich baked goods. They brought Mediterranean spices, herbs and
special cooking and pickling methods.
They use
dried salt cod in many of their dishes such as Bacalhau (codfish cakes) and
Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa (codfish casserole).
Many meat dishes (roasted chicken or catalana) use piri piri (hot oil
sauce made with dried red peppers, herbs, spices whiskey, olive and vegetable
oils).
Breads
include cornbread made with white cornmeal and two flours, Massa Sovada (round
sweet bread), Pao Doce (sweet loaf bread) and malassadas (deep fried sweet
doughnuts).
Other dishes
include soup made with beans, onions, and sausage, steamed clams, escargot with
butter sauce and Caldo Verde (soup made with potatoes, kale and linquica).
Commonly
popular with the Spanish, Portuguese and Basques is Pil Pil (dried codfish with
garlic mayo).
Beverages
include Porto and Madiera wine.
There is a Portuguese Restaurant in
Shadyside, Pittsburgh. Café Zinho.
No website but on Facebook
FOOD AND INFORMATIONAL LINKS AND VIDEOS BELOW
PHOTOS OF FOOD FOR EACH COUNTRY
BASQUE:
BASQUE FOOD PHOTOS
https://euskalkazeta.com/favorite-basque-recipes/
Great site (above) with lots of recipe links
BASQUE PELOTE VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9LipXseP9o&ab_channel=Ben%26Kaz
BASQUE DANCING VIDEO:
FOOD AND INFORMATIONAL LINKS AND VIDEOS BELOW
PHOTOS OF FOOD FOR EACH COUNTRY
PORTUGUESE:
LINK TO PORTUGUESE HOLIDAYS
https://www.expatica.com/pt/lifestyle/holidays/portuguese-holidays-105482/
https://www.expatica.com/pt/lifestyle/holidays/portuguese-holidays-105482/
Famous Portuguese Piri Piri links:
OTHER PORTUGUESE FOOD LINKS:
LINK to Allrecipes Portuguese Recipes
LINK to Food Network Portuguese Recipes
PORTUGAL TRAVEL VIDEO BELOW
LINK to Food Network Portuguese Recipes
PORTUGAL TRAVEL VIDEO BELOW
Monday, May 26, 2014
THE PA MELTING POT - Part 9-2 - Southern Europeans - Calabria & the Griko People in Calabria and Puglia
Below the column you will find photos, video links, food links and more!! Enjoy!!
The Melting Pot: A look at the evolution of food in
Southwestern PA. Part 9 SOUTHERN Europeans Part 2 – CALABRIA
AND THE GRIKOS PEOPLE
The Italian
populations of Allegheny and Fayette counties are 17% and 14% respectively. The
main Italian groups who immigrated to western PA were from Sicily, Calabria, Abruzzi
and Campagna. Overpopulation, political and natural disasters were the main
reasons for immigration.
Calabrian cuisine: consists of salsicce (sausages) such as insaccati, capicolli,
sopressate and njudà (dried sausage with black/hot pepper and fennel seeds). In
addition, pork, goat meat and lamb are usually cooked in a sauce or on the
grill.
Pasta includes multiple
pastas and shapes with sauces of meat and tomato.
Fish is served in
coastal towns: prawns: shrimp, mackerel, calamari, octopus, swordfish,
carpaccio and mustica (sardines).The sardines are preserved in terra cotta
containers & the sauces are served with buttered bread.
Vegetables and
home-preserved vegetables are also typical of Calabrian cuisine: peppers (black,
hot and sweet) are used to flavor sun-dried tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini
squash) and wild mushrooms and are conserved in olive oil. Stuffed eggplants
and peppers are popular.
Three favorite
cheeses are caciocavallo (stretched-curd
cheese of sheep's or cow's milk in the shape of a gourd on a rope), buturri (small provolones with butter in the center) and
smoked Ricotta.
Wines such as Vibo,
Rossano, Bivongi, Greco di Biance, Lamezia, Melissa, Pollino, Savuto and Ciro
are musts when eating the food of Calabria.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is
impossible to talk about Calabria without mentioning the Grikos.
The Grikos people are an ethnic Greek community of southern Italy located in Calabria and Apulia (Puglia) and are believed to be
remnants of a once ancient and medieval Greek community.
Although most Greek inhabitants of southern Italy have become Italianized over the centuries the Grikos community has been
able to preserve their original Greek identity, heritage, language and distinct
culture to a degree.
Griko cuisine
is a blend of Italian and Greek cuisines:
The Griko
people are traditionally producers of cereals, vegetables, olives and legumes. Local Griko cuisine does not differ greatly from the local
Italian population, however there regional variations. Many typical Griko dishes
are still in use among the people.
Breads include
Pitta and Lestopitta. Also, there is Sceblasti (a hand-made bread), Aggute
(Greek-Calabrian Easter bread decorated with painted hard boiled eggs, similar
to the Greek Tsoureki).
Pastas and
pasta dishes include Ciceri e ttria (tagliatelle served with chickpeas), Cranu
stompatu (a wheat dish), Ricchiteddhe (pasta) Minchiarieddhi (long macaroni), sagnencannulate (a wide tagliatelle and triddhi (irregular shaped pasta used in broth).
Other dishes include Ricchiteddhe
cu lle rape (orecchiette with turnips).
Hot Chili peppers are popular and they are usually stored dry, or preserved in in jars of oil, with the addition of slivers of garlic, mint,
and capers.
Desserts/sweets
include Mendulata te cranu (a dessert pastry filled with cream cheese,
honey, sugar and vanilla), Le Cuddhure (Griko Easter cake) and Scardateddhi (Greek-Calabrian
wedding sweets made from flour, honey and anise seeds, shaped like small
doughnuts and sprinkled with brown
sugar).
Beverages are
wines and Greek-based: Retsina (Greek
white or rosé wine flavored with pine resin), tsipouro (brandy made from
Pomace - solid remains of grapes which are skins, pulp, seeds and stems)
or ouzo (combination of pressed grapes, herbs, berries including aniseed,
licorice, mint, wintergreen, fennel and hazelnut).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calabrian photos.
Calabrian food photos
Puglian photos
Puglian food photos.
CALABRIAN LINKS:
VIDEO (IN
ITALIAN): How to make sagne
ncannulate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYa5wLUyec
Images for
sagne ncannulate: https://www.google.com/search?q=sagne+ncannulate&newwindow=1&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=w5J_U9HkB4SNyASRzYCIDA&ved=0CDYQ7Ak&biw=1483&bih=700
Images for Calabrian pastas: https://www.google.com/search?q=photos+of+calabrian+pastas&newwindow=1&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=_ZZ_U462NsyYqAais4GoCA&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1536&bih=741
THE PUGLIA AKA APULIA LINKS:
THE GRIKO PEOPLE LINKS:
Grikos food photos
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)