Lordy miss maudie, this site sure causes me some discomfort at times. I've keyed every combination of words into google, but can't find anything approaching such a dish. "Bags packed" just drops in a mention of such a dish, and that's enough to send me into a feeding frenzy.
Diva or someone, can you help with a recipe or even a hint.
Gavin, I know you are imploring Diva to help you and let me say me too. When we were in Montalcino last, we had lunch at TGB and I ordered the cippoline thinking they would just be roasted as I had enjoyed in Umbria.
Our waitress ( who I believe was the owner's wife and her name escapes me) explained the preparation after I ordered, which worried me a bit. Had I ordered something that would not be to an American's liking? Well, it was a heavenly dish and surely would not be difficult to recreate. Sadly, we have no cippoline here.My husband shared the plate with me and kept mmmmming so much that the guests at the tables on either side of us ordered the cippoline too.
Yes, do please help us, Diva.
Posts: 1457 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
We currently have Cippoline at Whole Foods and I am sure that other high quality and specialty markets would have them.
When we were at Grappolo Blu in July, I do not recall the cippoline but woould definitely try them the next time I'm there (which will hopefully be this spring).
Dean, I live in the hinterlands and have only chains like Bruno's, Kroger, Winn Dixie, etc. There are some lovely specialty markets in larger towns nearby, but I have never seen cippoline offered.
There are probably varieties of onions like Texas Sweet and Vidalia that would give a similar taste, but that is pure speculation and wishful thinking too.
Posts: 1457 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
The owners wife wouldn't have been your waitress. I think I know the waitress you mean. The restaurant was opened by Pia Maria (don't know surname). She moved to Montalcino from Rome around 15 years ago. She opened the restaurant, and she was the chef, husband front of house.
Two years ago, she opened another restaurant, further down the street, just past the piazza. A small restaurant (perhaps only 20 people), specialising in modern Italian. Very expensive. We approached the restaurant every afternoon with the intention of booking for that evening, but the menu and prices drove us away each time. I still feel guilty because Pia Maria actually sent me her Lemon Tart recipe (that's for the tart served in Grappolo Blu)
Anyway, back to the Cippoline recipe. Can you give me a description of what it looked like, the relative strengths of the flavours of the components, some clue as to how to begin experimenting?
quote:Originally posted by Diva: oh gosh, looks like I have to go to montalcino and do research!!!
I am positive you must feel distraught at the prospect ;-PPPP
I have seen a cook making a similar dish on tv a few weeks ago. It was made with porri (... leek, from Colleen's useful document). I am trying to remember it as best as I can. First he shortly boiled the leeks (just a couple of minutes). As the leeks were drained and left to leek the water they might have asborbed, he perpared some bechamel sauce (one sopoonful of butter and the same amount of flour, in a small casserole, once the roux has turned golden, add half a liter of water bit by bit, mixing in well with the roux, boil the sauce for 15 minutes, than grate a bit of nutmeg in it, you are done... In case there are some clumps... use a mixer on it: not an elegant solution, but very effective!). At the end, after turning off the fire, he added a LOT of gorgonzola cheese to the hot sauce, soi that it melted into it. Than he used a dish that can be used in the oven (don't know the English word, in Italian it would be "pirofila"), lightly buttered it, placed a layer of leeks, topped them with the sauce + cheese and placed it in the hot oven for a few minutes so that its top became golden. He said that you can use the same recipe with celery (again, thank you Colleen), cutting it in one inch long pieces (cut treansversally, so that they look much longer) and perpared exactly the same way (maybe boiled a couple minutes more).
Alice Twain / è un duro lavoro, ma qualcuno lo deve fare... -- Te recuerdo Amanda / la calle mojada / corriendo a la fabrica / donde trabajaba Manuel La sonrisa ancha / la lluvia en el pelo / no emportava nada / ibas a encontrarte con el Ese cinco menudos / la vita es eterna en cinco menudos Victor Jara
quote:Originally posted by Alice Twain: Than he used a dish that can be used in the oven (don't know the English word, in Italian it would be "pirofila")
I've seen casserole and gratin used to describe such a dish.
I'll be in Montalcino in a few weeks and would gladly volunteer to do any necessary research .
BTW - our Shop Rite sometimes gets Cippollini so keep checking and talk to your produce guy in the supermarket, they may be able to help. Also, a recipe I had for braised cipollini said you could substitute pearl onions - though I'm not sure how good that would be - cipolllini have a nutier taste (IMHO).
TGB's crostata di limone, that's yummy too. I ordered the onion dish thinking it would be a nice ending to my meal and so the waitress clarified that it was not a dessert or cheese course. No bechamel, just cippoline (perhaps first roasted alone in a bit of oil) then perhaps baked a little longer to melt the cheese and liquefy the honey. The cheese I cannot help you with - not mozzarella or gorgonzola, but a mild, nutty and creamy cheese, probably a local cheese.
Posts: 1457 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
No bechamel, just cippoline (perhaps first roasted alone in a bit of oil) then perhaps baked a little longer to melt the cheese and liquefy the honey. The cheese I cannot help you with - not mozzarella or gorgonzola, but a mild, nutty and creamy cheese, probably a local cheese.
Scamorza, maybe? Janice let me know when you want the cippoline. Our supermarket, Wegman's is the best. It's the main reason I always rethink moving away. Pat
Posts: 1099 | Location: Rochester, NY and Bonita Springs, Fl | Registered: 18 September 2002
Bob and Kim, I'm counting on you to track down this recipe when in Montalcino in the next week or so. I have continued the "google" search but to no avail. I did however stumble across this recipe from Assisi.
Royal rice
Ingredients: 400 grams of rice for risotto 100 grams of butter 1/2 onion, sliced 1 liter of vegetable broth 50 grams of grated parmesan cheese 100 grams of honey "millefiori". Directions (for 4 servings): sauté the onion with 50 grams of butter. Add the rice and stir continuously, until the rice becomes slightly toasted. Add broth a little at a time, allowing it to evaporate before adding more. When the rice is cooked, some broth should remain. At the end of the cooking, add the cheese, honey, and the remaining broth. Serve immediately.
Pat, thanks for that incredibly kind offer to ship cippoline to me. I am not cooking much now. My evenings are spent finishing all work so that we can get away to Italy, sorting through travel information, training new puppy, and then deciding on what take-out to order.
We are just a few weeks away from dining at TGB, at least once. I know I will return home craving cippoline and will take you up on that sweet offer.
Posts: 1457 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
I am in warp speed, pre-trip, frantic organizing of notes gleaned from this and other sites, magazines and books. It's about time since we leave next Friday. Anyway,I ran across last year's diary (daily scribbling in small notebook, sadly never transferred to gorgeous leather journal purchased in Rome)and my notes on last October's visit to Montalcino with lunch at Taverna Grappola Blu.
Gavin, you mentioned the restaurant recently opened by the TGB owners. Here are exerpts from my diary:
"excellent pici with porcini ragu and cippoline baked with honey and cheese; both memorable. The tables were rather close together and seated beside us were two women who could not help but take note of B's exclamations about the cippoline. It was a "When Harry Met Sally" moment when they announced to our waitress that they would have "whatever he's having". We all laughed and struck up a conversation,learning that they were travel writers from New York, just in Montalcino for the day. We chatted more about Rome, our mutual last stop before returning to the States.
The four of us expressed an interest in the preparation of the cippoline and the owner's wife dropped by a few minutes later. She told us it was very simple-just roasted onions with local honey and cheese. She also invited us to visit their new restaurant,Re di Macchia."
Perhaps we will make an effort to dine at Re di Macchia this trip. I know we will dine at TGB, at least once.
Posts: 1457 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
We ate one dinner at Grappolo Blu during our week in Montalcino, recently. It was so unremarkable that I didn’t even record in my journal what we ate. I do remember that I ordered a pasta dish with a black truffle sauce, and the waiter shook his head, while mummuring, “you”re not going to like it.” I perservered, and I did enjoy it as a novelty—wouldn’t order it again, though.
The restaurant was packed full. Six AmI erican women at one table became increasingly raucous as the wine disappeared, and their hoots of laughter and cackling became very distracting from our food. Those are my most prevalent memories of Grappolo Blu.
I just saw a jar of cippoline in our Lazy Acres market today, but I didn’t know what it was! I wonder if the cheese that was served was pecorino (sheep's milk) which is used so prevalently in that area and served with miele (honey)? Charity
Posts: 1486 | Location: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: 11 May 2003
An elephant never forgets. Hi Bags Packed, did you track down the recipe? Just roasted cippoline with pecorino melted through at the end and honey drizzled over??? and Charity, our experience in July last year was the same. At lunch in July 2000, there were only six other diners in TGB. The food was sensational and the service efficient. In 2002, with Maria Pia having set up her new restaurant down the street, it was packed and doing second sittings. Two of the waiters conducted a running battle all night, there were many very noisy tables of tourists, and worst of all, the Lemon Tart was very ordinary. maria Pia had given me the recipe in 2000, and I have no trouble duplicating it with excellent results. The only variation comes from the quality of the lemons, however that night at TGB, the pastry was very ordinary...and that's Maria Pia's touch. To be honest, I wouldn't go back again.
Slow Travel Talk 
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