Viva Italia!

Your Online Gr@pevine Editor just returned from two weeks in Italy--the land of great food and wine! Lemon and asparagus risotto, nutty hard cheese from Bormio, Prosecco, chewy rolls drenched in olive oil and topped with Caponata, Barbaresco, marinated tuna carpaccio, Limoncello...the Italians really know how to live.

In the next few weeks, I'll be translating my recipes (some scribbled on the backs of napkins by the chef) and posting them here, so check back. To start, the marinated tuna carpaccio, which was part of the feast our new Italian friend Luciana prepared for us our last night in Lago Maggiore:

MARINATED TUNA CARPACCIO:
Italian recipe, from Luciana:
Carpaccio di pesce (tonno o pesce spada)
Ingredienti: pesce tagliato sottile, succo di limone, sale , pepe, olio di oliva, poprezzemolo tritato con un poco di buccia d'arancia(solo parte arancione)o aneto
Adagiare sul piatto le sottili fette di pesce (preparare circa un'ora e mezza prima di consumare)
salare e pepare, aggiungere olio quanto basta , succo di limone, lasciare macerare per 15' poi girare le fettine, aggiungere succo di limone e prezzemolo tritato fresco, a piacere potresti aggiungere un poco di aglio tritato.

My interpretation:
Ingredients: Sushi grade tuna or swordfish (please only buy sustainably caught!) cut into thin slices by a very sharp knife, lemon juice, salt, pepper, good quality olive oil (essential for the best flavor!), chopped parsley, grated orange zest (the peel), minced garlic (if desired). Let marinate about 1 1/2 hours. Serve with mint. I used 1/2 pound tuna, juice of one lemon, sprinkles of salt and pepper, about 3 tbsp. chopped parsley, a cup of Sicilian olive oil, grated peel of one orange and a splash of good balsalmic vinegar. I marinated it all day, turning the fish now and then.

We had this in Italy served with Prosecco--very delicious, but paired it this time with the 2001 Matrix Mazzocco (coming soon to Touring & Tasting, so check the Wine Cellar in the coming weeks for this wine) and loved the meal. Rounded it out with steamed organic vegetables and baby red potatoes topped with a dry-jack-style Italian cheese--perfetto!