Lidia's Kitchen

LIDIA

Buon giorno. I'm Lidia Bastianich, and teaching you about Italian food has always been my passion. I want to taste it. Assaggiare. It has always been about cooking together... Hello....but it is also about reminiscing, reflecting, and reconnecting through food.

ERMINIA

Mmm. Delicious.

LIDIA

For me, food is about family and comfort. Whatever you're making, always remember to tutti a tavola a mangiare.

ANNOUNCER

Funding provided by... At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen. Cento -- Trust your family with our family. Authentic and original -- Amarena Fabbri. A taste of Italy for brunch with family and friends. Amarena Fabbri -- the original wild cherries in syrup. Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition, yet contemporary. Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese from Italy. Hand-crafted from 100% sheep's milk. Rovagnati Gran Biscotto, a true Italian ham. Crudo o cotto? Gran Biscotto. And by...

LIDIA

Nonna Rosa had lots of olive trees, and I was very excited when November came around because it was harvest. The olive oil was being pressed. There was new olive oil. And there's something special about olio novello, the new olive oil. It was precious and delicious then, and I love it still today. "The Olive Grove." A delicate broccolini paired with bass is dressed up with a splash of lemon to brighten up this already light stovetop dish. Olive oil isn't just for savory cooking. I bake with it as well to create this extra moist cake, perfect for snacks, breakfast, and dessert. Olive trees are almost the sacred trees because it is at the basis of how and what we cooked. So every family had enough olive trees to make olive oil to feed them the whole year round if it was a good harvest. So you have to climb up the tree and pick these little olives and kind of pull through the branches so that the olives would fall, and then collect them. Us kids, they would put a little ladder. We would go all the way up, because we were agile, and get as much as we could on top of it. And it's a process because you have to sort out the olives from the leaves. And that was work, but it was a much appreciated work. And, you know, every drop was really savored and saved. Striped bass with braised broccolini. I'm here in my garden. It's a beautiful day. And I'm cooking. I'm cooking an easy and delicious dish that you can cook almost anywhere. So what am I doing? I am doing striped bass with broccolini. A nice fillet of striped bass. The fillet could be a nice fillet just like that. Make sure it's fresh. Or you can have a thicker fillet or you can have, you know -- you can do salmon, you can do halibut, you can do everything. So let me just score it a little bit, just like that. Otherwise the fish will curl up. So this way it relaxes. The skin doesn't pull and curl up the fish. You know, sometimes fish, especially if you have a nice fine fillet like this, breaks readily. So let's make a nice portion -- two portions like that -- and we can handle it easily. A little bit of vegetable oil because we're going to sort of fry the fish first. Let me just salt it a little bit. Just like that. Not too much. And I'm going to flour it. Just nice and easy. Can you do it without the flour? You could, absolutely. But, you know, I feel that flour gives some taste, but also will hold the fish together. The oil is nice and hot. So let's put the skin in first, just like that. And once you have the fish in, don't move it. Let it form that crust. So let's go and do the broccolini. So these are the broccolini. How do you clean this broccolini? Very simple. You sort of cut part of the stem and you just pull all the skin off just like that. So what other vegetables could you use? I mean, anything that you have that's in season. You know, you can use asparagus, you can use regular broccoli, you can use spinach. Just be aware of the cooking time of each vegetable. This is a little bit too big, maybe. I'll cut it in half like that. So they're all the same size, more or less. Just cut it in small florets. You know I don't like to waste anything. So let's use these little stems. Let me cut them up and I'll throw them right in with the broccolini. So let's see how the fish is doing. It looks like it's nice and brown on one side. And again, when I flip it, I leave it there. I don't move it around because the fish is sensitive and you want a nice crust. One thing about fish is -- Actually, there's two things that I want you to remember. Super fresh. Has to be fresh. And then, do not overcook your fish. Let's check in on this fish. I think it should be done. It is. Perfect. So let me get the fish out of here. Put a little bit of salt. When it's nice and hot like that, what happens is that the heat dissolves the salt and it's absorbed. The bees are coming around. They know when something good is cooking. So the vegetable oil, I'm going to throw it out. Now I put some olive oil in there because this is what we're going to really eat. So let me throw the broccolini in there. Just like that.

Sizzling

LIDIA

If you will, in there. And I'm going to make a little hot spot. And, you know, you might wonder, "Well, why didn't you put the garlic in first?" Well, because the broccoli takes a little longer, I think, and I didn't want the garlic to burn. I'm going to put a little bit of more oil, make a little corner here and get the garlic. Do we like a lot of garlic? Yeah, you know, I like a lot of garlic. A lot of flavor. I'm going to put some salt, of course. Okay? Okay. A little peperoncino. And just a little bit of water. The broccolini are thick, you know. They need a little bit of water to cook. Just enough to steam them, and the water will evaporate. Also for flavoring, I like a little bit of lemon peel. You just want the rind. You don't want the pith. The pith is the bitter part. Let's put it in here. Okay. Full speed ahead. I'll put the lid on and let this cook away. The olives, after they were harvested, they were put on a horse-drawn cart, my grandmother's horse-drawn cart, and it would be taken to the olive oil mill, if you will, the communal press. And what happens is that they crush the olive into a pulp so that they can get everything out. Then this pulp, if you will, is put between, like, lifesavers of jute. You know, one after another. You put, like, a lifesaver of jute, then some of this pulp, then another lifesaver of jute. Then -- And so, high about 10. And then it was squeezed, pressed, if you will. And the oil and the water was dripping on the sides of these lifesavers into a container around it which had a spout. And then this would run into a bigger container where it would separate, because, again, the olive oil is lighter and it would float. And it was taken home like that. At home, you allowed the olive oil to rest, I remember. And at the bottom, there would be a sediment. But they would leave it like that. At that point, olive oil is still a little murky, and it has this intense flavor of vegetation plus olive oil. We really appreciated it, that fresh vegetable flavor of the olive oil of that first pressing. I think the broccolinis are done. Absolutely. A little bit al dente. So let's start to serve them. Okay. I would put the broccolini down first, just like that. Mm-hmm. The fish is nice and juicy. I told you, don't overcook it. Just a little piece for me. You know, I have to taste it. Mm! And I think, you know... Would I like a little bit of lemon? I think I would. Okay. Just drizzle a little bit on this one. Mmm. A little bit on this one. Mmm. And a little bit on me, for Lidia. Let me taste it so I can tell you exactly how it is. Mmm. Delicious, crunchy, good. And... a nice glass of chilled white wine. And maybe just a drizzle of olive oil. I think I'd like that. You know I like my olive oil. Just a little bit like that. Absolutely. Mmm. That's enough. And I'm going to cut some lemons because I think -- I love cutting the lemons just like that in half. Nice, big. So each person takes half of it, and voil. Okay. This looks like a pretty good table under the grape trestle in my backyard. Nice and refreshing. Good glass of wine. Some crunchy bread. You'll have a great meal. Fish always seems to be a little touchy recipe with people, you know? "Oh, how are we going to prepare this fish?" And it is. It's very delicate. The important thing is that it is fresh and that it is not overcooked. But, you know, fish, you need to make a complete meal. And making it with broccolini, a little bit olive oil, making it in the same pan -- you have a great meal, and you flavor everything. The fish with the broccolini and the garlic and oil, and the broccolini with the fish is delicious. "Ask Lidia." Let's reconnect. Hey, guys, I love receiving messages and e-mails from you. I'm just checking my e-mails right now. Donna wants to talk pesto. "Can pasta sauce be made ahead? Do you need to freeze it or can it be refrigerated?" So, you make your pesto and you put it in portion size. What do you think you will use at each time? Let's say a dinner for four, a dinner for six. Some of those little plastic jars, you put them in, and on top, you kind of let it settle nice and tight, flat on the top. You drizzle olive oil to cover, to seal off the top. That keeps the pesto from oxidizing and becoming black. Now, you can keep it this way in the refrigerator if you're going to use it even in a week or two. But if you want to save it long term, you can take the same weight, put it in the appropriate sizes so that when you pull it out from the freezer, you only defrost enough what you're going to use. Put the oil the same way, and put it in the freezer, and it will keep for you two, three, four months. Let's see. Any more questions? Yes, Theresa. Theresa has heard so many things about olive oil. She's wondering if it is true that you can't use high temperatures with olive oil, for example, for frying. And is curious, "What olive oil do you cook with?" Well, the temperature is true. Olive oil has the lowest smoking point of all of the oils. Smoking point means at the temperature that the oil begins to smoke. And you don't want oil to smoke. But it means a higher temperature. So canola, vegetable oils, corn oil, peanut oil, all of that have higher smoking points than olive oil. So olive oil you cannot use to do high temperature cooking, low temperature braising, beginning sauces, all of that. And, you know... What olive oil do I use? Well, you know, Italy -- 20 regions, and every region makes olive oil. And each region, sort of the olive oil has different characteristics. I use it from all of the regions. That means different makers of olive oil. But there's some general big olive oil producers that bring olive oil in America, Italian olive oil. And it's good, really, really good. And I would just make sure that you check on the bottle or on the can that it is produced a product of Italy -- not packaged in Italy, but a product of Italy. Guys, thank you very much for sending me your e-mail. As you can see, I read them. I enjoy them. I enjoy them because I see that you are interested, and I love answering them. So keep on sending them. Thank you. Baking cakes in each their home -- we had goats. We didn't have cows. There was no big pastures. And so -- but it wasn't really used -- but it was almost a luxury, if you will. And so we cooked, but we also baked with olive oil, whether we made a strudel, whether we made a sponge cake, it was just as easy to work with olive oil. And it was delicious and lighter. And I still use olive oil in baking desserts. Olive oil cake. My grandmother used to make olive oil cakes all the time, desserts with olive oil, and I still love them. So let's sift the dry ingredients. Flour, baking powder, a little bit of baking soda, a little bit of salt. And... Sifting is always good when you're baking because it aerates the flour, so, you know, when it's baking, it's already kind of fluffy, and it combines the dry ingredients. So let's start the basis of the cake -- the sugar... and the eggs. Two whole eggs. And you want that to...

Whirring

LIDIA

Vanilla. In baking, each step is important. You know, you want the sugar to completely melt into and bind with the egg yolks. So it's nice and fluffy now. Let's add the orange rind... the lemon rind. And slowly we'll alternate between the olive oil......and the flour.

Whirring intensifies

Tapping

LIDIA

Okay. And that looks good now. I have four egg whites here beaten to peaks. The light peaks here. And we'll add this to the mixture to make it nice and light. You know, whenever I put --

Whirring slows

LIDIA

...I add something, always kind of lower the speed so it doesn't splatter all over. Okay.

Whirring stops

LIDIA

We'll let... this drain in here a little bit, so I don't waste anything. Just like that. Let me mix this by hand. And you don't want to mix it too much because you deflate the egg whites. But you do want to get it all incorporated, just like that. That looks good. And here I have buttered and floured baking pan, and I put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom just so it's easier to remove once it's baked. I will sprinkle it just a little bit with coarse sugar, just like that a little bit so it becomes nice and crunchy and sweet at the top. You put it in a preheated 350-degree oven, and from 30 to 40 minutes, it will rise and bake. And it's going to be delicious. Olive oil went beyond the kitchen. It went into the medicine cabinet, although we didn't have a medicine cabinet, but it was used. If we had an earache, Grandma would heat up the olive oil, I remember, in a teaspoon, and she would put it in your ear, and I'm thinking, "What does olive oil do? Does it have -- Is it antibacterial?" I assumed it sealed the ear so that whatever was in there maybe died, or the infection or whatever. But it helped. The women used it for their skin, for their hair. When we go to the beach, also. A little bit of olive oil they would rub on us. I don't know if that was to protect us from the sun or to fry us in the sun. Sometimes I wonder. But evidently it was good. It was healthy. The men used the oil as a Brillantina, you know, to sort of tame their hair, if you will. And the young men, Saturdays, Sundays, they would go out. They had this balera, they had this gathering and dances for the younger, and us kids would always run and peak and see what was going on. I was a kid, but there was this young man, and, you know, thought he was going to be handsome. And the oil was kept a lot of times in a stone container. And he picked up the lid and dunked his whole head in it. And it was, you know, the whole town was hysterical. He was dripping with oil. But he thought he was going to be all the more handsome for it. The cake has baked and it has cooled, so I'm ready to taste it and dress it. First, let me put just a little bit of powdered sugar on top, just like that so we present it and it looks good. Okay. And we are ready to taste it. So let me cut a nice piece of cake. And a serrated knife is always best when you're cutting the cake. Oh, my goodness, did I cut a big piece for myself. But look. You see how beautiful it is? It's dense, but at the same time it's moist. I know it's moist. That's a big piece. But I can -- I can handle it. Yeah. Yeah. I guess I would like some whipped cream on top. Just like that. Okay? And then some berries. I want to make it beautiful so it looks great and it tastes good. And some on this side, on this side. Did I put too much of everything? But I don't care. I want to enjoy it. Let me taste it now. Let me go in there and taste it. And... Mmm. Mmm. It reminds me so, so much of Grandma's cake. You know, that kind of lightness, but it's dense and it's velvety and the orange and the lemon and the olive oil, it really comes forth -- the aroma of the olive oil. And it's so delicious. And I cut myself a big piece, but I did leave enough for you. And I do want to invite you, as I always do. So come and join me in this beautiful piece of olive oil cake that's delicious, that's Grandma's memories. Share them with me. So tutti a tavola a mangiare. Salute. Olive oil was the basic fat of cooking. Yes, when we slaughtered the pig, we had the rendering of the pig's fat, and that was called strutto, but that was limited and that was for the minestra. The prized cooking element was olive oil, and we used it for everything. We used it from salad, dipping bread, making bread, making cakes, making minestra. Olive oil was one of those almost sacred ingredients in our cupboards. It was very much prized. We were very careful. Grandma was very careful not to abuse it, not to overuse it, to use it just at the right time. Storing olive oil is important. No need to refrigerate it. It needs to be away from air. So keep the bottle always as full as you can in a cool, dark place. And Grandma would go in the cantina and she would take one

speaks Italian

LIDIA

and make smaller bottles and cork them all and leave them there and then go take one by one -- very judiciously. And she was very careful on how she used it. And hopefully having enough olive oil for the whole next year. Striped bass with braised broccolini. Olive oil cake.

ANNOUNCER

The food from this series is all about reflecting and reconnecting. The recipes can be found in Lidia's latest cookbooks, "Felidia: Recipes from My Flagship Restaurant," a collection of restaurant-inspired dishes for the home cook, available for $35. "Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine" is available for $40. And "Lidia's Celebrate Like an Italian" is available for $35. To purchase any of these cookbooks or order additional products, call 1-800-PLAY-PBS or visit shop.pbs.org/lidia. To learn more about Lidia, access to videos, and to get recipes, tips, techniques and much more, visit us online at lidiasitaly.com. Follow Lidia on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @lidiabastianich.

LIDIA

I'll drink to that.

ERMINIA

Me too.

LIDIA

Ethan! What are you looking for? Something to eat? You're next.

Singing in Italian

LIDIA

The camera's in front of her, and she comes to life.

WOMAN

Whoo-hoo! That was so good.

LIDIA

Tell those guys to get out of there. I don't want to cover it. Come on, bee. Okay. And then let's make them together, okay? It's a deal?

WOMAN

Yeah.

LIDIA

Ready?

MAN

Feel that energy there.

LIDIA

Come and join us. So I'm gonna have another bite...

ANNOUNCER

Funding provided by... At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen. Cento -- Trust your family with our family. Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition yet contemporary. And by... Olitalia, "From chef to chef." Closed captioning provided by San Benedetto. "Lidia's Kitchen" studio provided by Clarke, New England's official Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.