An Italian Hannukah: Riso coll'uvetta

It may come as a surprise to some, but Italy has a Jewish tradition going back not just centuries, but millennia. A Jewish community existed in Rome dating from during the Roman Republic, even before the Empire, in the first centuries BCE. That presence grew during the late Middle Ages, when Italy presented a relatively tolerant environment (with emphasis on the 'relatively') as compared with other European countries. A great number of Jews settled in Italy after the mass exiles from Spanish in the wake of the Reconquista in the late 15th Century. The complicated ups and down of Jewish life in Italy over the years are ably outlined in this article, but, to make a long story short, by the 20th Century the principal Jewish communities in Italy were to be found in Rome, Venice and Tuscany. Then came the Holocaust, which resulted in the extermination of about 15% of Italy's Jewish population and the end of many Jewish communities like the one that had been found in the village of Pitigliano, known as "the Little Jerusalem". About 45,000 Jews live in Italy today.

The Jews of Italy developed their own, very distinct but yet very Italian cuisine. The best book I know on the subject is The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews by Edda Servi Machlin. Today I would like to present two lovely recipes from that book, for dishes traditionally served at Hannukah: riso coll'uvetta, rice with raisins, an unusual but delicious risotto dish from Venice which I will describe in this post, and pollo fritto per Chanukà, fried chicken for Hannukah which will be featured in the next one.

Riso coll'uvetta—called risi coll'ua in Venetian dialect—is an ancient recipe from the Jewish community in Venice. To make it, you begin with a soffritto of garlic and parsley sautéed in abundant olive oil. As soon as the garlic begins to brown, add your rice and toast that until it turns an opaque white, then add a handful per serving of raisins which you will have softened in warm water for a few minutes, mixing well and then adding broth, a ladleful at a time, in the usual manner for making risotto, until the rice is tender but still al dente. There is no mantecatura for this dish, but I mixed in a bit more chopped parsley for color at the end, and seasoned with salt and pepper as needed, to taste. That's all there is too it. Machlin says the dish can be served warm or at room temperature.

NOTES: The combination of sweet and savory in this risotto is quite unusual in modern Italian cookery—a sign, perhaps, of the recipe's ancient origin—but I really liked it. The addition of raisins in Italian cooking, however, is not all that uncommon, particularly in Venetian and Sicilian cuisines, usually being a sign of Moorish or Middle Eastern influence.

There are a few variations to the dish. Some recipes will have you add a bit of white wine as for a typical risotto, some recipes call for water rather than broth, some call for the addition of some apple juice at the end (something it seems to me that would unbalance the flavors too far in favor of the sweet side). Not all recipes call for softening the raisins (although I recommend it heartily) and some recipes call for adding the raisins at the very end of the cooking time. If you want to make this a dairy dish, then you can omit the broth and use butter instead of oil. In the dairy version, you can also add parmesan at the end as with a regular risotto.

Some readers may know that our word 'ghetto' comes from Venice—the gh and double t give the word away as Italian—and more specifically it refers to that part of the city where Jews were obliged to live during the Middle Ages all the way up to the end of the Venetian Republic. It was Napoleon who, in 1797, decreed the end of Jewish segregation. Nevertheless, the Venetian ghetto is still the center of Jewish life in Venice, home to about 1000 Jews and several synagogues, a yeshiva and other centers of Jewish life including a kosher restaurant where, however, I was disappointed to find, this dish is not on the menu...

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Title: The Eight Days of Chanukah

Do I have to tell you? That it's a song? A parody even? That its about the food? I didn't think so.

Since it's low fi here's the words:

[lalala. . .
OK that was a little joke, but good cooking should be should be like music for your tummy, and good cooking is Chanukah, etc]


On the first day of Chanukah
my bubbie gave to me:
potato latkes - as it should be!

On the second day of Chanukah my Israeli neighbor gave to me:
sufganiyot, and potato latkes - as it should be (with sour cream!)

On the third day of Chanukah, my sister gave to me:
sweet potato latkes (modern, but not too modern!), sufganiyot, and potato latkes as it should be (sour cream, un less you flaishik in which case apple sauce!)

On the fourth day of Chanukah, my cousin married to the Italian gave to me:
four ricotta pancakes, three sweet potato latkes, two sufganiyot, and potato latkes as they should be (you want seconds?)

On the fifth day of Chanukah, my bachelor brother gave to me:
Five Golden's brand frozen latkes! (He tries!)
four ricotta pancakes, three sweet potato latkes, two sufganiyot, and potato latkes as they should be (in chicken fat to go with the brisket!)

On the sixth day of Chanukah my vegan all-raw neighbor gave to me:
shredded carrots in olive oil - thanks a LOT!
Five Golden's frozen (he can't help it!)
four ricotta pancakes, sweet potato latkes, sufganiyot, and potato latkes as they should be
(OK, fine, dairy, with some smoked whitefish and herring on the side - and sour cream!)

On the seventh day of Chanukah my third cousin the chef gave to me:
seven mini taro root pancakes drizzeld with macadamia oil and a coulis of passionfruit, (he called it amuse-bouche - is that Yiddish?)
shredded carrots in olive oil (you think I'm making this up?),
Five Golden's frozen (give him credit at least they weren't microwaved!),
four ricotta pancakes, sweet potato latkes, sufganiyot, and potato latkes as they should be
(grated by hand of course, and never, ever reheated!)

On the eighth day of Chanukah,
my children gave to me a very messy kitchen,
seven mini taro root pancakes drizzeld with macadamia oil and a coulis of passionfruit (talk about potchky-ing!),
shredded carrots in olive oil (word! feh!),
Five Golden's frozen (like you've never done it),
four ricotta pancakes, sweet potato latkes, sufganiyot, and potato latkes as they should be
(in schmaltz with grivenes!)

[that's not al. . . ]

On the day after Chanukah, my doctor gave to me:
.
.
.
.
.
a lecture.

Happy Chanukah! Essen! (Eat!)


I do have to tell you the words are copyright 2009 by the author - that would be me.

Title: How to Light Hanukkah Candles

http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-light-hanukkah-candles

Learn about the tradition of celebrating Hanukkah with Rabbi Eli Levitansky.

For more christmas videos check out the Mahalo Christmas playlist:
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Check out our Mahalo pages on Hanukkah:
First Night of Hanukkah: http://www.mahalo.com/first-night-of-hanukkah
Gifts For Hanukkah: http://www.mahalo.com/gifts-for-hanukkah
Hanukkah Cards: http://www.mahalo.com/hanukkah-cards
Hanukkah Latkes and Sufganiyots: http://www.mahalo.com/hanukkah-latkes-and-sufganiyots
How to Celebrate Hanukkah: http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-celebrate-hanukkah
How to Decorate Your Home For Hanukkah: http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-decorate-your-home-for-hanukkah
How to Play The Dreidel on Hanukkah: http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-play-the-dreidel-on-hanukkah
How to Spell Hanukkah: http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-spell-hanukkah
What is Hanukkah Gelt?: http://www.mahalo.com/what-is-hanukkah-gelt
What is Hanukkah?: http://www.mahalo.com/what-is-hanukkah
What Time Does Hanukkah Begin? http://www.mahalo.com/what-time-does-hanukkah-begin
When is Hanukkah? http://www.mahalo.com/when-is-hanukkah

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