With her lively eyes and ready smile, Elena is the cook at the AA ‘Alle Camelie’ in Pieve di Compito, at the foot of Monte Pisano, on the edge of the woods. This is the area where camellias grow in gardens, nurseries, along the Visona, the stream that runs through the villages of Compitese, and in the camellia garden of Sant'Andrea. Right now, the Sasanqua variety of camellias, our “Christmas stars”, are in bloom.
Like many women, Elena learned to cook in her mother's kitchen. Her mother and grandmother were her teachers. Her cooking is the result of hours spent in the kitchen on Sundays and holidays, stirring the ragù, preparing dough, chopping vegetables and peeling fruit. Each ingredient has its own cut, each dish its own pot, each gesture its own moment.
And while cooking, there is the inevitable ritual of exchanging stories and experiences with others: amazing lunches, memorable recipes... unspeakable disasters!
Yes, because cooking is an oral tradition. And it is constantly evolving, with everyone telling their own version, perhaps adding a little secret, an ingredient, a special cooking technique... However, for the results to be excellent, one thing must never be lacking: time.
“It takes time,” says Elena, “there are no other tricks or secrets except that if you want to do it well, you can't do it quickly”. On the other hand, we have always known that quick and good do not go together.
With time and passion, however, not only delicious flavours and aromas will be created, but also memories and stories to tell one day.
A good recipe starts with shopping, choosing the best ingredients and combining flavours and colours.
Extra virgin olive oil is essential in Elena's kitchen, which uses organic extra virgin olive oil from the ‘Alle Camelie’ farm. Produced in an olive grove dating back to the 18th century on terraces held in place by dry stone walls, the farm has its own oil mill, which guarantees timely pressing and ensures low acidity, a fundamental characteristic for a good extra virgin olive oil.
The pressing begins in mid-October and ends in early December. The Leccino and Frantoiano olives, which are not fully ripe but healthy, are pressed every day to produce a fruity oil rich in aromas that remain unaltered over time.
What you need:
For the dough:
200 g flour
15 g fresh yeast
100 ml whole milk
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
For the filling:
2 apples
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chestnut honey
1 tablespoon oil
Ground cinnamon
How to make it:
Mix the flour with the salt and sugar and pour into a mound on a pastry board.
Crumble the brewer's yeast into the centre, dissolving it with a few tablespoons of warm milk and using your fingertips to help.
Incorporate the flour into the ingredients in the centre, adding the warm milk little by little.
The dough should be soft and elastic.
When it is sufficiently kneaded, shape it into a ball, flour it and cover it with a cloth to leave it to rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume.
Roll out the dough as you would for a pizza. Peel the apples and cut them into slices.
Arrange the apples in a radial pattern. Sprinkle with sugar, honey, oil and a pinch of cinnamon.
Bake in a hot oven at 220°C for about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
The book: Cose buone by Elena Pardini
published by ‘aa Alle Camelie’
The EVO oil: AA alle Camelie
via della pieve 186 Pieve di Compito (Capannori)
allecamelie.it
