La Cucina Povera
/La Cucina Povera is cooking simply, with the best ingredients available. Literally it translates to “the poor kitchen”, “cooking of the poor”, or “peasant cooking”. However, the building blocks of Italian cuisine originated with this concept, which is most commonly associated with Southern Italy. You could say that la cucina povera is Italian soul food.
The rigors of the feudal system, where the poor subsisted on what they grew or could forage, was a hard enough life. When the system collapsed, so did life in the South, which led to mass migration from the south with many leaving Italy for life in America in the mid to late 1800s. Italian-American cooking originated with these immigrants from Calabria, Basilicata, and Campania. However, the true art and concept of la cucina povera has little resemblance to much of today’s Italian-American cooking.
A vegetable market back in the days before the Euro.
This weekend’s meal kit is firmly based on la cucina povera. Minestrone soup is ubiquitous in Italian restaurants in America, but very rare in a restaurant in Italy. In Italy it’s a dish that is created at home with the ingredients at hand. The word minestrone comes from the word minestrare, which means “to serve.” Italians use the word zuppa to describe lighter soups, while minestra or minestrone are used to describe heartier soups or stews. As with most Italian sauces and stews the flavors are built by adding the ingredients in stages, until a marriage of flavors is achieved. Italian Wedding Soup, is not typically served at Italian weddings, rather its Italian name, minestra maritata, refers to the blending or marriage of flavors.
The main course, Chicken Cacciatora, also comes from la cucina povera, and translates to “hunter’s-style chicken”. Once again, the dish used what was available from the garden or foraged from the countryside, with wild rabbit the original meat in the recipe. Italians use a variety of vegetables, instead of the more common Italian-American cacciatora which often uses a heavy marinara sauce.
Chef Cory substituted chicken thighs (the most flavorful piece of chicken!), and uses several vegetables, added in stages (as shown below) in the recipe to make a hearty stew. Most cacciatora recipes call for white wine and chicken broth. Instead Cory used red wine for deglazing. This recipe also relies on the blending or “maritata” of flavors, which results in a richer sauce.
As usual, the meal comes with a detailed recipe card and a link to a video that shows you how to prepare your meal. The soup and creamy polenta are prepared for you, all you have to do is prepare the Cacciatora with the prepped and portioned ingredients. Tonight you can cook like an Italian and Chef Cory!
Available for pick up at all M’tucci’s Locations
Weekend Specials
M’tucci’s Italian
7 oz Cajun-Rubbed Tender Roast Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $23
Pan-Seared Ruby Red Trout - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $21
Sunday Only: Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach and House BBQ Sauce for $27
M’tucci’s Moderno
Sackett Farm Pork Shanks - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéd Spinach, Mirepoix Sauce $23
Beef Tip Tortellini - Cajun Seaonsing, Diced Tomatoes, Green Onions, Rosa Sauce & Gorgonzola Cheese $19
Pan-Seared Halibut - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $24
Sunday Only: House Made Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta, Five Pork Bolognese and Roasted Tomato Marinara. $16 (it’s large)
Drink Specials by Matt
Del Rio Punch: Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Lime, Pineapple & Orange Juices, Red Chile & Club Soda
Violet Villa: Espolon Tequila, Lime Juice, Violet Liqueur
M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
7 oz Chianina Flatiron Steak - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $22
Gelato: Raspberry/Cherry/Limoncello
Sorbetto: Citrus Apple
Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. Ciao!
