For several years any mention of imbibing in Italy seemed to focus on the spritz, that light, fizzy, eminently drinkable cocktail. But while we were raising our glasses, we didn't spend much time talking about what should accompany them — the casual bites known as stuzzichini. Food and travel writer, filmmaker, and cicerone Stef Ferrari has written and illustrated an ode to these tasty bites, Stuzzichini The Art of the Italian Snack.
Evan Kleiman: Before we get to stuzzichini, which I have to thank you for using as a book title, is it related to the Italian word for toothpick, stuzzicadenti?
Stef Ferrari: It is a word that is, in fact, related to the translation for toothpick. But I've been informed by my aunt not that long ago that the word is also related to stuzzicare, which is "to tease," as in the appetite, in this case.
One eats stuzzichini during aperitivo. Talk to us a little bit about aperitivo, what it is, and how old a tradition it is.
One of the things that led me down this particular rabbit hole was understanding, only upon living in Italy, that the tradition of aperitivo, as we understand it today, is relatively new. It is a proxy for happy hour, and that's, I think, the way that most Americans interpret it. That really has only been of the last 20 years and that is largely because of internal migrations within Italy (they call it mobilita), in which younger people, in particular, have been migrating within the country to more cosmopolitan or concentrated metropolitan areas in search of work.
We have this idea that in Italy, everyone eats at home with the family but these younger people, these younger generations are now moving to these areas where they aren't close to their family. So they're really searching not just for food and drink and a good time but for community as well.
Sicily is known for Modica chocolate, a raw kind of chocolate, served here with anchovies and ricotta. Photo by Deepi Ahluwalia.
I've always thought of aperitivo as the cocktail hour. My mother would use it as a punctuation to the end of the work day and the beginning of how you would relax. In Italy, especially going back 10, 20 years, I just love their commitment to tiny bowls of potato chips, olives, and nuts.
Absolutely. I think that's a really perfect way to express what it is. It is that sort of in between time. But what I found as I was living there and traveling around is just how elaborate some of these bites can be and still fall in the complimentary category. There are places where you go and there are fully composed choux pastry with salmon mousse. Sometimes, [these are] things that I would happily pay good money for and they are often included complimentary with the price of your drink.
Let's jump into the recipes. There are so many smart ones and ideas I've never thought of that go way beyond the crostini. Let's start with the unlikely use of pasta as a chip. You turn farfalle [bowtie pasta], a shape that I despise (I'm sure I'll get some heat for that), but you turn them into chips, which I think I would actually like. Is that an American heresy or did you actually see that done in Italy?
I love them for this use because they are an ideal shape for dipping once they're fried. To be honest, it surprised me how often I saw fried pasta. There are places where you can get little nests of spaghetti that have been curled up and deep-fried. And I have seen it as a viral Tiktok trend but it does exist there. Italians love fritti.
"Aperitivo a proxy for happy hour," says food and travel writer Stef Ferrari, a notion she subscribed to while living in Italy. Photo by Antonio Diaz.
Is the pasta cooked first and then dried before you fry it? Or is it fried from dry?
No, you have to boil it first. You parboil it, then dry it, then fry it. You want to get as much moisture off as possible because it will splatter if it's too wet.
In this particular recipe, you serve them with a crema of parmigiano. Is this the Italian answer to queso?
Very much so. Absolutely. That crema is frequently used for pasta but in this case, this is a little bit of a conflation of things that I saw in Italy and things that I thought would translate well to American culture. That is exactly what I had in mind, the chips and queso.
You feature one of my favorite dishes, which is necci with ricotta and honey. Necci are these chestnut flour crepes or pancakes that you very rarely see mentioned anywhere. Tell us about them.
I'm so glad that you know what they are and that you enjoy them. I encountered them first at an outdoor market in Florence. They are Tuscan, very specifically, as chestnuts are quite a big deal in that region. Another thing that I love about Italian food is the ability to take one product and turn it into so many different things. Chestnuts are really integral to the cuisine in that area, so you can find them walking down the street. People are roasting them, and they're absolutely delicious like that. Those are also in the book.
You also see them in pasta, on pizza, and in pastries a lot. In this case, they're ground into a flour then turned into this pancake. When you're in Italy, it's street food. You walk up to the vendor and, with a batter that is made from this chestnut flour, they make the pancake to order. Then, they fill it with fresh ricotta and roll it up. It's the equivalent of a street taco or something similar. To walk around on a fall day when the chestnuts are in season, it's such a treat.
Cracker Con Acciughe, Cioccolato Fondente & Ricotta
Makes 24 crisps
I know, this one sounds weird. But before you throw the small fish out with the seawater, remember that Sicilians created the cannoli, caponata, and—it is sometimes argued—gelato. Each of their creations is a study in texture and a tricky tightrope of flavors. This is a region that deeply understands composition.
I first tasted these crispy bites at an aperitivo in Zafferana Etnea, a commune of Catania situated in the shadow of the mystical Mount Etna. They were paired with a cocktail, featuring a local blood orange amaro and a spray of musky olive oil, that was served with a flaming orange wheel. Needless to
say, the whole scene had a flair for the dramatic, but it was this bite that took center stage. With the salty anchovy and bitter dark chocolate, along with creamy cheese to keep everything in check, what initially seemed like an unusual combination of flavors made complete sense on the palate. These stuzzichini are sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy, with lively pops of citrus and spice, and I found it impossible not to go back for more.
Note: When I say “chocolate,” we’re not talking about a Hershey bar here. Modica chocolate is dark and bitter, moody and gritty, and has a gripping history all its own (see page 142).
Ingredients
- 24 Cracker di Polenta al Burro Bruno (page 32)
- 1 cup (240 g) whole-milk ricotta 24 anchovy fillets
- 1⁄2 cup (85 g) roughly chopped cioccolato di Modica (or other high-quality dark chocolate)
- Grated zest of 1 orange
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (10 to 20 g) fennel seeds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon (10 g) red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
-
In the center of each crisp, spoon 1⁄2 tablespoon ricotta. Around the dollop of cheese, wrap 1 anchovy
fillet. -
Nestle crumbled chocolate into the cheese and top with a dusting of orange zest and toasted fennel
seeds. Sprinkle with pepper flakes, if using, and serve.Note: You can also use store-bought herbal crackers of your choice, or a simple stoned-wheat cracker,
and sprinkle toasted fennel seeds over each finished bite.
What can we do with olives that goes beyond taking them out of the jar and putting them in the tiniest bowl you own?
Such a good question. I encountered, in Sicily, this really beautiful oven-roasted olive dish that has brown sugar and rosemary. The contrast of the sugar and the sweetness and spices with the briny olives is really nice.
One of my favorite dishes in this book is a chocolate and olive pâté, using black olives and really dark chocolate. You can do it with a mortar and pestle in a more rustic way or you can really get it smooth and creamy if you have a food processor and prefer that. That is a really cool combination. Very earthy, very surprising. I've had many people guess at what that is. I love to put it out and say, "Tell me what you think is in this." Very rarely do people guess that there's dark chocolate in there but they go really well together.
You combine anchovies on a crostini with chocolate and ricotta, don't you?
Yes, I had that for the first time in Sicily. I was at a dinner and I was probably the most annoying person at the table because I kept stopping the conversation to say, "Has everyone tried this? This is incredible!" It was just a combination. Sicily is known for Modica chocolate, which is a raw kind of chocolate. The process doesn't get hot enough for the sugar to fully melt and you have this little bit of grittiness to it, which is really unique and interesting to eat on its own. That dark, bitter chocolate paired with a really salty, umami, anchovy and the sweet creamy lightness of the ricotta, I could not believe what an incredible combination [it was] with just a few ingredients.
That Modica chocolate is related to Mexican chocolate, isn't it?
Yes, it is. It's very much a descendant of the chocolate that originated in Mexico.
The book is really interesting. I haven't had friends over for cocktails in a really, really long time and I have to say, this book made me want to do that, which I guess is a total success
Absolutely. That's my dream for this book, that it will give people a good reason to sit down with the people they love.
"Stuzzichini" is devoted to the Italian bites served during aperitivo. Photo courtesy of Voracious.