In the very infancy of this blog, back when we had no appreciation for plating, lighting or anything else remotely aesthetic, my wife wrote about the first course of a truly memorable dinner we shared in the famous Florentine trattoria, Coco Lezzone. What she didn’t mention was that even though we were getting towards the end of our nearly month long sojourn in Italy that encompassed our wedding and honeymoon, by the time we wound up in that jewel of the Renaissance, we were feeling rather sorry for ourselves.

Two days earlier, we had arrived in Genoa after a magnificent and occasionally hair-raising drive through the rugged terrain of the lower reaches of Piemonte and Liguria, to find that the guest-house we had booked was expecting us the day before. Twenty-four hours off schedule, and with a large shipping conference dominating Genoa’s hotels for the rest of the week to complicate matters, we were unceremoniously turfed out of said accommodation the following morning. While I, who have been invited to leave much less salubrious establishments than this, met the news with a certain equanimity, without a roof under which to shelter, and quite literally no room at the inn, the combined strain of having single-handedly planned a wedding and honeymoon from New York suddenly hit my poor wife like a tidal wave, and gushing tears of frustration and exhaustion ensued. Where comforting nuzzles from Tim the hotel dog weren’t enough, a liter carafe of white wine and two dozen fried anchovies seemed to have a medicinal effect, but, as calming as that lunch was, in a fit of pique we still decided to put Genoa in our rearview mirror and hit the E80 autostrada down the coast into Tuscany.

After a magnificent drive, framed on our right by the sparkling Mediterranean and on our left by the often white, marble-rich mountains of the Ligurian Apennines, we rolled in to Florence just as the westering sun was painting the city’s monuments the luminous color of dried apricots. Spirits partially restored, and safe in the knowledge that our reservation for the night was kosher, we immediately set out to find something delicious as a salve for our emotional wounds.

Among the several traditional Tuscan comestibles we over-indulged in that evening was a rabbit roll, or involtino di coniglio, stuffed with prosciutto, boiled egg and sage. Dressed very simply with Luccan olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, it screamed the Spartan simplicity for which Tuscan fare is best-known. In some ways, it also exemplified the ethos of our trip. I suspect some of the wedding guests may quibble, but in our opinion, both wedding and honeymoon, had a pared-down, no frills sense about them. Only a hard core of essential people attended the wedding, and there was little time for luxuriating on a honeymoon in which we banjoed our way around 10 northern Italian cities in a tiny, canary yellow motor.

On our gentle post-prandial stroll, feeling all rosy and content from food, wine and warm night air, we encountered a pair of English honeymooners who asked us in charming pidgin Italian, “por favore, it’s nostra luni da miel…!” to photograph them in front of Santa Maria del Fiore. We were then playfully accosted by a group of tipsy Sicilian students from Catania who made us sing football songs with them and insisted we all shake hands in the traditional, forearm-grasping Roman-style before they would let us depart. This memorable meal and displays of unprovoked goodwill sent us to bed marveling at how such basic pleasures can make ones mind transcend apparent troubles. An important lesson.

In truth, we are fully aware that this was just another sybaritic moment in a month of indulgence, and not worthy of anyone’s sympathy, but I was reminded of this experience and its underlying moral recently when the trepidation induced by the impending arrival of our first-born began to get the better of me. I suspect we shall be leaning heavily on these twin crutches of simple dishes and human kindness very soon.

I feel kinda cheesy. I admit it, I feel cool about using a butcher. I understand this is lame and that butchers have been around for ages, but, truthfully, in the recent year, we’ve really gotten to know our neighborhood butchers. Growing up in the ‘burbs, meat was only bought pre-cut and pre-packaged. Yes, every once in awhile you’d see the grocery store’s butcher come out from behind those weird black, plastic doors with the small square window. You’d wonder what rock he/she crawled out from because, more often than not (now I mean NO disrespect) those grocery store workers who came out from the back had a few less teeth than me and looked as though “meth” could’ve been their middle name.

After our first attempt at making homemade sausage, I realized how invaluable a butcher is. We live in a country where many people don’t know what kind of animal their meat comes from. Hold up an eggplant to a 10-year old and good chance they may not even know what the hell it is. It’s sad that the neighborhood butcher is starting to become a thing of the past. Hell, I live in Brooklyn, NY, one of the most multicultural places on earth and, in my hood alone we only have a few butchers left. I’m talking about the neighborhood butcher, not that gourmet food store up the street. You know the place – the guy/gal behind the counter has butchers hands and fingers, you know his/her name and he/she knows your name, they don’t switch employees as quickly as McDonald’s and they can easily ask you if you want “the regular”. Word is that the decline in these gems is because young people aren’t interested in carrying on the family trade. Maybe with this economic downward spiral Americans will be more willing to work with their hands again and see the beauty how happy meat/poultry can make people.

Jonny and I have wanted to try and make a dish that we ate in Florence, Italy at the awesome Coco Lezzone since the last time we recreated their Pappa al Pomodoro. It was one of those meals from start to finish that will forever stay etched in my mind. Saveur did a cover story on their Herb-Stuffed Pork Loin in their April, 2006 issue. We tweaked the recipe just a bit (lavender wasn’t a part of the original recipe) and, thanks to our awesome butcher, the dish turned out phenomenally. We’re going to do a version of this for Christmas Day dinner because it’s pretty inexpensive and extremely delicious. I highly recommend you go give your butcher a big hug tomorrow.

COCO LEZZONE’S HERB AND LAVENDER-STUFFED PORK LOIN RIB ROAST – Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 6-rib center-cut pork loin roast (about 4-5 lbs)
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and ground to a paste
• 2 tablespoons of chopped rosemary
• 3 tablespoons of chopped sage
• 2 tablespoons of thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried lavender
• 2 tablespoons + 1/4 (or so) cup olive oil
• salt and pepper

What to do:

1. Preheat over to 475 degrees. In a small bowl, add together the garlic, all the herbs and lavender with a pinch of salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Use a fork to make sure it’s all incorporated together.
2. Push the handle of a long wooden spoon through the center of one end of the pork roast allowing it to poke through the other end’s center. Do this again, moving the handle back and forth and in a circular motion to allow the hole to get bigger. It will end up being about 3/4 of an inch wide.
3. Reserve about 3/4 of a tablespoon of the herb mixture to be use in a moment. Using your fingers, push some of the herb/garlic mixture into the center hole starting on one side and the finishing on the other. Put roast in a roasting pan.
4. Pour about 1/4 cup or so of olive oil over the roast. Rub it in a bit. Using the reserved herb mixture, rub all around the top and sides of the rib roast. Season generously with salt and pepper and roast the pork in the oven until golden brown – about 25 to 30 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and continue to roast for an hour longer or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees.
5. Allow pork to rest about 10 minutes and then carve into individual chops. Serve with the pan drippings (which are DEEE-LISH, by the way!).

Now that the recipe has been tested, I offer it to you. Bring the flavors of Florence and Coco Lezzone into your home (damn, that sounded like an info-mercial…kill me!). ***Notice that my recreation looks a bit chunkier than the Coco Lezzone one. Personally, I think part of that has to do with the fact that my leeks were not FINELY chopped. If you can use a chopper to really finely chop your leeks, I recommend it.

PAPPA AL POMODORO ALA COCO LEZZONE (Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup the Coco Lezzone Way)

Ingredients (Serves 2-3 for a good hearty portion):

• 4 1/2 cups (or two 28oz. cans) of pureed plum tomatoes (San Marzano are best)
  • **buy the Whole/Peeled canned tomatoes in thick puree and puree it in a food processor yourself. Not necessary, but this helps you adjust the texture of your puree.
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 leek, finely chopped (the finer the better) – only the light green and white parts
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cup of beef broth (or a mixture of half beef broth/half chicken broth)
• 10 slices of day-old, dense bread (sliced in 1/2” to 3/4” slices) – I used a Portuguese “baguette”
  • **Traditionally, this dish is made with Tuscan salt-less bread. My guess is, no one will find this bread in their local shop considering once you leave Tuscany you can barely get this bread.
  • **Also, you can put your slices in the oven to create that “day old” feel if you didn’t give it a day to get more stale. Just heat your oven to like 275 and heat your slices up for about 15 minutes.
• Salt and Pepper
• Chiffonade of fresh basil

What to do:

1. Drain the insides of your whole, peeled tomatoes. Sometimes the juice that is in there (and the seeds) are just unnecessary when making a nice, thick sauce or soup. Puree the tomatoes along with the thick puree they came in.
2. Add your olive oil to your pot and sautee your garlic for a minute and a half over medium heat.
3. Lower your heat a bit (to about medium-low) and add your finely chopped leek . Do not let your leeks brown, you just want them to get soft. This could take 10-15 minutes.
4. Add your pureed tomatoes and the broth and let simmer (adjust heat to allow simmer) for 20 minutes.
5. After 20 minutes, add your ‘stale’ bread slices to the puree, make sure each piece is completely submerged (fold in).
6. Turn off the heat and cover your soup. Let sit for another 10-15 minutes.
7. After it has rested, stir for a few moments with a wire whisk. All your bread should actually have ‘dissolved’ into the soup creating a thick, porridge-like look.
8. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, whisk again. Serve with Mozzarella Croutons (melt some sliced mozzerella on some extra slices of your bread with a bit of olive oil, pepper and basil).

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When we were in Florence this past July we had one of the most memorable meals of our life. The simplicity of the dishes, the gruff, “don’t ask too many questions cause everything is good here” service and the down-home ambiance (mama in the corner, the owner is the host, the server and one of the head cooks and happy Florentines laughing, talking, eating and drinking), we left completely fulfilled. The restaurant is Coco Lezzone and even though we don’t live in Florence (and not many people even read this little blog!), I’m still secretly wanting to keep this restaurant all to myself. Truth is, the restaurant is well known with Florentines and is also recommended in a number of travel guides. So why was Florence hopping with (too many!) tourists that warm, lovely Friday evening in July, but there were barely any diners at Coco Lezzone? I’m still puzzled by this and the only thing I can come up with is that tourists can be scared of empty restaurants (especially in a foreign country). Not to mention the owner/host/server/chef Gianluca Paoli leans against the door with his ‘no-bullshit’ attitude and probably won’t smile or encourage people to come in and dine at his restaurant. It’s as if he’s saying in every language, “My food is amazing. I know it, everyone who lives in Florence knows it. I don’t give a F**K if you come or not. It’s your loss if you walk away.” Maybe it’s my east-coast/NYC attitude (not into sugarcoating or being perky or anyone who is perky – see my Rachel Ray/Sandra Lee comments in past posts), maybe it’s how I like to travel (off the beaten path and far, far away from anyone wearing a fannypack and/or those hideously ugly ‘comfy’ shoes they only seem to wear when they go on vacation), but Coco Lezzone had my name written all over it.

I was almost a little nervous walking in. There was about 3 tables taken and everyone was a local. The lights were on super bright and even though I wasn’t wearing my hot pink fanny pack (I decided to leave that at the B&B), I felt very, very American (maybe just very, very non-Italian). The menu made it difficult to order – there was a note saying that “many things on the menu are not guaranteed to be available”, but there was no mention of which items. Gianluca had another note written largely at the bottom of the menu saying things like (this is off the top of my head, mind you): WE DO NOT SERVE COFFEE! DO NOT ASK FOR COFFEE! WE DO NOT TAKE CREDIT CARDS SO THAT MEANS NO CREDIT CARDS! Of course when Gianluca came to take our order, the first thing Jonny and I requested weren’t available – I really wish I knew the cycle of seasonal ingredients availability… but this is why I love the Italians/Europeans…they will wait nine long months just to savor the taste of artichokes for two to three months a year. I settled on starting with the Pappa al Pomodoro (Bread and Tomato Soup) and having the Roasted Pork Loin Stuffed with Herbs for my main. I just got a shiver through my body thinking about that meal. I’m about to try the recipe for the Pappa al Pomodoro I took a picture of from the wall of Coco Lezzone to see if it even measures up! I’ll update this post tomorrow morning to let you know how it went! If it was a close comparison I’ll post the recipe too. WISH ME LUCK!

CHECK OUT THE END RESULT HERE

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