ES.S41 | Spring 2012 | Undergraduate

Speak Italian With Your Mouth Full

Lesson 7

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Watch a video:

Lesson 7, Part 2: Ingredients

Introduction

During the last class we repeated the vocabulary by singing a modified version of the canzone/song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (in Italian: Nella vecchia fattoria = in the old farm)

Watch a YouTube video:

Nella Vecchia Fattoria.” Quartetto Cetra. August 28, 2009. YouTube. Accessed May 13, 2013. 

Try to sing along! You have to decide when to use c`è (=there is) or ci sono (= there are).

Listen to the class’s version, “Nella Nuova Gran Cucina/In the New Great Kitchen”

Nella Nuova Gran Cucina/In the New Great Kitchen (MP3 - 2.6MB)

Lyrics

Nella nuova gran cucina 
ia ia oh 
c`è un sacco di farina 
ia ia oh

ci sono le uo-va, uo-va, uo uo uova

c`è la fa-ri-na, fa-ri-na, fa fa farina

il lat-te 
il bur-ro 
il sa-le

Nella nuova …

il for-mag-gio 
gli spi-na-ci 
le spe-zie 
la bi-lan-cia

Nella nuova …

la cio-to-la (bowl) 
le po-sa-te (flatware) 
il mes-to-lo (wooden spoon, ladle) 
la te-glia (baking pan)

Nella nuova …

Glossary: 
nuova= new (f,s)→Z 
gran= poetic for grande = big 
un sacco=a sac →a lot

_Crespelle di Spinaci_/Crepes with Spinach

Watch a video clip:

Lesson 7, Part 3: Cooking Instruction

Crespelle are essentially crepes; they just tend to be a little smaller (max 20 cm in diameter) and more “wrinkly.” This is the recipe for 4 crespelle, but you should make many more: the batter is good for a few days in the fridge. You can also cook the crespelle and store them piled on top of each other in the refrigerator or freeze them.

You can substitute besciamella with ricotta or, if you want a lighter dish, you can leave it out altogether (and skip steps 6–8–9). You can make crespelle with essentially any veggies. If you like meat, you can add ham or chicken (cook it well before filling the crespelle!).

You can also make sweet crespelle: fill them with Nutella, or ice cream, or brown sugar and a little lemon juice, or walnuts and honey, or …

Ingredienti per 4 crespelle

  • One uovo/egg
  • 60 g di farina/ 1/2 cup of flour
  • 125 mL di latte/1/2 cup of milk
  • 60 mL di acqua/1/4 cup of water
  • 125 g di spinaci freschi/about 4.5 oz of fresh spinach
  • sale
  • burro/butter
  • parmigiano grattuggiato/grated parmesan
  • formaggio tipo fontina/fontina-like cheese
  • spezie/spices

Procedimento

  1. In a ciotola (bowl) whisk the flour (sifted), a pinch of salt, milk, egg, and water until smooth. If you have time, allow the batter to rest for 20–30 minutes.
  2. Heat an iron or non-stick pan at medium high heat and melt a little butter.
  3. Pour a ladle full of batter on the pan. Rotate the pan and use a wooden spoon to distribute the batter evenly.
  4. Cook until the edges start to detach from the pan, turn using a spatula.
  5. In the meantime, cook the spinach with a little water or in a pan with garlic and olive oil. Add salt and spices at your taste. Remove excess water.
  6. Prepare the besciamella (see below).
  7. Fill each crespella with spinach, besciamella, grated parmesan and small pieces of fontina cheese (as much or as little as you like). Fold them in triangles, or roll them.
  8. Spread some besciamella on a teglia/baking pan. Place the crespelle on top and cover with besciamella and grated parmesan.
  9. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

La Besciamella/Béchamel

Ingredenti per la besciamella

  • 20 g di farina/flour
  • 20 g di burro/butter
  • 0.2 L di latte/of milk
  • Noce moscata/nutmeg
  • Sale

Procedimento

  1. Melt butter at low medium heat.
  2. Add the flour (medium heat) and cook until golden brown.
  3. Add warm milk (a little at the time, so it remains smooth), bring to a boil, and continue to stir at low flame until creamy (typically it takes just a few minutes, keep stirring!)
  4. Add salt and a pinch of nutmeg and remove from the heat.
  5. The besciamella is ready to be used (if you store it in the fridge, cover with saran wrap).

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Lezione Numero Sette/Lesson Number Seven

Watch a video:

Lesson 7, Part 1:  Opening Lecture

Introduction

Come va? Oggi è sabato 24 marzo duemiladodici. La prossima settimana non c`è lezione perchè è vacanza./ How are you? Today is Saturday March 24, 2012. Next week there’s no lesson because it’s vacation.

Spring break (Literally “la pausa di primavera or le vacanze di primavera”) does not exist in Italy. There is, however, a short vacation for Easter.

Dialogue: Cosa fai?/ What Do You Do?

In the following dialogue, we review how to introduce yourself and talk about your profession/studies.

Ascolta e ripeti./Listen and repeat. Then leggi, ascolta e ripeti./read, listen, and repeat, again.

What Do You Do? (MP3 - 6.3MB)

Dialogue

M: Ciao Beatrice, come stai?

B: Bene e tu?

M: Bene, grazie.

B: Questa è mia cugina.

M: Ciao, come ti chiami?

J: Mi chiamo Jane, e tu?

M: Mi chiamo Matteo.

J: Piacere.

M: Il piacere è mio. Da dove vieni?

J: Sono Americana.

B: Jane viene da Boston, in Massachusetts.

M: Cosa fai a Boston?

J: Studio.

M: Cosa studi?

J: Biologia.

M: Cosa vuoi fare quando ti laurei?

J: Vorrei diventare una biologa marina.

M: Interessante. Tu Beatrice cosa fai adesso?

B: Sto cercando lavoro.

M: Bene. In bocca al lupo! Hai studiato Ingegneria …

B: Sì, sono un Ingegnere meccanico. E tu che fai?

M: Lavoro in un’azienda di programmazione.

J: Allora, ci sediamo?

B: Certo. Prendiamo un aperitivo e dopo andiamo a cena.

J: Benissimo!Chi cucina?

B: Cuciniamo tutti insieme.

J: Evviva!

Glossary

mia = my (f,s)

cugina = cousin (f,s)

fai = indicative pres. 2nd person sing. of the irr. verb fare = to do/make

vuoi = want, indicative pres. 2nd person sing. of the irr. verb volere = to want

ti laurei = (you) graduate, indicative pres. 2nd person sing. of the irr. reflexive verb laurearsi = to graduate (oneself)

vorrei = (I) would like to, pres. conditional 1st person sing. of the irr. verb volere = to want

adesso = now

cercare = to look for, to search for

lavoro (noun) = job, work

lavoro (verb) = indicative pres. 1st person sing. of the verb lavorare = to work

in bocca al lupo = (literally “in (the) mouth of the wolf” or good luck! (If someone wishes you in bocca al lupo, you usually answer crepi = let it (the wolf) die.)

Ingegneria = engineering

un’azienda = una azienda = a company

allora = so

ci sediamo = do we sit (ourselves), ind. pres. 1st person plur. of the reflexive verb sedersi = to sit (oneself)

dopo = after, afterwards, later

tutti = all

insieme = together

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Spring 2012
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