Peasant Food

  

 

My mom and I always joke that some of our favorite dishes are mere peasant foods.

 

Peasant foods, or Cucina Povera in Italian (meaning poor or frugal cooking), are those dishes made from humble ingredients but hearty enough to be called a meal. Usually one-pot dishes, they were popular during hard economic times in many countries including during the Great Depression here in the United States.  Every nationality has their own version of peasant foods such as tacos in Latin America or succotash here in North America. In Italy, meat was often reserved for Sunday's meal and so during the week, dishes made from accessible and inexpensive ingredients filled the menu. Panzanella made great use of leftover bread and Minestrone cleaned out the vegetable bin.

 

 

The funny thing about peasant foods is that even during better times, they are still enjoyed as representatives of the cultures that gave birth to them.

 

A visit to my parents house is always an excuse for my mom to whip up some of our family's favorites: macaroni and anything - like macaroni and peas (above) or Broccoli and Macaroni - or String Beans and Franks.

The latter two were enjoyed during the The Martorana Cooking Weekend despite times being good....and I mean very, very good.