1. food and drink
2. food
3. grains and pasta

The Tomato Press
SAUCY SUCCESS STORIES
FALL 2006
Packed
From Freessh!
Tomato
Travels with Rob
San Francisco’s North Beach
W
Scoma’s
Steven Scarabosio, Executive Chef
415-771-4376
Scoma’s is a busy restaurant, so busy
they make their red sauce in a 50-gallon
kettle! Chef Steven’s challenge is to make
sure that the procedure for “layering” each
flavor is completed before beginning a new
stage. No Short Cuts! Each batch takes 4
hours to complete. Then to make sure each
batch of sauce retains the perfect flavor, 1gallon cryovac bags are filled and immediately chilled.
Though not much has changed over the
years, customers sensitive about alcohol
may appreciate that Chef Steven has
exchanged wine with wine vinegars to balance the sweetness of the DiNapoli Ground
Peeled Tomatoes.
Pompei’s Grotto
340 Jefferson Street, San Francisco
415-776-9265
This Fisherman’s Wharf
institution since 1946 has a clientele
that demands traditional flavors and
consistency and according to
Vincenzo Stornaiuolo co-owner and buyer
at Pompei’s Grotto it starts with the basics!
Good simple ingredients. Vincenzo makes a
basic tomato sauce using DiNapoli Peeled
Tomatoes Strips…olive oil, garlic, salt and
pepper. Later, on his make line; his simple
sauce will be converted to one of five unique
family recipes. Keeping it simple keeps customers coming back!
hen Italian immigrants ventured
west from New York and the
Great Lakes, many migrated to
San Francisco because the hills, bay
and the area’s natural beauty
was reminiscent of Italy. In
many U.S. cities, ethnic groups
gathered in neighborhoods to
share culture, foods and relaxation. In San Francisco, Italians
settled in North
Beach, a bay
front community
between Chinatown
and
Fisherman’s
Wharf. This location
allowed
many Italian immigrants
from the coastal towns
of Liguria and Genoa, to
continue making a living
fishing, as they did in
Italy. North Beach is the
home of many of San
Francisco’s most popular
tourist spots including
Washington
Square
Park, Saints Peter and
Paul Church and the Coit Tower.
Dozens of ristorantes sporting
checkered tablecloths, cafés, coffee
shops, bakeries and traditional Italian delis
fill the neighborhood. It is the perfect place
with San Francisco’s mild weather to sit
outdoors and enjoy an espresso or cappuccino. The grand dame of Italian restaurants
remains the Fior d’Italia, the nation’s oldest
continuously operated Italian restaurant.
Dozens of other restaurants and pizzerias
delight visitors and locals alike. In a city
known world wide for superior cuisine,
North Beach stands out as one of the crown
jewels of San Francisco food culture.
Cultural revolutions like the 1950’s “Beat
Generation” enjoyed their headquarters in
North Beach’s most famous bookshop, City
Lights. Poetry thrived in North Beach with
the likes of Allan Ginsberg. Jack Kerouac,
San Fran’s most adventurous
adventurer called North
Beach home and of
course, Joltin’ Joe
DiMaggio grew up
Rob DiNapoli
playing
baseball
in
Wa s h i n g t o n
Square and married Marilyn Monroe
at the famous Saints Peter and Paul
Church.
Several celebrations occur
each year to celebrate
Italian
culture,
the
Columbus Day Parade, the
North Beach Festival and
the annual Art in the Alley
event. All of these events
harken
back
to
San
Francisco’s strong Italian
culture. But did we mention
the food? The west coast’s
most famous seafood invention is of course
Cioppino. Italian anglers invented this tomato based seafood stew. Coming into port
from the cold fog, wind and surf of the San
Francisco Bay, these proud but modest
fishermen used the leftovers from
their catch, mixed with tomatoes
and strong herbs to cook up this
marvelous
dish,
somewhere
between bouillabaisse and seafood
chili. Many restaurants serve Cioppino
in a sourdough bread bowl, a true San
Francisco feast!
San Francisco’s North Beach is
an ongoing celebration of
Italian culture in
America’s most
romantic city.
San Francisco continues to keep ahead on
the culinary front. The Ferry Building, still
active as a commuter hub, recently went
through a multi-million dollar renovation
featuring many specialty food shops and
restaurants. The City by the Bay remains an
epicurean magnet and North Beach, an
ongoing celebration of Italian culture in
America’s most romantic city.
See Inside for a Recipe from the DiNapoli Family Kitchen!
Family Recipe
Dough:
Ravioli
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 eggs
You say Pear I say Plum!
The name used to describe the Italian Style Tomato with the unique shape does not matter because it is the tomato flesh, juice and seeds from within that will determine the flavor of the sauce. Delivering a consistent tomato to a discriminating restaurant chef is no
easy task; the flavor of the finished sauce starts with the tomato used.
Round tomatoes, because of their shape, have a
higher juice to flesh ratio than the elongated San
Marzano style. And because the primary purpose
of the interior juice of the tomato is to surround
and nurture its seeds that juice carries the seeds
bitter taste.
Filling:
1
1
1
1
2
8
pound fresh spinach
tablespoon salt
pound ricotta
egg
tablespoons heavy cream
tablespoons grated
Parmigiano Reggiano
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch black pepper
Procedure:
To make the ravioli dough, make a
crater with the flour on a tabletop. Add
the egg to the center of the flour crater.
Partially incorporate the flour into the
eggs with a fork. Then knead the flour
and eggs together to form dough.
Knead until the dough is thoroughly
worked together, approximately 4 to 5
minutes. Reserve until the raviolis are
ready to be assembled.
In addition to a natural taste difference, using a
plum tomato reduces cooking time. Tomato
flesh is thicker in consistency than tomato juice and therefore reduces the time to
reach your desired thickness. That is why the DiNapoli family recommends you consider starting your sauce with San Marzano Style Plum Tomatoes for a rich, and flavorful sauce.
In a pot of boiling water, cook the
spinach with half of the salt until tender. Remove the spinach from the boiling water and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out the water from the
spinach and chop it up roughly. In a
mixing bowl, combine chopped
spinach, ricotta, egg, heavy cream, and
4 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano.
Season with the nutmeg, remaining
salt, and black pepper.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a
saucepot. Simmer the nutmeg and sage
in the butter for 1 minute. Reserve
until the raviolis are cooked.
To assemble the raviolis, cut the dough
into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to
form a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) of
dough. Place 1 spoonful of filling onto
1 sheet of dough 1/2 inch from the
edge. Continue to place spoonfuls of
filling along the dough 1-inch from
each other.
Place 1 of the other pieces of rolled
out dough on top of the piece with the
filling on it. Pinch the dough around
the filling to form
the ravioli. Use a
Premium Italian
cookie cutter or Style
a knife
to cut out the
Tomatoes
raviolis. Pinch the edges of each ravioli
with the tines of a fork. Set aside each
ravioli on a plate lightly dusted with
flour. Do not stack the raviolis, as they
will stick together.
In Tribute –
Walter Guerra, Italfoods
A
mainstay of Italian food distribution passed away in August.
Walter Guerra began Italfoods in 1978 and grew to be the
West Coast’s largest supplier of specialty Italian foods.
Walter was born in Urbania, Italy in 1938 and moved with his
wife, Georgette to San Francisco in 1963. He worked for Simi Fine
Foods while going to school at night to learn English. When another importer purchased Simi, Walter began Italfoods in a 1,000 square foot rented warehouse. Over the years, through hard work and a focus on authentic Italian food and old
world service, Italfoods grew to a 75-person company distributing 3,400 items.
Walter was a firm believer in passing on the fruits of his labor. He supported the community and was highly active in charitable causes. Walter was the first recipient of the
Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the San Francisco Food Bank. He was
awarded the Boys Town of Italy, “Man of the Year” for 2003. Walter was active in the
International Olive Oil Association, the Museo Italo-Americano, the Marche Club, the San
Francisco Italian Athletic Club, the Lucchesi Nel Mondo Club and the Peninsula Italian
American Club of San Mateo.
Walter Guerra pioneered Italian food distribution on the West Coast. His energy, spirit and
love of all things Italian will surely be missed.
Italian
Cooking
Traditions
S
Ravioli
tuffed pasta has a long history in Italy and almost every region
has its own varieties, with characteristic forms and stuffings.
Ravioli, a pasta whose name derives from the verb “to wrap”
(ravvolgere), is a Ligurian specialty. We honor some of our favorite
ravioli makers in this edition of Italian Cooking Traditions.
Antipastos - 3454 McKee Rd. San Jose, CA
Nick DeRose Sr. (now deceased) started
making raviolis in 1987 upon opening
Antipasta in San Jose with his wife Mary and
three sons. Joe realized that handmade raviolis
would provide distinction to his new venture.
Ramon Olivio, who has made raviolis at the restaurant for 18years, makes beef, chicken and spinach & cheese raviolis each
week. Amazingly, Antipasto uses the same brass press that made
raviolis for Nick Sr. and Mary,’s wedding over 50 years ago. The
recipes are a Calabrese secret and include cooking the fillings
overnight. Ramon’s biggest challenge is stretching the dough as
thin as possible so that it still holds up while cooking.
The DeRose’s Antipasta has grown since 1987 and is recognized
for their unique meats, Italian groceries and bustling dine-in crowd
filling the 20 tables scattered throughout their shop. However,
they all agree with founder Nick Sr., that “raviolis are the heart of
our establishment…the Italian heart!”
Lupretta’s Deli, 14480 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, 408.484.0004
People come to Lupretta’s from as
far away as Monterey for the deli’s
homemade ravioli. Daryle Lupretta,
owner of the Saratoga deli makes
batches of raviolis—2,500 at a time on a ravioli press built in
1908 behind a glass window visible to customers anxiously awaiting their lunch or box of raviolis.
Lupretta, an engineering technician by trade, puts it all to use when
spreading the soft filling with a huge spatula to a precise thickness.
The filling is either ground beef or ricotta cheese and Swiss chard,
which Daryle prefers over spinach for its sweeter flavor.
“During the holidays, I make three to four batches a day,” he said.
“The raviolis are the heart of the business. If it wasn’t for them, we
wouldn’t be here.” The dough remains the most the critical part of
the process. Affected by weather, water and time, almost every
batch must be worked differently to produce a thin covering that
melts in your mouth.
Customers can buy a 100-count box of uncooked raviolis for
$11.00 or buy them cooked by the quart. The store also sells
homemade meat sauce and marinara sauce. The deli gets a goodsized lunch crowd while others pick up dinner on their way home
from work. Other big sellers include meatball sandwiches and
mother Jo Lupretta’s homemade cuccidati—a fig-based cookie. “It
makes you really feel good when people come in and say they’ve
heard my ravioli is the best,” Lupretta said.
In My Opinion...
Questions & Answers
Questions or comments, email me at [email protected]
Q:
A:
I keep reading that tomato prices will be going up this
season, what are the reasons and how much will they
be going up?
George McNally , Omaha, NB.
Curious: Several factors are contributing to a rise in
tomato products. First, the very wet spring weather in
California meant that the tomato plants did not get in the
ground until late. Most tomato processors begin running in early
July. This year, because of the late start, most are running three
weeks behind. This means that if we have early rain in the fall,
the harvest will be short, causing a shortage in supply. The
extremely hot weather in July also put stress on the tomato
plants, causing some drop in yield per acre. Steel for cans continues to rise and finally, as we all have seen, energy costs, for
running the factories and powering the diesel harvesters are up
considerably. All of these factors are causing costs to rise. Most
tomato farmers and processors need to pass those costs along in
order to remain profitable. I would predict an increase of $22.50 per case.
Q:
A:
Where did the term #10 can originate? Steve L. via email
When food cans were invented in the 1890s, there were
no standards. Manufacturers produced cans to fit the
products they sold. Within about ten years, however, food
manufacturers realized that certain standard sizes were evolving and that there could be economic benefits to setting and
following standards. The standard can sizes that evolved
became known by numbers from one to 10 (with a 2-1/2
thrown in for some reason).
Today, can manufacturers identify their products by two dimensions — width across the top and height, both in inches. The old
#4 can, which held peas, corn, and other vegetables, is now a
300 by 407 — that is, 3 inches across the top by 4-7/16th inches tall. The old #5 can, which is a standard for large juice cans,
is now a 404 by 700 — 4-4/16ths inches across the top by 7
inches tall. An old #1, which is the size of most beverage cans,
is a 211 by 400 — 2-11/16th-inches across by 4 inches tall.
In the canning world, then, there are
no longer #10 cans. They exist
only in the memories of
restaurant and foodservice
workers. Next time you
need one, tell the prep cook
you need a “603 by 700”
of tomatoes and see what
you get….
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From Freessh!
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Peeled Tomatoes in
the Italian Tradition.
N
aples Italy, home of the soft, sweet San Marzano
plum tomatoes is also the home of our ancestors
and the family namesake “DiNapoli”, which
gives us such pleasure to present our ultra-quality line
of San Marzano style peeled tomatoes.
Backed by over 60 years of tomato processing experience, each can of DiNapoli peeled tomatoes is true to
its Italian heritage; deep red color, soft fragile texture
and a sweet natural taste; the closest thing to hand
picked San Marzanos our family raised in the countryside surrounding Naples.
Our tomatoes are all grown and packed in California
then provided in foodservice and consumer sized tins.
We offer our San Marzano Style Peeled Plum Tomatoes
packed as Whole, Strips and Ground. No matter what
variety you choose, trust our family to provide quality
tomatoes presented in the Italian tradition.
Buon Appetito
Rob DiNapoli
DiNapoli
Products
s/a Traditionale 1936
✦ Whole Peeled Plums
✦ Peeled Tomato Strips
✦ Ground in Puree
✦ Fire-Roasted Dice
✦ Pizza Sauce
✦ Deluxe Marinara
✦ Puree & Paste