And what about Italy then?

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England, that being honest I never heard before, and probably I wouldn’t if I didn’t discover has been nominated recently the Uk’s foodies capital.

Especially famous for its sausages and pork dishes, it has also an old icecream production business, someone who smoke fish since 1930 and in general is the proud producer of lots of fresh ingredients that are getting better and better every year.

“Where there is good food, it encourages more good food and it encourages retailers like us to stock it." As Rachel Green, a chef and farmer originally from there, said to the Guardian recently: "We do food production quietly and in a very measured way. The people who produce don't take shortcuts."

At this point I have to go there soon to try it all, but in the same time I was thinking: “ what could be the Italian correspondent city?”

Maybe some little village in Tuscany with amazing beef, wine and lots of traditional dishes? Maybe Parma with its fresh great pasta,  sauces and its great amount of famous dishes? Neapols and Campania with is reach Buffalo Mozzarella, great tomatoes, fishes and pasta of course? Some country from the real north of Italy with the speck, the fantastic cheeses and the grappa? Or finally the islands like Sicily with is amazing fruits and vegetables, the " cannoli" and "pasta di mandorle" and olives and perfumes and flavours.

I can’t really say and I think anyone and never tried to vote for one or another. In Italy every region and sometimes even city has its own typical dishes, ingredients traditions and they are just great an unique for their differences. Form the north to south it’s a continuously explosion of flavors .

Try to visit as many regions as you can and you will agree with me.

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3 days of food, music and fun for a unique festival.

As the majority of you, this year I could not attend this beautiful event, La festa della Pasta, the Pasta Festival that took place in the Campagnia region last weekend. In these days I was craving and just waiting for some pictures from the event. I was curious to see  what happened in Gragnano during the celebration.

If I was thinking that the last Festival could have been hard to overcome, these pictures from this year just told me the contrary: there was food, there was an enormous amount of people, there was music, special shows, magic in the air and of course the best pasta in the world with its never ending tradition.

With the help of the government of the region and with the participation of the Slow Food organization, the party was at its best! It's always nice to see people working in the production of this precious food, their family and friends, sharing all this with the people in love with the good food and who appreciate this fundamental element of our culture.

Here some pictures that from the italian blogger Giovanna Esposito and from Alessandro Savarese for E-comunica. Thanks to both of you for your beautiful images that catch the real vibe of this great party.

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It's not just politic, it's about our history and traditions

 
Tomorrow it’s a very important day for all of us, because despite the politic ups and downs, despite some economic problems, despite some negative times, we are still Italians and just one nation. But especially we still feel Italians and despite the bad name, examples and stereotypes someone is sticking to us, we are proud of what we are and what we have!
 
We are the nation of the origins, of the history, of the natural beauty, of the art and creativity, of the good food and the pleasure of life, of the sun, the noise and the laugh and we are all one thing from north to south, unified and characterized by our traditions and behaviors!
As an Italian in London, I'm suffering quite a lot when I receive weird or bad news about my country. I'm here at the moment, but of course I would love to comeback at one point and the only thing I’m hoping for, is that we can keep strong the believes and values we still have !

So I want to enjoy this day and have a feast for this anniversary and a cheers for us Italians, happy to bring and share our culture abroad.  And what can be more appropriate to honor this day than cook a simple plate of pasta, one of the main ingredient of our gastronomic tradition and history?
 
Here the simplest recipe for a secure success: Pasta “Tricolore”!

For four people let’s use:

- 400gr of spaghetti Pastificio dei Campi, probably the most classic shape of pasta used worldwide
- some basil leaves, - 2-3 garlic cloves, - salt, pepper and olive oil. - 500 gr of cherry tomatoes
- 2 mozzarella or buffalo mozzarella (even better)

Boil the spaghetti in salted water. In a pan place some olive oil and the crushed garlic cloves. In the meantime wash and cut the cherries tomatoes and then place them in the pan with salt and pepper. 

Cut some basil leaves and add them to the pan then cut the mozzarella in little pieces and leave it in the plates. When the pasta is "al dente", drain it and add it to the pan. Toss the pasta in the sauce. Then place the pasta in the plates with the mozzarella, a bit of olive oil and some fresh basil leaves.

Happy Italian day to everyone and enjoy the party!

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... tradition doesn't mean immobility!

But they also said: "and yet, to define ‘traditional’ in Italy is not simple. Within Italy too, there are so many regional influences to the cuisine. In southern Italy, for instance, there is an abundance of olive oil near the coast. Naturally, it forms an important ingredient in the cuisine. However, as you travel north and it becomes colder, olive oil is replaced by butter."

What about the recipes instead? To be able to experiment with a recipe, you have to know and understand what the traditional recipe is, he says. “Once you learn what each ingredient brings to a recipe, you can try innovating."

Strangely this discussion is the same going on in the italian blog too this week. "Tradition is not immobility but the contrary: the local traditions comes from the combination and influences and everything in the time is influences by the contest, the people and the historical moment. Everything is in evolution."

So for instance, I was surprised when yesterday, having a dinner at Roscioli, a very nice restaurant in the centre of Rome, I found very innovative dishes, near very traditional recipes, but all with a common point: the best italian ingredients, PGI or PDO, sometimes revisited in new combinations or just proposed following the most classic recipes.

The most classic white pizza or focaccia VS suppli with pork ragu'

Amatriciana or Carbonara VS Paccheri with peppers sauce, ricotta and bits of dried cod

Tiramisu' VS Cold chocolate cream with anise ice cream and croccante biscuits

And even the place is a mix between tradition and innovation: it's a classic old grocery, transformed in an little but very peculiar restaurant, with wine, homemade products and specialities everywhere and a great service.

As chef Macchia says : “I’ve learned that diners don’t always want foie gras or black truffle to get a good dining experience. Even a simple dish prepared differently will give them that feeling.” After my experience in Roscioli I can definitely agree ... the Paccheri were amazing!

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The last pasta recipe from the summer

I wanted some fish in it, but also some classic italian summery flavor like the one from some fresh chopped basil or nice black olives. And because the day was so good, why don't prepare something to bring outside and eat in the park or even to bring to my friends' barbeque.

So i finally prepared cold pasta with prawns, black olives, basil and buffalo mozzarella! I can't miss Italy in this way. The pasta is "Calle" from Pastificio dei Campi and it was created  for Gennaro Esposito a very famous chef in Italy who found this elegant shape and its smooth surface particularly adequate for fish dishes and sauces ... and i followed the suggestion.

Calle Pastificio dei Campi (Duetto - 250 gr)

280 gr fresh prawns

Cook the pasta in salty boiled water for around 10 minutes. When will be cooked but still "al dente" (just a bit crunchy) drain it and pass it under cold water to stop the cooking process. Then add just a bit of olive oil to don't make the pasta stick.

Put some olive oil in a pan and cook the prawn for 2-3 minutes. In the meantime cut the olives in slices and the mozzarella and tomatoes in little cubes. Mix all together with the pasta, the prawns and some finely chopped basil.

Add some salt and pepper if needed and put it in the fridge for a bit. Serve it cold!

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