An italian supperclub for a good cause

 
For the moment has been just one off dinner at @federilli's place, but we all hope there will be some events following it.

Italian and passionate about food, Federica was the creator and the great chef of this dinner, made to raise some money for the Abbruzzo cause, horribly devastated by the earthquake some years ago.

She offered us some of the best dishes from the region, and the chance to know more about this territory, its history and culinary side.

I was amazed by the dishes, recipes that I have never tried before, also being Italian, but I was even more surprised by how much calm and confident she was also having 12 guests at her table.

All the night went smoothly, thanks also to a sous chef and another friend helping her with the service, and the dinner was really great.
 
It's just weird that this event has been organized just in the day that another big earthquake has destroyed another city in Italy, but I can imagine there will be another dinner soon for that cause too.

The found from this dinner will be entirely donated to the FAI, Fondo per l’ambiente Italiano, that has started different project to recover some of the oldest pieces of art of the region like the Fontana delle 99 Cannelle.
 
But let's see some of the fantastic dishes we had:

Cazzarielli e Fagioli - homemade pasta with beans, a comforting dish

Meat Cac'e Ova - a traditional, rustic lamb meat (from Ginger Pig) cooked with egg and cheese

Parrozzo - traditional chocolate cake with some Torrone Nunzia icecream gently made by La Gelatiera in London, like the sorbet served with some Centerbe chocolates form Abbruzzo.

I loved the idea to help an Italian region and its art, letting people discover some of the truly Italian culinary traditions and tastes. I think the dinner was really a great and clever event, and still, all my congratulations to the excellent host.

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Have you booked for the next event?

The fourth pasta tasting event at Massimo's Restaurant and Oyster Bar is already confirmed for the 29th of May, this means that you have 20 days from now to book your place and no excuses to miss this night.

Next event will see again the chef Luca Seminara, busy with the preparation of some great traditional recipes from the italian tradition with Pastificio dei Campi pasta. All the dishes will be explained in their preparation and everyone will have the chance to see the chef at work while eating his creations.

Are you curious to see what happened during the last pasta tasting event for the first anniversary of Massimo's Restaurant? Here some pictures to show you all the nice dishes and the great night we spent together. 

After a light aperitif with Arancini and mackerel Polpette, we ate the amazing Orecchiette with Genoese pesto, made of green beans and caramelized potatoes;

Then we had Calle dei Campi with gurnard and cherry tomatoes and finally Vermicelli with a delicious lamb ragu’.

We have closed the feast with some chocolate tasting and almond and lime & ginger sorbet, really great after the long and hot cooking night.

Here is the next event: http://www.facebook.com/events/421098671236767/

please write directly to tables@massimo-restaurant.co.uk  to book your place and I hope to see you there.

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Why not try them with some cuttlefish?

During one of my little holidays back home, I get inspired by my roman market, so the next one will be a colorful and tasty dish to change a bit your pasta habit.

Last Monday my mum told me she was going to the market, so I thought could have been nice to post here some pictures of the market that I always tell you about.

All these colors, all the vibe of the people at the stands and all the beautiful products... They blew my mind and I couldn't resist from buying the ingredients for my next recipe: zucchini blossoms and little squids.

I decide to cook them with some Spaghetti Pastificio dei Campi and here are all the ingredients I used for 2 people:

6-8 zucchini blossoms

150 gr. of Spaghetti or Vermicelli Pastificio dei Campi

6-8 little cuttlefish

Some white wine

Oil, salt, pepper, chili

and a bit of grated pecorino cheese.

Clean the cuttlefish or buy them already cleaned. Cut them in half and put them in a pan with some hot oil and a garlic clove. Let them cook and color a bit. Add the white wine and let evaporate.

Then add the flowers cleaned from the inside and cut in half.

Put the water for the pasta to boil with some salt and when boiling, add the spaghetti. Let the spaghetti cook al dente, while adding salt, pepper and chili to the pan.

When the spaghetti are ready, drain them and toss them in the pan with the rest. Serve in a plate with some grated pecorino cheese and a sparkle of chili! Enjoy the color and the taste of the hot roman spring!

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I went to Alloro and I loved it!

On monday night was released the list of the 50 best restaurants in the world and if nothing happened to the first three nominees always for Noma in Denmark, El celler and Mugaritz in Spain, lots happened in the rest of the classification.

The best restaurant in UK is now the new entry Dinner by Heaston Blumenthal, while his previous restaurant, The Fat Duck , high in the list last year, is this time at the 13th position, with The Ledbury at the 14th, up of 20 positions.

Unfortunatelly even Massimo Bottura lost a position being this year at the 5th place with his Osteria Francescana, while the other two italians, Le calandre and Il canto are at the 32nd and 46th position.

At this point waiting for the chance to book a table in one of these great restaurants, I will share with you my last experience to one good italian restaurant in London: Alloro.

I really enjoyed a lot the dinner there with my other two italian friend @federilli and @gi_nav. Respect to previous dinners in other italian restaurants, we spent slightly more but every dish was superb and really tasty.

Here some pictures from Alloro, where you can find our Pastificio dei Campi pasta too.

Agnolotti del plin al sugo d’arrosto

Traditional pasta parcel filled with roast pork & veal

Linguine di Gragnano agli scampi

Pastificio dei Campi linguine with fresh scampi

Tartar di salmone con insalata di panzanella

Salmon tartar with “panzanella” salad

Zuppa di pesce con pane bruschettato

Traditional fish soup with toasted bread

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Massimo’s is one year old: come to enjoy a special dinner

On the 27^th of April a new pasta tasting event will be held at Massimo’s Restaurant and Oyster bar in the Corinthia Hotel.

Have you ever been here before? Are you also a big pasta lover?Then you don’t have excuses: Pastificio dei Campi pasta will be served all the night with lots of recipes to taste from the classic Italian traditions. Massimo’s won’t be there but all his amazing chefs, ingredients and truly Italian recipes will be waiting for you with a glass of prosecco too, all for 25£.

You can read here and here about the previous successful pasta events, but if you have never eaten at this restaurant before, have a look at the amazing dishes you can find on their menu’.

Here is my little way to celebrate the first anniversary of Massimo's...

To start: Crab and ricotta ravioli with arancini or  Seafood salad

Pan fried Prawns with asparagus and bergamot sauce 

For Main: Linguine Pastificio dei Campi with squid and truffle or Amatriciana

To finish: Chocolate pudding with vanilla icecream or Pannacotta with poached rhubarb

Mouthwatering? I’ll see you next Friday at this event. Please leave a comment if you want to participate and i will add you in the list.

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Two houses, lots of rain but with comfort food

There is nothing that a good plate of pasta with the ragu’ can’t fix and the past weekend my new flatmates and me we proved how much this is true.

More than Easter holidays for me these 4 days were real nightmare: I came and go from my old house to the new one with lots of stuff, fighting with the space and the cleaning to do. The weather was horrible and yesterday was raining a lot. All my muscles were hurting but my food and my friends were there for me to spend the Easter lunch together… or better a brunch!

I decided to use my new kitchen straight away preparing something absolutely new for me: a classic Easter English recipe and a classic Italian one: hot cross buns and Mafaldine with ragu' of lamb. Of course we had eggs, salami, cheese, wine, salad, the classic colomba too, but the main attractions of the day were my two dishes.

The ragu’ was so reach and the Mafaldine pasta so delicious and consistent that we could not finish 500 gr of pasta in five. It grew a  lot and the brunch was a real feast. I cooked the lamb with parsley, rosemary a bit of chilli, mint and a little sprinkle of lemon zest and I served it with pecorino cheese.

Here a little pic of my hot cross buns too and finally a sneak pic of my moving. Do you notice anything in this bag? Pastificio dei Campi boxes are great to keep in order your kitchen cupboard, and are great to move your kitchen stuff too.

What I did on Easter Monday? My flatmates and me were thinking to bake the pasta from the day before with some mozzarella and parmesan, but finally we simply hot them up in the microwave. All of us were really impressed: the pasta was still al dente even after the microwave! This is the real pasta test!

I hope you enjoyed the break too and if you didn’t eat any pasta in those days, here is the recipe for your next dish!

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My Easter pasta recipe

Lots of thing will happen in these days: first of all I'm moving home,  and this means that i will have 4 days of real mess. Second, I'm organizing a little Easter Brunch in my new place.

It will be a brunch because I would like to unify a bit of the classic Easter breakfast dishes with a simple lunch, to have a great traditional but at the same time relaxing and original Easter feast!

Of course after the moving I will be dead, so i'm looking for simple recipes but with all the taste of the classic Easter sunday lunch i could have in Italy.

So Mafaldine with Lamb Ragu' I decided will be the main dish of the brunch, and for the rest you will need to wait the pictures :)

Ingredients for 4 people:

- 400 gr Mafaldine Pastificio dei Campi

- 400 g. minced lamb

- 300 g. of tomato passata

- 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 rib of celery

- 1 lemon

- rosemary if you like or a bit of parsley and fresh mint

- 1/2 cup of red wine

- extra virgin olive oil

- salt & pepper

- grated pecorino cheese
Clean the vegetables, carrots, onion and celery, wash and chop them finely.
Fry the chopped vegetables with a little oil, then add the minced lamb, and let it cook until brown. Sprinkle with red wine and let evaporate. Add salt and pepper, add the tomato passata and cook covered for about 2.5 hours. Occasionally add a little bit of water or broth if the sauce dries too much.
Just before serving prepare a mixture of garlic, parsley, mint and lemon peel or if you don't like this mix, just add some rosemary when pouring the passata. You can also put in the sauce to cook a few pieces of lamb on the bone: in this way the sauce will be tastier.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, drain and toss it with the sauce and the chopped aromatic prepared earlier. Take it to the table accompanied by grated Pecorino cheese.

Enjoy and Happy Easter to everyone!

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