A great article on pasta, from the origins to the global and the English market.

On tuesday we were glad to see our Pastificio Dei Campi pasta on The Guardian "word of mouth" blog, named by Oliver Thring as the best pasta brand he ever tried.

The article in fact begins speaking about the latest news released by an Oxfam international research this year about the use of the pasta in the world and the fact that pasta is definetly the world's favorite food.

For sure a great result for something that has been invented and produced for years just in one little country like Italy. But is really like this and how this was possible? These are the questions the article wants to answer analyzing the origin of pasta, the steps in the history and its success during the years in Italy like abroad.

Do you know how much pasta the english consume every year? or do you know that especially the english children use to love it? And have you ever come across a student forum and their conversations about pasta and recipes?

Here are all the answers and some interesting and curious information about pasta.

Thanks again @OliverThring for the mention and let's hope to make the english discover and love the good italian pasta always more.

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Pastificio dei Campi and the best food and wine from Italy

 

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Some other information about our PGI Pasta and the grain used.

Just to get ready for the pasta you will see and try this saturday at the Clifton Hill Food Market, we thought to give you some more news about the quality of the primary products we use.

From our new Youtube Channel comes this video of the harvest from the past June. It's in Italian, but i think you will appreciate the amazing view of fields, the color of the grain and the love in the farmers' eyes.

Giuseppe di Martino, owner of the brand Pastificio dei Campi says:

"The field you see in this video is 10 hectares, but it's just one of those from which come the durum wheat used by thePastificio Dei Campi. This process takes about one hectare of wheat a day because, in favor of quality, requires low yields, between 12 and 25 tons/hectare per day, compared to the average 55 for the more commercial grain. From that we get the wheat bran (60%), which, mixed with water, becomes the Gragnano Pasta by Pastificio dei Campi (about 25 tons per day).

When the Pastificio dei Campi started (which involved a careful study of the crop) the farmers who adhered to this type of production (made from low yields, regular rotations, organic farming, etc) were 7, all near the area between Apricena, Casalvecchio di Puglia and Lucera.

Last year the Pastificio dei Campi’s farmers/suppliers have become 35. In 2011 we arrived to 47! All owners of small plots, engaged in a crop that focuses on the quality.

But not all the wheat fields of the pasta factory comes from Puglia, in fact, we have trials field this year in Basilicata and Molise and in the provinces of Avellino and Benevento too. "

I hope to see you this saturday at the Clifton Hill Food Market to try the product and be amazed by it.

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The last Saturday of every month for all the food lovers

I hope you are not going away just yet, and I also hope that you are going to be free this Saturday, because we have been preparing a nice surprise for you all and we are sure you will love it.
 
Next Saturday, the 30th of July, there will be a new special market opening up in London and precisely in St John’s Wood, North West London.
From 10am till 5pm, you will have the chance to find fresh food, olive oils and vinegars, sauces and gourmet products used by the most famous restaurants in London, beer and wine tastings, cooking demo and even premium food for your pets. 

 
The market will be beside the popular Pub in 96 Clifton Hill and it will be held in conjunction with Food in the city , importers of gourmet and organic food from around the world: spicy sauces from Australia, pasta from Gragnano and fine chocolate from this sublime online larder that is a favorite of many top chefs!

The Clifton, famed for its food, fun atmosphere and of course great beverages have invited many of its suppliers to offer their great produce to visitors. So you'll soon be enjoying artisanal breads , the best of English and French cheeses plus chutneys and relishes, and a great variety of the finest products from Andreas fine fruit and vegetables.

Finally and with great pleasure we will have the honor to offer you some finest italian PGI pasta Pastificio dei Campi Spaghetti , from Gragnano with San Marzano tomatoes naturally seasoned by the crisp Italian sea air, and cooked by a really special guest !

Are you curious to know who will cook our great pasta? are you interested in taste the real Italian pasta with San Marzano tomatoes? You know where to go next Saturday then!

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The easiest recipe is always the most successful

In Italy we don't use to call this dish pasta salad (insalata di pasta) also if we have rice salad (insalata di riso). We normally call this cold pasta (pasta fredda) and it's a must in the summer and in any kind of party, bbq, pic nic and event with lots of people and a good weather.

Recently i have been invited in a house warming party here in London, and I thought to help out the guest bringing some easy Cold Pasta that she could simply serve in a big pot.

The dish was a real success and it finished in no time. I was sorry for the other pasta cooked by another italian, but my recipe with PGI Gragnano pasta from Pastificio Dei Campi doesn't have any rival.

So here is my recipe to make your party a success too. It serve 4-5 people if you have also other food:

- 350gr short pasta (any kind you like but I love Tortiglioni, but i can suggest also the Elicoidali o the Tofette shape. I think they can be great too!),

- 1 tuna can,

- 1 mozzarella or 2 little bags of mozzarella in balls,

- some cherry tomatoes,

- some pitted black olives,

- oregano,

- fresh basil,

- some capers if you have

- salt, pepper and olive oil of course.

Boil the pasta in some salty water until "al dente", but be careful because this is really important. Drain the pasta and pass it under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Then place it in a big container and add some olive oil.

Mix until all the pasta is divided and start to add the ingredients: cut the mozzarella, the cherry tomatoes and the black olives in half.  Then add the tuna, the fresh basil (but cut it with hand, in this way it won't become black), the oregano, salt and pepper.

Mix it all with some more oil if needed and add some capers as final touch. Now be ready to enjoy! As you will se from the pictures at the party has been used plastic glasses instead of plates and it was great! It’s a good solution for lunches in the park too. I hope you will like it!

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Pastificio dei Campi at Haute Cuisine Paris

We were delighted to be invited to  the event Haute Cuisine Paris, an amazing festival dedicated to the art of gastronomy, launched in Paris this year for the first time. Everything there was "fantastique" from the venue to the organization and our pasta Pastificio dei Campi was absolutely in its perfect place: confident, beautiful in its black and red cubes, and golden shining when out of the box, happy to be seen and to be part of a special dish created for the occasion.

Here we want to share with you just some pictures from the event, in case you didn't see them in real time on Twitter. I think these really speak by themselves.

This is the Rigatoni Vesuvio on a light tomatoes ragu' made by the chef  Alfonso Iaccarino from the restaurant Don Alfonso 1890 (Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi -NA).

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The red & black cube Pastificio Dei Campi couldn't miss the appointment.

 
July in Paris won’t be any more just the month of the Haute Couture collections but it will be also the place to promote all the fine artisans in the country and not only. Like the fashion is opening his door to international designers and fashion stylists, Paris is ready to promote his fine gastronomy and all the fine products, chefs and artists of the international gastronomic scene. 

From the 7th to the 10th of July in Paris will take place the Haute Cuisine Festival, an event to combine two different arts, so near but so different, so essential and still in continuous change. And it won't be just about the degustation of the products but also about the discovery and expositions of this "piece of art": it will be a feast to highlight the esthetical and emotional side of this high quality products!

Lots of famous international chefs will be there, and Pastificio Dei Campi it’s not only proud to represent the best of the italian food with the rice "Acquerello", but also to be used by the chef Alfonso Iaccarino in one of his creations during the show "il Vesuvio di Rigatoni". Pasta and rice are traditional italian products, but the high quality these 2 brand reached, allow them to be protagonist in this amazing event.  

If you will be in Paris, don't miss the event. The Houte Cousin will be open to the public the 9th and 10th of July and you can find all the information here. Come to say ciao!

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