A little interview to let you know a bit more about it

As you maybe know already, in England we sell our pasta in Harvey Nichols, since few weeks in Melograno Deli, but the first place and person who get involved with our products was Nick from *foodinthecity.

It's now a long time that he work with us supporting and promoting our products and we love his taste in food and his care for the esthetic side of anything he works on and for.

Here a little interview to know him and *foodinthecity better:

When did you have the idea to start a project like *foodinthecity? And why?

Having lived in London for many years and driven by my passion for quality ingredients I realised there was an opportunity to create a business and one stop shop to help like minded people who love to cook and entertain get the finest products without having to drive all over London, delivered direct to your door. 

When it became a shop?

 8 months after I launched *foodinthecity online

Who invented the name?

 I did.  It was a fun process.  I wanted something that would reflect the core mission of the company and also that people could remember easily.

How do you select your products for your shop and where they come from?

Working closely with the world’s best producers and chefs I have the chance to use their expertise to source and create amazing products where only the very finest ingredients are used without preservatives and additives. Our range is organic wherever possible, and its prime mantra above all driven by flavour.  I am also always looking out for new sources by spending a lot of my time travelling and meeting producers. 

Are you scared about more commercial competitors like Carluccio's?

The Carluccio's business is amazing and Antonio is a great friend of mine. *foodinthecity is different and it is focused on artisan production methods on traditional production, rather than mass production. We strive to find unique and interesting products of the highest quality for our clients, who love to visit our warehouse which has been described by many as a little gem. We also spend time with our customers educating them on the products, offering tastings and taking them through the journey of each product and characteristics.

Do you really think english people can appreciate a place like this? What would you like them to understand?

My philosophy is that if you put quality in front of people they will respond and it has been proven time and time again by our clients who order regularly from our online website or visit the warehouse with wonderful stories of diner parties they have created using our produce.

How do you see *foodinthecity in 3 years?

My business has been growing nicely in a tough market and this is driven by my energy to succeed, we have amazing clients who are spreading the word and as the business grows we will expand into other markets.

When did you discover your passion for food and when did you decide to work in this field?

My love of food comes from my very early days in Marostica my home town, where as a family the table was an important part of our daily lives. I loved helping my mother cook seasonal produce that we grew in the garden. It was a way of life working the land and enjoying the fruits of our labour.

Which is the most characteristic ingredient in your shop? something that could be your signature?

We don't have a single signature product.  It's all about the combined variety of signature products we carry and how unique they all are.

What is your favourite /dish/food or recipe?

I have many favourite recipes. My philosophy is keep it simple and let the wonderful produce be the hero using the finest ingredients so in season I love spaghetti with courgette flowers and anchovy.

Have you ever tried this dish? Do you know how to prepare it? Next week i will post this great recipe from Niccolo, but in the meantime get ready with the ingredients: come to *foodinthecity this weekend to buy the anchovies and the Spaghetti Pastificio dei Campi. You could be lucky and even find the courgette flowers from Andreasveg pop up shop.

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Joining the worldwide ola of Homemade Pesto Genovese

Today, 17th of January is International Day of Italian Cuisines again, and this time is all dedicated to the Pesto Genovese.

As in the past editions, the IDIC is a worldwide celebration of authentic and quality Italian Cuisine, to defend it from bogus and counterfeiting. Hundreds of chefs and restaurateurs all around the world will prepare simultaneously on today Pesto Genovese with pasta, according to an authentic recipe. 

All the food lovers too where invited to join the ola and cook some Pesto, and i couldn't miss this international call to action.

The International Day of Italian Cuisines is born from a mission: "we certainly aim at educating worldwide consumers, but more than anything else, we want to protect their right to get what they pay for when going to eateries labeled as "Italian", that is: authentic and quality Italian cuisine." says Rosario Scarpato, GVCI Honorary President, and IDIC 2011 Director.

With this in mind,  today i won't  just give you here the most classic and official recipe for the real pesto, but i will also tell you about the best combination of pasta you can have with this sauce.

But let's start from the recipe as written by the cooperative of the Pesto Genovese:

- 50 gr of fresh young basil leaves.

- 1 big spoon of pine nuts

- 6 spoons of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese freshly grated.

- 2 spoons of Pecorino cheese

- 2 garlic cloves

- 10 gr of  gritty salt

- Half a glass of  Extra Virgin Olive Oil (better if it's from “Ligurian Riviera” d.o.p.)

- and finally 600 gr Trofie Pastificio dei Campi (the name comes from the genoese dialect and the way to call the manual movement necessary to create the shape).

The procedure is quite easy, but to be traditional, you will need a marble mortar and a wooden pestle. This because instead to chop the leaves you will need to crush them to have the leaves' oil necessary for the sauce.

Wash the basil leaves in cold water and dry them on a paper towel. Don't squeeze them.
Then crush in the mortar the garlic clove the pine nuts and the basil leaves, add  the salt, the Parmesan, the Pecorino cheese and keep pounding using a light circular movement of the pestle.

Add some of the Extra Virgin Olive from time to time and keep  mixing until  you obtain  a smooth creamy sauce. Pesto should not be greasy and the amount of oil used must be well absorbed and not floating on top.

Trofie and Trenette are the pasta used in Liguria, however linguine or spaghetti al dente will make a good companion to this sauce. The original recipe also says to cook the pasta in the water with french green beans and potatoes and serve all together dressed with pesto (more like a salad type of dish), but you can just mix this with pasta and will be great!

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