A recipe from Melograno Deli

As I promised you, here is the recipe that I requested to Dino from Melograno, the italian "alimentari" in London.

With his blog "The Epicurean", his passion for food, his mixed cultural and gastronomic background and finally with the great products he sells in the shop, i couldn't resist from asking him a secret and successful recipe.

Do you want to know what it is? It's the easiest and richest pasta dish ever:

"I think something simple like Spaghetti al Pomodoro e Basilico - takes 10 minutes or so . (I normally have it as a second course in a 4 or 5 course Italian meal after the antipasti but also a great  quick one plate meal)  This is a dish I have at least once a week. The important thing is to try and get the best possible dried pasta, tomatoes and basil. 

Ingredienti

- Good quality Italian Extra-virgin olive oil 

- Fresh cloves of garlic (1-2 per person)

- Pastificio dei Campi spaghetti or spaghettini (about one 80-90 grams per person )

- 400 grams can or jar of top class tomatoes like Sapporo di Corbara or  fresh Italian San Marzano tomatoes peeled and seeded. (if you are using fresh tomatoes, boil them first and remove the seeds)

- Fresh, chopped Italian basil (approximately one small handful per person).

- Salt

- Freshly ground black pepper

- Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)

Preparing the sauce

Heat oil in large frying pan and add garlic chopped

Before garlic turns brown add peeled and de seeded tomatoes

Add pinch of sugar if not using fresh tomatoes , a little concentrate + salt and pepper

Keep heat on full and help tomato flesh break up

Cook on full for 2-3 minutes then on low for 5 minutes then push on the tomatoes a bit more with a woden spoon to bing the sauce so it looks like a lumpy sauce

Cooking the pasta

Bring water in a large pan to the boil add two or 3 tea spoons of sea salt

Add pasta and cook very al dente

Drain the pasta and throw into the frying pan adding a bit of the pasta water shake to and fro for about 30 - 45 seconds , tear half the basil by hand and mix in

Serve the pasta in deep dishes and decorate each plate with the remaing Basil and a sprinkle of high quality extra virgin oil.

Serve with or without (mimimum) a top 24 month old King of the Cheeses - Parmigiano Reggiano !

This is one of the many simple dishes you can prepare quickly for a few pounds - why people buy ready made meals and sauces is beyond me :-)"

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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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Ready for the weekend?

 
Luckily the forecast give sun also for this weekend, so it is absolutely the time for a picnic pasta recipe. Sorry for this weird name but i don't want to call it pasta salad: I simply hate all the ones they sell in the supermarkets with all that cream, cheap pasta and strange mix of ingredients. This instead in Italy is called pasta fredda (cold pasta) and is a must in the summer, but the preparation doesn't normally requires cream and the ingredients are finely selected to

Here my recipe for this weekend inspired by "alla Norma Pasta" from Sicily and normally served hot. In London it's not easy to find the Ricotta salata, so i just swapped this cheese for Feta, but you can even use a Gouda, or mozzarella if you like it or I was even thinking about a smoked cheddar. What do you prefer?

 
This time I decided to prepare it with one of the pasta shapes I adore the most because simple but chunky and very good to take away: Mezzi Occhi di Lupo
 
For 8 people you will need:
700gr  Mezzi occhi di lupo Pastificio dei Campi 2 big aubergines
1 onion
30 pitted black olives
1 feta or 150 gr of any other cheese
Some salt, olive oil and basil leaves

Wash the aubergine and cut it in slices and then in little cubes. In a pan put some oil and half of an onion to fry a bit, then add the aubergine.Cook it until colored, adding salt and some other oil or a bit of water if needed.

In the meantime cook the pasta until al dente. Cut the cheese in cubes and the pitted black olives in slices. Put them in a big bowl and when ready, add there the aubergine to cool down.
When the pasta is al dente, drain it and pass it under cool water to stop the cooking process. Then mix all the previous ingredients altogether adding some salt and oil if needed.
 
Serve it with some fresh basil leaves, but cut them with hands and not with a knife to avoid them from getting black. Enjoy with lots of friends and sun!

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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 celebrate this anniversary with a toast to 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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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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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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