For a delicious weekend!

If you are passionate about good wine and some organic and healty food, you can’t miss this fair that will take place in London this weekend, 20^th and 21^st of May.

While Pastificio dei Campi will be in Italy at “Taste of Milan”  and in France, at the Cannes Festival , thanks to the La Palm D’Or menu’, in London you won’t be disappointed by this new event, ROW, held at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

Ok, it won’t probably be glamorous like Cannes festival or famous like taste, but I’m sure that with the years it will register more and more visitors and people passionate about food.

The festival in fact has been created by  Isabelle Legeron MW also called “the crazy French girl” to promote small, artisan wine producers who make fine wine using natural farming techniques (including organic and biodynamic practices) and low-intervention vinification processes. 

But it’s not all: on top of featuring over 200 growers from all around the globe and being one of the most exciting collections of fine, natural wine artisans ever to come together in the capital, ROW will also have some other interesting names as guest and food supplier: between this Signe Johansen who is teaming up with Ole Hansen, the Norwegian salmon man from Stoke Newington, to offer a Scandivanian platter of deliciousness; the famous Neal’s Yard Dairy, the Elliot's Cafe that is hosting a wild, English oyster shucking stall at RAW, Violet the cupcake store and many more.

So are you a food lover? Do you like Italian wine too or just organic food?

 See you there then. All the information about prizes and hours are on the website.

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The right recipe for these rainy days

Rain rain and more rain!
It was a long time that I wasn’t complaining about the weather, but I have to say that now it’s a bit too much. It’s almost one month that rains without stop and also if it’s not too much cold, for sure this is not the weather you expect in spring.
Thanks God, last saturday when I went to the market the sun decided to appear for few hours and I could enjoy a nice stroll and some shopping. I could see already some english asparagus between the amount of colorful vegetables , but I didn’t feel like cooking something with that yet.

I was actually more interested in something hot, and comfy, maybe baked... And here it was ... A nice cauliflower! I have read in fact that this is the best month for them in UK and so the shopping was done and the recipe came just after: "I will do a typical english dish revisited in an italian way.... With pasta of course!"

Here is the recipe for my Cauliflower cheese baked pasta and the ingredients for 4 people:

320 gr of Mezze Maniche Rigate Pastificio dei Campi

200 gr cauliflower florets

80 gr of shelled hazelnuts 

30 gr of grated parmesan

120gr of grated mature cheddar cheese

30 gr of butter

salt, pepper and a bit of chilli too

Cook the cauliflower florets in boiling salted water for 7-8 minutes, then drain them maintaining the water to cook the pasta. Mash them a bit in a pan where you have previously put some olive oil and a garlic clove. Smash the hazelnuts in little pieces but don't make a powder.

Cook the pasta in the cauliflower water adding salted water. Drain when al dente and pour into the pan with the cauliflower florets, add the hazelnuts, some pepper and chilli, the grated cheddar cheese and a bit of grated parmesan and stir until the cheese is melted.

Pour the preparation into a greased baking dish with the butter, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and cook in oven at 180 ° C for 30 minutes. Serve piping hot and enjoy!

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A quite, peculiar and truly good market

It’s more than a year that everyone is speaking about this awarded market, basically created by the farmers as an alternative to the busy and overcrowded Borough Market.

This street characterized by the arches of the railway is now the new foodies destination for a special Saturday market experience. Packed with farmers and little producers this truly great place give you the time and all the fun you can have in discovering niche and unique products. From amazing sweets, to spanish ham, from smoked salmon to fresh oysters and flowers, you can really comeback in time.

In Italy for example every area has its weekly market, something very common and never, never, so full like the few very famous ones here in London. To go to one of this you really need to be motivaded and ready to spend the day between lots of people. In Maltby street instead is more the market that guides you in the exploration and you can only let it drives you, like when I was a child and i was going to the market with my mum.

The smell, the  beauty of the products, the peace under the arches can only make your Saturday morning better and even the past Saturday when all London was gray and miserable, there it was sunny and warm.

After a nice stoll, a little shopping and a beautiful coffee in Monmouth I then camback to the center passing by London bridge, but when I saw the amount of people, I just rememberd. For me the tranquillity of this place and the good vibe of the shops and the people was a really nice discovery.

Do you want to know what I bought? You will need to wait my next recipe… soon on the blog.

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Similarities and differences in our Easter menu

We all know that worldwide, the eggs are the symbol of Easter and of a new life that born. But in Italy we don’t speak just about chocolate eggs. We give them a much bigger role in the Easter table: they are part of the pizzas and/or pies we cook that day!

The most famous and characteristic is the Torta Pasqualina with herbs, eggs and milk or ricotta and the Pizza di Pasqua with fresh diced pecorino, grated pecorino cheese, eggs and olive oil. We normally eat this one in the morning with the salami and eventually even some wine.

Easter day signs in fact the end of the Lent a period of fasting and repentance, where is suggested not to eat meat. So, the first meal of the day have to be a big feast. When I was in Italy was probably the only morning in the year were I was used to eat a salty breakfast and it was so traditional that no one could refuse it.

For the same reason it's very common to cook lamb in this day. The lamb is for Christian the innocent body of Jesus crucified. But I saw in England there is the same tradition of serving lamb for the Easter lunch.

Then we have the classic ears of corn turned into bread, while in England there are the very traditional Hot Cross Buns .To Christians, the cross symbolizes the crucifixion and traditionally they eat them warm with butter on Good Friday.

Finally among the desserts, the most classic is the Easter Dove and the Neapolitan Pastiera made with wheat, symbols of new life, ricotta, candied fruit, eggs and orange flowers…just delicious! For more information you can check the post from last year about it.

But maybe this year, for a fair exchange I will try to cook a the Simnel Cake  rich with fruits, spices and marzipan, all forbidden during the fasting.

I can't wait to start to cook! Curious to know my main course?...stay tuned!

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Lots of yummy ingredients for a new recipe

Yesterday I invented something new... I actually took inspiration from different recipes, but I had the need to do something not spicy and without tomatoes or tomato sauce for a friend of mine that wasn't so well.

So it needed to be a white pasta and quite quick, so i could make it at their place. I then thought about something I didn't cook so much in the year like mushroom and walnuts too. 
I love walnuts especially with cheese and I had the impression they could go well together. But we needed a bit of taste more... why not some smoked pancetta cut in thin slices?

Finally, to mix all the ingredients, I thought I could use some spoons of mascarpone . I'm not a big fun of the cream and mascarpone and walnuts sounds perfect to me.

Here is the full recipe, that was a success by the way and I hope you will think the same :)
For this dish I used the Ziti but actually next time I will go for something slightly smaller like Calle Pastificio dei Campi or even Fusillata Casereccia.

Ingredients for 3 people:

- 1 garlic clove
- from 300 to 400 gr of pasta Pastificio dei Campi
- Olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons of mascarpone (1 box of 200gr will be more than enough)
- 250gr of mushroom (you can use the big Portobello Mushrooms nice and tasty or even dry Porcini but you will need to leave them soak a bit and then drain them before to cook)
- 100gr smoked pancetta
- a glass of white wine
- Salt pepper
- grated Parmesan
- and some crushed walnuts depending by your taste!

Put some oil in a pan with the garlic and the mushroom cut in pieces. Let them cook...they will release lots of water. Then put the water for the pasta to boil with a generous amount of salt and cut the pancetta in pieces.
When the mushrooms are almost cooked, add the pancetta and let it cook. Add salt and pepper. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and wait the time written on the box.

When the water from the mushrooms has gone, add some white wine and let it evaporate. 
A part put some mascarpone in a bowl with some hot water from the pasta and mix.
Finally drain the pasta al dente and place it in the pan with the mascarpone e some crushed walnuts. Toss it, mix it all well ( the mascarpone doesn't need to be too much) and serve with some Parmesan another little bit of walnuts and some pepper!

I hope you will enjoy it :)

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The Italian traditional dishes for the festivities

This is the second Christmas on this blog and if last year I told you about the tradition of the Christmas eve, this year I will tell you a bit more about the traditional Christmas day menu.

As you probably know this day in Italy it’s really important, especially for the religious meaning of the celebration. So we respect the old tradition to don’t eat meat on the 24^th in the night and to have just dishes made with fish or vegetarian recipes. Last year I cooked Spaghetti with Smoked salmon and cream of courgettes but another classic, especially in the south are the vermicelli o linguine with clams.

On the 25^th instead everyone is free to cook anything you want, but the classic Italian tradition normally sees as a starter in the north some fresh pasta like the classic tortellini filled with meat, while in the south is really famous the timballo di maccheroni.

This recipe is so famous that has also been included in a really funny movie: BIG NIGHT, and here is the trailer where you can even have a little glimpse of it.

This is the recipe from the movie if you want to live a truly Italian Christmas Lunch.

Ingredients for around 8 people:

500g Millerighe di Gragnano, Pastificio dei Campi (for something a little smaller you can use the Mezzani Rigati), 50g butter 400g mozzarella 100g grated Parmesan 500g pork loin, 1  onion ,100g of pancetta in slices or bacon if you can’t find it, 1 glass of white wine, oil,salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, 3 bottle of tomatoes puree, bread crumbs, 1egg.

For the shortbread: 500g flour 250g sugar 6 egg yolks 250g butter.

Ok the recipe is a bit complex but it’s something you can actually do for a special occasion like the Christmas and you can even prepare it in two times. The first day you prepare the sauce, wrap the meat in the bacon, then brown it in a little olive oil with the chopped onion and herbs, pour the white wine, then add the tomatoes puree. When the sauce is thick, turn off the fire and pull out the meat, which you will use to prepare small meatballs (adding parmesan cheese, and egg and bread crumbs, soaked in milk and than squeezed). Then fry them in a little olive oil. 

The second day, prepare the dough, working all the ingredients and letting it rest for at least an hour. Meanwhile cook the pasta and add to the sauce, butter and Parmesan cheese. Grease a ring cake tin and cover with a disc of dough. Fill the dough alternating pasta, meatballs, mozzarella and more Parmesan cheese diced, and end with a layer of pasta (like in the picture from selfishcooking ). Close with a disc of puff pastry and seal well, brushing with a little 'egg yolk. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 ', let it cool and serve.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

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A comfy pasta recipe using cauliflower

 
I have to admit I normally don't use so much cauliflowers in my cuisine. Don't ask me why: I always buy broccoli but never cauliflowers.
 
So the past sunday I really needed a treat and a comfy food especially considering the cold that finally arrived in London town.
 
I wanted a cheesy pasta dish, but still quite balanced, healthy and quick to prepare... but I was also looking for some new taste or combination and I went to the market hoping in some inspiration: I love the pancetta and cheese combo but it was missing a third basic ingredient, and at one point...it was there... a nice cauliflower was waiting for me. 

With its peculiar taste I supposed the salty pancetta and the gorgonzola could have made a great dish. And to make the perfect combination I went for Millerighe Pastificio dei Campi. I was really proud of myself because the recipe is just great!
 
Here are the ingredients I used for 2 people:

- 100 gr pancetta

- 150 gr gorgonzola or a sweet and creamy blue cheese

- 200 gr Pasta Millerighe Pastificio dei Campi

- A little cauliflower

- Some salt and paper

Cut the cauliflower leaves and wash them, than cut the whole plant in little groups of flowers and boil them for some minutes.
In the meantime put some water to boil with some salt and add in a pan a bit of olive oil on a low fire.
Place in the pan the pancetta and after a bit the cauliflower leaves too.

Put the pasta in the boiling water and wait for around 10 minutes mixing with a fork.
When the pasta is almost ready add the gorgonzola to the pan and some of the cauliflower previously cooked and drained. Add some water from the pasta in the pan and let the cheese melt.
When the pasta is “al dente”, toss it in the pan with all the other ingredients and  serve it just with some fresh black pepper. Enjoy!

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