Guido's Nonna's recipe: Linguine with Pesto alla Genovese

 

Guido's Nonna's Recipe: 

Linguine with Pesto alla Genovese - Serves  6

Ingredients: 500 g (1 packet) of linguine pasta (La Molisana brand is recommended).

For the sauce: 1 large bunch of fresh basil leaves, 1/3 of a clove of garlic, handful of pine-nuts, 60 g of Grana Padano cheese, extra virgin olive oil, pinch of salt.

Method: (using a blender): To prepare pesto, put basil leaves, pine-nuts, Grana Padano and Pecorino cheese, 1/3 of a clove of garlic and a  pinch of salt into the blender with a little extra virgin olive oil. Blend until smooth (or chunky, if preferred), then add more olive oil.

Cook Linguine aldente, put it back in the pot after draining and mix in with sauce and a little butter. Stir all together. Serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

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My Italian permaculture garden is wild

For all of you who have visited us for an Italian cooking class, cooking holiday or wine tour or olive tour,  you know that I have a passion for foraging and for my permaculture garden. Over the years, I have had to battle snails, slugs, porcupines, wild boar and badgers, a broken drip irrigation system, plus soil that is filled with rocks and clay.....but finally, talking to the local farmers and getting everyone's advice on how to 'conquer' and work in harmony nature.....this year my permaculture garden  is going wild! It is producing more tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini than I know what to do with.

What a great sense of satisfaction, to have my permaculture garden producing so much that I can share my produce with neighbours and friends.

We use our own produce and source our ingredients locally for our Italian cooking classes. So you could not get more local and fresh than this. As I say to our guests "my permaculture garden does not look pretty...but it sure produces the BEST tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchinis, plus zucchini flowers ( or whatever is in season at the time) I have ever tasted!"

We also offer a selection of local produce: including meats, pecorino cheeses, local breads, olives and salad made of our own tomatoes and cucumbers straight from our garden, during the last stop of our Rome Olive Tours and Rome Wine Tours.  Just to give you an idea that it is not just us appreciating the quality of my organic homegrown produce.....I want to tell you a story of 'J'.. I hope 'J', one of our guests on a recent Rome Olive Tour, does not mind me telling you, ....but he said that he hated tomatoes, all tomatoes......that is until he tried some of my tomatoes, fresh from our garden..... and guess what, he LOVED them so much that he said he did not want to leave Italy, and if he had to leave to return home....that he would be back to visit us! Wonderful, we look forward to his return!

For more information about our Italian Cooking Holidays, Italian Cooking Classes, Rome Olive Tours and Rome Wine Tours, please contact me on info@conviviorome.com

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Spaghetti alla Carbonara, as shared on American TV

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a classic Roman recipe that is fast and relatively simple. In my Italian cooking classes over the years, I have found many cooking guests are pleasantly surprised at how easy this delicious recipe is to replicate at home. 
Here are some of my tips, to ensure the success of this traditional dish, as revealed by Carol, one of our valued ex-cooking guests on American Fox2TV. 

Thank you Carol for spreading the word. 

Watch this 4 minute video for inspiration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJfQpri8A5s

If you love this simple dish, sign up to receive Chef Guido's Free e-booklet on '5 minute Pasta'

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Martha's Visit to the Sabine Hills, just north of Rome

First stop, our local medieval hilltop village of Castelnuovo di Farfa 

It was a real pleasure introducing Martha and James, to some of the hidden villages of the Sabine Hills. We have been in contact with Martha, an Italian travel expert, for many years, but this was the first time we had a chance to show our friends around.  

Martha and James at Farfa Abbey with us

Martha has travelled to all of Italy’s 20 regions and is passionate about sharing her vast travel experiences with others. Find out what she wrote about her day with us in her newsletter:

Martha's Italy

Martha and James also visited Toffia, where our 3 and 5 night cooking holidays are held

Read about Martha and James visit on Martha's Italy

Thanks so much for coming along and it was a real pleasure showing you the Sabine Hills. We hope you will be back to join us again on your next visit to Italy.

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Castelnuovo di Farfa, annual June flower festival

Wandering the around the medieval streets of Castelnuovo, is already a treat. It's winding cobbled walkways and beautifully restored homes, make it a true hidden treasure within the Sabine Hills. So close to Rome and yet it feels like world's away.

June is when the annual flower festival is held here and one that we try not to miss. Here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

wandering through the streets of this medieval village is always magical

Flowers decorate the streets of Castelnuovo

Special floral displays make this flower festival memorable

Flowers and plants decorate the historic centre of Castelnuovo

Medieval villages, Lakes, Mountains and more: north of Rome, Italy

To find out more about this amazing region, read an article written by Guido Santi, for About.com


http://goitaly.about.com/od/lazio/ss/Rieti-Province-Lazio-North-of-Rome.htm

Photo of Toffia, one of the many medieval villages in the Rieti province, just north of Rome, Italy.

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Torta di Ricotta alla Romana - Roman Style Ricotta cheese cake

Photo taken by Todd Gallop

This is the most traditional dessert of Rome and we often prepare it during our cooking classes. Ricotta is mostly whey, which separates from milk during the cheese making process. Being neutral and creamy, it's suitable for both sweet or savoury dishes. In Rome, as we discuss during our cooking classes, ricotta mainly comes from sheep's milk. For this recipe I prefer cow's milk ricotta as it's sweeter. This cake is eaten hot out of the oven, during our Rome cooking classes, however I would try it cold as well. It keeps in the refrigerator for a few days.

Torta di Ricotta alla Romana (serves 6 )
For the pastry: 150g of butter, 300g of flour, 150g of sugar, 3 egg yolks, vanilla flavour, 8g of baking powder, salt. For the filling: 400g of ricotta, 2 egg yolks, 100 g of sugar, lemon or orange zest, a drop of single cream or milk, dark chocolate (to your taste).

For the short pastry, mix flour with softened butter, add sugar, citrus zest, 3 egg yolks, vanilla flavour, 8g of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Make the dough in to a ball, wrap it in film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Mix ricotta until smooth, add sugar, flour, two egg yolks, cream and fold in the whipped egg whites. Then add chocolate chips. Roll the pastry and line a cake tin with it. Pour in the ricotta mix and bake at 150C° for 30 minutes, until golden. Sprinkle some icing sugar.

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