Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Chocolate from fair trade in Città di Castello
We all love chocolate, but if it's from fair trade it's even better! We visited "Altrocioccolato' in Città di Castello (near Perugia) last weekend and learned a lot about chocolate and how it's made traditionally, starting from the cocoa beans. The intense aroma of pure chocolate accompanied us while we visited the town, listened to live music and strolled through the organic farmers market. With 60.000 visitors over the weekend 'Altrocioccolato' the Italian fair trade chocolate event of the year, was a success.
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Natural Honey from Sabina
Today we visited our local beekeeper to get a few kgs of Sabina honey for our italian cooking classes. The region of Sabina, just north of Rome is not only famous for it's extra virgin olive oil and pecorino cheeses, but also for it's honey. The season for honey is now. Signore Bruno, the beekeeper reminded us that his honey keeps "per sempre" ( forever).
Sunday, 14 July 2013
Artichoke's beautiful flowers
By now, in July, artichockes become big purple flowers here in Italy. They're no longer edible by this stage, but they are beautiful to look at!
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Beet greens fresh from the garden.
Here in Italy we grow a type of beet which produces delicious leaves that can be stir-fried or eaten with just olive oil and lemon. These where the last beet greens out of my vegetable garden for this year (their main season is winter), so I stir-fried them with garlic, olive oil, tomato and a pinch of salt. Soon it will be time for summer vegetables!
Saturday, 6 April 2013
10 minute pizza!
An old recipe from Apulia came to my mind for a quick pizza base. I've mixed 2 parts of mashed potatoes and 1 part of flour, added a pinch of salt, spread the dough inside an oven tray, topped with olive oil and anything I like on a pizza. Ready in 15 minutes, baked at 170 Celsius. Good for those intolerant to yeast and very light!
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Saltimbocca alla Romana (with an orange twist)
This is one of Rome's most traditional dishes but, for our cooking classes, I gave it a little twist. I've added the freshness of the orange flavour by reducing the juice of an orange with mediterranean herbs to obtain a thick sauce to serve together with the meat for a nice balance.
Saltimbocca alla romana (with an orange twist)
1 slice of veal per person, 1 slice of prosciutto di Parma per person, fresh sage leaves, bay leaves, 1 clove of garlic, orange juice (half a small glass), extra virgin olive oil.
Pierce the sage leaf, prosciutto and veal with a toothpick so they stick together. Let the garlic roast in extra virgin olive oil until golden and then throw it away. Quickly fry the meat at medium to high heat. Add no salt, as prosciutto will release its own.
For the orange sauce: fry garlic with oil and whole bay leaves and rosemary. Take the herbs out and then add the orange juice. Let the juice evaporate for a few minutes. Pour the sauce at the bottom of the plate and place the meat in the middle.
Saltimbocca alla romana (with an orange twist)
1 slice of veal per person, 1 slice of prosciutto di Parma per person, fresh sage leaves, bay leaves, 1 clove of garlic, orange juice (half a small glass), extra virgin olive oil.
Pierce the sage leaf, prosciutto and veal with a toothpick so they stick together. Let the garlic roast in extra virgin olive oil until golden and then throw it away. Quickly fry the meat at medium to high heat. Add no salt, as prosciutto will release its own.
For the orange sauce: fry garlic with oil and whole bay leaves and rosemary. Take the herbs out and then add the orange juice. Let the juice evaporate for a few minutes. Pour the sauce at the bottom of the plate and place the meat in the middle.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Foraging wild vegetables with Signora Wanda
Foraging wild vegetables in Italy is an ancient art which has been passed down from generation to generations, although less people nowadays have time to look for these flavour-packed wild vegetables. So, together with friends, yesterday we asked Signora Wanda to take us for a walk through the fields and reveal all the secrets on wild shoots and leafy green vegetables. It was a beautiful, sunny, crisp morning and after a few steps out of Toffia's medieval gate we where shown 5 types of cicoria (from the dandelion family), some mild in flavour to eat in salads and others to be boiled and stir-fried; wild artichokes called "cardi"; peppery hot wild mustard; wild garlic; chives; wild broccoletti, and even wild carrot, and radicchio. Pretty much every vegetable that we grow today has its corresponding wild "relative" out in the fields. It's out there and it only takes a bag to collect our wild 'goodies' and a little knife, making sure we don't damage the root of the plant, so it will produce more leaves. Fresh, wild vegetables that are full of flavour, essential nutrients, vitamins and anti-oxidants: it's all out there and it's for free! Grazie, Signora Wanda!
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