Scaloppine al vino bianco from Lombardy Scaloppine originally were a Northern Italian dish reserved mostly for holidays and parties. Nowadays, because they are so quick and easy to make as well as being relatively cheap they are eaten every day by many families the length and breadth of the peninsula. You can make these with…
Stuffed zucchini flowers with anchovies and mozzarella
Fiori di zucca ripieni di mozzarella e alici from Lazio Another Roman dish! This dish was immortalised in fact by Julia Robert’s in the film adaptation of the book Eat, Pray, Love. When she sits at that table in Rome, outdoors on the street, and cuts into the crispy shell of the flower so that the rich,…
Tagliatelle with langoustines and fresh tomato sauce
Tagliatelle ai scampi e pomodoro fresco Think Italian food, and you think messy spaghetti in tomato sauce (not as messy as in Naples perhaps, but still). Think classy and you think seafood. So this, my friends, is the perfect combination of classic Italian pasta and elegance. Not to mention tasty. Fish: also known as “the…
risotto with prawns and courgettes
Risotto con zucchine e gamberetti from Lombardy In Italy, it used to be said that if you ordered risotto in the South and pasta in the North then you would get exactly what you deserve – wallpaper paste. This may have been true at one time as risotto certainly hails from the Milan area and…
Rich man’s carbonara
Carbonara con salmone affumicato Sorry it’s been a bit slow again over the past few days, I’m really not feeling well at all to tell the truth – sore throat, no voice, impacted wisdom tooth… the list of my health woes goes on, but that isn’t what anyone wants to read so now I’ve got…
Learning how to eat
Sounds daft, doesn’t it? Eating should be natural, in fact it is natural and in the Western world many of us do far too much of it. However, there is a difference between simply eating mindlessly and REALLY eating, savouring the aromas, textures and nuanced flavours. I am quite lucky really in that I grew…
Cuoppo – Italian fish and chips
Sometimes I really miss fish and chips. Honestly I do. Especially really GOOD fish and chips like the ones you get at Anstruther – fresh fish, cooked to order, single portions of chunky chips cooked to order in fresh oil and plenty of salt and vinegar… especially sitting at the harbour overlooking the sea. So…
Pasta with cream of avocado and lime
They say that necessity is the mother of all invention, and nowhere is that more true than in the kitchen. When the fridge was almost empty and I suddenly realised at 10pm that I was hungry… well rather than calling for a pizza (again) I decided to rack my brains for something to make. I…
Pasta, Parmesan and Parma Ham
La Vecchia Taverna in Oliveto Citra As some of you will no doubt have realised by now, many of my favourite restaurants in Italy are truly rustic. This is because, in my experience and humble opinion, the most rustic restaurants are the ones which tend to serve the best food, created with the freshest, top…
Arrivederci, not Addio.
When I first arrived in Salerno and went to live in a run down shared flat in the centre of the city I was lucky enough to meet some fantastic people. One of these people turned into my best friend, the person with whomI could share all of the trials and tribulations as well as…
Summer spaghetti – zucchini e fiori di zucca
Summer is here and it is hot hot hot, so the last thing that you want to do in 40°+ heat is spend ages in front of the stove cooking some elaborate dish. Firstly because it would be torture. Secondly because in this heat you probably wouldn’t even enjoy eating it anyway. The solution is…
Amalfi by Vespa
The only way to see the Amalfi Coast, and I mean REALLY see it, is by vespa. Why? Well the wind in your hair, the sun on your face and the delightful smells of the wonderful Mediterranean vegetation all have something to do with it, but most of all it is just such a terribly…
lovefromitaly 