Salsicce e friarielli from Naples This is a classic “piatto povero”. A simple dish that was cooked by poor people around the capital of Campania when food was scarce. The dish has remained true to its roots in its simplicity and can be found in restaurants and in pizzerias across the region. It’s simple and…
Tag: Food
Roast wild boar in rich red wine gravy
I’m just going to come right out and say it: as a rule the Southern Italians (from this area at least) don’t know how to cook game. The meat ends up strongly gamey, tough and dry. The only exception to this is ragù di cinghiale which is a rich pasta sauce made with tomatoes, herbs…
A night on the Coast with Bruschetta and too much wine
Well not really too much, but there is no way I would have driven anywhere, lets put it that way. As I’ve mentioned before, the only real way to see the Coast is by Vespa, unless you are rich and have a boat. If you are poor like me, then a Vespa is almost as…
Birthday cake and a new camera
I don’t have a huge amount to say tonight, but I am ridiculously excited that I got a brand spanking new camera (in case you didn’t notice I had been taking pictures with my mobile phone) and am looking forward to taking lotsalotsalotsa pics and sharing them with you all! I was at a birthday…
Birra in Villa – Beer festival!
Now most of us perhaps think of beer as being more of a Northern European thing… after all, the Southerners have wine. We in the North aren’t that great at making wine… so they won’t be great at making beer. Stands to reason, right? Um, wrong. Dratted Southerners… Birra in Villa in Castel San Giorgio…
Survival Guide – The Aperitivo
The Italians call it happy hour, but it is unlike any happy hour any of us anglosaxons are familiar with. The drinks don’t cost any less than at other times, in fact they may even cost a couple of euros more… the difference is that you get fed! This can be anything from some salted…
“Regù” Salernitano
No, not a mispelling. I really do mean Regù, not Ragù. They say that traditional is best and that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and traditional Ragù Bolognese certainly isn’t broken but one of our friends, Domenico decided he was going to “fix” the recipe anyway, and change the name to make it…
A’mpepata e’ cozze
Impepata di Cozze (mussels with black pepper) A’mpepata e’ cozze, as they call this dish in Naples, is in my opinion one of the great unsung heroes of Mediterranean cuisine. Considered cucina povera or the “cuisine of the poor” these molluscs were snubbed by the Godfather of Italian cuisine Pellegrino Artusi and were not mentioned at…
Ricotta mousse with dark chocolate, pear and whisky
Mousse di riccotta al cioccolato fondente e pere I feel like utter crap. Sorry. I have a serious headcold and a cough, and I had to go to a wedding today – beautiful wedding, and I had a lovely time, but now that I am home… Let’s just say I am writing this from my…
Cuttlefish burgers
Polpette di seppia Some of the most delicious recipes I have ever made come from mistakes, disasters, serendipity. This, my friends, is one of those recipes! It came about when my local fishmonger forgot that when I buy cuttlefish I usually make stuffed cuttlefish (he usually remembers) and chopped my cuttlefish up. Of course I didn’t…
Loving to be lazy
Sometimes being lazy is necessary, and the best thing about being lazy in Italy is that it doesn’t mean you can’t have a delicious meal. I mean seriously: Creamy buffalo mozzarella, fresh sun ripened tomatoes, fragrant basil and strong green extra virgin olive oil – the Caprese… accompanied by a side of spicy olives (home…
North vs South and Milanese risotto with porcini mushrooms
Risotto alla milanese con porcini from Lombardy On Italian TV at the moment there is a programme called “Benvenuti a Tavola”. It is based on the age-old North vs South rivalry which is surrounds pretty much everything in Italy and which ranges from the good natured to the downright nasty (some people going as far…
lovefromitaly 