This was a case of me and my parents visiting the capital, not quite as glamourous as Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck but hey, we do our best! Rome is by far one of my favourite cities and one of the few places I would seriously consider moving to. My mum, who is a complete…
Tag: Italian
Torta di fichi freschi e noci
Fresh fig and walnut pudding from Campania Well, I say Campania, because I was in Salerno when the idea came into my head, but it’s not exactly traditional… I had a load of fresh figs in my fridge because my green grocer knows I love figs and the season is almost at an end. However,…
White wine escalopes
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…
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…
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, 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…
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…
Olive Oil
Olio di Oliva Olive oil is not just olive oil here. Nope. You don’t just get standard and Extra Virgin. You get different classifications according to flavour, colour, aroma, regional provenence, use, food pairing…. Sounds a bit complex, like wine, right? That’s because here it is exactly like wine. It is just as important and there are…
Pasta allo Scarpariello
Pasta allo Scarpariello from Campania This is probably the simplest yet most quintessentially Italian dish one can think of. The word Scaprariello may for many of you call up images of delicious bites of chicken, flash fried with garlic and white wine, rosemary and various other ingredients, but this dish, while yummy, is actually not Italian. It’s…
Valentine’s day cupcakes
Pasticcini di San Valentino I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s day. Don’t get me wrong, I like the sentiment, the meaning behind it and all of that, but I hate how commercial it has become – it takes away from the spirit of the thing. For me, Valentine’s day is about spending time with…
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