Blog

  • Traditional Foods of Puglia

    Puglia is a region in the South of Italy, famous for its olive oil and wine. A largely agricultural area, it is home to Bari, Brindisi, Taranto and Lecce. It is flat and fertile with a spectacular coastline and many resorts. 

    puglia-landscapeThe agricultural traditions of the region have meant that the food is inspired by the local produce: wheat, vegetables and olive oil. The Apulians have a particular love of fava beans, similar to broad beans, which they use to make thick soups in the Winter and as part of salads in the Summer. They are even added to pastas and often ground into purees. An incredibly versatile vegetable - you will find it from May through to Autumn in local markets.

    Apulians tend to make use of wild vegetables such as broccoli raab and dandelions. They are boiled first until they are soft - this is to reduce the bitterness. They are then sauted in olive oil until they are incredibly tender and only the hint of the original bitterness remains. Served either alone or as part of a dish, they add a certain unique flavour which is associated with Puglia.

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  • History of Milan: The Italian Capital of Fashion and Design

    Milan is a rich cultural city, the Italian capital of the media, design and fashion sectors – not to mention the birthplace of Susanna! It plays host each year to one of the most important Fashion weeks in the world – Milan Fashion Week. It is also home to two of Europe’s leading football clubs, A.C. Milan and F.C. Internationale Milano.

    Description: Colonne Di San Lorenzo.jpgThe Milanese (the inhabitants of Milan) have known some tumultuous times, however. The city was founded in the 6th Century and was originally a small Celtic village. It first rose to prominence as the capital of the Western Roman Empire. A few signs of the city’s Roman heritage remain, most prominently the Colonne Di San Lorenzo, which once formed part of a temple. They are now an integral part of the city’s landscape.

    After the fall of the Roman Empire, during which Milan was sacked, it recovered to become one of the most important economic centres in Northern Italy. It gained autonomy from the German emperors of the 12th Century and was governed by democratic laws – quite unique for the high middle ages.

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  • Making Perfect Fresh Egg Pasta

    The following is an excerpt from Susanna’s book Italian Country Cooking

    Making Fresh PastaHome-made pasta has a unique lightness that the commercial dried and fresh varieties just can’t equal. This is the traditional method of making pasta – it can be hard work and quite time-consuming but is immensely satisfying as well. You may be relieved to hear that you can cheat and use the food processor – your pasta may not be quite as light and elastic in texture but is much quicker and still far better than any fresh pasta produced commercially. I have included both methods. I would not advocate the use of pasta machines that mix the flour and eggs at one end and spew various pasta shapes out the other.

    400g/14oz plain flour (about 3 cups all-purpose flour)
    4 eggs
    A pinch of salt

     

    These quantities will make enough pasta for 4 people. Calculate quantities at roughly 100g / 3 1/2 oz (3/4 cup) of flour and 1 egg per person. Because making fresh pasta from scratch is such a lengthy process, I often make more than I need and freeze the rest (do not defrost before cooking, but cook from frozen). The dough keeps covered in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

    Mixing and kneading the tradition way

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  • Guide to Italian Coffee

     

    In Italy we are exceptionally passionate about coffee.  We have some strong traditions, many of which are quite different from the UK. Most of our coffee drinks are based on the espresso and it is very rare to find coffee brewed in a pot or a cafetierre.

     

     

    Here is our guide to Italian coffee:

    Caffe
    This is an espresso, but we don’t use that term in Italy. The caffe will be served at a drinkable temperature and is meant to be downed instantly.

    Caffe Doppio
    A double espresso. Not as common as you might think, we tend to drink small amounts of coffee constantly.

    Capuccino
    The same as in the UK, the drink is made up of espresso, topped with steamed milk and froth. Milky coffee drinks tend to be drunk in the morning and certainly not after a large meal so don’t be surprised if the waiter looks at you strangely when you order a cappuccino!

    Caffe Latte
    A shot of espresso with hot milk. Traditionally the milk wasn’t frothed like it is in the UK, so if you’re looking for a white coffee this is the Italian version.

    Latte Macchiato
    This is much closer to a Café Latte. Served in a tall glass, the espresso is topped up with steamed milk.

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  • Best Italian Winter Getaways

    Skiing

    Skiing in Turin

    Where could be more of a perfect skiing destination than the city which hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics? A convenient budget airport close by, the Valle di Susa lies west of the city and is close to the border with France. The most fashionable resort is Sestriere, which is modern with 20 ski-lifts and an ice-skating rink. Other resorts include Sauze d’Oulx and Bardonecchia if you’re looking for something a little bit different.

     

    Adventure

     

    Walk the Via Ferrata (‘Iron Ways’) in the Dolomites

    The Via Ferrata are iron walkways designed to make walking in the mountains easier. They were used and constructed mainly in the First World War, when the Alps and Dolomites were important strategic areas. In fact, many soldiers were killed by avalanches used as weapons. Dynamite would be placed at strategic positions and timed to cause the most damage and destruction.

    The Winter is a fantastic time to visit and day tours are available from local towns such as Cortina d’Ampezzo. The scenery is truly breathtaking!

     

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  • Introducing Our New Pesto Range

    We knew that the day would come when we had to face a tough challenge.

    For a long while we thought it was an impossible dream: To create an ambient Basil Pesto that really did look and taste like the freshly made stuff found in Liguria. ‘You must be joking! It stands to reason THAT can’t be done’. Well it can and we’ve done it.

    No compromises.
    No prisoners taken.
    No excuses.

    No playing safe by tipping our culinary hat to what passes for Basil Pesto in the UK, whether on the ambient or chilled shelves. We wanted to achieve as near to ‘the real thing’ as possible.

    There we were, in Rapallo, along the Liguria coast savouring this mythical plate of ‘Lasagne al Pesto’ and feeling both ecstatic and guilty at the same time. How could we look ourselves in the face if we didn’t try harder to bring you the real thing as well?

    So here it is.

    It’s a bit like discovering that the colours of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel once cleaned, are far stronger than all the previous experts on Michelangelo had imagined.

    We await your reaction with bated breath!

     

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  • Lasagne al Pesto at Rapallo Golf Club

    Take a look at this photo of a plate of ‘Lasagne al Pesto’.

    I think we can agree that it looks delicious.

    I suspect that as each sheet of just cooked and drained egg lasagne was placed randomly ‘on purpose’ onto the white plate with the thin dark blue decorative line running round its circumference, the chef has coated it before placing yet another sheet on top and repeating the process.

    Now look at the quality of the pesto itself. It’s a very light green emulsion containing many specs of a darker green. What is missing from the photo is also important; the bottom of the plate is clean, without a coating of oil that has drained from the pesto itself.

    The texture and consistency of the pesto therefore probably explains why the pasta sheets are so well coated. The plate has after all been prepared in the restaurant kitchen and carried by the waiter to our table, enough time you’d think for the sauce to partly separate from the pasta. It hasn’t. And no julienne slithers of cheese floating in the pesto sauce; no evidence of too much surface oil either.

    The light green colour, lighter than fresh basil itself, comes from having fully integrated the white coloured cheese and pine nuts with the basil. The oils in all three ingredients help this process of emulsification to the point that a ‘paste’ of sort is created - traditionally it is only after this ‘paste’ is created that oil is added to dilute the mixture to taste or tradition.

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