ITALIAN FOODIES

 I actually saw this recipe on Gordon Ramsay’s “The F Word” one night and it looked quite easy so I said i’d give it a go. We don’t do complicated!!! I’m always watching food programmes and saying i’m going to make whatever they’ve made that day but never write it down and then forget the recipe. This time I made it the next day so it was fresh in my mind. We love fish but there are still so many we haven’t tried and seabream was one of those. We tend to have seabass, swordfish, tuna, cod, monkfish, clams and prawns so it was nice to try something new.

what you need:

• seabream - ask your fishmonger to fillet it for you, they can be quite small so I got 4 seabream for the 2 of us.
• fresh basil
• olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper
• frozen peas
•  shallots peeled -  what a nightmare to peel!!! just use diced onion if you want but it’s worth it in the end to use the shallots.
• 100g bacon lardons/pancetta
• white wine
• thyme sprig  - leaves picked
• cling film

how to make it:

• bring a pot of water to the boil
• cut off 4 large sheets of cling film and flatten out
• place about 4-6 basil leaves on each sheet of cling film, pour a little olive oil and place fish on top. Season with salt and pepper and wrap up.
• put into pot of simmering water and poach for about 15 mins or until cooked through.

• pour a glug of olive oil into a deep pan and cook your onions and bacon for a few minutes.
• add in your peas and thyme leaves and leave to cook for about 10 - 15 mins or until peas are cooked
• add a splash of white wine and cook until the alcohol evaporates.

Place your peas mixture onto a plate, take your fish out of cling film and place on top. Serve with some toasted ciabatta with a drizzle of olive oil on top. It’s really tasty and light!!

POSITANO - AMALFI COAST

A couple of years ago we rented an old fiat from a friend of Alfredo and drove from Atina to the Amalfi coast. Bru’s Zio(uncle) Lello gave us directions and told us which exit to take off the motorway.  As we were approaching the exit I thought it strange as it seemed to go into the heart of Naples and all the signs for Amalfi said straight on but when a local gives you directions you follow them and of course it was the wrong exit. All I can tell you is that I have never been so afraid in my whole life, we were bang in the middle of one of the worst parts of Naples. We were lucky because it was about 3pm and all the baddies had gone to lunch, even the Italian baddies take long lunches, food is more important than crime at lunch and dinner.

We eventually pulled into a really dodgy garage to ask for directions as Bru hadn’t put his Italian card in his phone so we couldn’t ring his uncle. You can imagine how happy I was and what I called him!!!! We eventually got back on the motorway and later found out that the area was one of the most notorious crime areas in Napoli and we were so lucky to have the local registered car as we weren’t obvious tourists and car hyjacking at gun point is rife there.

Anyway with the help of a few g&t’s we recovered and had a fantastic week.  Positano is absolutely beautiful and is built on a cliff and of course our hotel was at the very top. We had over 200 steps to the beach. We did it once and took the long way through the town after that. Our hotel was fab www.marincanto.it , it doesn’t have a restaurant but we prefer to eat out anyway so we didn’t mind.

There is a great selection of restuarants on the beach, the only one we didn’t really like was Tre Sorelle,Chez Black seems to be the most popular and you normally have to wait for a table.  We had a private section of the beach for our hotel and had a lovely lido that did great fresh food so we ate lunch there a lot. We ate in a lovely family restaurant above Positano called Da Costantino which served really good home-made food. They even provide a bus to pick you up as they are so high up the cliff - fab views. The owner is a bit of a character and likes to chat!!

There is a really upmarket restaurant in the centre of the town called Palazzo Murat www.palazzomurat.it . We decided to treat ourselves and go there for dinner and I would recommend it for the setting alone. It’s the most beautiful place I have ever eaten, the food was very fancy but average unfortunately and not cheap!!!Even if you don’t go for dinner go for an aperitivo just to see it!

The only complaint I have about Positano is the lack of bars, there is one place www.musicontherocks.it but you have to pay in even for one drink. There is an expensive pretentious restaurant there aswell called Le Terrazzere but I wouldn’t recommend it even though the setting is amazing.

On our way back we stayed in Sorrento for a night but we found it a bit touristy, it’s still beautiful but not really our “cup of tea” or should I say “espresso”. We found a really nice bar beside our hotel called Photo where we had a really nice meal, cocktails and free nibbles.

We got home alive and didn’t leave the motorway until we reached the exit for Atina. 

  BRUSCHETTA AL POMODORO

Sometimes we spend so much time on the main course that we don’t have much time for the starter. Bruschetta or crostini are one of the most simple snacks or starters you can make. Bruschetta originates from Abruzzo, it comes from the dialect word “bruscare” meaning to grill or toast. In La Cucina we make the home-made bruschetta bread but I don’t expect you busy people to do this so I would reccomend just using ciabatta or a country style bread sliced.

All you need is:

• chopped cherry tomatoes  - I am recommending Dunnes here for a change as I think their “simply better” tomatoes are definately the best you can buy, yes even better than Superquinn.
• fresh basil
• olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper
• 1 garlic clove
• pecorino cheese (optional)
• ciabatta - either use pre-packed individuals or a ciabatta loaf.

 How to make:

 - in a large bowl mix your tomatoes, some of your basil leaves chopped, olive oil and salt and pepper

  - you can either heat up a griddle pan and toast your ciabatta on it until it has nice defined brown lines or cook in the oven. When it’s ready rub your garlic clove on one side and drizzle a little olive oil over it.

 - spoon your tomato mix on top of your ciabatta and put some fresh basil leaves and some slivers of pecorino cheese on top and serve.

I told you it was easy!!!

 Marion from Limerick’s lifestyle blog www.styletreaty.com asked me recently for an original “Italian Mamma” recipe for spaghetti bolognese. To be honest we rarely eat bolognese at home as we cook it in such large quantities in La Cucina and just bring some home when we need it. We obviously do a catering version in La Cucina as we are cooking for the masses but it is still quite traditional. It amazes me how popular this dish still is, we make a HUGE pot of it 3-4 times a week.

There are so many different recipes for “ragu bolognese”, especially between the north and south of Italy. In the south they don’t really eat it with spaghetti, they prefer to eat it with rigatoni as it is easier to eat as the meat lodges in the tubes, in the north they might prefer to eat it with fresh tagliatelle. I find it difficult to eat with spaghetti myself as the meat falls off the spaghetti and is always left at the bottom of the plate. This is where “scarpetta” comes in, where you clean the sauce on the plate with some bread. Not great manners but as they say “when in Rome……….” 

What you need for basic ragu:

55g butter or margarine

olive oil

1 carrot finely chopped

1 celery stick finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

1 bayleaf finely chopped

250g minced beef ( some Italians use a mixture of minced veal and pork)

 1 glass red wine

2 - 3 tbsp tomato puree

salt and pepper

optional - Bru’s mother also uses cooked ham and parma ham(couple of slices of each finely chopped), other recipes use pancetta about 55g.

How to make it:

Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan and add your carrot, celery, onion, bayleaf and your pancetta or parma ham if you are using it.

Fry gently for about 10 mins until the vegetables have softened

Add the minced meat  and season with salt & pepper , use a wooden spoon to break up the meat so that you have no big chunks .

Cook for about 15 minutes to brown the meat, then add the wine and cook for a few minutes to let the alcohol evaporate.

Stir in the tomato puree, you can add some water or stock here or a can of Italian tomatoes to make it a bit more saucy if you like.

Leave to simmer for about an hour and a half. Add more stock or hot water if your mixture becomes dry.

Cook your spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water.

Mix together and serve and don’t forget your baguettes for “scarpetta”. 

 BUON APPETTITO

FORMAGGIO - CHEESE

There are at least 451 different kinds of cheese in Italy, there are even controlling bodies (Consorzi) to safeguard the good quality and the origin of the best cheeses. They ensure that the best local milk is used and cheeses are made according to methods that have been used for centuries. No Easi Singles then!!! You can only source a limited amount of Italian cheese here, the main ones being mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, gorgonzola, dolcelatte, mascarpone.

MOZZARELLA - There are 2 types of mozzarella: cow’s and buffalo. Mozzarella originated in the south of Italy, anyone who has been to Naples or the Amalfi coast would have tasted the best mozzarella. We went to Positano 2 years ago and had a caprese salad everyday for lunch because the buffalo mozzarella was so creamy and of course the tomatoes were so sweet. We saw the beach cafe getting their order one day and realised it was the same one we had in La Cucina but somehow in these surroundings it just tasted so much better.

Authentic buffalo mozzarella is produced by only a few specialists as there is not enough buffalo milk to meet the demand of commercial production so a lot of it is now mixed with cow’s milk. Ladies., you’ll be delighted to know that mozzarella has a very low fat content, only 7 to 7.5% so get eating!! Mozzarella is mostly known in Ireland as the main ingredient in Caprese and on pizza. We also use it ourselves in Pasta al Forno(oven) and have it nearly everyday in a toasted ciabatta with just parma ham or salami. There is also a smoked version of mozzarella called Scamorza which we always eat in Atina, this is made with whole cow’s milk and pasteurized sheep’s cheese.

When using mozzarella, drain the liquid and rinse under cold water.

PARMIGIANO - PARMESAN

There are 2 types of parmesan: Grana Padano and Reggiano. Both cheeses are actually made in the exact same way but there is a distinct difference in flavour. Basically the cow’s that produce the milk for reggiano can only be fed on grass and hay whereas the cows producing the milk for grana padano can be fed other foods aswell. In general it takes longer to age reggiano and it doesn’t contain any additives to aid fermentation. This is why it’s more expensive.

Reggiano can only be made in the Emilia-Romagna region whereas Grana Padano can be made in a few different regions- Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino etc. We mostly use parmesan here sprinkled over pasta, it shouldn’t be used for fish pasta dishes. It can also be used sprinkled over salads (there is no such thing as caesar salad in Italy) or eaten with fruit such as pears, figs or nuts like hazlenuts or walnuts. I love it on it’s own with a few drops of balsamic vinegar. some breadsticks, olives and a big juicy glass of vino rosso!!

Parmesan is produced in huge wheels and are worth so much money, I read recently that the mafia have started robbing delivery trucks when the drivers pull into the Autogrills on the motorways because one truck of parmesan would be worth tens of thousands.

In Italy parmesan is considered a very important cheese for children, the princess gets it in all her dinners, baby rice etc. Them bones, them bones need………..!!!!

PECORINO - SHEEP’S MILK CHEESE

This cheese is so popular in Italy that nearly every region makes it’s own version each adapted to suit it’s local ingredients and culinary traditions, but is made the same way in each region. By law pecorino romano can only be made in the Lazio region (where Rome is). It is a compact white cheese which is aged for at least 8 months before being eaten on it’s own(it’s quite strong) or grated over pastas like parmesan. It’s lovely sprinkled over orecchiette con broccoli - I’ll post the recipe.

GORGONZOLA

This is a full fat blue cow’s milk cheese which originates from the town of Gorgonzola in Lombardy. The milk used to make it comes from herds that graze by the Alps. Gorgonzola is an excellent table cheese, but can also be used in sauces for pasta or gnocchi or simply with plain polenta. We often make a penne pasta dish with gorgonzola, cream and parmesan - I’ll post this recipe too because it’s soooo good if you like cheese.

Dolcelatte is a mild version of gorgonzola and is created by a commercial Italian cheese making company.

MASCARPONE -CREAM CHEESE

Marscarpone is rarely used as cheese but is famous for it’s use in Tiramisu and other desserts. It is also used together with herbs in ravioli or as a thickner for sauces.

Carluccio’s book -  Complete Italian Food  provided me with some of  my education on cheese. I’m afraid I don’t know everything even though Bru would probably tell you “that I think I do”.

 I thought I’d give you a little snippet into our eating habits when we are in Italy for any of you planning on going there this summer. In the south of Italy where we go they are very passionate about their food and very strict about their eating times, I remember sitting on the beach around 1 o’clock during one of my earlier visits and looking around wondering “where was everyone gone”?.It was like a mass exodus, they’d all gone for lunch. I think the heat of the day affects when people eat, 12-4 is the hottest part of the day so they have lunch then, unlike us where we just have it when we can,  normally driving the car or sitting at a desk.  There is no such thing as a quick sandwich either, it’s the whole works. The longest lunch I ever had was for Bru’s Zia(aunt) Franca’ birthday, 1 to 6pm, I thought I was going to die!!!! i think we had 6 courses. I had a great excuse for my 10 limoncellos, I had to digest!!!!

As you know from previous posts we are addicted to our coffee so of course  when we are in Italy every morning starts with a cappucino and a cornetti(croissant). In Atina there is a little cafe called Cafe Del’ Arco on the village square, it’s just around the corner from the apartment so we go there for breakfast every morning. The village is really small so we usually end up meeting the whole family and sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. If we’re at the beach we’ll usually have breakfast in the hotel or find a Lido(beach bar).

The one thing I always notice about Italians is they don’t pick, they save themselves for their next meal whereas here we think we’re going to die from weakness and starvation if we don”t eat(well I do anyway). I’ve gotten better though when I realised I was eating more between meals than Bru and then could never finish my lunch or dinner!!

 Lunch in Italy is rarely served before 1pm and may begin as late as 2.30pm, a lot of the shops close for a siesta until 4 or 5pm but then they stay open till 7.30 or 8pm. If we’re in Atina we always eat at Bru’s cousins restaurant Il Viccolo and normally have just 2 courses, normally an “antipasto” and a “primo” which would probably be some cold meats and cheeses and then a pasta dish. If we’re at the beach we’d go to the the lido again and just have a sandwich or a salad because it’s always too hot. Of course vino would always be consumed, as they say”when in Italy………” we wouldn’t want to be rude!!

One of the things I love about Italy is going to the bar for an aperitivo around 6pm and most bars are packed at this time as everybody does it. They always serve you olives or peanuts with your drink,  this is to keep you going until dinner because it’s usually not until 8 or 9pm. Of course we always savage them down because we don’t get it here and it’s such a novelty for us. Once again I ruin my appetite! I always have a prosecco, bragetto or white wine as an apertif. The Italians drink a lot of Campari but I’ve never really liked it, it’s very bitter. 

In Atina sometimes we go to one of the local restaurants for dinner or an agriturismo for a change!! Most restaurants in this area specalise in a particular food so you go to one restaurant for good meat, another one for fish, pizza etc which is great because you are getting fresh local produce in a family run establishment. Mamma or Nonna is normally in the kitchen cooking and Papa’ or Nonno are on the floor serving the food and the local wine. We would normally have 3 courses for dinner; antipasto, primo, secondo(meat or fish) and a contorni(side dish)

There is great local wine in this area and in the summer there are loads of wine festivals. There is a big one in Gallinaro which is just 5 minutes from Atina, Paulo Tullio is from there. We went 2 years ago and it was one of the best nights ever.  You pay €5 and you get a wine glass and a holder for around your neck. There are about 30-40 “canteens”, these are little rooms where they make their wine, you basically hold out your glass and they give you a sample of their wine. Yes, you can have as many samples as you want so you can imagine what you are like at canteen no. 40. Some of the canteens provide nibbles like parmesan cheese, breads, olives. It’s amazing, it would never work here though, free wine, it would be gone in 5 minutes.  They had a local band in the square, I have never seen so many drunk Italians singing their heads off, it was brilliant. At the end of the night we had a porchetta(pork) sandwich and was served by a guy who had lived in Wexford for years and spoke with an Irish accent!!

Anyway after dinner we normally go to a local bar and have a coffee and limoncello. Dessert normally consists of a gelato and then a “passegiata” - which is a stroll to work off dinner. Up until now we would have went onto a few bars which normally serve until 3 or 4am but those days are gone with the arrival of the princess!! 

Of course we supported Ireland on Saturday, it’s always strange when Ireland play Italy, everyone always asks Bru where his loyalties lie and they would definately know the answer if they were in our living room on Saturday. We put the princess in her Italian gear to have some bit of Italian patriotism in the house!

Bru’s cousin Pasquale was lucky enough to get a ticket outside the stadium and went on his own(AHHHH), rugby isn’t that big in Italy, they’re just soccer crazy! Anyway he ended up drinking with a group of lads from Cork and had a great time, he’s half Irish anyway. His accent is so funny, he speaks English with a Limerick accent and every second word is “like”!! We watched an Italian Sports programme Sunday night and they were saying what a great match it was and how the atmosphere was fantastic, how great the Irish were etc, Bru translated of course. I have been going to Italy for 13 years and still can’t speak the language - a disgrace I know!!

A lot of the lads actually eat in La Cucina, we have a special menu for the Munster team so they eat in quite a bit. Their diets are quite strict so we do healthier options for them, actually maybe we should take some credit for last season!!It was all because of the food!!

I like rugby and everything but 3 games in a row is stretching it for me plus I don’t know anyone on the other teams so I gave up after the Irish match and went off and baked a chocolate cake. I know sooooo female but hey!!! Bru needed cheering up after the French match and as they say “the only way to a man’s heart  is through his ???”, well an Italian man anyway. They love their food!!!

TORTA AL CIOCCOLATO

You need:

50g unsalted butter

100g plain chocolate

3 eggs

150g caster sugar

100g plain flour sifted

salt

HOW TO MAKE IT!!

 - pre-heat the oven to 160

 - grease a cake tin with butter

 - melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over pot of simmering water

 - beat the eggs with the sugar in another bowl, then stir in the flour and apinch of salt

 - stir the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture and continue to stir for about 10 mins.

 - pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 20 mins

 - leave to cool and serve with whipped cream

BUONISSIMO!!!!

The whole point of this blog is show how easy it is to cook Italian food. I’m starting off with the basics as these are often the best dishes. They are simple and easy to make and really tasty. Spaghetti Carbonara is one of these dishes but a lot of people still use pre-made sauces so now is the time to change those bad habits.

Now this may come as a shock to a lot of people but there is no cream in Carbonara sauce. It is actually quite a dry pasta dish. I know we serve it in a cream sauce in La Cucina but it would be too dry if we didn’t because it’s take-away. There are a few different recipes but this is the one we make from the south of Italy. All you need is the following:

• 100g pancetta - once again I’m promoting Superquin here as they do a really good Rovagnati pack which is perfect for 2 -3. It’s in the cold meat section. ( I should be getting advertising fees at this stage) If you can’t get pancetta just use a good quality smoked bacon.
• olive oil
• parmesan cheese - buy a small block and grate yourself or a pack of the freshly grated. You need about 80-100g. About 2-3 good handfuls.
• 2 egg yolks beaten
• salt and pepper
• 300g De Cecco spaghetti  - a little over half a packet.
• serves 2

HOW TO MAKE IT!!

• Bring a pot of boiling water to the boil, add a good bit of salt and cook pasta until al dente. (the salt is important)
• Heat a glug of olive oil in a frying pan and cook your pancetta. You don’t need too much oil as the bacon has lots of natural oils.
• Beat your egg yolks in a bowl and add some of your parmesan, salt and pepper, this mix will be quite thick. If you like your carbonara creamier you can add a little cream or milk at this stage.
• Drain your pasta, put back in the pot and add your bacon and egg mixture and put over heat for a couple of minutes. Keep mixing with a large pasta fork until the egg coats the pasta. Now if you really love your cream you can add a bit more if it’s too dry.
• Serve with freshly grated parmesan on top.

It’s that simple so throw away those jars and stir-ins!!!     

 I’ve read a few articles recently about a movement set up it Italy to protect the cappucino. Anyone who has been to Italy knows how a cappuccino is served, small and strong. Very different to here and in the Uk where you get a big bowl of white soup in some places - the only way to describe it. In Italy cappuccino is only drank in the morning with something sweet like a croissant or biscuits and just espresso is drank after every meal. We have an Italian coffee machine at home and have our cappuccino every morning for breakfast and some Chocolate Kimberley’s, gotta have something Irish. The Italian family are appalled when they see Irish people ordering a cappuccino after dinner, but then again when they come here it doesn’t take much to surprise them: pineapple on pizza, chicken in pasta, pesto on sandwiches. Italians are very set in their ways in relation to food and their coffees, as anyone who watched Jamie’s Italy could see!! It’s great though because they are just so passionate and every conversation is centred around food whether it’s about what they ate for lunch or about what they’re going to eat for dinner.

Anyway the National Institute for Italian Espresso have introduced an official cert outlining the way a true Italian cappuccino should be made. They say the “perfect cappuccino” should only be drunk before 11am should only measure 150ml. This is made up of a 25ml shot of espresso topped up with 125ml of steamed milk. Get Measuring!!!

We do find it difficult to get good coffee in Ireland especially espresso. We’ve had so many bad espressos, even in the best of restaurants that we’ve actually given up and stopped ordering them. The dearest espresso I’ve ever seen was in the Aghadoe Heights in Killarney- €6, we couldn’t believe it but the funny thing was the latte was the same price??? Didn’t make sense, suprisingly we didn’t have it.

The best place for Italian coffee has to be the Italian Quarter in Dublin on Ormonde Quay. There is a little coffee dock there that does really good cappuccino and espresso. If you’re in Dublin and like Italian food and wine, this area is great. It has an Italian restaurant, Enotecca(wine bar) and coffee dock. It’s great in the summer, it feels like you’re in Italy as it’s full of Italians sitting outside shouting, eating and smoking right in the heart of Dublin. 

The problem here is that we don’t really have a choice when it comes to coffee as there are very few Italian coffee shops. It’s quite difficult to get Italian coffee right, Bru’s dad Alfredo has to come in to La Cucina about once a month just to check the grinder, the machine etc and of course it’s never right and you know what it never will be!! 

The family were all here the weekend for the christening so I cooked dinner Friday night. I find a roast chicken great as you can get everything ready earlier and put it all into the oven so no stress when everyone arrives. This recipe is actually from one of Jamie Oliver’s earlier books, I like his style of cooking because a lot of it is based on Italian cooking and is very simple. I hate complicated cooking, the more simple the better. It always tastes better anyway because there isn’t too much flavours going on and you can taste the main ingredient

 Once again I’m going to plug Superquinn and tell you to buy their organic chicken, it is a little expensive but at least it smells and has taste. It’s about €20 but it’s nearly 2lb and it fed six of us so it’s worth it. You also need:

•  1 lemon
• 8 slices parma ham - packet of Rovagnati is fine, I mentioned it in favourite food post.
• 1-2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
• 2 good handfuls fresh thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped (invest in a good chopping knife)
•  sea salt and black pepper
• 1/2 pack of 227g butter - use at room temp
• potatoes  peeled and cut in half

Preheat the oven to 220

Using your fingers seperate the breast skin from the breast and push your hand down as far as you can. It’s a bit tricky so be careful not to rip the skin.

Peel the lemon with a peeler and chop up the skin really fine. Keep the peeled lemon for later.

Put butter in a bowl and add lemon skin, thyme, garlic and parma ham torn into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper and then mix it altogether with your hand. Bit Messy!!

Push this into the space you made between skin and meat and rub the rest all over the outside of the chicken.

Cut the peeled lemon in half and push into the cavity of the chicken.

Put the chicken into your roasting tray and cook for 20 mins

While the chicken is cooking parboil your potatoes in salted water for 10 mins and then add to the tray with the chicken and cook for 40 mins.

If your guests are late just turn off the oven and leave it there till they arrive. 

Serve the chicken on a large plate with potatoes and put juice into a jug and pour over once the chicken is cut up. Your guests will be so impressed.

p.s if you have any chicken left over, eat the next day in a baguette with mayo, put sliced brie on top and toast under the grill - DELICIOUS