ITALIAN FOODIES

Tapenade or pate as they are called in Italy really seem to be in “foodie fashion” these days which is great to see because they are so versatile and can be used in so many different ways. We tried to sell them in the early days of La Cucina but olives weren’t even popular then so they didn’t sell. I mentioned recently that we have started to do them again and they are selling really well, I’m actually making a fresh batch tomorrow for all you Limerick inhabitants. If you are not prepared to make them yourself there are a couple of places in Limerick that you can buy them

• Saturday Farmer’s market - there is a guy from Cork(I think) that sells a black olive tapenade which is really good. Anytime I go to the market I pick up some of that lovely crusty cheese bread from the little bread and cake stall and them some good Cambozola cheese from the cheese stall and that’s Saturday’s lunch sorted. A big antipasti of tapenade, cheese, Italian meats and crusty bread - Delicious!!

• Olio e Farina - Susan has a really good selection of tapenades, we always buy the black olive, mixed pepper and aubergine. She also does artichoke and a few more, Susan if you’re reading this let us know what other varieties you do. The lovely chunky bread sticks in the picture above are also from there, we buy the black olive and also the Rosemary. They are definitely the best bread sticks in Limerick. We don’t get into Susan much but when we do we are like 2 kids in a sweet shop trying to decide what to buy, we treated ourselves to a few bottles of “vino” yesterday, a couple from Sicily which Bruno knew so I’ll let you know how they go down:) If you are going in I’d definitely recommend to check out her selection of whole salami(in photo above) which are great for Antipasti and of course her Organic Buffalo mozzarella - and no I’m not on commission;).

So, back to promoting myself, we now do 4 varieties:

• green olive
• black olive
• sun dried tomato
• roast peppers

They are great to have for a dinner party as nibbles instead of the boring peanuts, Doritos etc, just have a selection of these with some bread sticks for dipping. You can also use them as a starter and just serve them in little white bowls on a wooden platter with a selection of breads. Another way to serve them is on crostini, just slice up a baguette into thin slices. place them on a tray, drizzle a little olive oil and heat in the oven until golden brown and then spread your tapenades on top, you can add different cheeses, rocket, cured meats if you like also. Some people eat them with grilled fish or chicken as they are really healthy and are a nice alternative to heavy sauces. What way do we eat them - just smothered on crusty bread while waiting for the pasta to cook:)

If you want to make them yourself, here is the recipe for the black olive version:

• 500g black olives - pitted
• 25g salted capers, soaked in water for 10 mins and then drained.
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 1 clove garlic
• 125ml extra virgin olive oil
• I don’t use salt as there is enough in the other ingredients, you can add chilli or black pepper if you like.

WHAT TO DO:

 - put everything into the food processor except the olive oil and just add gradually until you have a spreadable paste. You can have it smooth or chunky!

BUON APPETITO!!

Parma ham or Prosciutto di Parma is probably the most famous meat from Italy and definitely one of our favourites, it is just one of many types produced in Italy. We use a lot of it in La Cucina and believe me it is not cheap. We buy the best quality we can and therefore the most expensive, a leg can cost us anywhere around €100 and we buy one nearly every week and we only use it for sandwiches and pizzas.  I have to say even the one we buy is still not as good as the different varieties that we’ve had in Italy. Our favourite way to eat it is Prosciutto e Melone, unfortunately the cantaloupe melon here in Ireland isn’t great so we rarely have it so needless to say we gorge on it in Italy. One of the best I’ve had was actually in a restaurant called L’orologgio in Sicily, the melon was so sweet and the prosciutto was excellent quality, I think I ordered it every time we went there.

Prosciutto derived from the the Latin word “perexutus” meaning “dried” is made from the cured hind leg of the pig. it is cut so one end is rounded. To preserve it the meat is massaged with salt daily for one month until the salt has penetrated right through to the centre of the flesh. The hams are then hung in specially ventilated rooms to mature for about 12 to 16 months,even up to 30 months in some cases and the ham loses 30% of it’s weight during this process. Parma ham is made from pigs raised in Emilia Romagna or Lombardy where the raw weight of the ham has to be at least 10-11kg. The production of parma ham is controlled by the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma(CPP) and guaranteed that the ham is locally cured and dried in the traditional way. It is also a guarantee that the pigs are raised traditionally and fed on the whey they use to make Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, maize and other natural foods so that the meat is tender and full of flavour. Another well known ham which is smaller and sweeter is the San Daniele from Fruili. Only hams that pass the required criteria receive the the five pointed ducal crown of Parma which is branded into the skin together with the producer’s identification code - the parma ham we use has this stamp.

Parma ham is best eaten freshly sliced, a lot of Italians would actually have their own slicer at home and then buy the hams whole, a certain Argentinian player on the Munster team does this. Parma ham loses a lot of it’s flavour when pre-packed so try and buy it freshly sliced from a deli, the most important thing is that it is sliced wafer thin. Parma ham is probably most well known as being part of a traditional Antipasto but it is also eaten with figs, melon, grissini or served with asparagus or served as a sandwich in a ciabatta. 

I know this recipe is probably in every cookbook but it is one of my favourites so I’m going to give it to you anyway. This is from Aldo Zilli’s book, I’m slowly getting through it:) This recipe is so fast and can be great for a starter or just as light lunch, it really is delicious.

WHAT YOU NEED - Serves 4

• 16 large asparagus spears - mine weren’t great, DAMN SUPERMARKETS!!
• 8 slices parma ham
• 25g butter
• 25g Parmesans cheese
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 75g rocket
• black pepper - don’t use salt anywhere in this recipe as the parma ham and Parmesan will provide enough.

WHAT TO DO:

 - prepare the asparagus by trimming off the lower part and peeling the stalk

 - bring a pot of water to the boil, add the asparagus and simmer for 4 minutes until bright green and tender. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

 - Wrap 2 asparagus spears in each slice of parma ham and place on an oven tray or foil lined grill pan. Mix the butter and Parmesan together and season with black pepper.

 - Dot the Parmesan mixture all over the wrapped asparagus and place under a hot grill for 4 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and brown.

 - Whisk the olive oil and balsamic vinegar together and use half to dress the salad. Arrange the rocket on a plate, place the asparagus spears on top and drizzle with remaining dressing.

BUON APPETITO!!

I’m sitting here watching the Ireland v Italy rugby match while writing this post, I can’t believe how much time has flown by since the last time we played Italy, the princess was tiny. Those were the days when I had time to make cakes, wash my hair, have a drink;) Due to the fact that most of Bru’s family abandon us for the summer to Italy, the babysitting services are a little bit limited. It’s so bad that myself and a friend went for a walk today with the 2 bambinos and stopped off at the pub for a couple of long neck Bulmers “al fresco” - we were just trying to help their sales and bring their shares back up;) The princess occupied herself by playing with a Budweiser beer mat - please don’t call Social Services:)

There is good news though, the MIL(mother in law) has returned in all her bronzed Italian glory baring gifts and more gifts for the princess, the majority being shoes. This child had a pair of D&G shoes at 2 months - I kid you not, they came in a take-away foil container!! Italians take their shoes very seriously even if it is a 10 month old baby. I brought her for her development check up today and the doctor was more interested in her shoes than her hearing:) She has a bigger wardrobe than me at this stage. I’m still waiting for my gift but somehow I think it’s just going to be a lecture on my parenting skills;) I’m finished if she finds out about the little Bulmers episode but knowing how small Limerick is she probably will!!!

I’ve mentioned before that the majority of the Munster team actually eat in La Cucina quite regularly, we even have a special menu for them. It’s great when they eat in as there is a great buzz around the place, Paul O’Connell, John Hayes and Alan Quinlan called in the other day on the way back from the airport after the French match. One minute there was no one in the shop and the next it was full of awe struck ladies. They eat a lot of pasta as part of their diet so our place suits them perfect, I even convinced Paul and John to buy some of my new tapenades - that’s how good they are;)

I haven’t posted a meat recipe in a while so here is a really tasty method for cooking rack of lamb from Olive magazine.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• rack of lamb
• olive oil - 2 tbsp
• Dijon mustard - 4 tbsp
• garlic - 3 cloves finely chopped
• rosemary - 3 tbsp finely chopped
• flat parsley - 4 tbsp finely chopped

WHAT TO DO:

 - put the racks in a dish flesh side up and make slashes into the flesh with a sharp knife to allow the flavours to penetrate.

 - In a bowl mix together 2 tbsp olive oil, mustard, garlic, rosemary and parsley. Season well and rub the mixture all over the lamb.

 - Cover and marinate for an hour or the whole day if you are super organised. We did the hour, organised doesn’t exist in the Italian foodie dictionary!

 - heat the oven to 200 degrees, put the lamb in a roasting tray and cook for 15-25 mins depending on size of the rack and how you like it cooked. We eat ours medium rare.

 - remove from the oven and leave to rest for a few minutes and serve with either parmesan mash or patate arrosto and broccoli.

BUON APPETITO!

P.S. There is a new blog at the other side of the blog world which I’m really enjoying at the moment as Maryann cooks really nice Italian dishes. Check it out www.findingladolcevita.blogspot.com

p.p.s I’ve been told that people have problems loading the site sometimes, me thinks this my fault as my photos are too big but I don’t know how to make them smaller - loser:) so I’ve cut down the posts to 4 per page. If you want to see older posts just click on archive section on the right. When I grow up I want to learn how to use a computer:)

The lovely Limerick lady bloggers met up for dinner again last night, myself, Laura, Maz, Mary T and Val who we all met for the first time as she has just moved back to Limerick. It’s funny when you meet other bloggers as you feel like you know them already and we all get on great. We went for Indian in Copper and Spice which I have to say is our regular take-away haunt so it was nice to actually sit down and eat it fresh - nan bread just isn’t the same from a foil bag:) I was driving so an early night was had by all. Mary T is off to Australia in September so we just want to wish her all the best and hope she has a fabulous time , we did the year in Australia in 1995 and loved every minute of it.

Maz was talking about my last potato salad post and how she has made it for everyone and they all love it and I was telling her about this one I made a while back from Angela Hartnett’s new book but was in 2 minds about posting it as it is quite similar. As she pointed out Irish people can’t get enough of potatoes so I said “what the hell!”  This is Angela’s Nonna’s (grandmother)recipe:

WHAT YOU NEED:

• new baby potatoes - washed and skins left on
• 300ml olive oil
• 100ml white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed with the palm of your hand or in my case  smashed with a knife;)
• 1 shallot or red onion finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped flat parsley - as you can see we were all out of greenery!!
• sea salt and black pepper

WHAT TO DO:

 - place the potatoes in  a pan of salted water and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 mins until soft

 - In a large bowl mix the oil, vinegar and mustard. Add the garlic to infuse and season to taste.

 - when the potatoes are cooked, drain and cut in half, do this while they are still hot.

 - add the hot potatoes( they absorbe the flavour better) and shallots to the vinaigrette and mix. Remove the garlic and season to taste.

 - scatter the parsley over the top(my photo would have looked better with greenery) and SERVE!!

 BUON APPETITO!!

p.s. I got my first email to my gmail account so I need your help with a query. Where can one buy fresh yeast in Dublin 2? If you know just comment or send a quick email.

Grazie a tutti:)

Sorry for the lack of posts this week but the princess has been sick and we had a wedding yesterday so it’s been busy, busy! We’ve been so lucky with the princess as this was her first time being sick, she hasn’t even had a cold. She had some sort of viral infection with really high temperatures and didn’t take too well to being sick! She’s all back to normal now and has resumed to taking the sky card out of the sky box and pulling the grate out of the fireplace every 5 minutes so she’s definitely better:)

My stat counter is also not working which is really annoying because it is telling me that I have no hits basically. Obviously when you have a blog it is nice to know that people are actually reading it and how many so I feel a little lost without it:( I always have to something to complain about don’t I, actually while I’m at it, my wireless still isn’t working so I’m still sitting on the stairs with the numbest _ _ _!!!!;0

So, back to the task at hand - “PESTO“, where do I start?? I have admitted before that the first time I had pesto about 13 years ago I hated it. I wouldn’t mind but Bru’s mom is from Genova so this lady knows how to make pesto. She always serves it Genovese style with Trofie or Linguine, french beans and potatoes. When we opened La Cucina first we couldn’t sell it at all and now we make it 3 times a week using 1kg of basil each time. I’d love to tell you that we make it with a pestle and mortar but that’s not possible with large amounts so the food processor is used. To be honest I think a lot of people shy away from making pesto as they think it needs to be made the traditional way but it turns out perfectly fine with the food processer - sorry to all you Italian foodie purists!!

Speaking of food purists, Giorgio Locatelli actually gets his basil flown over from Italy for his restaurant. He says the most important thing about basil is the size of the leaf. The perfect leaf is tiny and the best is from Liguria where most of the commercial pesto production in Italy is based in a village called Pra so that’s where he gets it from, now that’s commitment. We buy ours from our local veg supplier but if you are making it at home I wouldn’t buy those little packets. Buy one of the little pots, re-pot it and place on the windowsill in the kitchen and let it grow for a couple of weeks. To keep the growth full and the flavour of the leaves sweet, keep it trimmed by cutting off the flower at the top of the plant. I love the smell of fresh basil, we try to pick the leaves out the front of La Cucina as the smell is so strong and aromatic, all our customers always comment on it when they come in.

Everyone has their own way of making pesto and Italians are very proud and some quite secretive about their method. The principle ingredients are always the same - basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt, Parmesan cheese and olive oil. Some recipes use pecorino, some say to toast the pine-nuts or substitute with walnuts or almond, some don’t use pine nuts or garlic etc etc

Bruno’s mom taught us how to make it so we do it her way! We do it in large batches as I mentioned so I’m going to give you the amounts for a smaller batch from Carluccio’s Complete Italian Food.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 45g fresh basil leaves - use the smaller ones if you can(45g sounds a little small to me, I’d have some extra on standby. I never weigh so I’m not sure. 100-200g sounds more like it?
• 25g pine nuts - toasted if you can.
• 2 garlic cloves
• 55g grated Parmesan cheese
• 125ml olive oil- it’s recommended to use Ligurian extra-virgin olive oil if you can get your hands on it.
• pasta - we normally have penne, linguine, trofie or in this case fusilli for a change.

WHAT TO DO:

 - put the oil, garlic and pine nuts into a food processor and add your basil leaves a few at a time and work them in as quickly as you can until you have a paste.

 - add your cheese and salt to taste and you should end up with a bright green paste. The quicker you bring the whole thing together, the less heat you will generate and this will keep the bright green colour. We keep ours in an stainless steel bowl and pour in lots of olive oil to keep it and store it in the fridge.

Lisa and Ivonne are hosting a great blogging event called Festa al Fresco so this is my submission for their virtual patio party!! 

Buon Appetito!!

p.s. at long last I have set up an email so if any of you want to ask any questions regarding any of the recipes or contact me for anything it’s italianfoodies@gmail.com

Bruno’s parents came to Ireland when they were very young around 18 I think. His mom says she cried for a year when she got here, she hated it so much, these were the days of buying olive oil in a chemist, but she wouldn’t leave for the world now. They actually met in Limerick believe it or not as his dad is from the south and his mom is from the north. It was fate though as her brother Bruno Arcari had actually been born in Atina where Bru’s dad is from which is a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. He is actually a world champion boxer(light welterweight) , he fought 73 fights and won 70, lost 2 and drew 1 , Bru is actually named after him.

He is a big celeb in Atina and his home town and is always featured in the papers and on TV. A few years back he went to Mexico for a big convention for all the retired world champions and they have a photo in the Piccola of him with Mohammad Ali and the likes. He is great for telling stories about past fights and places he went etc and has all the scars to prove it. They have a fabulous house up on a hill about 5 mins from the beach in a small town called Deva Marina near Genova. They have a big terrace overlooking the town where we always have dinner in the evening after coming from the beach , his wife is an amazing cook and she has the tiniest kitchen you have ever seen, they have an outside pizza oven too. She force feeds you, her favourite words are Mangia Mangia - eat, eat. She speaks absolutely no English and insists on speaking in Italian to anyone who visits even though they don’t understand what she’s saying!

We don’t visit them as much as the cousins in the south, mainly due to a lack of flights from Ireland to Genova. We can fly direct from Shannon to Rome but have to go through London to go to the north. We have driven a couple of times and got the train but it’s a long journey from South to North, about 6-8 hours.

I always associate mussels with summer, dining al fresco after a tough day at the beach. We haven’t had them in ages so we decided to pretend it was summer and have a big plate of mussels done with white wine and tomatoes. Everyone else must have had the same idea as they only had a handful left in Superquinn on a Saturday morning so we had to change our plan and decided to have a pasta dish instead. This recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s book and is really light and refreshing on a summer’s day even though it didn’t stop raining for the whole day but we still enjoyed it:)

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1.5kg mussels cleaned and debearded
• 2 large bunches fresh basil
• 4 good quality anchovies in oil. We have really good white anchovies in La Cucina at the moment.
• juice of 1 lemon
• large wineglass white wine.
• 2 red chillies deseeded and finely chopped.
• sea salt and black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil 

WHAT TO DO:

 - pick all the leaves off your basil.

 - put most of the leaves into a pestle and mortar with the anchovy fillets and a good pinch of salt and pound into a green paste. add the juice of a lemon and about 8 tbsp of olive oil. You should end up with a lovely basil flavoured oil.

 - pick through your mussels and if any are open tap them sharply on a hard work surface. If they don’t close straight away discard them.

 - bring a pot of water to the boil, add salt and your spaghetti and cook until al dente.

 - while your spaghetti is cooking heat a large saucepan or pan. When it is hot throw in your mussels and white wine and cover with a lid. Give a good shake and cook for a couple of mins until all the mussels have opened. Discard any that remain closed. Toss in your cooked spaghetti and basil oil and mix together.

- serve and sprinkle over chopped chilli and fresh basil leaves.

BUON APPETITO!!

I sent an email to Taste Italia magazine a while back regarding an article they did on Italian food in the UK just giving my opinion on Italian food in Ireland. I never in a million years expected them to write back or print my letter but they did both. They printed my email in the letters section in last month’s edition and this month they have featured us at the back in the deli section. They’ve included a photo and a little blog about me and Bru!

 For those of you not familiar with the magazine, it’s a Uk publication and it focuses completely on Italian food(obviously) it’s great for Italophiles. I buy it every month and cook a lot of recipes from it and posted about a couple - the fabulous “Torta di Pomodoro e Ricotta” and the lovely Lemon Roast Chicken Pieces. Myself and Bru drool over the recipes every month especially the desserts. I keep dropping hints to Laura in the hope she might make them and bring me a sample to La Cucina but it hasn’t happened yet;) I live in hope, Peach and Mascarpone tart - mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Ciao

Lor&Bru

p.s. We’re in this week’s Limerick Post too:)

Ok, that’s it today my hope for good weather has officially faded and I am one sad Italian foodie. The 2 teasers on Tues and Weds make it even harder. The thing is the weather affects how busy we are in the summer, when the sun is shining everyone feels like eating out and forgetting about the soggy packed lunch and slaving in a hot kitchen over dinner so they just order take-away. We have a few tables out the front of the shop and I’d say they’ve only been out about 4 times this year whereas last year they were out the majority of the summer. I love when they are out and people are dining al fresco as there is a great buzz around the place and for one fleeting moment I often feel like we could be in Italy.

I got all excited in April with our mini heatwave and decided to apply for a wine license, customers often ask us for wine especially on hot days as there is nothing nicer than a glass of chilled vino or prosseco “al fresco”. I can’t imagine we will have huge sales as we have such limited seating but it would still be nice to offer the service. We often get a passing tourist calling in for a pizza slice and look astounded when I tell them we can’t serve beer. They can’t believe it, in most European countries you can buy alcohol anywhere especially where pizza is served. I was so delighted with the prospect of the “Cafe Bar License”, it would have been a breath of fresh air but of course it was not to be! We have a Spanish girl working for us at the moment and they even serve beer in McDonalds in Seville.

I’ve really noticed since having the princess how badly an alternative to the pub is needed. That’s what I love about the local cafes in Italy, everyone brings their kids and it’s a real social environment of all ages. You can have everything- coffee, food, beer, wine, cocktails, ice-cream. When we’re in Atina we go to the same bar about 4 times a day, we go for cappuccino in the morning and then normally for an espresso after lunch and dinner and a few beers at night! I’d love to see more Tapas bars opening here too, I’ve only seen one in Cork - La Boqueria and one in Dublin.

Here’s another recipe from Aldo Zilli’s book and it is one of the tastiest dishes I have had in a long time and would definitely recommend giving it a go:)

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 6 large mushrooms - they call them breakfast mushrooms in Superquinn
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs- we didn’t have any (I forgot) but it was fine without them.
• 100g dolcelatte cheese - Superquinn have it in stock. You can use gorgonzola or another blue cheese if you cant find it. The dolcelatte works well though as it is a milder blue cheese.
• 2 tbsp double cream
• 40g grated parmesan cheese.
• 2 tbsp chopped flat- leaf parsley.
• sea salt and black pepper.

WHAT TO DO:

 - remove the stalks from the mushrooms and finely chop. Place the mushrooms on a tray stalk side up.

 - mix together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, breadcrumbs and mushroom stalks. Season and spoon this mixture into the centre of each mushroom. He says to grill for 5 mins but I put them in the oven first for 10 mins at 200 degrees and then grilled them.

 - meanwhile, put the dolcelatte and cream in a pot and melt over a low heat.

 - spoon the dolcelatte mixture over the mushrooms and sprinkle loads of parmesan cheese on top and grill until golden. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

BUON APPETITO!

I have to admit I’m a bit of a TK MAXX addict, I find it great for the princess’ clothes and housewares - especially their pans, they do a really good range of Italian pans which we buy for La Cucina believe it or not. They’re much cheaper than the Tefal. The one in Limerick is so busy they are building another one, just for furniture and housewares. The odd time I pick up a cookbook for La Cucina  for customers to read while waiting for their food, the latest one being Aldo Zilli’s Simple Italian Cooking. He’s not as popular as the other big names but I decided to buy it as it looked good visually and it was only €5.99 and I have to say it was the best €6 I’ve spent in a long time.

Compared to other books it’s not very fancy but his selection of recipes are so simple and uncomplicated and would suit anyone who has an interest in Italian food but doesn’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. He has step by step photos and easy to follow instructions and I think I will probably cook the majority of recipes which is a rare thing for a cookbook. I just don’t have time to be cooking complicated food and to be honest I don’t have a big interest in it, we prefer simple flavours anyway so that’s why his recipes appeal to me so much.

I’ve never cooked Poussin before and I’ve seen it a few times in Superquinn so I was interested to try it out and it was absolutely delicious. You can just use regular chicken pieces if you prefer, it would have the same result.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 2 Poussin
• 2 red chillies seeded and chopped
• leaves from 1 sprig rosemary finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 4 tbls extra virgin olive oil
• 8 plum tomatoes halved, seeded, and roughly chopped
• 100ml dry white wine
• sea salt and black pepper

WHAT TO DO:

 - preheat the oven to 220 degrees.

 - remove and discard the elastic holding each Poussin together, then turn the Poussin over so it’s breast side down. Cut along one side of the backbone with a pair of strong scissors to open out the bird.

 - Cut along the other side if the backbone and remove it. Open out the bird, turn it breast side up and press down with the palm of your hand to flatten it. This process is known as spatchcocking. Wash the birds and pat them dry on kitchen paper.

 - Chop your garlic, chilli and rosemary together very finely.

 - Season your birds with salt and pepper and rub your chilli mixture all over the birds.

 - Heat your olive oil in a roasting tin on your hob and then add the Poussin skin side down and cook for about 5-10 mins until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Turn over and repeat.

 - Sprinkle the tomatoes over the birds and add the wine. Bring to the boil, then transfer the roasting tin to the oven and cook for about 40 mins until the birds are crisp.

 - Serve the birds whole with patate arrosto or a simple rocket salad with parmesan.

BUON APPETITO!

Since starting this blog I have begun to realise how difficult it is to source Italian ingredients or speciality ingredients in Ireland. We obviously  have access to whatever we need but the odd time when we don’t have it I’ve found it next to impossible to find anything. The most recent being porcini and Risotto rice, I tried 3 supermarkets and not one had either of them. When Superquinn have the rice it is either Arborio or Carnoroli, never the 2 together! My sister has recently moved to Sligo and says it is virtually impossible to find anything there and this is probably true for the majority of the country besides Dublin and Cork- correct me if I’m wrong. I know in Limerick there are no speciality delis besides ourselves and Olio e Farina for Italian products. The problem with our place is it is so small that we can only stock so much so I was thinking of setting up a little online Italian shop just selling the basics to start with. I just wanted to ask you all what you think???? Is it something that  is needed or do people buy from the various sites that exist already especially in the UK?? Would you buy from it? What kind of products would you buy? I would love some feedback and would greatly appreciate it if anyone who has an interest in it to leave your thoughts in the comments section! Don’t be shy now people!!

I’ve noticed a lot more requests from customers lately regarding certain products so we have begun to stock the following lines:

DE CECCO RISOTTO RICE - CARNAROLI AND ARBORIO AND ITALIAN TOMATO PUREE

00 FLOUR - DIVELLA AND DE CECCO AND CANNELLINI BEANS

BISCUITS FOR TIRIMASU AND MULINO BIANCO BISCUITS

SPECIALITY OLIVE OIL JUST FOR FRYING AND ITALIAN FRUIT JUICES

ITALIAN STOCK CUBES AND PORCINI

DE CECCO PASTA - We have expanded our range, we now stock penne, spaghetti, tagliatelle, fusilli, orrechiette, rigatoni, lasagna sheets -spinach and plain.

We’ve also brought back our tapenades(pictured above, they are actually called pate in Italy. We have 3 types- black olive, green olive and sun dried tomato. We will do our best to keep them in stock and make them fresh everyday.

Let me know your thoughts!!!

Grazie a tutti!!!

Ciao:)