ITALIAN FOODIES

Ok, I wasn’t going to post about this until after the event but I’ve decided “what the hell”!! I received an email from RTE Radio 1 on Tuesday from the Derek Mooney show asking me if I would be interested in coming on the show to talk about Italian food on Thursday but this has since been changed to Monday, Caroline from Bibliocook had kindly mentioned me - Thanks Caroline!!. They are doing a feature with Paulo Tullio(he is a big food and wine critic here in Ireland for all my International readers who I am a big fan of)about Italian food in Ireland, how it’s not authentic e.g cream in Carbonara etc. He has written a few articles in the Independent recently regarding this issue and I’ve actually spoken about it here before. My first reaction was panic, O MY GOD what will I say and how can I get out of it??? But after a few stiff brandies I told myself not to be so stupid and think of all the publicity for the shop and what a privilege to be asked!! In saying that I will be so nervous and that’s why I wasn’t going to tell anyone, I did tell my bloggie friend Laura and swore her not to tell a soul so now she’ll thing I’m a looner when reading this:) Initially it was supposed to be on the phone which was fine and then the researcher had the great idea of me going into the Limerick studios and going “LIVE” - (Aghhhhhhh!!!!) and Paulo(my buddy;) will be live in the Dublin studio!! It’s funny I’ve no problem at all sitting here babbling away day after day or burning the ear off all the customers in the shop but when put in this situation panic sets in, I’m sure there will be lots of silent pauses and am, am, am, am and like, like, like!! Hopefully Paulo will be gentle, he always seems really nice on The Restaurant and he does eat in the cousin’s restaurant in Atina so I might try and butter him up by throwing that in:)

This is a little gem of a recipe from Gordon Ramsay’s( a.k.a Chef Ramsay on Hell’s Kitchen U.S.A) Fast Food Book which is great when you want something quick and easy with just a few ingredients. I know anchovies aren’t that popular in Ireland but they really aren’t that strong in this dish - in saying that I would eat kilos of them at a time.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced
• 200g marinated anchovies roughly chopped - we have them in La Cucina
• bunch of flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
• 300g spaghetti or linguine.
• sea salt and black pepper
• freshly grated parmesan - I know I always say no cheese on fish pasta but it worked on this one???? Don’t know why??
• serves 4.

WHAT TO DO:

 - cook your spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente.

 - heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the garlic and fry over a medium heat until golden brown at the edges. Stir in the chopped anchovies.

 - drain the spaghetti and tip into the pan with the garlic and anchovies. Add the chopped parsley, black pepper and toss well.

 - serve with grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

P.S - can you all say a little prayer for me and wish me luck:)

This is one of those recipes that everybody has probably heard of at some stage of their foodie life but have never actually made it especially in Ireland and that would include me. I’ve seen so many different recipes over the years as there are a lot of different versions, some use aubergines, other use black olives or anchovies but this one from Angela Hartnetts book is just a simple, easy recipe using just peppers and tomatoes so I decided it was time to try it out!! I’ve never had it before as Bruno’s mother always makes a roast pepper salad when using peppers which is absolutely divine, I tried this salad once but myself and the roast peppers did not get on very well. I was about 9 months pregnant carrying the 10 pounder princess( I kid you not and she was a week early)  and I think it took me about an hour to peel the bloody peppers and there were only 4 of them - I might as well have ran a marathon I was so tired after it. All the recipes tell you to cover them with cling film, run them under cold water etc etc to help with the peeling process but nothing worked for me.

Naturally I was traumatised since so I have stayed away from peppers until I was in Aldi last week and saw these lovely long yellow and red peppers - I don’t remember the technical name for them. I have to say Aldi and Lidl do a better selection of vegetables than any Supermarket and everything was from Europe unlike my local Supermarket where the cherries are from the U.S and the asparagus is from Peru???? If Aldi can source from Europe why can’t Dunnes and Superquinn?? In saying that I managed to get into the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and there really is such a great selection of vegetables and I bought way too much of course - I was checking the Silver Spoon for recipes for carrots today I have so many!! It’s a pleasure to actually wash the dirt off the potatoes and carrots instead of taking them out of a pre-packed bag. We were just saying it would be great if the market was a permanent fixture like The English Market in Cork, you would never have to shop for veg in a Supermarket again.

This recipe is really simple but the most important factor in Pepperonata is the cooking time, you have to let it simmer for over an hour to truly get the intense flavours. I made it during the day and then had it that night with some grilled Italian sausage and Italian bread rubbed with some garlic and olive oil - absolutely delicious, even the “MIL” (mother-in-law)would have been proud:)

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 50ml olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 3 red peppers, seeded and chopped into big chunks.
• 3 yellow peppers, seeded and chopped into big chunks.
• 1 x 400g can plum or cherry tomatoes- use an Italian brand if you can!!
• small handful chopped flat leaf parsley
• small handful chopped fresh basil
• salt and black pepper

WHAT TO DO:

 - heat the olive oil in the pan and add the onion. Cook until soft and translucent, but without colouring, this takes about 3-4 mins.

 - add the peppers and cook gently until softened, again avoiding any colouring.

 - season to taste and add the tomatoes. Continue to cook over a low heat until the peppers are soft, this takes about 1 hour and 20 mins. If the peppers look dry add some water, I did this a few times.

 - remove from the pan and stir in your parsley and basil.

- you could serve it with meat, monk fish or just simply with crostini or toasted ciabatta!

BUON APPETITO!!

In La Cucina catering is a big part of our business, we do a lot of catering for UL and the local Industrial Estate. We also do private catering for parties at home -  christenings, birthdays etc. Last night we were invited to a “fancy schmancy” party at Federico Puccarello’s house(Argentian player on the Munster team) where we also did the catering which was a first for us to be eating our own food at a party. It was his wife Carlotta’s birthday and they are regular customers in both La Cucina and Bru’s parents restaurant La Piccola Italia so we know them quite well and were delighted they asked us to cater! Everybody loved the food and half the party were our customers anyway as a few of the team were there- Barry Murphy, Ian Dowling, Anthony Foley - such shameless name dropping;), the big names obviously weren’t there as they are in France. There was lots of rugby talk as you can imagine and it was really interesting to hear their opinions as to what’s going on in the World Cup, sorry but I didn’t get any gossip:)! There was lots of foodie talk too as the couple that own the Market Square restaurant were there and their Italian manager so lots of talk about the restaurant business and Italian food, my favourite past-time of course so we had a very enjoyable night!

My parents minded the princess last night so I decided to bake them a little cake yesterday, this recipe was in last month’s edition of Olive and looked so good I had to give it a go!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 200g 70% dark chocolate.
• 90g unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
• 55g caster sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 150g ground almonds

WHAT TO DO:

 - heat the oven to 180 degrees.

 - butter and base line a 18cm non-stick springform cake tin.

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

 - use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gently fold the melted chocolate and ground almonds into the egg mixture using a metal spoon. Pour carefully into the tin.

 - bake for 30 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

As moist as it looks we found it a little dry and had to have it hot with some ice-cream - it was too dry to eat alone but it was still nice though but not the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had by any means:)

BUON APPETITO!!

So winter has arrived here in Ireland, the days are wet and cold and it has started to get dark at 8pm and do you know what I really don’t mind! I know I’ve complained a lot about the weather on this blog but it’s just the bad summers that get to me, it’s just that every year we have this great expectation that this is the year we will have the “scorcher” and then we all get so disappointed that it doesn’t happen. Will we accept that it won’t happen next year??- of course not, someday we’ll show those Italians with our flower filled terraces where we dine “al fresco” and eat the sweetest tomatoes and the ripest fruit sitting with our bronzed “famiglia” drinking local wine because the grape harvest has been so good as a result of the scorching temperatures and dipping our crunchy bread into locally produced olive oil - we can dream I suppose:)

I suppose the reason why I enjoy the winter here is that Ireland is actually a great place to be in the winter, we have been to Atina in the winter and it’s pretty dismal. Italians tend to hibernate during the winter whereas the Irish come into their own, the bbq is put back in the shed, the patio table is put under cover until next summer, the lawn mower is put away( yahoo says Bruno) and we all tend to start eating and drinking out again, we’ve gotten over the depression of the summer and we all accept Ireland as it is supposed to be - wet and grey. We can eat what we want again because we don’t have to worry about getting into the bikinis or swim shorts for 2 weeks plus we need a little extra padding for the cold nights ahead:)

Winter to me also means Christmas, family and lots of food. I love winter food - soups, stews, roast meats, real hearty peasant food and so easy to prepare. I have 3 sisters,  I know,  my poor father and believe me they all talk as much as me;) and the only time we are all together is Christmas and this year there will be 2 new additions - the princess and her little cousin so it should be a good one. My dad now has to listen to 7 women - God help him!!! 

This is a really nice roast chicken dish from Aldo Zilli for those cold, wet evenings:)

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 4 chicken breasts on the bone or chicken legs - Superquinn are now doing a new corn-fed chicken range!!
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 300ml dry white wine
• 1-2 sprigs rosemary chopped - the recipe calls for 2 tbsp but we don’t like too much herbs so I used a little less.
• 1-2 sprigs thyme chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper

WHAT TO DO:

 - pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees

 - mix the herbs and garlic with 2 tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

 - season your chicken and rub them with the herb mixture.

 - heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan, add the chicken and fry for 2 mins on each side until golden brown. Transfer to a roasting tin.

 - add the wine to the pan juices and bring to the boil, stirring. Boil for 3 mins and then pour the wine over the chicken. Roast the chicken for 40 mins until cooked through and serve with the cooking juices spooned over the top. Don’t forget the bread for the “scarpetta”!! 

 - Serve with roast potatoes - peel and cut into large chunks,  season and pour over some olive oil- you don’t need any herbs or garlic as there is enough in the chicken so keep the potatoes plain and simple!!

BUON APPETITO!!

P.S. To make the changes of seasons easier my question to you this week is “WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT WINTER”???

p.p.s - check out a new site called www.cookshow.com which features videos from regular people making their favourite recipes, who knows I may send in one - gotta go get the hair done;)

We haven’t had any holiday this year so we decided to pack up ourselves and the princess and head off to the Sheraton hotel in Cork. I mentioned in a recent post about her travelling issues so we just timed it around her morning sleep and she slept the whole way, we couldn’t believe it, she woke as we drove up the driveway of the hotel - 2 hours after leaving Limerick. This was her first “holiday” so we were looking forward to doing the whole family weekend away. I was a little worried that the Sheraton would be more suited to golfers and couples rather than crazy Italian princesses but I have to say we were welcomed with open arms. 

I have to say this is one of the best hotels we have stayed in, the service was excellent, the rooms were spacious with huge bathrooms, the restaurant was child friendly, the food was very good and the staff did everything they could to make your stay more enjoyable. The location of the hotel is great as there is a fabulous golf course on the grounds of the hotel, Fota Wildlife Park is a 5 min drive away, Cork city is about 20-30 mins and Cobh is about 10 mins drive. We visited Fota the day we arrived and it is such a wonderful place for families, there is loads to see and there is a great picnic area in the centre of the park with a cafe where you can eat surrounded by the ducks and penguins. The princess loved it as a lot of the animals roam free so it is much better than the zoo as all the animals are in a natural environment.

We ate at the hotel the first day for lunch and dinner, we had 2 excellent fillet steak sandwiches for lunch with really tender and perfectly cooked (medium rare) meat served in crunchy ciabatta bread served with portobello mushroom, red onion relish and a blue cheese dressing and washed down with one of the best pints of Heineken we’ve had in a while - bring back the pint the way it used to be in Ireland!! We decided to have room service that night as the princess was tired from all the excitement even though she probably got more excited by the birds on the patio of the hotel more than the giraffes etc at the park:) Room service was very good, my expectation is always quite low so we were pleasantly surprised, we had a parma ham and fig salad and a tuna nicoise salad to start followed by a t-bone steak and a grilled swordfish with a chocolate fondant and 2 spoons for dessert and a couple of bevies from the mini-bar!!

The breakfast buffet at the hotel was excellent with a great selection of hot foods, cold buffet of salami, cheeses etc, cakes, fruit, cereals and they even had waffles and maple syrup. We headed over to Cobh for lunch and a stroll, it’s a really nice town but not a “foodie haven” by an means, the food offering seemed quite limited to be honest.

We ate in a bar called the Quays which had great views and beer garden and good bar food if you are just looking for a sandwich - have the open smoked mackerel sandwich. The hotel also recommends the Watergate Lodge hotel which looked really nice but was more suited to “ladies who lunch” than the “italian foodie famiglia”:)

We ate in the hotel restaurant that night, well we ate one at a time as the princess decided she wanted to walk around the restaurant pushing her little car about 100 times. The staff were great especially when her new game is throwing everything off her highchair - spoons, wine menu, napkins, my mobile phone, my keys, yes we will give her anything just to keep her entertained while we eat. The dinner was excellent, we both had the lamb chop which was really tender and succulent and was accompanied by “fat chips”, the presentation was really impressive!! There is a fine dining restaurant also which had a very impressive menu - Lobster anyone???

We had a great couple of days but of course nothing ever goes smoothly with the italian foodies, we were bringing the princess to the pool for her first time so we got her ready in her little mini mouse swimsuit, took all the photos and then she goes and falls off the bed which was much higher than your average bed. She banged her mouth on the way down and was pumping blood so we had to call the doctor- the poor thing, there she was in her little swimsuit with her face covered in blood, even the doctor felt sorry for her:( Anyway she was fine just a little bruised but she did not enjoy the pool one bit!! She did enjoy being transported around in her little car and being told by everyone how cute she was in it - today this little car, tomorrow a Ferrari:)

We’re enjoying a few well earned days off at the Sheraton in Cork, be back soon!!!

We’ve decided to hold off on going to Italy until the princess is a little older as she just doesn’t travel well, she hates the car. Everyone reacts with shock when I tell them as all babies are supposed to love the car and fall asleep every time they travel in it. Well, not this one!! It’s not like she has developed this hate, she has been the same since day one. It’s a little annoying to be honest as it restricts where we can travel as she gets into hysterics when strapped in so it’s just not worth it. We’re hoping that she grows out of it or else we’re trading her in:)

We started a new baby class at My Gym yesterday just so she can be around other children, we all sat around in a little circle and sang songs and clapped hands, well me and the other mothers and babies did. The princess was gone chasing the huge gym ball around the place which was about 10 times bigger than her while all the little perfect angels sat singing away. The male teacher then decided to join the group and she shouts at the top of her voice “Da da da da” and everyone gave a little embarrassed chuckle.  She had absolutely no interest in any of the babies just what this guy was doing and proceeded to smile and wave at him for the whole time, leaving me dancing and singing like an idiot on my own for the whole time. If she wasn’t chasing after the ball she was following him around:) MINX!!!! 

As you can imagine she is a complete handful and cooking can be quite difficult at times so this simple side dish is often cooked in our house to have with fish or meat. The MIL actually makes it with ham and we often put a couple of spoons into our pasta with home-made tomato sauce on Sunday - Delicious!!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• frozen peas
• 100g pancetta
• 1 onion finely chopped
• olive oil
• white wine
• sea salt and black pepper

WHAT TO DO:

 - pour a glug of olive oil into a deep pan and cook your onions and bacon for a few minutes.

 -add in your peas, season 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.

 - serve with whatever you like!!!

BUON APPETITO!!!

The one thing I love about Italy in the summer is the festivals, there are so many. The main one of course is Ferragusto which is probably the best time you will ever have if you visit Italy in August. I’ve mentioned before that Atina is really small but there are loads of other small villages around it so every village has it’s own festival. The next village Casallattico even has an Irish festival as so many Italians emigrated from that area to Ireland. Of course each one centres around food with plenty of stalls to choose from, my favourite is always the porchetta sandwich van - so delicious!!

We just don’t have enough festivals here in Ireland, I went to the annual Milford Hospice Harvest Fair yesterday and I couldn’t believe how many people were there. There must have been at least 7-10k, it was packed. There wasn’t a huge amount there but it was just the fact that it was somewhere for families to go on a Sunday. Since having the princess I’ve really noticed how Ireland lacks so much when it comes to things like this, we just don’t have a good family, social environment. Ilva has a really good post on her blog about enjoying the slow life and it really got me thinking about how difficult it is to enjoy the slow life here as there isn’t much on offer and that’s why every retail park in Ireland is packed on a Sunday whereas in Italy Sunday is a sacred family day.

We try to adopt a Slow life approach as you can really get caught up in the fast pace of life that exists in Ireland today, the majority of ours revolves around food of course. I often think if we didn’t have such a passion for food, we would be lost and very bored.  Here’s a few little things that we do to try and slow down:

• we always sit down to eat together and the princess always sits with us. We have cappuccino for breakfast and a read of the morning papers before one of us goes to work and then we always have dinner together.
• no matter how busy we have been we always try to cook something even if it is only some eggs in tomato sauce(Italian fast food) but we do have the odd take-away night of course.
• we go to Bruno’s mother’s house every Sunday for the family dinner.
• we go for a walk, in Italy everyone goes for a Passagiatta after dinner which is a little stroll to walk off your food and relax and look good while doing it of course:). I know a lot of people go walking here but it normally consists of pounding the pavement at 100 miles an hour trying to burn off calories and speaking at the same time - it always amazes me how people walk and talk at the same time going at that speed. Don’t get me wrong I do the pounding too with the buggy but it’s also nice to “stroll” to the local shop for a 99 ice-cream on a sunny evening and relax.
• we try to get to the Farmer’s Market when we can.

I know it all sounds very romantic and idealistic but I do think the little things can make a difference to your day and reduce the stress of everyday living which is becoming more difficult in Ireland all the time. I think as a nation we view food and cooking as hard work and just another job but it can be one of the most relaxing and rewarding things you can do when you put your mind to it, I always feel a great sense of achievement after cooking a big meal and everybody enjoying it and it really brings people together. The most important things in our life are definitely family and food and the odd drink of course;)

Now just to completely contradict my post this is a recipe which actually requires a little bit of work but I don’t plan the writing just the recipes and then I just wait to see what comes out when I start. If you’ve been to Italy you have probably seen rice balls “arancini” everywhere, they are such a popular snack. We did them in La Cucina when we opened first but they didn’t sell very well so we took them off the menu, we might try them again!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 300g Arborio or Carnaroli rice.
• 200g mozzarella cheese - I used a bag of mini mozzarella from Superquinn and chopped them into 4 but you can use a regular mozzarella ball and chop it up.
• 2-3 slices Italian cooked ham finely diced- I used the Rovangnati range from Superquinn
• 100g parmesan cheese - grated
• plain flour
• tomato sauce - I used our napoli sauce from La Cucina or you could use fresh tomatoes chopped and fry them in a little olive oil until they reach sauce consistency.
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 egg beaten
• fresh breadcrumbs- Superquinn sell them in bags if you don’t want to make your own.
• salt
• I never measure anything so I hope these amounts are right:)

WHAT TO DO:

 - cook the rice in plenty of salted, boiling water for about 10 mins until al dente, make sure it’s not too soft or it will turn to mush - great culinary speak;)

 - drain the rice and run under cold water so it stops cooking and leave to cool down.

 - put into a bowl and mix in your tomato sauce, egg yolks, parmesan, ham, mozzarella and season.

 - with your hands scoop a handful of rice mixture and roll it into an oval shape.

 - dip into flour, then egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs. Have 3 dishes in a row!!

 - heat a pan or fat fryer with plenty of olive oil or regular oil and cook your suppli until golden brown.

 - remove with a spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

 - eat warm or cold!!

BUON APPETITO!!

p.s. continuing with Ilva’s theme what do you do to slow down in Ireland???

Tip of the week:  T-bone steaks in Flavins butchers in Castletroy, the best we’ve had in a long time:)

Just a quick post today as it’s been so busy this week, this weather is so good for the shop. The students are also back in UL so we had a big catering job for 60 today on top of being extra busy in the shop. I worked for my minimum wage today:) We have a wedding tomorrow, a black tie affair no less and of course nothing ready as usual. We are the worst 2 you could ever invite to a wedding, we are always late, actually we are late for everything. I don’t know how many times we have turned up at the end of the ceremony or didn’t even make the church which is what happened at the last wedding we were at a couple of weeks ago. We had a wedding in Killarney a couple of years back and of course we were late as usual, found the church, tore up the road in heels I might add, we could see all the people outside taking the photos etc so we tried to sneak in unnoticed. No one noticed alright because we were at the wrong bloody wedding!!By the time we got to the other church it was well and truly over!

We’re the same when it comes to the gift, which normally involves stopping in a corner shop on the way to the church to buy a card and stick some money in it and even at that we have left it in the car or worse still left it in my handbag resulting in a few past friends getting their wedding cards many months later - sorry to everyone we have done this to because there have been a few!! The last wedding in August I had to ring my mother on the way and ask her to run over to the shop and buy the card - I know, we are an absolute disgrace! This happens with everything- birthdays, baby gifts. I thought when I became a ”mamma” I might change and become more responsible and organised but I’m still as bad as ever. Do I have a card and a gift for tomorrow - OF COURSE NOT!! We’ll just buy it on the way:)

Amongst all the chaos of this week I managed to make this lovely berry tart from this month’s Delicious magazine. I tend to shy away from making desserts and sweets as I always think they are more difficult than they are and every time I make one I’m surprised at how easy it actually is. This recipe is so easy and perfect for anybody who thinks like me and never make anything sweet, this is your chance to change:)

WHAT YOU NEED:

• icing sugar for dusting
• sheet of puff pastry - I used one of the Jus Roll sheets from the 2 pack
• 250g tub mascarpone
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 400g strawberries
• 200g rasberries
• 250g blueberries or blackberries
• mint leaves - optional( I hate mint with food, mint is for Mojitos and that’s it but I used them for “display purposes only” and then I picked them all off:)

WHAT TO DO:

 - preheat the oven to 200 degrees

 - dust a work surface with icing sugar and roll out your puff pastry with a rolling pin

 - place on a large non-stick baking tray and prick the pastry all over with a fork. Bake for 15 mins until golden brown and risen.

 - Using a fish slice flip the pastry over, then press down all over to flatten. Bake for a further 5 mins and transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely.

 - in a bowl mix the mascarpone and vanilla extract ( I think a little sugar wouldn’t have went astray here also)

 - spread it over the pastry and arrange your fruit on top.

 - sprinkle some icing sugar over the fruit and decorate with mint leaves if you like.

 - serve and enjoy the gasps of approval!!

BUON APPETITO!!

p.s. This is my submission for a great blogging event called “IN THE BAG” which focuses on seasonal ingredients, this months theme is fruit.

Do you ever have a week where you just don’t feel like cooking? Every now and again I just get so lazy and just couldn’t be bothered,  last week was such a week. The worst part of it was I had menu planned so I’m ashamed to say a lovely big juicy monk fish went into the bin and it wasn’t cheap - oh the guilt:( It was just the way the week went, staff were out sick so one of us had to be in La Cucina and we actually went out to eat this week. We off loaded the princess to her Nonna on Tuesday night and went for dinner in the new Hilton, we were going to go to the Market Square restaurant which is probably our favourite in Limerick but we said we would try the Hilton for a change. What did we think??? We should have went to the Market Square;)

I mentioned the MIL/Nonna has returned so back to our regular visit to the family restaurant “La Piccola Italia” for our Friday dinner, cod done in the oven with tomatoes, potatoes and olives - delicious. Bruno’s brother Stefano is just back from Pantelleria so my new love is Passito which is a speciality of this region, a sweet dessert wine to have after dinner, there is a bottle of the home-made version chilling in my fridge as we speak .  It is a tiny island off the coast of Sicily, it is so small there is limited Internet connection so everyone has to use the local Internet cafe. Armani (the god himself) was actually there  using the Internet amoung the commoners when Stefano was in the cafe!

 Speaking of Italian wines, I’m in the process of ordering a mixed case of Italian wine from Julian over at Bubblebrothers, fingers crossed my favourite Primitivo will be included, I like Brunello too Julian;), we actually have a bottle which we are keeping for a special occasion which is never going to come, I keep asking Bru to open it but he won’t let me .I will let you know how I get on, I’m not the best at describing wine so Julian you might have to give me a little help:) He’s also kindly offered his professional advice and help on matching any of his wines with your favourite Italian dishes. I know I need help so if there are any questions you have in relation to matching wines just leave them in the comments section or send me an email.

I actually posted this recipe back in March but this was when I was a blogging newbie and didn’t even take photos so I have superstyled it and stuck in a few pics:)This pasta dish is so handy and easy to make when you don’t have much time and you have nothing in the fridge, it’s actually one of our favourite pasta dishes. The Italians tend to eat this after a night out, they all go back to some body’s house and cook up a big pot of pasta, we just go to Abbrakebabra and have a kebab and garlic chips. Then we wonder where those extra lbs come from???

All you need is:

• olive oil 5-6 good glugs
• 1 garlic clove sliced
• 1 fresh chilli seeded and chopped
• 1 fresh flat leaf parsley sprig chopped (optional)
• 3/4 packet spaghetti De Cecco or Barilla
• salt
• parmesan cheese

How to make it:

 - bring a pot of salted water to the boil

 - cover the base of a small pot or deep frying pan with your oil and heat

 - add the garlic and chilli and cook until the garlic is starting to colour, if you don’t like to eat garlic but like the flavour you could just cook the garlic clove until brown and then remove and cook chilli.

 - remove from the heat and add the parsley

 - cook the spaghetti until al dente and drain

 - mix the spaghetti  with the chilli and garlicmoil and serve with loads of grated parmesan on top!

BUON APPETTITO!!

p.s. I haven’t submitted an entry to Presto Pasta Night in a while and I missed the big 6 month celebration(shame on me as it has been such a good event), Ruth will be wondering what’s happened to me, deepest apologies Ruth. Not much pasta in the Italian foodie house recently so I’m submitting this recipe for this week’s event!!