Veal Escalopes with Prosciutto Crudo and Sage – Saltimbocca alla Romana Recipe by Benedetta & Valeria from Local Aromas

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A few months ago we had the privilege of meeting Valeria, one of the two Foodie Sisters from Local Aromas, a family business run by her and her sister Benedetta.

Their life story is fascinating, being grown in many different countries from Thailand to Belgium, spending a few years in Venezuela and Chile as well, thanks to their Papa’ Riccardo‘s job. What we fell in love for, listening to their story, is that their love and passion for Italy has always been strong, despite their years spent so far from Italy. This fact relieved us, being ourself expat raising children outside of Italy, and always guessing if our children would in the future feel proudly Italian.

Benedetta and Valeria at a certain point decided that it was time to put down roots, and Italy was definitely the right place. We don’t want to reveal more about the Foodie Sisters, just keep on reading the interview with them and give the recipe they shared with us (Saltimbocca alla Romana – one of the best known Italian recipe from Rome) a try.

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Roman Style Mammole Artichokes Recipe: Carciofi alla Romana

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Roman Style Artichokes is a dish that combines tradition, flavour and simplicity. During spring – time this side-dish (we love to prepare it as a main dish as well…) is served and prepared in many restaurants and house kitchens all around Rome and Lazio region. Mammole artichoke, with a rounded shape and without thorns, is the most suitable variety to prepare this recipe.

If you are lucky enough to find this type of artichoke in your home country, don’t miss the chance to prepare it following our recipe! 🙂

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Stovetop Onion Frittata

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We can say more than ever that Onion Frittata is for Everyone Anywhere in the world. It is made with only 3 simple ingredients (…. by the way they can never be missing in our kitchen 🙂 ) : onions, eggs and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (…. or grated cheese).
Onion Frittata can be served either as a finger food, or as a main course accompanied by a slice of bread.

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

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How To Make – from Scratch – Scialatielli from Amalfi

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Scialatielli is a typical fresh Pasta from the Italian Costiera Amalfitana (Campania region). It may resemble the tagliatelle pasta, even if it is shorter and easier to make. The tradition wants them to be prepared by hand, ensuring their characteristics of roughness and porousness, necessary to amalgamate perfectly with any sauce.

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Hearty Lentil Soup with Ginger and Lemon Zest

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This high – in fibre and protein lentil winter soup is jazzed up by the fresh touch of the ginger and lemon which lift the flavour to another level. It’s certainly a meal in itself, but can also be superb as a sidekick to a dish of rice or pasta.

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Cinnamon Apple Cake

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I have to admit that I’ve never been a fan of apple cake until the moment that I decided to move to Norway with my family, in 2008. The recipe of the following apple cake was given to me by one of my daughter’s Norwegian teachers. At the time my daughter Margherita was attending primary school and when I picked her up in the afternoon, the school was often invaded by the scent of the cake that the kids had been baking proudly. When we want to bring back the sweet memories of the years spent in Norway, we always prepare this cake, filling our kitchen with the fragrance of the past. (Francesca)

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Pear and Gorgonzola Cheese Stuffed Pork Loin

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During my last holiday in Italy, I prepared this Pear and Gorgonzola Cheese Stuffed Pork Loin for some of my friends who came over for a dinner. I had never made a meat roll in my life because I thought it was too complicated… cut the meat, seal it, roast it, slice it, and serve it. It seemed way too tricky! That day, however, I felt braver than usual and I decided to give this recipe a try. This is the result and believe me, it’s really for everyone! (Francesca)

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Traditional Christmassy Tortellini from a Bolognese granny – How to Make Them from Scratch

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Making Tortellini from scratch is more than just preparing a filled pasta to be eaten right away. It’s a way to get closer to your friends or loved ones if you decide to spend a few days together preparing hundred of Tortellini, getting prepared for the Christmas dinner. This is what I did with my expat Italian friends in Copenhagen. Thanks to my nice friend Licia, I got to know the secret recipe of her grandma from Bologna… imagine what that means to me, coming from Puglia! As soon as we found the ingredients in a danish well-assorted grocery store (make sure the ingredients are of good quality: this makes a huge difference at the end), we cleared our diary for two days during which we rolled our sleeves up and prepared tons of Tortellini. Two carefree days filled with lots of laughs and lots of little chats, observing the Covid rules though.

– Marinella –

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Traditional Spaghetti alla Puttanesca from Ischia Island

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Many stories exist about this Italian culinary traditional recipe, called Pasta alla Puttanesca. The most accredited says that the first bite of spaghetti alla puttanesca dates back to the 50s in Ischia (one of the most picturesque islands in the Bay of Naples) by Sandro Petti, owner of the famous Rangio Fellone restaurant. One evening he was about to close the restaurant, and he was asked by a group of customers to prepare them a meal. He was low on ingredients and told them he did not have enough to make them a meal. They complained that it was late and they were hungry, saying “Facci una puttanata qualsiasi,” meaning “throw together whatever.” Petti had only a few tomatoes, olives, and some capers, common ingredients in an Italian pantry. So he used them to prepare the sauce for a dish of Spaghetti. Lately, he included this dish on her restaurant’s menu naming it Spaghetti alla Puttanesca.

🍷 Francesca & Marinella🍴

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