Category: Campania

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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Potato Gateau-Gatto’ Cake – French or Italian?

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This French-influenced Neapolitan Savoury Potato cake was subsequently rendered in Italian as Gatto’. This is considered an informal dish to be served warm and sometimes accompanied by a slice of pizza, just to make the meal more Italian :-). Our version is just made with mozzarella cheese and the ubiquitous Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, but you can enriched it by adding ham or a mature cheese of your choice.

Don’t forget to go sustainable. Take a look at https://eatgrim.com to learn how to do it.

🍷Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Rhum Drenched Babbà Cake from Napoli

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This heady cake, called Babbà, will be a truly show-off dessert for your Christmas table. This rhum drenched dessert is originally from Poland and then spread in Europe, arriving till Naples where the name was changed from Babà to Babbà‘. So it was pronounced by the Neapolitan pastry chefs. In the following years the Neapolitan phrase “Sì ‘nu babbà” (you are as nice as a Babbà) was coined to describe a very handsome and nice person. We realised that the Italian language has many catchphrases that refer to the Italian cuisine. We are very keen to hear whether the same goes for your mother tongue.

We want to thank our friend Danila from Campania region, for giving us her family recipe of this scrumptious dessert.

🍷Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Matching Food and Wine: Pasta with Oil, Parsley and Breadcrumbs and Noelia Ricci Bro’-Bianco Forlì IGT

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With this week’s post we want you to enhance your dining experience by pairing a perfect wine to the recipe we will be presenting.

Pasta with extra virgin olive oil, parsley and breadcrumbs comes from the Mediterranean diet. This is a light but at the same time a tasteful dish which we paired with the white wine Noelia Ricci “Brò” Bianco Forlì.

Noelia Ricci is a family winery from the Emilia Romagna region, established in 2010 and located near the Sangiovese wine-growing area of Predappio. This wine, featuring a strong minerality, a salty juiciness and citrus notes, is produced from Trebbiano grapes and is vinified with the skins of Pagadebit grapes.

This wine is imported to Denmark from Vinimondodk, a wine wholesaler that works with some of the best wine suppliers in Italy, Portugal, France and Spain. 

For more details about the wine and the wholesaler: https://vinimondo.dk.

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Let’s Celebrate the Upcoming 2019 with a Free Interpretation of the Neapolitan Pastiera!

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2018 is coming to an end and we are now ready to welcome the upcoming new year by celebrating  New Year’s Eve together with our friends and dear ones.

To go out with a bang we’ve prepared a free interpretation of the Neapolitan Pastiera. This is not the classical version (for that please be patient until Easter 😉 ), but a deconstructed Pastiera. It brings the flavour of the traditional cake but it’s quicker to prepare as we used ready-made butter cookies instead of making the shortcrust pastry.

We have to thank our friend Francesca from Naples whom we prepared the traditional Pastiera with and who shared all the little secrets of this delectable cake.

We wish you all 365 days full of joy and…good food!

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All Souls’s Day Hazelnut Chocolate Torrone

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The All Souls’s day is a Catholic festivity occurring on November 2nd, right after All Saints’ Day. Processions and recurrences occur and gifts are donated to so called “good children” the night between 1 and 2 November all over Italy. This is all done in memory of the dead, which are honoured by their relatives on the 2nd of November.

In Naples, the people use to prepare edible offerings, such as this Hazelnut Chocolate Torrone. Translated from Italian, this is called “Torrone of The Dead”. What a spooky name! This Torrone is made by layering chocolate,  to create a crunchy crust, filled with a satisfying cream of chocolate and hazelnut. This is just perfect to cheer you up during these sad days of remembrance.

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Mediterranean Lemon Flavoured Spaghetti Topped with Crispy Crumb Bread

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In southern Italy, many traditional recipes, especially those originating from the countryside, are topped with a homemade crispy crumb bread. This tradition derives from the olden days in which parmesan cheese was too expensive for peasants to buy, and they would use this crispy bread as an alternative.

The main aspect of this dish is the lemon flavour. The best lemons to use in this pasta are the fragrant lemons from the Amalfi coast (Campania region – Southern Italy). If you are lucky enough to find them, you will enjoy a very flavourful and tasty dish!

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Potato Gnocchi with Mozzarella and Tomatoes (alla Sorrentina)

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This gnocchi dish embodies 3 typical flavours of Campania region – Southern Italy:  tomatoes. mozzarella fior di latte and basil.

If you happen to be in Campania region or even better in the beautiful coastal town of Sorrento, where the dish is originally from, don’t forget to try this dish and enjoy the taste of Southern Italy.

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🍷Francesca & Marinella🍴

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Aubergine tower – torretta di melanzane by Matteo Fantacchiotti

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Our friend Matteo has shared with us a recipe inspired by the torretta di melanzane, a dish created by the renowned Italian chef Alfonso Iaccarino. If you want to taste the original, you can go to his restaurant Don Alfonso di Sant’Agata dei Due Golfi in the Amalfi Coast.

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Saint Joseph’s Zeppole – Delicious Pastry from Southern Italy

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The zeppole of Saint Joseph are the delicious pastries that in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and in Campania, people make for Father’s day on March 19th. You can bake or fry them, below we will show you the two different procedures, just choose the one you prefer and try it!

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