Archive for 'Recipes'

  

Friday, July 14, 2017
Pizza is a must-try Italian dish, something that tastes quite different (and, generally, better) to the pizza found elsewhere in the world. As its birthplace, there is no better place to eat pizza. However, there is also a great range of regional pizza dishes that you may not have even heard about before and these are really dishes that you can't miss out on in Italy.

Sardenaira is a pizza dish from the Liguria region of Italy. It is also known as “Sardinaira” or Pizza all'Andrea, a name that comes from local hero and admiral Andrea Doria (1466-1560), who was known to be very fond of the dish. A type of pizza, which is remarkably similar to the pissaladière of southern France, it is a very popular street food throughout the region.

Although termed a pizza, some consider it more akin to a focaccia and is made up of a slice of bread with olive oil, garlic, and salted anchovy. In the city of Sanremo in western Liguria, it is also often garnished with salted sardines. As the dish predates the likes of the Margarita pizza and the Columbian Exchange, traditionally, it is made without tomatoes but many add them today.     Read More
Posted in: Food and Wine, Liguria, Northwest Italy, Recipes

  

Friday, July 14, 2017
Panna Cotta
If you are dining in Italy, you probably have a list of certain dishes that you want to try and you should do while you have the chance! Italian cuisine has travelled all over the world and is readily accessible almost everywhere and, yet, there is a difference between Italian food in Italy and abroad. Of course, sometimes, you can find highly authentic and excellent Italian restaurants abroad but there is nothing quite like enjoying Italian classics in Italy and you'll often find that they taste entirely different – if not much better!

One classic Italian dish that you will, most likely, be familiar with is panna cotta. Panna cotta, meaning literally, “cooked cream”, is a dessert made of sweetened cream that is thickened with gelatin, molded into shape and flavoured with the likes of rum, coffee and vanilla. It is often served with a coulis of berries, or a sauce of caramel or chocolate and may be covered with fruit or with liqueurs.     Read More
Posted in: Food and Wine, Northwest Italy, Piedmont, Products & Specialities, Recipes

  

Monday, June 19, 2017
Spaghetti Con Le Vongole
Spaghetti con le Vongole is a Neapolitan culinary tradition that is served year round but is also one of the core dishes of the Cena della Vigilia di Natale, the traditional dinner served on Christmas Eve in Naples. It is made of two main ingredients, clams and pasta, and some other, minor, ingredients for flavour and depending on where you are from or your family's own recipe. We're tentatively putting this version out there but don't kill us if you do things differently! We know how passionate people can be about such things. For the real deal, just find a holiday rental in Naples and try it out while exploring the city.     Read More
Posted in: Campania, Food and Wine, Recipes, Southern Italy

  

Friday, June 2, 2017
Cardinale
Italian cocktails tend to mutate and become something else quite often and these variations can become popular favourites in their own right. Take the Cardinale, for example, it is descended from the Negroni, a cocktail supposedly, invented in Florence in 1919 at Caffè Casoni (now called Caffè Giacosa). The Negroni, in turn, meanwhile, is said to be an Americano that was transformed by adding gin rather than soda water.

Then comes the Cardinale, a drink that is said to come from Rome and date back to the 1950s, and which is a riff on the Negroni. It alters the ratios of the Negroni and replaces the Campari for slightly spicy Contratto Bitter and sweet vermouth for dry, making for a more complex and drier cocktail. Don't be fooled by the pretty appearance, this cocktail isn't sweet and easy but something a little more challenging and not everyone's cup of tea (or should we say cocktail). However, if you're brave, try it out and, you never know, it could become a favourite.     Read More
Posted in: Central Italy, Food and Wine, Latium, Recipes

  

Friday, June 2, 2017
Pasta Alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma is a typical Sicilian pasta dish originally created in Catania, a city on the east coast of the island. Thought to have been named after the beauty and titular character of Vincenzo Bellini's opera, it is made with tomatoes, fried or sautéed aubergine (eggplant), grated ricotta salata cheese, and basil.

Delicious and perfect for the summer season, why not find a vacation rental in Sicily and try this dish in its hometown while enjoying your surroundings?

In the meantime, you can try the recipe out for yourself as your plan your trip.     Read More
Posted in: Food and Wine, Main Islands, Recipes, Sicily and Sardinia