Zucchini flower pasta

I am not the only one who loves zucchini flowers. A friend in Rome cooked zucchini flower pasta for me. Very interesting flavor!
First cook zucchini by themselves till soft while in another pan simmering anchovies with pin nuts and raisins. Till the last minutes add zucchini flowers with the anchovy sauce. The salty anchovy sauce balances well with the sweet zucchini pasta.

Little-ear pasta -Orecchiette

A friend picked up at metro station and we went directly to his friends’ dinner party. When we got there, food was still on the stove. The dinner started at 10pm with little-ear pasta (Orecchiette), sausages, veggies really tasty) and backed potatoes with red pepper. Of course, followed by dessert and cookies. Eat till your heart content!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orecchiette

It is interesting to discover that there is a Chinese counterpart in city Hangzhou. “In Chinese cuisine, a kind of noodle called Maoerduo (Simplified Chinese: 猫耳朵, cats' ears) is similar to orecchiette. Maoerduo may be steamed and served with sauce, or cooked as a noodle soup.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maoerduo.JPG

Don’t know why it is called “Cat’s ear”. Don’t be scared, they are just pasta.

Carbonara pasta

“Pasta alla carbonara is an Italian pasta dish based on eggs, pecorino romano, guanciale (un-smoked Italian pig's cheek bacon), and black pepper.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonara

My friend cooked for me one day. But I am not sure if he strictly follows the traditional receipt. Did he really use pig’s cheek bacon? But it was classic and tasty!

There is a receipt I found online:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/02/seriously-italian-pasta-alla-gricia-recipe.html

Pastitsio: Baked Meat & Pasta

First night in Athen, lucky a friend’s mom cooked for me. I have never imagined Greek food like that: Pastitsio (first) and beef in tomato sauce (second).

Pastitsio :“The usual Greek version has a bottom layer is bucatini or other tubular pasta with cheese and egg as a binder; a middle layer of ground meat (beef, veal or lamb) with tomato and nutmeg or allspice; another layer of pasta; and a top layer of sauce, varying from an egg-based custard to a flour-based Béchamel or a Béchamel with cheese known as Mornay sauce in France. Grated cheese and nutmeg are often sprinkled on top. Pastitsio is a common dish, and is often served as a main course, with a salad.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastitsio

Home cooking at Sbarbacipolle -Arezzo

“Sbarba” in Italian means “To shave”; “Cipolle” means “onions”.
Now you can translate the restaurant’s name. The place is owned by a lady, who also makes amazing metal sculptures. The interesting metal art works she put up on the walls overwhelmed me when I was entering the place. But the owner does not allow photography.


I only took pics of the food we had: Handmade pasta with ragù, Handmade spinach gnocchi and roasted pork. How could I complain? Handmade food with love in a rustic restaurant …. Did I mention the owner’s dog is just right besides me? Look! Dog eat pasta too!! In Italy!

Sicilian dinner in Rome

I was so lucky to be brought to a nice Sicilian restaurant in Rome. It was my first time had Sicilian cuisine. That dinner made me decided to visit Sicily for my next trip (see my previous posts).

For the starter we had a variety sample of eggplant salads: with orange, olive, or roasted eggplants with almonds. It was amazing they can find so many ways of cooking eggplants and they are very tasty. It was my first time to see orange with peels in a salad. The orange peels refresh the roasted eggplants. I only hope there are not much pesticides on the peel.

For main course my friend had broccoli pasta with bread crumble- Sicilian style. He said that was an exceptional pasta dish. I had a plate of mix-grilled seafood and it was amazing: fresh ingredients, perfectly grilled. That is all you need for a seafood dish.

Ragù Sauce with Pasta

A friend Davide in Bologna prepared a special dinner for my last night. Starting with salami, cheese and a drink: Spritz - a wine-based cocktail commonly served as an aperitif in northern Italy. Davide add a dash of liqueur into white wine and some ice and orange. This time the drink is lighter so I liked it a lot. Very refreshing with the cheese.

Then the main course is pasta with home-made Ragù sauce.

Ragù is an Italian term for a meat-based sauce, which is traditionally served with pasta. A ragù is usually made by adding meat to a soffritto (a partially-fried mixture of chopped onions, celery, carrots, seasonings, etc.), adding tomatoes and other flavourings, and then simmering for a long time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rag%C3%B9

It is special because he stole the Ragù sauce from his mom’s fridge. Ragù sauce takes hours to cook – like his father says, it takes 3 hours. So for a quick version, Davide just got the whole pot of sauce from his mother. I am so honored to taste homemade Ragù sauce in Bologna. Although his mother is not originally from Bologna, the sauce is not exactly the traditional Bolognese sauce. But I am not in Italian food protection association neither. All I know is the sauce taste great with pasta!

Colored Pastas

Colored pastas sure are pretty. You can easily find them in tourist shops or Pasta Specialty stores in Italy. I was told that more common ones include tomato, spinach powder and black squid ink for red and green pasta.

Stuffed Squid & Raw Egg Pasta – southern Italian cooking

I love home cooking and I was so excited when Giuseppe shows me a southern Italian cooking- stuffed squid. I helped to clean up the squid body while he made the mixture: finely chopped squid tentacles, canned fennel flower, bread crumble, walnut, fresh parsley, pepper and salt. He stuffed the mixture into the squid body then cooked it till tender. The raw egg and tuna pasta is a great combination with the seafood. I never thought about raw egg as pasta sauce. It moistures pasta and give it a rich egg flavor.

This is not the same as my friend cooked but worth a try: Braised Stuffed Squid:

http://www.jsonline.com/features/food/41326922.html

Beef with arugula – a Roman dish

I am so lucky to meet Alberto (grown up in Rome) in Milan, and even better he cooked a roman dish for me: Straccetti con la rughetta ("tattered" strips of beef with arugula). Lean sirloin is cut into thin strips and browned quickly in a skillet, and a mess of arugula is tossed in at the last minute, just to wilt it.

I was very surprised to discover the technique of wilting arugula. I always put them in salad and never thought about other way of cooking it. The dish is simply amazing combination between strong beef flavor and rich, peppery arugula. It is very simple to cook as well:

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/3/10883

“The term arugula (variations of Italian dialects) is used by the Italian diaspora in Australia and North America and from there picked up as a loan word to a varying degree in American and Australian English, particularly in culinary usage.

It is rich in vitamin C and potassium. It has been grown in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, and is considered an aphrodisiac.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arugula

That is just one dish. We also had ravioli with zucchini and 2 year-old Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano in Italian). It is my first time to try a 2 year-old true Parmigiano from Parma where they produce it. The traditional marking with the inscription in full “Parmigiano - Reggiano” is impressed along the side of the whole cheese and enables the identification even on small pieces. The flavor is rich, nutty and a slightly gritty texture. I would through away all my cloth to empty the luggage and bring back home some true Parmigiano. A dinner like that makes all worries go away! Of course we had red wine too!

“Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard, fat granular cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna, and Mantova, in Lombardy, Italy.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmigiano-Reggiano

The link also explains how the real Parmesan is made- quite amazing process.

Dinner in Padova

I was invited to have dinner with friends in Padova. He cooked pasta with olive in tomato sauce. Normally I do not like salty olives, but enjoyed olives in the tomato sauce. It gave the dish extra bites. A simple dish but very tasty! Of course, after the first pasta dish, we had salads, cheese, salami and chocolate. It was my first time to try the spicy salami: very very very spicy! But very tasty!

The diner take hours to finish and we enjoyed meal with wines and laugher – that is a real family dinner! I love Italian food culture, especially the hours-long dinner, just like in China.

Resta Pasta

I freelanced at Technicolor last week. Because the company has many employees, they have a kitchen department, who cooks for everyone. The kitchen is open-concept. While you order food you can chat with one of the cook. If I work there full time, I am sure the chef will be my best friend.

This is on the employee’s lunch menu, which have at least 6 varieties. That day’s special is Resta Pasta:

Hot Italian sausage, beef, sweet pepper, sundried tomato, onion in curry creams sauce, side salad and homemade garlic breadstick-- For $8.50 (tax included).

How can I resist the combination of Italian hot sausage, sweet pepper and sundried tomato?

The dish is perfectly cooked, and homemade garlic breadstick is also addictive. I loved everything in that dish!! YUMMY…