Today I have the pleasure of hosting a fellow expat here on Frutto della Passione.  You may already be familiar with My Bella Vita written by Cherrye Moore.  If you aren’t, may I suggest you head over and take a look at what Cherrye has to say.  She writes about her life in Calabria, her travels, Italian food, language and culture and living the expat life here in Italy. In this post, Cherrye shares what she considers to be the Five Must-Taste foods that anyone that visits the Bel Paese should try.  What do you think?

Five Italian Foods-or Drinks-Everyone Should Taste

“The food is so good.”

“I gained 10 pounds.”

“You can’t have a bad meal in Italy.”

While I strongly disagree with that last one, these are all common statements passionately exclaimed by travelers who have recently visited the bel paese.

And at least one of them rings true for yours truly.

No, I have not gained 10 pounds … take that back!

I agree with those who think authentic Italian food is among the best in the world. It is simple. It is fresh. It is exquisite.

But there are five Italian food items that I think take the cake. In no particular order-because I can’t choose a favorite-here are the five Italian food items I think everyone should taste at least once in their lifetime.

1. Prosciutto Crudo

For years I was a vegetarian, and although I now eat meat, I was turned off by the “crudo” in prosciutto crudo. Cooked ham? I was good.

Smoked ham? Ok.

Raw ham? Uh, no thanks.

Then one day I was tricked into trying this popular Italian antipasto ingredient and well, I was hooked. I love it wrapped around cold cantaloupe, matched with a thick wedge of Parmesan  cheese or alone … with a rich glass of wine.

1. Arancini

These stuffed rice balls mystify travelers who haven’t tried them and I enjoy nothing better than introducing them to guests who visit our B&B. Traditional Sicilian arancini are stuffed with meat sauce and green peas, but other varieties include ham and cheese, cheese only or spicy nduja.

1. Limoncello

Ok, really this is my favorite, I just didn’t want to include it at the top and risk a brutta figura. But come on, 100% pure lemon-infused alcohol. Does this even need an explanation?

And since we are on the subject of digestive liquors …

1. Amaro

Although it is not my digestive liquor of choice (see above!), Amaro, meaning bitter in Italian, is an after dinner digestive liquor that is made from herbs. There are dozens of types of Amaro produced in various regions. If you are in Calabria, try Amaro del Capo.

1. Pistachio Gelato

Although this isn’t specific to Italy, I had never tasted homemade pistachio gelato-or ice cream, for that matter-until I began visiting Italy. I’ve seen more than one person turn their noses up at the idea, only to request double scoops of this delicacy on their next visit.

What are your favorite food items in Italy? Do tell!

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and B&B owner living in Calabria, Italy. She writes about expat life for Affordable Calling Cards where they sell calling cards to Italy and about living and traveling in Calabria at My Bella Vita.

Let’s get back to it or let’s start again. Pretty much the most appropriate title for this blog post. I have been long absent. 8 weeks. First, I should mention that nothing happened, or rather nothing bad happened.

I had a wonderful vacation, got my soon to be 10-year-old ready to go back to school, returned to work and somehow kept up all my commitments and activities, except this one.

Let’s call it a bloggy break, a mini sabbatical, a teeny, tiny hiatus.

I started blogging because other blogs inspired me and I felt that I too wanted to add my voice (2 cents) and contribute a point of view.

I still want to do that and even though it gets tough some days between a full-time job and the PTA and soccer and laundry and … well you see where this is going, I still want to put my best foot forward here.

I’m easing myself back into the bloggy waters gently, just a post or two a week for a little while, just until I get my rhythm back!

I’m starting back with some link love to a site I’m sure every one of you will appreciate.

The website is Ok Abruzzo and you can buy all kinds of specialty products that will be delivered free of charge (with a minimum purchase of EUR 25.00). The idea is to sell these products in order to boost the flagging economy that is just one of the after effects from April’s earthquakes.

International delivery is available, but if you are hoping to order any kind of food products, keep in mind that your country’s customs and import laws will be applied to your order.

There are some amazing products on this site and the prices are quite good as well, the only problem is that the site is written exclusively in Italian.

Head on over and take a look!

Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes … kind of!

After not being able to take part in July’s challenge I’m back with the August challenge, which I have to say was very interesting.

The challenge was presented by Olga from Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes .  It is a Spanish recipe by José Andrés and it was a huge hit here.  I have to admit that I had to make some slight modifications for two reasons.

The first reason being that I had to adjust the quantities. No point in making a dish for four when there are only going to be two dinner guests!!

The second reason was economy.  I didn’t add the artichokes because no one here really enjoys them and I didn’t want to make an expensive dish that no one would eat!

I used one large cuttlefish instead of two but there was plenty to go around!

With the exception of the artichokes, I followed the recipe as provided and I have to say that it was very much appreciated.  My husband said that it was the best thing I have ever made for him. I have to be honest that I’m not sure how I feel about that compliment.  On the one hand – yeah for me, on the other – what was wrong with all the food I’ve cooked in the past!?!?!

The finished dish.

It was also my first time working with a whole cuttlefish and that was kind of fun.

We will definitely be returning to this dish and I highly recommend it to any of you that want to give it a try.

You can find the recipe and instructions at the Daring Kitchen.

Bastions and ships.  What do they have in common?  Don’t know and I’m not particularly concerned either.  What I am interested in however an event called, you guessed it Bastioni e Bastimenti that will be held in Celano (AQ) on August 17th.  The Emigrants Dream, A Journey through Flavours. 

Bastions, because the stands and displays will be set up all along the outer walls of Celano’s beautiful castle, ships because it is a tribute to all those that took on the greatest adventure of their lives by saying goodbye to their home land and taking a chance on starting a new life in a new place.

If you happen to be in the area try and make this event.  Many of the exhibitors are artisans from the area in and around L’Aquila and there will be food and fabulous products to tempt just about everyone.

“Bastioni e Bastimenti è la storia di radici e di partenze, di un viaggio verso la scoperta, tra aspettative, sacrifici e speranze.

 Quest’anno torna a rinnovare la memoria e l’importanza dell’emigrazione celebrando l’aspetto forse più recondito ma al tempo stesso più esaltante.

 Il sogno di tornare per raccogliere il frutto stesso dell’emigrazione, quanto seminato con umiltà e sacrificio.

 La speranza di dar vita ad una propria azienda, di costruirsi una casa.

 Fare fortuna e tornare.

 Quando i nostri padri e i nostri nonni lasciarono la loro terra per cercare un’esistenza migliore lontano dai propri affetti e dal loro mondo, nella valigia di cartone non chiusero solo un pò di biancheria e un vestito di ricambio.

 Tra le poche cose materiali trovarono spazio le memorie della loro vita e un sogno da realizzare.

 Chi partiva sapeva di andare a fare lavori umili e malpagati, ma questo non cancellava la speranza di portare indietro, dopo anni di privazioni, il successo di essere “qualcuno”.

 La nostalgia del proprio mondo si affievoliva solo all’idea del ritorno, e il desiderio del ritorno si esaltava al pensiero del sogno da concretizzare.

 Anche quest’anno il percorso di Bastioni e Bastimenti si snoda lungo le stradine e i vicoli del centro storico.

Ristoratori, espositori, artigiani dei mestieri antichi, gruppi musicali, allestimenti video e illuminotecnica renderanno ancora più caratteristico questo viaggio nel cuore della città.”

“Bastioni e Bastimenti is the history of roots and departures, of a journey towards discovery, through expectations, sacrifices and hope.

 This year it is back to refresh memories and remind of the importance of emigration by celebrating the aspect that is perhaps the most inaccessible yet at the same time the most exhilarating aspect.

 The dream of returning to gather the fruits of that self same emigration, those sown with humility and sacrifice.

 The hope of giving life to a business, of building a home.

 To make your fortune and go back.

 When our fathers and grandfathers left their homeland in search of a better life fa from their loved ones and their world, there was more than just a change of clothes in those cardboard suitcases.

 Among the few material possessions there was room for memories of a lifetime and a dream to make come true.

 Those that left knew that they were headed for low paid, menial jobs, but this didn’t erase the hope of returning, after years of deprivation, having attained success and becoming “a somebody”.

 Feelings of homesickness were alleviated only by the idea of returning and the desire to return was increased by the thought of a dream coming true.

 Once again this year the route of Bastioni e Bastimenti winds its way through the streets and lanes of the historic centre.

 Restaurateurs, exhibitors, traditional artisans, musical groups, video and light show will all contribute to making this voyage in the heart of the city even more characteristic.”

In the past I have had several versions of this dish, with variations on the vegetables and/or the pasta selected, but the end result is very similar – a quick, easy and very tasty dish.

Keep this in mind if you decide to do your own version – choose your favourite veggies and go for it.

In this case I went with red pepper and zucchini but other possibilities could include carrots, snow peas, broccoli – pretty much any vegetable that doesn’t require long cooking times.

Serves 4

1 clove garlic

extra virgin olive oil

80 gr zucchini sliced

80 gr red pepper sliced

240 ml heavy cream (panna da cucina for expats in Italy)

240 gr spaghettini (thinner than regular spaghetti)

parmigiano to taste

salt

100 ml water reserved from cooking the pasta

Ideally the vegetables should be sliced as thinly as possible.

Place a stock pot full of water to boil.  While waiting for the water to boil, heat the olive oil in a small pan and add the clove of garlic. Flavour the oil then remove the garlic. When the water has started to boil, add salt and then throw in the pasta.  Keep in mind that spaghettini usually need only 3 to 4 minutes to cook.

Once the pasta is in the water add the cream to the oil and heat for 2 or 3 minutes. It is very important that the cream does not come to a boil otherwise it will be too thick.

Add the vegetables and cook for just a few minutes, you want them to remain crisp.  By this time the pasta should be ready to drain (if necessary remove the cream from the heat to prevent it from over cooking). Using a ladle, remove some of the pasta water and put it aside.  Drain the pasta and put in a large bowl.  Dress the pasta with the cream sauce and mix well. If the sauce has turned out too thick then add some of the water until you get the right consistency – creamy but not thick. Sprinkle with parmigiano and serve.

For information go here and scroll down to the English version.

A couple of weeks ago I spent three days with my cousin and his new bride. They passed through Milan during their honeymoon tour of Italy and while we took in the sights and shopping that Milan has to offer, we also did a lot of catching up and reminiscing.  One thing that my cousin mentioned, was how no-one made certain dishes from our childhood anymore. One in particular, was a breaded, skewered delight that was a huge favourite with everyone.  There wasn’t a single family bbq, party or gathering of any kind where these weren’t served.  Then suddenly, almost without anyone noticing they became less frequent until I can honestly say that I don’t remember the last time we had them.

I can still hear my cousin’s voice as he asked Why doesn’t anyone make those anymore?

Why indeed?

So a few days after they left I wrote an email to my aunts and asked them about this dish and if any of them knew or remembered how my grandmother made them.

Sure enough I got several responses the same day, everyone remembering how good they were, but no-one had any idea why they hadn’t appeared at a family gathering in years.

So, I dedicate today’s post to my cousin because if it hadn’t been for him I probably wouldn’t have thought to dig this recipe up!

The quantities listed below serve 4.

450 gr of veal, pork or chicken

1 red or green pepper

1 onion

15 ml extra virgin olive oil

75 gr misto per soffritto

250 ml white wine

parsley

1 egg

bread crumbs as required

salt and pepper

2 cloves of garlic

oil for frying

a package of wooden skewers

The first thing you need to do is cut the meat and vegetables into bite sized pieces.  To make this easier, I but the veal in the freezer for about an hour.

Marinate the meat for 30 minutes in white wine, minced garlic and parsley. Remove from the liquid and add salt and pepper to taste. Do not discard the liquid, you will need it later.

Prepare the skewers to your liking. I made two types, one with the onion and red pepper and the other without any veggies at all.

Once all the skewers are ready it’s time to bread them.

First a dip in the egg.

Then the bread crumbs

When all the skewers have been breaded they need to be fried for just a few minutes on each side so that the breading will set.

Breaded and read to go

These are the skewers without veg, breaded and ready to go

Be careful not to over cook the skewers when you fry them.

After you have fried the skewers, remove them from the pan and place them in a large roasting pan.

In a small frying pan, heat the olive oil and saute the misto per soffritto, then add the liquid used to marinate the meat.  Leave on a medium heat for about 5 minutes then pour over the skewers.

Cover with foil and put in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

These are great additions to a bbq because they can be kept warm in the roasting pan on the grill.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

The heat and humidity are back and they are back with a vengence.

This means two things at my house -

1) the oven is closed – no pizza, no cookies, no lasagna, no cakes, nothing that needs to be baked - period.

2) cold meals whenever possible – Salads of every type imaginable, raw vegetables, carpacio, cheese, fruit and yes  sometimes even ice cream can be a main course!

 We like protein in our salads – meat, cheese, seafood or any combination of the three.

This can be served as an appetizer or a main dish and it can be served alone or over vegetables or rice – hot or cold it is tasty and light and surprisingly quick and easy to prepare.

You will need:

75 gr very finely diced carots, celery and onion

1 clove minced garlic

15 ml extra virgin olive oil

500 gr calamari cut into rings

250 ml white wine

worchestershire sauce to taste

tabasco to taste

salt to taste

lettuce and tomatoes or rice (optional)

In a large pan heat the oil then add the garlic and diced carots, celery and onion. 

When the vegetable start to become a tender add the calamari and cook for a few minutes, then add the white wine, worchestershire, tabasco and salt.  Cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. At this point you need to check the calamari to see that the consistency is correct. Calamari, when sliced in rings cooks quickly so you want to make sure you don’t over cook it and end up with rubbery rings.

When the calamari has cooled to the point that it is just warm, you can serve it over cut lettuce and tomatoes, using the liquid to dress the salad.

Another option is to serve the calamari over a bed of rice.

In recent months I have seen a lot of my fellow expats writing about their own language adventures and it has always reminded me of something that happened to me my first year in Italy.

I have been promising this story for a long time and I made the dish and took the pictures several weeks ago, but life is funny, just when you think you have things under control … SURPRISE something or other throws a wrench in the works and you find yourself even more incasinato than before.

 So, to borrow a catch phrase from Sofia Petrillo: “Picture it, Sicily 1993…” I was spending time in Sicily with my paternal grandmother and had been introduced to two brothers – childhood friends of my father’s. They each had daughters that were more or less my age and we hit it off immediately spending our days on the beach or shopping and our evenings going from club to club.

 My last night in Sicily, the two families invited me to a home cooked dinner at their grandmother’s home. Have you heard of groaning tables? There was so much food on the table that for a moment I was afraid. Oh the glory of it all, seafood, fish and aubergines everywhere! All the classics of Sicilian cuisine laid out before me.

  The dish I remember most (and you’ll soon learn why) was the fried calamari. The batter was so light and crisp and the calamari itself was amazingly fresh. I had never had anything like it and I said so, repeatedly.

 My obvious delight and appreciation inspired my hostess to ask if I had never had these dishes before, “Don’t you eat these in Canada” she asked.

How could I explain the difference to her? Me, who had always lived thousands of kilometres from the sea – to her, who bought seafood a mere hours after it had been fished?

 What I wanted to say was that living so far from the sea, we mostly found them frozen and full of preservatives.

 What I actually said was: “Si, ma da noi non c’è il mare. I calamari non sono freschi come questi, si trovano solo con gelato e pieno di preservativi.”

 (Translation: Yes, but we don’t have the sea. Calamari aren’t fresh like these, we can only find them with ice cream and full of condoms).

Oddly enough at the time I didn’t pay much attention to the sudden silence that descended. I did notice grandma’s perplexed look and I heard her whisper gelato?

 I do also seem to remember someone else whispering: Non parla bene Italiano (She doesn’t speak Italian well).

 It wasn’t until months later that I clued into what it was that I had said.

Now it is one of those stories that I pull out at dinner parties and that I used to tell to my students when I taught English to Italian businessmen.

For the record, if you ever need to talk about preservatives in Italy, the correct term is conservanti.

If, on the other hand it’s condoms you’re after – then the word is preservativi.

 Here is an easy recipe for fried calamari rings – ice cream and condoms omitted. 

500 gr sliced, rinsed and dried calamri rings

200 gr flour

200 ml beer

2 egg whites

salt to taste

300 ml of the frying oil of your choice

In a large bowl combine the flour and beer until well blended (no lumps!) and refridgerate.

In another bowl whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Add the egg whites to the beer/flour combination and mix well.

Heat the oil in a large pan.

Dip the calamari in the batter and drop into the hot oil.  Fry until golden.  Sprinkle with salt and serve hot.

In an unrelated note, isn’t my basil growing beautifully? Thank you dear friend for sending the seeds to me. I think of you every time I water it, or smell it, or use it.