Happy Spring from Sunny Positano
|
|
Italy celebrated the
Festa del Lavoro
, Labor Day, on May 1 with traditional festivities for everyone. Families and friends sauntered to the
spiaggia
, beach, for a little
sole
, enjoyed picnic lunches in their gardens and dined on long delicious lunches in tiny trattorias.
A sunny day and warm wind were the perfect ingredients for a day off saluting workers of all genres. Although everyone in Italy was off, we were in the kitchen cooking up a storm with the first guests of the season, preparing vegetarian eggplant bites, ravioli Caprese,
gnocchi
with lemon sauce, pizza and
torta Caprese
, a traditional chocolate almond flour cake.
And even though most Italians are taking the rest of the week off too, we are behind the stove and in our garden. We’ve turned the soil and sowed lots of seeds for a new garden tour in our Positano tours.
|
|
Join Us in Our Italian Vegetable Garden!
|
|
Gardening has always been one of my passions. I grew up with my Italian
nonno
Michele, who was a professional gardener and an expert on flowers and trees. He knew the name of every plant and flower on the planet. My
bisnonno
Costanzo, a farmer from Pico in Lazio, had acres and acres of land, grew fruits and vegetables for a living spending most of his life in the fields. I have taken what I learned and have planted and sowed a world of green.
As we begin another season on the Amalfi Coast, we will be adding a beautiful garden tour to my garden where guests will learn about planting in season, cultivating, harvesting and picking. I will personally welcome guests to my garden filled with Neapolitan, Genovese and lemon basil, along with rosemary, arugula, baby greens, rainbow radishes, Carnival carrots, beets, violet tomatoes, San Marzanos, red and yellow pear tomatoes too, Sorrentino and cherry. Our fruit trees are plentiful, including
melograno,
pomegranate
,
fig, peach, lemon, tangerine, pear and apricot.
During the tour, not only will you learn about planting and harvesting, but I will share with you the secrets of the Mediterranean diet and planting by the moon!
|
|
Did you know that Italian farmers always plant by the moon? One key little gardening note is: anything that bears fruit above ground should be planted from the day the moon is new to the day it is full. Anything bearing fruit below ground, from the day after the moon is full to the day before it is new again. Then again, another good time to plant is simply when you have the time!
Italians are also careful to rotate their crops to give the soil a rest – planting the potatoes where the beans were last year and putting in lettuce instead of last year’s cucumbers is an example. Simple but wise words of wisdom are key to ensure that your garden is always in full bloom.
Whether you live in the country and have acres of land or are an urbanite with a small flower box - plant your basil, parsley and cherry tomato plants because a little bit of green will transform an ordinary recipe into a delicious one.
Happy Cooking!
Lauren
|
|
Though it’s still a bit early for squash flowers, our Chef was able to order some from Sicily! We stuffed them with fresh ricotta and garden herbs, then flash-fried in peanut oil.
The first petals of the season were a hit with everyone!
The first leaves of spring lettuce have sprouted, ever so gently due to the cool mornings and evenings. Although spring has had a late start, the roses are starting to bud and are beginning to flaunt their petals, while the herb garden is vibrant and green brimming with peas, favas, chives, and spring onions too!
|
|
What's Cooking
Cook Like A Queen
|
|
Italy & France
Renaissance VIP Tour™
In the Footsteps of Queen, Catherine de Medici ~
October 7-13, 2019
Join us in Florence, Italy
and the Loire Valley France,
as we explore, learn, cook, swirl and sip
the Renaissance!
Limited to a small group of six guests
This month we also travel to Campania ~ from the Island of Procida to the Amalfi Coast ~ to share two healthy-living Mediterranean cooking tour, along with a special Siena Palio Race!
|
|
Our most popular is Positano! See our
Secret Garden Positano
, as featured on the cover of National Geographic Traveler. Join us in either a week-long experience with cooking and touring or our 1 day cooking classes!
|
|
Procida Cooking & Culture
|
|
Our new
Procida Cooking & Culture
Procida is the smallest island in the Bay of Naples ~ a picturesque volcanic island in Campania. Guests are attracted to the island’s quiet and unique charm, beautiful vistas and historic sites. It is a quintessential Mediterranean paradise.
During your cooking program you will cook up a storm and discover Terra Murata, a fortified medieval town perched on a hill and well worth the climb. You'll visit the Palazzo D’Avalos and the Abbazi a di son Michelle, an 11th century Benedictine Abbey. There’s also the main square, frozen in time brimming with caffès, art galleries, restaurants and artisan ceramic makers.
M
ovie buffs will love Procida because
Il Positano
was filmed on the island.
The film tells the story of real life Chilean Poet, Pablo Neruda, and his relationship with a local postman who learns to love poetry.
|
|
Chianti Masterpiece Palio di Siena
|
|
Experience the Palio in the heart of Siena in our
Chianti Masterpiece Palio di Siena
.
Learn authentic Tuscan cooking and experience one of the most famous Medieval horse races held only twice a year in Siena, complete with great seats for the best view overlooking the concourse. Ten horseback riders, riding bareback, are dressed in colorful traditional costumes.
The riders represent the ten of the seventeen
contrade
, city wards. A fanfare of men waving flags, called the Corteo Storico, precedes the race. The jockeys circle the Piazza del Campo where a thick layer of earth has been laid.
|
|
Happy Cookers
Tie on your apron, cook up a storm and
make new friends in sunny Italy!
|
|
Quiche Ai Carciofi
~ Artichoke Quiche
|
|
|
|
Made from 100% Greco di Tufo grapes and deep straw yellow in color, this white wine offers up soft citrus blossom, citron and lime, with just a hint of exotic fruit. It is rich and full bodied but with a freshness that makes it a good match for this early spring dish
.
|
|
Pasta Alla Campagnola
~ Pasta With Fava Beans & Sausage
|
|
|
|
Straw yellow with green undertones, this Falaghina is produced just north of Benevento. With intense perfumes of mature white fruits, you will also catch the scent of wild flowers. In the mouth it is soft and rich, but with good acidity. Slips down a treat!
|
|
Agnello al forno
~ Baked Lamb
|
|
|
|
This fabulous red hails from winemakers Tommasone on the Island of Ischia. Rich and intense, it offers up notes of fruit and spices, undergrowth as well as wild blackberries and raspberries. It is dry and full in the mouth, well-structured with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Great to accompany lamb and other meats, or, if slightly more chilled, rich fish dishes.
|
|
Tiramisù alle Fragole
~
Strawberry Tiramisù
|
|
|
|
We stay on Ischia for our dessert wine which is a
passito
made by Casa D’Ambra. After the grapes are left to become super-mature on the vines, they are placed on grills and left until they are suitably dried. The resulting wine is a beautiful deep gold color and offers up scents of apricot, dates and honey. It’s rich and sweet, but thanks to its acidity, not cloying.
|
|
Nothing has a sweeter touch to the nose then the scent of a place that has touched your heart, and at Profumi di Positano you are sure to find just the right scent to remind you of the Amalfi Coast.
The owner, Signor Gennaro, offers an irresistible range of perfumes, scent diffusers, body and hand creams with fragrances inspired by the gardens, shores and unmistakable atmosphere of Positano – lemon blossom, musk, almond flowers, sweet herbs and citron. Choose between Incanto, Giardini di Arenzo, Li Galli or perhaps even Saraceno, each exuding its own particular Mediterranean bouquet.
|
|
Capri is a haven of relaxed elegance and at the Capri Palace Hotel Boutique, Mariorita, you will find everything you need to make sure you fit right in. From well known Italian designers to stylish local artisan goods, the boutique has an gorgeous selection of clothes, sunglasses, scarves, and even sculptures and tableware - everything the epitome of island chic. And you
must
get a pair of bespoke sandals, made to measure while you wait!
|
|
From bowls, spoons and bottle-stoppers to dinner sets, vases and lava stone tables, Piccadilly Ceramics offers a huge range of artisan pottery, all created in their Amalfi workshop. These old-world ceramics are hand painted in soft colors with seascapes, grapes and lemons, romantic angels and Mediterranean scenes. This family-owned producer of ceramics also ships worldwide.
|
|
By Germaine Stafford
We continue our roundup of what's happening in the culinary world in Italy and give you our chef of the month, book recommendation, and a list of seasonal foods for Spring.
|
|
Pork products (salami etc.)
Octopus
Cod
Cuttlefish
Sea Bream
|
|
Swiss chard
Radicchio
Parsnips
Artichokes
Chicory
Celeriac
Fennel
|
|
Apples
Pears
Kiwis
First asparagus
First fava beans (broad beans)
Jerusalem artichokes
|
|
Just a few steps from Capri’s Piazzetta you will find a Michelin-Star restaurant that has fast become a favorite haunt on the Capri gourmet scene. The brainchild of 2-Star Michelin Chef Gennaro Esposito and Chef Salvatore La Ragione, who has also gained a Michelin Star, Mammà was opened in 2013 and is now a must for serious foodies. Tastefully decorated in shades of blue and white, the restaurant offers breathtaking views over the sea and the Bay of Naples, making it the perfect spot to enjoy a Michelin-Star dinner in a relaxed atmostphere.
In the kitchen, Chef Salvatore insists on the very best Mediterranean produce and whips up delightful twists on traditional Neapolitan cuisine that shines thanks to the freshness of ingredients. Being on Capri, the menu is distinctly sea-based, with raw fish a specialty of the house. You’ll find tartare of fish of the day with green peppers and fresh tomato coulis; anchovies filled with ricotta, smoked mozzarella and couscous; and cuttlefish tagliatelle with fresh garden salad. Follow with vermicelli with sea urchin or prawn ravioli with provola cheese and porcini, and as a main course there is usually a fish soup or catch of the day cooked under salt or in ‘crazy water’. Again, desserts are traditional with semifreddo of pastiera, tiramisu and rhum babà all tempting the palate.
There is a brief but judicious wine list with a choice of wines from Campania and beyond, and all that remains is to sit back, sip and enjoy the Caprese cuisine.
Mammà
Via Madre Serafina, 6 - 80073 Capri (Italy)
Tel: +39 081 837.74.72
|
|
Da Vinci's Kitchen
by
Dave Dewitt
Not many people know this, but when Leonardo Da Vinci died at the age of 67, he’d lived for almost twice the average lifespan for his time. In Da Vinci’s Kitchen, Dewitt examines Da Vinci’s recipes, and uses Leonardo’s own notes on his diet, ingredients, portions and even kitchen inventions, to better understand the secrets of the genius’s longevity.
Unsurprisingly, we discover that Da Vinci’s legendary curiosity extended to culinary matters with Leonardo having worked as a caterer of sorts and even cooked extravagant banquets for royalty. We also learn more about the social protocol of the time, as well as culinary traditions and interesting facts regarding food history. The book follows the development and transformation of Italian cuisine from Medieval to Renaissance times, and comments on the wave of new foods arriving in Italy after Columbus’s arrival in the Americas – from maize to tomatoes and peppers. Featuring 30 updated Renaissance recipes, this book offers a fascinating insight into the Renaissance cuisine of Italy and the mind of one of its greatest sons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
