Falanghina wine and Italian food matching

Today’s focus is on our new cookery holidays destination, Amalfi. The Amalfi Coast is located within the Campania region, an extremely popular and absolutely stunning Italian region.

Campania is home to an impressive array of locally produced specialties including wine, limoncello liqueur and gastronomic delights.

Our favourite wine of the region, is undoubtedly Falanghina – a white grape variety with a light and fresh taste. Its refreshing and energizing taste makes falanghina the perfect pair to a variety of Italian dishes.

Here are some of the best combinations for Falanghina wine:

PRESERVED SEAFOOD

FRESH SEAFOOD

          

  FRESH FISH 

 CHICKEN

Are you hungry yet? If are tempted to learn cooking these delicious dishes have a look at our cooking holidays in Amalfi.

And don’t forget to join our Facebook giveaway today and tell us what dish would you accompany with a glass of Falanghina wine - to be in with a chance to win a bottle of fine Falanghina wine!   

Ribollita Is Flavours Favourite Way Of Preventing Autumn Chills

Today I sat listening to the rain beating against the glass in the kitchen. Light levels were low and my pot of Basil was looking a little sorry for itself. I was certain I heard it shiver in the slight draught from an open window, but perhaps that’s just my vivid imagination. One’s fantasy world has to be quite rich to survive the next few months in the UK and I console myself with a store of colourful memories gleaned from the Flavours holiday I managed to squeeze in during the last week of August. I can still smell the heat on the banks of thyme, remember the intense aroma of tomato leaves and stalks as I stripped the fruits to prepare a tomato sauce. Sigh…. how I wish I was still there, but all good things and all that……

So, looking along the shelves in my pantry I can see there are some wonderful Italian goodies to help me enjoy the autumn and put some of the skills I practised to good use. I am never without dried porcini, pine kernels, truffle oil and nutmeg for example and we had a wonderful crop of garlic from the allotment this year, so it’s a start.

What I really fancied, to chase the cold and damp away was a pot of hearty Tuscan soup, the kind of thing that sticks to the sides and makes you feel as if you have had a passionate embrace but from the inside out. Ribollita must be the soup of choice for a rainy day in London. Bread and vegetables are what gives this traditional dish its flavour, a handful of cannellini beans will exert that silky smooth thickening which makes a soup like this just what the doctor ordered. Ribollita actually means ‘re-boiled’, in English and demonstrates just how thrifty the Tuscans were in times gone by. Perhaps we should take a leaf out of their book; preferably a Cavolo Nero to be precise. Funny how Ribollita sounds so much more romantic though!

Carrots, cabbage, potatoes, celery, leek, tomatoes, beans and the usual ingredients go to make this comforting soup. The surprise ingredient and thickener, however, is bread. The addition of which apparently has its origins back in the medieval period where the well to do would have their food served on ’bread’ plates. At the end of the meal servants would collect these and add the meat soaked edible ‘china’ to vegetables to eke out meagre rations.

La Ribollita really needs to be prepared 24 hours before you wish to consume it; so much Italian food is slow cooked and things do take time to mature (I’m banking on it anyway!) It’s the usual sweating of olive oil and vegetables, salt, pepper and a stir. When the vegetables are soft, add tomatoes and any juice, some chicken stock and toss in cooked cannellini beans. Add a bouquet garni, orange peel and peppercorns in a muslin bag and then simmer gently for around an hour. Cool and refrigerate.

After 24 hours, bring to the boil and add some peasant-style bread until the soup thickens dramatically and then set it aside off the heat. At this point the soup will be like some kind of stuffing in consistency. If you find this a little too much to cope with, by all means ensure you have sufficient liquid to deal with the bread. So, it’s at this point you heat some extra virgin oil then add the soup, brown it on both sides and serve, if you are going for the sticky version that is.

For me, the peppercorns, thyme and orange really lift this soup and somehow remind me of the festive season’s approach. Should I be saying this? Still it’s plenty of time to discover the very best Italian cookery books and then drop hints about them in a casual and subtle manner. What about The Beaneaters and Bread Soup: Portraits and Recipes from Tuscany by Lori De Mori published by Quadrille? This would be my tip for serious students of Tuscan food. First off you will discover Tuscans are known as ‘Mangiafagioli’, the ‘beaneaters’ of the title. This is a beautiful book which outlines the Tuscan skill of making do; where simple ingredients and leftovers are represented as the tasty peasant fare we all love so much. Illustrated by Jason Lowe, a highly respected and celebrated culinary photographer this is a beautiful book. It features the producers who have done so much to promote Tuscan cuisine and is well researched and a loving set of portraits, complete with the author’s own recipes. If you want an evocative glimpse of a reminder of a Tuscan Flavours holiday this book will put you in mind of what you experienced or what you might wish to try next year.

Why Italian food is healthier than you think

Pizzas, parmesan, fresh cream and tiramisu: much of the Italian food that we choose to eat in the UK isn’t conducive to a low-fat or healthy eating diet, partly due to the adaptations made to traditional recipes in the UK and US, such as loading our pizzas with extra cheese and adding cream to carbonara sauce – sacrilege in many parts of Italy.

But cooked correctly, authentic Italian cuisine is actually one of the healthiest diets you can eat. Like most Mediterranean cuisines, traditional Italian food uses simple, natural ingredients and aims to enhance these flavours naturally, without lacing recipes with an overdose of salt and sugar – typical traits of modern diets in the UK and US.

If you love Italian food but are conscious of your waistline, an Italian cooking holiday is a great way to discover how to cook authentic, healthy Italian dishes and reduce the calorie content of your favourite foods, without spoiling a traditional recipe. Here’s a quick taste of why Italian food is so good for you:

Fresh vegetables form the basis of many Italian recipes, and ragu sauces – made from tinned tomatoes – are a staple in Italian kitchens. Vitamin C levels tend to be high in many dishes, owed to an abundance of tomatoes and peppers in Italy. Tomatoes also carry high levels of lycopene – an antioxidant thought to help prevent some cancers. On a cookery holiday in Italy, you’ll learn how to prepare tomatoes in a variety of different ways, maximising their health giving properties, whether they’re raw, tinned or roasted.

Italian food is beautifully seasoned with fresh herbs and spices which are great for boosting your immune system and aiding digestion. Chopped or crushed garlic is also a key ingredient in flavouring Italian food, and is thought to lower breast, colon, stomach, throat cancer; expect to rediscover this kitchen staple whilst on a cookery holiday, and understand how mincing and chopping, smashing and slicing can each give different flavours and health properties.

Whilst oil is a staple in Italian cuisine, a preference for olive oil means an intake of healthier, unsaturated fats which help protect your heart health by keeping cholesterol levels low and preventing arteries from clogging. Many traditional dishes and salad dressings call for extra virgin olive oil, which is high in antioxidants – important for a healthy heart. Dark leafy greens are a staple ingredient in Italy, but one that’s underused in the Italian food we typically eat in the UK. Brassica, chard, kale, escarole and collards all feature regularly in Italian meals, providing stacks of vitamin C, potassium, calcium and fibre. Leafy greens are also thought to contain cancer-fighting properties, making them a true super-food.
Beans - Lentils and chickpeas offer a healthier alternative to meat in many Italian recipes. Rich in fibre, protein, calcium, iron and zinc, as well as low in saturated-fat and containing antioxidant-rich flavonols, learning how to cook with beans and pulses can add a serious health kick to your diet. Regional specialities in Siciliy and Puglia include bean soups, lentil fritters and lentil salads - some of Italy’s favourite dishes.

From seafood rich in omega-3 to fresh pasta, packed with carbs and fibre, the health benefits of Italian cuisine are endless. We must, of course, allow ourselves some indulgence, but the trick is learning how to cook authentic dishes and use the best fresh ingredients so that you can control what you’re eating.

The Italians have got it right, when they say ‘Mangiare per vivere e non vivere per mangiare’ – ‘Eat to live and not live to eat’ - except perhaps, when the tiramisu comes out!

Summer Flavours from Italy

We tend to think of pasta as a hearty main course, laden with rich and tasty sauces. This might seem a bit much for summer eating, when we would naturally go for lighter dishes. What you can forget that all over Italy in warmer months cooks are busy creating fresh and tasty pasta salads. Too often what we find in England is loaded with mayonnaise or swimming in dressing. In Italy they are more concerned with the flavour and quality of the sauces rather than the quantity.

Here I’ve provided the most summery of salads, using a fabulous Sardinian pasta, fregola. These are tiny pasta balls that are first sun-dried, then toasted. They are available in my special Italian Islands deli-box, but you can substitute it for cous-cous or another very small pasta shape. If you’d like to find out more about The Good Fork, the authentic Italian food we source and our varied deli-boxes, then visit www.thegoodfork.co.uk or call 020 8166 1900.

Happy Eating this Summer from The Good Fork!

Sardinian Summer Salad

1 small courgette, diced
1 small carrot, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
500ml of chicken or vegetable stock
200g of fregola
1 bay leaf
1 pinch of saffron
4 tbsps of good olive oil
1 orange, 1 lemon
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
150g of black olives, stoned and chopped
Handful of parsley, chopped
A few leaves of basil, chopped
Freshly ground salt and pepper

• Blanch the diced carrot, courgette and celery in a pan of boiling water for 30 seconds.  Drain and then put into a bowl of cold water, with an ice cube or three in.  This stops them being either rock solid or over cooked. After a few minutes, drain again and put to one side
• Bring the chicken stock to the boil in a sauce pan, then add the fregola, saffron and bay leaf.  Once the pan has returned to the boil, turn down the heat a little and let it simmer for 12 -15 minutes.  The fregola should absorb most of the stock in the cooking process
• Meanwhile chop the herbs, tomatoes, shallot and olives.  Grate the zest of the orange and lemon and put to one side.  Juice half of the orange and add a good squeeze of lemon juice – perhaps a tablespoon
• Once the fregola is done (it should have a slightly chewy centre, being a little al dente), drain thoroughly if there is any remaining stock.  The saffron will mean it has a lovely golden colour.  Put in a large bowl to cool, add the olive oil, and stir occasionally so the grains don’t stick together
• Add mixed the diced vegetables, herbs and citrus juice to the fregola.  Season well with salt and pepper.  Garnish with the orange and lemon zest.  Serve cool
  

If you go down to the woods today... make sure they are in Italy

Where would Italian cooking be without a handful of mushrooms? As fungi does in nature, so in this cuisine, they just appear and you can expect to eat mushrooms which are fresh, dried, canned, preserved or infused in some way or another. The Italians are nothing if not ingenious in making use of everything produced in that fertile country.

All of Italy has a passion for both Puccini and Porcini. The latter is an endearing diminutive, meaning little pig or piglet. It’s not surprising this squat little fellow has earned such a moniker as Porcini has a texture akin to meat and combines pungent aroma with a slightly dank earthiness with memories of the pine forest or chestnut woods where these meaty beauties were born. Their nuttiness marries so efficaciously with Italian ingredients it actually provides tasty dishes fitting for the most aristocratic banquet or the simplest of breakfasts.

It’s not a surprise that Porcini should be totally entwined in Italian culinary tradition, as in the wild state, it develops a symbiosis with its host and often emerges at the base of trees. Sometimes they are difficult to spot exactly as the genus Boletus is prolific and varies tremendously in terms of shape, size and colour but the prize must be those pale youngsters bedding down beneath chestnut trees. Imagine foraging early in the morning and discovering a patch of plump fleshy caps which exude the scent of nature, time passing, fecundity and decay; it is a heady perfume that reminds us of our birth and where we are all eventually headed. Porcini? Just a mushroom? You have to be kidding!

An Italian staple is Boletus Brisa and these can be found in mountainous regions and an area famed for production is close to Parma. If you have ever inspected the classic preserved anti pasti funghi in oil you will notice the Porcini used there is often Porcino Nero and sometimes Porcini mushroom also appear to reflect their background being coppery orange just like the beech woods from which they derive. Do note, pickers in Italy do so under license and are restricted to just two kgs per week. Whether they are picking Porcino d’estate or Porcino del Freddo they must be gathered in traditional baskets. Why? To allow spores the opportunity to waft in the air and ensure a succession of mushrooms in future seasons. It’s not just a romantic gesture to swing your brimming basket on the way home from a successful foraging trip you are enacting a valuable service too.

So, once gathered, what might you do with your fresh porcini mushrooms? Our Flavours cookery mentors are full of ideas yet sometimes the simplest one which accentuate those Porcini qualities means fresh produce cannot be topped or messed around with too much. Treat your fresh Porcini with love and respect and just expose them to a brief grill and serve with the highest quality olive oil, some garlic if you like and chopped parsley and for me, a squeeze of lemon. Who needs meat when a mushroom tastes like this? You could fry or stew them, add tomato or chop them to top a slice of bruschetta. I defy you not to nibble all the time you prepare these little delicacies as bread and mushrooms were made for one another.

If you plump for preserved Porcini they must be steeped in good quality olive oil and should be kept cool, maybe in a dark cupboard or pantry so they don’t fade. If you are in Tuscany, Umbria or Puglia on a Flavours cooking course, expect local varieties to differ as each growing tradition is affected by climate, by woodland and of course, by geology.

After being excited by the possibilities Porcini can bring to your cooking, unless you live near a large urban area most people will need to settle for dried versions. These are in no way inferior and the drying process lends these mushrooms a different but very special quality all of their own. The flavour is more intense and this concentrated packet of intensity will transform a risotto or soup. Ensure their presence is announced as you open a packet – if they have lost their aroma, then I am afraid the taste will have evaporated too. If their appearance is crumbly or dusty, leave well alone.

If you have fallen in love with Italian food and really want to explore its traditions and techniques then join a cookery course and infuse your life with the passion and romance of Italy, who knows what you might discover about life, love and death when handling the beloved Porcini!

Dunk Me, Dip Me, Taste Me

Cantucci, Amaretti, Pizzelle, Vin Santo or Masala, you choose.

We talk about tea being too dry without a biscuit; the Italians are just a little more sophisticated when they choose to dunk a biscotti. Suddenly your senses are transported, tasting a prickling crunchiness collapsing onto your tongue aided by the tangy sweetness of Vin Santo or Marsala. What you end up with is a deliciously sloppy mess of alcohol, almonds, honey and egg which is far more of a pick-me-up than cucumber sandwiches and tea with the vicar I find.

Merenda which is taken in the afternoon is one of the Italian portions of the day reserved for biscuit eating, breakfast being the other. That doesn’t mean you are forced to drink alcohol for breakfast, goodness me! A caffe latte will suffice in this instance but I do have a vision of biscotti and Masala in bed with the warm sun peeking through the blinds at 7 in the morning – how decadent!

Biscotti derive from the age old conundrum of food preservation and the Italians discovered if you baked a simple mixture of flour and eggs twice, you would be left with a dry product which might well defy moulds and bacteria just itching to invade. These dry Biscotti were favoured by travellers and apparently, Roman legions, who we know marched on their stomachs after all. Pliny is quoted as having said they would last for centuries and in essence he was correct.

Today, preservation is not paramount and you can discover confections which are filled with chocolate, sugar and other exotica alongside the traditional almond flavour; surely these are not temptations emanating from heaven? Original biscotti came from Tuscany and were infused with almonds from Prato, locals know them as Cantucci and Cantucci di Pratto and they are typically found in any Tuscan pasticceria. As many Flavours guests have discovered they become an obsession.

As the Italians are famed for their artistic improvisation it would not be long before a staple travelling biscuit would be infused with passion by Italian bakers and each area began to develop its own signature Cantucci. Certainly they understood the unhurried pleasure emanating from dipping this confection slowly into a syrupy Vin Santo and savouring the taste, while lazily watching the world go by.

Pizzelle is another biscuit with a long history having been made for over 1000 years in Abruzzo which is situated towards the south of Italy. The word itself describes something which is diminutive, round and flat and made with batter poured into flat iron plates and heated. Nowadays two small towns vie with each other as being the originators of Pizzelle and those living in Salle (in Pescara) walk through the town each July complete with branches smothered with Pizzelle in celebration of Beato Roberto. Whereas in Cocullo (L’’Aquila), Pizzelle are consumed in honour of Domenico which is Cocullo’s patron saint. Nowadays these biscuits are also served at weddings as they have come to symbolise family and it is not unusual to have them baked using irons that depict a family coat of arms.

One could not write about biscotti without mentioning Amaretti biscuits; I can feel a part II developing of this survey gestating in my mind as I write. An amaretto is basically a macaroon-style biscuit and originates in Saronno (Lombardy). Amaretto means ‘little bitter things’, which also partner sweet wine so sumptuously. They are associated with a charming legend which comes from the 1700s.

Apparently a church dignitary made an unannounced call on the town of Saronno and two young residents were the ones to welcome him. As his arrival was a surprise they rustled up what they had available and presented a plate of special biscuits in his honour. In their hurry they had mixed up egg white, sugar and crushed almonds. It is not difficult to imagine how pleased the visitor was with this happy example of necessity being the mother of invention. As a consequence he blessed this young couple with a fruitful and enduring marriage. Therefore the recipe for this airy confection remained a close kept secret for years.

In Italy, as in the UK, biscuits are extremely big business and the choice is almost overwhelming, wrap your tongue around this list: Baci di Dama, Amaretti, Torcetti, Brut E Buon, Spumini, Croccantucci Alle Mandorle, Cantucci Al Miele, Savoiardi, Masserini, Torcetti Al Cioccolato.

If you manage a trip to Tuscany, Sicily, Umbria or Puglia on a Flavours holiday this year you will be able to indulge in the very wicked act of dipping biscotti in wine; I envy you.

Vivienne Neale is a member of the UKFood Bloggers Association

Our guide to Italian cheeses Part 2

Italy: Excite, Experiment And Enjoy Cooking With Her Cheeses

Continuing from Part 1 of Our guide to Italian Cheeses, we now move to southern Italy for a product emanating from Puglia that hasn't yet reached its centenary and is thought to have emerged as a convenient way of using up ritagli, those scraps left in the production of Mozarella. Originally it was wrapped in Asphodel leaves whose greenness guaranteed freshness but these have been replaced, alas, by plastic.

Ricotta, literally translated as ’ re-cooked’ is another softie made of milk whey from sheep, cow, buffalo or goat milk utilised in general cheese production. However, it’s not really a cheese as casein isn’t coagulated and it does spoil very quickly. Chef, Alastair Little’s recipe laid ricotta on sheets of fresh pasta as part of a stuffing comprising Parmesan, nutmeg, spinach and seasoning, this is then rolled up, sealed in foil, poached gently and served with a simple tomato sauce. Its versatility secures its place in the cooking of Italy or you could simply eat it with honey, a little cinnamon, a few hazelnut biscuits (tozzetti) and a sweet white wine if you were feeling particularly lazy.

One cheese synonymous with Italian cuisine is Gorgonzola, a bit of a thug with its bite and saltiness, if made with goats’ milk. It’s a blue cheese crafted since the 9th century but didn’t attain its greeny-blue characteristic tattooing until a couple of hundred years later.

Lombary and Picardy in the north produce most and it enjoys protected geographical status (DOC) and is a product of magic and organisms which produce the veining. It’s a cows milk cheese amalgamated with penicillium. Metal rods are inserted then removed to create tubes for air to pass allowing the mould to metamorphose into hyphae. It is this process that result in this artistry of veining, try it with succulent pears that dribble everywhere for a startling contrast or poach them for a stunning salad served with a mixture of gorgonzola and mascarpone, a confection dreamed up by Peter Gordon.

Which leaves us with Parmesan, we all thought was a powder sold in green, red and white striped small tubs with a sickly aroma, years ago. Nowadays shavings of fresh Parmesan will grace a green salad oiled with a mustard dressing, coat parsnips or form part of a breadcrumb coating for fish which is a distinct no-no within the cooking of Italy. Parmigiano Reggiano is a toughie, hard and granular and taking its name from the region where it was originally produced. As early as the 14th century references to Parmesan were cropping up in literature and even Pepys mentions it when he buried his precious cheese to preserve it from the ravages of the Great Fire of 1666.

Cooking In Italy relies on these beautiful natural products, experiment by all means, but most of all, enjoy.

Our guide to Italian cheeses Part 1

Italy: Excite, Experiment And Enjoy Cooking With Her Cheeses

Cooking in Italy would be impoverished, nay incomplete, without the addition of cheese. Like wine, this precious commodity responds to temperature, humidity, soil fertility human ingenuity and animal husbandry. It’s an organic result of a process dating back at least 8000 years.
Necessity is the mother of invention, the sun’s rays on fresh milk required a method to halt despoliation and preserve a nutritious foodstuff; e cosi, cheese was the solution. Although this technological leap forward appears to have originated from the Middle East it was the Romans who understood how essential this skill could be in shaping cooking back home in Italy.

The Romans were evangelists, spreading the good news across their Empire, but like so many of their aesthetic sensibilities and innovations, at the collapse, the ‘big society’ approach was lost and each region in Italy began to experiment, exploiting their particular geology or climatic variation to develop products which, to this day, vary both season by season or year on year. Nevertheless names such: Parmesan, Grana Padana, Ricotta, Gorgonzola and Burrata are synonymous with cooking in Italy.

These cheeses delight our senses and excite our palettes with their gloriously original and idiosyncratic personalities. Gorgonzola for example collapses in a Victorian swoon at the first sign of heat, whereas Parmessan is stoic, strong and awkwardly rubbery should you overcook it. Grana Padano, on the other hand will exude a sweet, fruity taste whilst offering up a crumbly grainy texture, hence ‘grana’ the Italian for ‘grain’. It’s the Grande Dame of cooking in Italy, having an illustrious 1000 year old history being first produced near Milan by Cistercian monks.

If preservation is the goal, Grana Padano takes the cup as it can last up to two years without harm as a consequence of its slow ripening process and is incredibly popular in Italy’s cuisine. Of course, this being Italy, competition is always bubbling beneath the surface and other grana cheeses are made but Grana Padano will be fire branded to show to whom it belongs, so be certain you check the stamp.

Burrata on the other hand has a transient, fresh beauty which is considered past its best just 48 hours after production. It’s a typical combination of cooking passions in Italy: the outside is solid but inside the reward is a soft slithery textured marriage of mozzarella and cream, burrata after all meaning ‘buttered’.

Join us on Wednesday when we explore more of the delectable selection of cheeses used in Italian cooking!

Our favourite pasta sauce – Carbonara

A classic family meal in Italy and one of the most popular dishes to create in a cooking class, Pasta alla carbonara was created in Italy the mid 20th century and introduced to cookery books and cooking classes in England in the 1950s.

Most British and US versions feature cream as a key ingredient, but in any genuine Italian cooking class, the chef will tell you that cream is not an ingredient of classic carbonara.

The true origins of the source are uncertain Italy; many believe that the dish was first made for Italy’s charcoal workers, as the word carbonaro means 'charcoal burner' in Italy; whilst other believe it’s merely the charcoal-like flecks of black pepper that have given one of Italy’s favourite dishes its name.

The beauty of carbonara is its simplicity, and you don’t need a cooking class in Italy to handle to basics. Simply take seven key ingredients:

· Bacon - chopped
· Garlic
· Olive oil
· Eggs - beaten
· Parmesan
· Spaghetti
· Black pepper

Sauté the bacon and garlic in the olive oil, then add freshly cooked spaghetti to the pan and swirl around in the grease. Remove from the heat and add raw eggs, coating the pasta thoroughly. Finally, grate fresh parmesan into the dish and season with plenty of black pepper and a little salt.

But to refine this dish, guidance from an authentic Italian chef in a cooking class, plus fresh ingredients from Italy will transform your carbonara from delicious to delizioso.

A decent cooking class in Italy will start with an upgrade of ingredients; rather than use simple breakfast bacon, a genuine Italian cooking class will advise using guanciale – unsmoked Italian bacon made using pig’s cheek; or pancetta – a salt-cured and seasoned bacon made from pork belly. Whilst some chefs in Italy will argue that guanciale is the true meat of a traditional carbonara, others say that a fifty-fifty split of pancetta and guanciale was traditionally used in Italy. Either way, these delicious meats provide a far more subtle and deeper taste than standard bacon.

The cheese is the next upgrade. Traditionally, two of Italy's great hard cheeses can be used: pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The less-expensive and sharper flavoured pecorino cheese is often attributed to the most authentic carbonaras, although others prefer to used Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a combination of both. Again, Italy’s chefs argue over authenticity here, so you may be taught slight variations in a cooking class.

A cooking class in Italy will also help you to master techniques such as classic seasoning, consistency, sauce to pasta ratios, and the tricky technique of adding eggs over heat without scrambling them – a classic carbonara faux-par.

So there you have it. Carbonara: our favourite pasta sauce here at Flavours Holidays. Who would have thought that eggs and bacon could be so refined?

Arborio Rice: An Italian Storecupboard Staple

Think Italy and food and the first thing that springs to mind will, no doubt, be pasta. However, dig a little deeper and picture the menu in an Italian restaurant and alongside the spaghetti carbonara and lasagne you’ll usually see a risotto dish. Rice as well as pasta is quintessentially Italian.

It’s thought that rice was introduced to Sicily by the Arabs and arrived in northern Italy in the 14th century, possibly brought in by traders from Genoa and Venice. In the Po Valley north-east of Turin, it thrived in the flat, wet and humid conditions and soon became a staple food. Today the main rice-growing areas are Piedmonte, the Veneto and Lombardy.

At one stage there were around 40 different varieties grown, however, when we talk about Italian rice we usually mean Arborio or risotto rice. In Italy there are four varieties of rice used for risotto: Arborio, Carnaroli, Baldo and Vialone Nano. However, outside Italy Arborio is the most commonly found.

This short-grain rice is plump, firm, chewy - and creamy when cooked. This is because of the starch content: as you stir the starch is broken down and released creating a creamy consistency. (You should never wash risotto rice as you’ll rinse away some of the starch). Risotto should be slightly al dente – with a bite, like pasta. Arborio rice is, crucially, able to absorb a lot of liquid yet still retain a crunch. You don’t want mush – although in parts of Italy they prefer their risotto soft and soupy...

Risotto is an incredibly easy dish to rustle up. The basic ingredients are always the same. You start with soffrito (sauteed onions and garlic). Then add the rice to the pan and lightly toast it with the mix. Add a splash of wine and then gradually ladle in a good broth or stock plus any additional ingredients for flavour. To finish grate Parmesan on top.

In Italy risotto is generally served as a first course and they tend to keep it simple. You can’t beat a good Risotto Parmigiano. However, there are also regional variations. In the Veneto they love their seafood risotto. In Milan they add saffron for Risotto alla Milanese. In the spring Risotto Primavera with zingy fresh asparagus and peas is a perfect light dish. Mushroom risotto is moreish, or add Italian sausage and beans for hearty comfort food. Risotto is nothing if not versatile. The most intriguing recipe I’ve found, however, is one for strawberry risotto with balsamic vinegar. A pink concoction it’s not sweet, apparently, but has a fruity sourness - perfect for summer.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is good for you. That’s old news, of course. We all know that olive oil is an intrinsic part of the healthy ‘Mediterranean diet’. But there seem to be so many claims for its powers that it can often seem more miracle cure than kitchen essential.

It’s a ‘good’ fat, bursting with antioxidants and high in monounsaturated fatty acids. Studies have shown that it can protect against heart disease and raise HDL – the good cholesterol levels which help to unblock clogged arteries. In a study back in 2005 taking eight teaspoons (40ml) of extra virgin olive oil for just two days was shown to increase the elasticity of the arteries. It’s also claimed it can help to prevent strokes, colon cancer, breast and skin cancer… along with staving off the ageing process. It’s no wonder stories circulate of Italian grannies swearing by a medicinal teaspoon a day.

Scouring the internet I found one website touting 101 uses for olive oil, Olive Oil Only www.oliveoilonly.org (although they’re only at number 13 so far…). A link from there will take you to another site, www.thepassionateolive.com. Carol Firenze’s book, The Passionate Olive also lists 101 things to do with olive oil. It’s a growing trend.

Thomas Jefferson was a firm advocate claiming ‘the olive tree is surely the richest gift of heaven,’ while Homer called it ‘liquid gold’. Greek athletes used to rub it over their bodies (it’s a great moisturiser too). Anyone cutting down an olive tree in Ancient Greece was sentenced to death or exile. Olive oil, even then, was used in medicine and cosmetics, infused with herbs.

Most of us also know that there are different grades of olive oil, however. The health benefits come from the crème de la crème - extra virgin olive oil. This is the oil from the first cold-pressing: essentially the ‘fruit juice’ of the olive. Virgin olive oil is made the same way but has a higher acidity, while plain old olive oil comes from the second pressing or the chemical extraction of the olive mash. Some people find the extra virgin olive oil too strong for cooking, overpowering the other flavours. Which is when the blander olive oil comes into its own.

So how do you choose your olive oil? It’s down to personal preference and taste of course. And price. The best extra virgin olive oils come with a hefty price tag. There are around 30 different types of olives grown in Italy alone, each with its own characteristic, their flavour influenced by a number of factors including soil type, weather and terrain. For instance Tuscan oils tend towards the rich, green and fruity, Sicilian oils can be nutty and spicy while in Umbria you get full-bodied, leafy oils which pack quite a punch.

As far as cooking goes – save your extra virgin olive oil for drizzling on salads or using in dressings. Swap it for butter in mashed potato – or more unusually try it with toast and jam… And don’t forget the teaspoon a day.

Eat your way round Tuscany

Ask Aoife. Forget Ask Jeeves, or even Google – when it comes to restaurant recommendations I ask Aoife.

Aoife O’Riordain is another travel writer who worked at the Independent – but she should be a food writer. Her other passion is Italy. So before flying to Tuscany last week the first thing I rooted out was her last feature on Florence. And after dumping our bags at quirky Casa Howard, our B&B, my boyfriend and I flip-flopped over the river Arno for supper. For that ‘dining with the locals’ experience she had name-checked Trattoria Cammillo (Borgo San Jacopo 57r, 00 39 055 212427, closed Mondays).

This atmospheric neighbourhood restaurant is crammed with locals in three higgledy piggledy little dining rooms. A rich pungent rabbit macaroni and a creamy sea bass ravioli started the holiday perfectly.

I texted a thank you for the tip. “Where are you eating tomorrow?” she fired back. “You should try Cibrèo, but go early.” And so it began.

According to my guidebook Cibrèo (8/r Via A. del Verrocchio, 00 39 055 234 1100) in Santa Croce was split in two, the more formal restaurant full of tourists and three times the price, the little trattoria buzzing and full of locals. You share cramped tables and you can’t book. We ate with a German couple and two New Yorkers working in Hollywood. The waiter squeezed onto the table with us to explain the menu. It was pure theatre.

Cibrèo gives you a gourmet take on traditional homespun Tuscan dishes and injected a bit of pizzazz into Florence’s food scene when it first opened. Soups are a speciality. I slurped the spicy fish soup, my boyfriend the traditional Tuscan vegetable - more of a thick stew. Then for mains, pigs cheek, dark and rich. The trattoria had bags of atmosphere and a dollop of Italian chaos.

After a couple of days in Florence we were moving on to Fortezza de Cortesi a rustic old farmhouse B&B, dripping with climbing roses outside San Gimignano for a few nights. Just down the road in the little town of Colle di Val d’Elsa Aoife had another two favourites: Arnolfo, with its two Michelin stars and Officina della Cucina Populare (via Gracco del Secco, 86; 00 39 0577 921796; www.cucina-popolare.com) - funky, contemporary shabby chic and exciting flavours.

“You’re my pawns,” Aoife texted as she moved us around the Tuscan chessboard.

We sat outside on the quiet street as the restaurant was packed. I had the Pecorino cheese flan with slithers of pear and drizzled with honey, followed by a rich ricotta and chard tortelli with butter and sage sauce. Iain tried the local speciality Pici, a thick spaghetti with suckling beef ragu. For dessert, spelt and ricotto pie with dried fig ice-cream.

In Greve in Chianti: ‘Go to Mangiando, Mangiando on the main square.” We did. And had one of the best spaghettis vongoles I’ve tasted under the jaunty yellow awning.

We went off piste a couple of times. We found a lovely little enoteca in Radda, La Bottega di Giovannino which started life as a food shop in 1965 and is now a cosy little wine bar. And at the winery and monastery Badia a Coltibuono, also in Chianti we had a lovely lunch: gnocchi di ricotta ripeni di cozze su guazetto di mitili (ricotta cheese and mussel dumplings on a mussel veloute) followed by a selection of local goat and sheep’s cheese with rhubarb chutney washed down with the monastery’s organic Chianti Classico Reserva 2007.

Aoife’s piece de resistance, however, was Locanda Borgo Antico. Partly because we couldn’t find it. “Off the beaten track, outside Greve, in Dimezzano,” she told us. It wasn’t in my guidebook, on our map or on the sat nav. “Are you sure?” I quizzed. “You doubt the oracle?’ came back at us.

“It’s outside Lucolena, in a little clutch of houses hidden among the trees.” We found Lucolena on the map so set off in the car to hunt it down. The terrace overlooking hills blanketed with chestnut woods was picture-perfect, the restaurant an old farmhouse, again full of Italians – not a tourist in sight. “Have the pappardelle with wild boar,” Aoife texted. It’s delicious.” It was. (00 39 055 851024; www.ilborgoantico.it)

Lucy Gillmore was the Deputy Travel Editor at The Independent and is now a freelance writer based in Edinburgh.

Parmesan

“Parmesan?” A huge slab of cheese is brandished over your plate of pasta as you’re about to tuck in. Say ‘when’ and you’ll get a generous coating – or tentative sprinkling - of rich, tangy Italian cheese. I like my Parmesan in thick buttery-yellow slivers. I want to taste the graininess, the crystalline texture. I love a pungent, crumbly mountain, not a light dandruff-style shower.

Often called the ‘king of cheese,’ Parmesan is not simply an accompaniment to carbonara, of course. It gives depth and richness to soups, stocks and risottos, it’s a vital ingredient in pesto, while a few shavings jazz up any salad. Rocket and Bresaola without Parmesan? Unthinkable. It can also be eaten in chunks with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar – or honey. As a dessert it’s delicious with fresh figs and caramelised walnuts or juicy pears.

Parmesan is, arguably, the most famous cheese in the world. If you delve into its history you find literary references to piles of grated Parmesan in Boccaccio’s Decameron back in the 14th century, while Samuel Pepys is said to have frantically buried his Parmesan to save it from the Great Fire of London.

Of course there are plenty of pretenders around. Pale imitators. While the usual territorial squabbles meant that eventually it gained PDO – protected designation of origin. Now only cheese produced in Reggio Emilia, Parma, Modena and part of Bologna can use the name Parmesan in Europe. Look for Parmigiano-Reggiano stamped on the rind along with the date.

Parmesan is a granular, hard cheese, made from cows’ milk and matured for a minimum of 12 months. The cows eat only grass and cereals and are given no antibiotics. The only additive is salt. The cheese spends 20 days in a tank of brine, saturated with sea salt.

As for maturity, Giovane is the youngest (and cheapest option for cooking), Vecchio is between 18 months to two years old, while Stravecchio is matured for two to three years. This is often thought to be the best ‘table cheese,’ wheeled out after dinner. The most expensive Parmesan is Stravecchione, which can be up to four years old. As a rule of thumb, the older the cheese, the more complex the flavour: true Parmigiano-Reggiano has a vibrant, nutty taste with a hint of fruit.

When you’re buying Parmesan, never opt for ready grated cheese as it loses its flavour incredibly quickly. And as for those tubs of powdery Parmesan, they’re a culinary crime. If possible always go to a cheesemonger or deli and watch as your chunk is cut from a whole cheese or ‘wheel’.

Other interesting facts about Parmesan: Italian mothers used to give the Parmesan crusts to their children to chew, as they have a high calcium content. A whole Parmigiano was traditionally hollowed out for special occasions in Italy and used as a serving bowl. And, in Italy, Parmesan is thought to be an aphrodisiac…

Why I love white truffles

Gastronomically, November means several things in Italy: game, chestnuts, olive oil and truffles. The countryside around our house is full of grappa heartened hunters taking pot shots at anything that moves, while chestnuts and olives both involve some labour intensive (and lets face it, tedious) preparation. So for me, truffles are the highlight of the month.

I love their aroma, rather memorably described by New Zealand truffle expert Gareth Renowden (www.limestonehills.co.nz) as reminiscent of ‘old socks and sex’; I think there is also a tang of garlic mingled with the heady whiff of feral fungi. White truffles are high maintenance mushrooms: they have a short season when they’re ripe, they don’t like being commercially cultivated and go off rather quickly – and all these factors make them expensive. You won’t find them in the supermarkets.

So getting hold of some decent specimens is a food-lovers excuse to don their Indiana Jones hat and set off on an adventure: go on a truffle-hunting weekend or track down a reputable supplier (www.trufflehunter.co.uk). And there is no better way to experience Italians’ love of food than to visit one of the truffle fairs that take place during winter. Alba (www.fieradeltartufo.org) and Acqualagna (www.comune.acqualagna.ps.it) are the famous ones, but small towns like Cingoli and Montefortino in Le Marche also have them.

Take your treasure home with you, and without further ado gather a select few of your truffle-loving friends round for some tagliatelle: just toss plenty of butter and grated Parmesan in with the pasta before grating the truffle over each serving. It will be heaven on a plate.

Author profile:

Vicky Bennison (www.vickybennison.com) writes about the food, people and producers of Spain, Greece and now Italy, where she has a home. Her most recent book is Seasonal Spanish Food, co-authored with Jose Pizarro, and she has written 3 books in The Taste of a Place series. (www.thetasteofaplace.com)