Cooking fresh food and drinking divine Cape wines in Melkbosstrand Cape Town
Pampanella Molisana is a traditional Italian dish from the Molise region. It is a pork dish flavored with paprika, garlic, and other seasonings. The pork is typically marinated, then slow-cooked or roasted to achieve tender and flavorful results.
Balancing between tradition and innovation, this dish proved to be truly exquisite. Grilled sheep tails create a flavorful ragù in a homemade pasta and then topped with a creamy béchamel and Parmesan cheese.
Pasta alla Gricia is a classic Roman pasta dish that exemplifies simplicity at its finest. This humble yet incredibly flavorful dish is a staple in the traditional cuisine of Rome, showcasing the region’s love for cured pork and aged cheese. With just a handful of ingredients, Pasta alla Gricia delivers a satisfying and comforting meal that will transport you straight to the heart of Italy.
This rigatoni with fennel sausage and pecorino and anchovy pesto dish is a recipe I got from Yotam Ottolenghi and can be found here.
Tagliata di manzo is an Italian beef fillet recipe traditionally served with only arugula (rocket) and cheese. This recipe enhances the dish by adding balsamic vinegar and thyme.
I recently went on a charcuterie course hosted by Richard Bosman and one of the sausages we made was an Italian sausage called Salsiccia. Being quite a hot day and looking for something light, I decided to use this sausage for this Italian sausage salad.
Ragù is an Italian meat-based sauce normally served with pasta. For the meat, I chose duck breasts and as for the pasta, I decided on pappardelle which is a large, very broad and flat pasta. The “ruggedness” of the pappardelle goes very well with the peasant-style ragù. To spruce things up a bit, I added aubergine and fava (broad) beans.
I think even the Italians will not all agree on the origin of puttanesca, but most will agree that it originated in Naples in the mid-20th century. “Puttana” which translates to “prostitute” led to the theory that the sauce was invented in one of the many “bordellos” in Naples. The twist, which I add to this dish, is the use of guanciale instead of olive oil.
This is a creamy and wholesome Italian dish which is very easy and quick to prepare. The dish is said to originate from western Sicily in the 19th century with English families, where Marsala wine is produced. A heavy French influence is also suspected together with American influence in the modern version. This will probably explain why Chicken Marsala is more popular in the Unites States than Italy these days. See this article.
This is a very easy dish which can be served as a main or a starter or a side dish.
Green beans or string beans, are at their best when picked young and tender for a fresh, crunchy texture. The guanciale can probably be replaced with pancetta or bacon, but it offers a much more complex and rich flavour.