Tag Archives: recipe

Our Italian Library

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PASTA. Noodles. Spaghetti. It is often one of the simplest meals you can make. On weeknights we often find ourselves tucking into a bowl of the comfort food, as it is fast and delicious.

But the world of pasta is a very big world. In Italy, each region, sometimes each town, has it’s own specialties.  Pasta that is served nightly on tables in Naples will never see the light of day in Milan.

Each pasta shape was created to pair with a certain sauce. Once you start learning how to properly prepare pasta, your world can change.

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Where is where The Silver Spoon Pasta, from the powerhouse publishers Phaidon, comes in handy. An encyclopedia of knowledge about this product can be found in its pages. With beautiful photography and recipes from basic to gourmet, it is the definitive source on pasta varieties and recipes.

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We like to play “pasta roulette” with this book. Randomly open a page, and BAM – make that for dinner. There are 360 recipes, so you only need to find none-pasta meals for five days a year. You can pick up a pasta starter kit at Via Umbria, and then get cracking in the kitchen.

A tavola!

– Via Umbria

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Silver Spoon Pasta Read more

PASTA. Noodles. Spaghetti. It is often one of the simplest meals you can make. On weeknights we often find ourselves tucking into ...

Goat Curds and Little Herds

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How cute are these little white goats!?  Bill and and son Teddy and daughter Lindsey, along with Via Umbria favorite Simone Proietti-Pescigot a chance to visit the goats last week when they stopped by the farm of local cheesemaker and winemaker Diego Calcabrina. Diego is well known and respected in the area for making goat cheese, alongside small batches of hand crafted Sagrantino wine.  He is very passionate about his work as a farmer and a winemaker. He holds himself out as a biodynamic farmer, which means he practices organic farming, as well as many other strictures about following the phases of the moon and getting in touch with nature’s natural rhythms.

 

The Menard family visited Diego for the first time last fall, and Lindsey, Teddy and Bill (along with Simone) revisited on the first day of their current trip. Cheese first.

 

And just how difficult is it to make goat cheese? The process is not too complicated but requires completely clean and unadulterated goat’s milk, which is an art in itself. Those goats are not always the most cleanly, or easy, to milk. And it requires a cheesemaker’s niche knowledge of the right feel of curd, and the correct temperatures during the different stages of the cheese process.

 

But you should try it at home. Goat cheese is best when ultra-fresh. You can still taste the…goats…which most of the time is a good thing. Yours may not end up as good as Diego’s, but you can always drop by Via Umbria and pick up a bottle of Sagrantino to wash it down.

 

Simply follow these few steps:

In a medium saucepan, we heat the fresh goat milk until it reaches about 180 degrees.

Then we remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. This separates the curds (the fat and protein, which becomes cheese), from the whey (the liquid).

We shake the little curds into their cheese containers, and place them on a tray that allows the excess whey to run off into the pail. One the desired amount of liquid has come off, the curds all set in their containers, making a solid block of cheese.

 

Ci Vediamo!

– Via Umbria

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How to make goat cheese at home Read more

  How cute are these little white goats!?  Bill and and son Teddy and daughter Lindsey, along with Via Umbria favorite Simone Proietti-Pesci, got ...

Chef Simone’s Spinach Risotto

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I recently had a dinner party, and reached out to our favorite Chef Simone for a quality risotto recipe. Risotto is wonderful for serving a crowd because of its long simmer time. After you throw the first ingredients in, it just takes a small stir every few minutes while you prep the other courses and make drinks. When my guest arrived 20 minutes late, it was no issue, as I just turned the rice to low and let it simmer for a little while why we waited.

This simple recipe was a huge hit, perfect for a cozy winter night in with some friends and a bottle of wine.

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INGREDIENTS:

one large shallot

one cup white wine

vegetable or chicken stock

butter

1/2 cup parmigiano cheese

two cups Gli Airioni rice

zest of one lemon

three cups spinach

 

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INSTRUCTIONS:

In a large saucepan, cook the diced shallot in two tablespoons butter over medium-low heat, stirring until softened, for about 5 minutes.

Add the rice and stirring constantly add the white wine, until it is absorbed.

Continue adding stock, stirring constantly and letting each batch be absorbed before adding the rest.

Reduce the heat to moderate, if necessary, to keep the risotto at a simmer.

Continue adding the stock in the same manner until the rice is tender and creamy looking but still al dente, about 20 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low, add the parmigiano. Mix well. Add the spinach and the lemon zeste and continue mixing. Serve with some more parmesan on top!

 

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You'll want to have it everyday Read more

I recently had a dinner party, and reached out to our favorite Chef Simone for a quality risotto recipe. Risotto is wonderful ...

Simone’s Butternut Squash & Sage Tortelloni

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We were lucky enough to have Simone in the store with us on Wednesday, to teach us how to make delightful fresh pasta with butternut squash filling. See our previous tutorial on how to make the fresh pasta here.

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg per person • Extravirgin olive oil

• 100g 00 flour

INSTRUCTIONS

• Weigh the flour and place on a wooden board in a pile

making a well in the middle.

• Break the egg into the well and stir into the flour slowly

using a fork.

• Add a drizzle of extravirgin olive oil.

• Mix the dough into a ball.

• Knead the dough using the ball of your hand until it is

smooth, soft (not sticky) and springy.

• Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for 15-30 minutes

before rolling.

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FILLING  FOR TORTELLONI

INGREDIENTS

Butter

Sage

Parmigiano

Nutmeg

White pepper

One whole butternut squash

INSTRUCTIONS

Peel the squash and cut into cubes.  Sauté in oil until lightly roasted.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add water, lower heat and cover.  Cook until very soft.

Purée squash with 1 egg yolk and grated parmigiano. Season with nutmeg to taste.

Once tortelloni is made, garnish with sage and serve!

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For the real treat, join Simone on his home turf for a cooking tour with Via Umbria. Cucinapalooza will be happening April 18 – 24, 2015.

Or for an experience close-to-home, join Simone next week on Wednesday as he makes oricchiette with broccolini, from 5-6 at Via Umbria. See you next week!

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— Via Umbria

Chef Simone has done it again! Read more

We were lucky enough to have Simone in the store with us on Wednesday, to teach us how to make delightful fresh ...

Simone Proietti’s Pasta

On January 13th we will have the opportunity to host a few weeks of food events with our favorite chef Simone. Here is one of his classic Italian recipes; simple, easy, and thoroughly delightful. In the past he has cooked us Osso Buco, lentil soup, Crescionda Spoletina, and eggplant.  We keep on coming back for more.

We are lucky enough to have Simone joining us for free pasta making classes in-store the next two Wednesdays from now. Join us at Via Umbria from 5-6 and learn from the our friend and master chef. The fresh pasta will take this recipe to gourmet status! RSVP here.

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Cook time: 30 minutes (with pre-made pasta)

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

500g pasta

5 cups arugula

2 cups cherry tomatoes

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

Thyme and basil, to taste and chopped

Food IMG_2569 ©2014 Eric van den Brulle

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Bring water to boil for pasta.

Toss tomatoes with olive oil and bake in the oven at 300F until soft and wrinkly.

Let cool slightly and toss with salt, basil, and thyme.

Add arugula to boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and immediately put in a bowl of ice to cool.

Add pasta to boiling water and cool to al dente.

Add drained arugula to blender and blend with salt, pepper, olive oil, walnuts, and parmigiana until smooth.

Drain pasta and mix with tomatoes in a large bowl.

Stir in arugula pesto, mixing well. Shave some more parmigiana on top and serve!

 

Food IMG_2560 ©2014 Eric van den Brulle

Buon appetito!

— Via Umbria

Pesci's Arugula Pesto with Roasted Tomatoes Read more

On January 13th we will have the opportunity to host a few weeks of food events with our favorite chef Simone. Here ...