Bruschetta

Bruschetta does not need any introduction whatsoever....it is a quick a brilliant way to start your meal. It originated in Central Italy and some think it dates back to the 15th century!! One of the best secrets of it is, that the more fresh the tomatoes are, the better the Bruschetta mixture. So here goes our version...just adjust the amount of ingredients to your liking. So go on try it as an appetizer, snack, starter...whatever....just dig in!!!!! You will need...

• 4 slices of crusty bread
• 3 ripe tomatoes [The best ones you can find], chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
• 4 large fresh basil leaves, hand torn
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste

1. Switch on your grill, whilst the grill is heating up, rub the garlic on the bread with your hand.
2. Grill the bread. While the bread is grilling, make the tomato mixture by combining the tomatoes, any remaining garlic, basil, pepper and olive oil in a bowl.
3. Mix thoroughly but gently until well mixed.
4. Put the mixture on the grilled bread and dress with more extra-virgin olive oil.

Enjoy!!!
R&A

Dolcelatte & Red Bell Pepper Fusilli

This must be one of tastiest pasta sauces we ever made. The kitchen is still smelling good right this minute. The flavour that balsamic vinegar gives to this sauce is just incomparable. It even looks aesthetically good as we used nice fresh large red bell pepper, an extra sweet pointed red pepper and a beautiful red onion. Dolcelatte is an Italian blue-veined soft cheese with a wonderful sweet taste and goes very well with the balsamic vinegar aroma. This sauce is very easy to prepare, so you have to give this a go...

You will need...
(Serves 4)

• 400g fusilli
• 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium extra sweet red pointed pepper, sliced
• 1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced
• 150g Dolcelatte, cut into cubes
• 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 150ml single cream
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmesan, to serve [optional]

How to...

1. Fry the onion in the olive oil until soft.
2. Add the peppers, tarragon, black pepper and cook until the peppers are soft but not soggy.
3. When peppers are cooked, add the balsamic vinegar and stir well. Simmer for a few minutes.
4. Add the cream and stir well to amalgamate it in the pepper and onion mixture. Lower the heat.
5. Stir in the Dolcelatte and stir slowly until the cheese is partially melted. Turn off the heat.
6. Carefully stir the sauce into the cooked fusilli [or other pasta shapes of your preference] and serve with or without the grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!!
R&A

Sugo ai Frutti di Mare e Tonno - Mixed Seafood & Tuna Pasta Sauce

There is nothing better for a food lover than to go to the market and see what is freshly available. The other day I was having a word with one of the fishmongers at the market and we agreed on how, unfortunately, the British people in general do not appreciate all the abundance of fish and seafood available all year round. The United Kingdom is an island surrounded by a sea and an ocean, namely the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and the amount of fish and seafood that is caught daily from them is quite abundant so there are myriad of ways in how one can cook them. But, again the British people mostly sides with the USA when it comes to food and prefers microwave meals and junk food...obviously not everyone!! :) 

We also came across whelks [scungilli] for the first time, these are large sea snails which when we had one to see what they where they did taste like the sea...wonderful...quite rubbery but taste good!! The missus was not that convinced but we bought some anyway to add them to our own seafood sauce. 

Usually seafood sauces are not prepared using tomatoes but they are cooked in bianco, that is, garlic, olive oil, white wine and obviously the seafood. But Amanda loves her sauce when it comes to pasta so we do use tomatoes, fresh or tinned!! So here is our Sugo Ai Frutti Di Mare [Pasta Sauce with Mixed Seafood]...feel free to use it with any pasta shape you like!! You will need...

• 300g Mixed Seafood [We used a mixture of cockles, prawns and mussels]
• 4-6 Whelks (Sea snails)
• 1 can good quality Tuna chunks
• 1 or 2 cans chopped tomatoes [depends on how much tomato sauce you want]
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 or 3 small dried chillies, chopped [optional but it does add a kick]
• 150ml White Lambrusco (or other white wine)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

How to...

1. Put the oil, chillies and garlic in a shallow pan and fry until garlic is golden.
2. Add the seafood and whelks, and cook for a few minutes.
3. Add the Lambrusco and simmer until the liquid evaporates.
4. Add the tuna, tomatoes, marjoram and pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes on a medium heat.
5. Serve with pasta of your choice-Linguine will be the best so you can mop up the sauce from the plate :)

Enjoy!!

R&A