The Food Of Italy: Sicily and Sardinia

Ciao Darlings!

We have reached the end of our Italy tour of all of the foods of each region. I still have two more posts to do regarding previous regions, but as of today, this was my last cooking class. Next week is our written final and the week after that is our practical final. Tears! Sicily and Sardenia are two big islands of Italy and our menu today is Pane Carasau and Cannoli.

My cooking professor and I

Pane Carasau:

Ingredients 

400gr buffalo mozzarella

4 bell peppers

Rosemary

2 garlic cloves

4 green olives

4 black olives

4 slices pane carasa

Oil, salt, pepepr



Slice the buffalo mozzarella, and put it in a colander to drain for 20 minutes. Roast the bell pepper in the oven until soft and browned then remove the peppers from the oven, and put them in a ziplock bag for a few minutes to steam. Peel the peppers, take out the seeds, and cut the peppers into big strips. Salt them and add quite a bit of chopped rosemary, chopped garlic, and oil. Take out the seeds from the olives, and cut the olives in big pieces. Place two pieces of pane carasau on a big sheet of foil. Top it with about a third of the mozzarella, bell pepper, and olives. Place another piece of pane carasau on top, more toppings, then the last pane carasau, and the rest of the toppings. Close the edges of the dish with foil, and bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees C.

Before

After

Cannoli:

Ingredients

150gr flour

10gr sugar

1 egg white

2 tablespoons marsala liquor

Pinch of salt

30gr Crisco

250gr ricotta

100gr powdered sugar

30gr mini chocolate chips

Chopped pistachios

Powdered sugar

Carefully melt the Crisco in a pan over low heat, and immediately remove from heat to let cool. Place flour out on the table and make a hole in the middle for the sugar, salt, egg white, marsala liquor, and melted Crisco. Mix it all together with your hands until you've made a ball and leave to rest for an hour. Wipe the cannoli molds with crisco. Take a little piece of dough. Roll it very thin, as thin as possible and cut it in a circle. Roll the dough around the cannoli mold and make sure to close the edges very well, otherwise it'll open up when you fry it. Deep fry the cannoli forms in very hot oil. Dry them on paper towels. Take out the molds when cool. Be careful; they break easily. Mix ricotta with powdered sugar and chocolate chips (or candied fruit) until just mixed. Put it in a pastry bag and pipe the filling into the cannoli. Dip the ends into chopped pistacchios (or put a candied cherry on each end), and then sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve!

 

I'm off to my final destination of my weekends traveling. I'm going to the city I have dreamed about for forever: Paris! I'm extremely nervous about traveling by myself, but can't wait to explore the city :)

Eternally yours,
Stephanie

Photo Credit:
Katie S. blogspot 

The Food of Italy: Calabria and Puglia

Ciao Darlings!

Today in cooking class, we explored Calabria and Puglia, two regions in the south of Italy where a Mediterranean diet is consumed. Our menu for the day was orecchiette con calamari e zucchine which translates to "little ears" pasta with calamari and zucchini and involtini di pesce spada ai carciofi  which ia swordfish rolls stuffed with artichokes.

Oecchiette con Clamari e Zucchine

Ingredients

500gr fresh "orecchette" pasta

500gr small calamari

250gr zucchini

1 shallot

Margoram

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Chop the shallot and the zucchini and saute the shallot in oil. Add the zucchini and cook for five minutes and add salt. Chop the body of the calamari into rings and cook the head first in a pan with oil for two minutes. Then add the body cut in rings. Cook for 3 minutes and add salt and the zucchini. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water and then drain the pasta. Saute it in the zucchini and calamari with some marjoram leaves, and serve!

Involtini di Pesce Spada ai Carciofi

Ingredients

5 slices of swordfish

2 fairly large potatoes

3 artichokes

1 shallot

1 garlic clove

Sugar

Wild fennel

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Chop the shallot and the wild fennel and place on top of the fish, with a pinch of salt, sugar and a drizzle of oil. Let it marinate in the fridge for an hour. Clean and slice the artichokes then saute in oil with a whole garlic clove. Peel and slice the potatoes and saute them with oil and salt in another pan until they are golden. Once the potatoes are done, place them in a baking pan. One at a time, place the fish fennel-side down on a plate. Put some artichokes on top at the bigger end, and roll up the fish. Place them on top of the potatoes and bake 15 minutes at 200 degrees C.

Buon Appetito!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

Photo Source: Katie S.

The Food Of Italy: Campagna

Boun Giorno Lovelies,

Today, in my cooking class, we learned about Campania, a southern region in Italy where Naples is located, most famous for their pizza. The dough that the people of Naples use is lievito madre, which is a natural yeast. The cheese used on the pizza is fior di latte mozzarella. Today, the menu is:

Pizza Alla Napoletana 

Torta Caprese

Pizza Alla Napoletana:

Ingredients

1lb. Plain Flour, sifted

1/2-1 teaspoon salt

1/2 oz dried yeast

8 fl oz warm water

Pinch of sugar

In a bowl, put 1 pound of flour, the pinch of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. In a second bowl, put some warm water, a pinch of sugar, and fresh yeast. Mix the yeast around with your fingers to dissolve it and dump the yeast bowl into the flour bowl. Mix with your hands, adding more warm water if necessary. Start punching it with your fist until it turns into the right consistency - it should be very soft and almost sticky. Then cover it with a warm, damp towel and let it rest an hour to double. For the sauce, take your tomato sauce and finely chop garlic clove. Then add a big pinch of salt, a drizzle of oil, a pinch of oregano and some hot pepper. Let it chill on the counter. When the dough has risen, roll it out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Lightly oil a baking sheet and put the dough on it. Then, cover the dough with the tomato sauce, leaving the edges free for the crust. Put it in the oven at 480 degrees Fahrenheit. When the crust has turned a golden brown, take it out of the oven and place sliced fresh mozzarella on top. Sprinkle oregano on top of the cheese and then put it in the oven again till the cheese is all melted. Take it out and put the basil on top and drizzle with a more olive oil.

The colors of Italy, all in one dish!

Torta Caprese: 

Ingredients

100gr Bitter chocolate

100gr butter

3 eggs

100gr sugar

1/2 tbs flour

1/2 tbs powdered sugar

1/2 glass of coffee liquor

1/2 small ecup of espresso

150 grs almond

1/2 tbs baking powder

Melt the 100 grams of bitter chocolate and let cool. Add half a small glass of coffee liquor and half a cup of Italian espresso. In another bowl, mix 100 grams of butter with 100 grams of sugar. Separate 3 eggs and add the yolks one at a time to the butter and sugar. Add the chopped almonds and half a tablespoon each of flour and baking powder. Add the melted chocolate. Whip the egg whites and gently fold them into the mixture. Next, butter and flour a springform pan. Place the mixture inside and bake 40 minutes at 180 Celsius. Then take it out of the pan and onto a serving plate. Then sift some powdered sugar on it - we used a stencil to add some decoration. Add almonds and chocolate shavings as desired.

Buon appetito!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

The Food Of Italy: Umbria and Lazio

Buon Giorno Lovelies!

Today in cooking class, we studied the two central regions of Italy, Umbria  and Lazio. Umbria is known as the Green Heart of Italy due to producing the best olive oils, and black truffles. Lazio is the region that has the Italian capital, Rome and simple pasta dishes like spaghetti alla carbonara are made. Rome is not particulalry known for it's dishes as the people enjoy eating out.Today we made veal with prosciutto and sage and for dessert we had fresh fruit tart.

Saltimbocca Alla Romana 

Crostata di Frutta Fresca 

Saltimbocca Alla Romana:

Ingredients:

Salt and pepper

Flour

8 slices of veal

8 slices of prosciutto

8 fresh sage leaves

Couple of tablespoons of butter or olive oil

8fl oz white wine

Fasten a slice of ham on top of each slice of veal, and then a sage leaf with a toothpick. Put some flour on a plate and place each piece of meat in the flour on the side without the ham and sage. Then lay them flour-side-up on a separate dish and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Melt butter in a pan and place the meat in the pan, prosciutto side up, for a couple of minutes to brown it. After a couple of minutes of cooking, cover them with a splash of white wine until the wine evaporates. They're done!

 Crostata di Frutta Fresca:

Ingredients:

4oz butter

8oz flour

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

3 egg yolks

8oz sugar

5 egg yolks

3oz flour

18fl oz milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi

Place flour on the counter and use your fingers to work the butter in with the flour until it's crumbly. Add the sugar and lemon zest  and then put three egg yolks into the middle of the pile of flour.Work the yolks into the flour mixture until the dough is evenly mixed and sticks together in a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for a half an hour. To make the custard, beat the sugar into five egg yolks and then beat in flour. Bring the milk to a boil with the vanilla bean and then pour the milk into the egg mixure gradually, beating vigorously until well blended. Pour into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick.

Let the custard cool. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, with a floured rolling pin. Lay it into a 13 inch tart tin and press the dough inside, make a crusty edge and poking holes in the bottom with a fork to prevent it from rising. Bake it at 400 degrees F, for 20 minutes.Take the crust out and let cool. Fill it with the cooled custard, decorate the top with fruit and sprinkle the whole pie with powdered sugar.

The meal was delicious! I loved the saltiness that the prosciutto brought to the veal and how tender and savory the dish was. The custard pie was absolutely delicious but the cream was a bit heavy. I love anything with fresh fruit on it though so it is a dish I will be making during the breezy spring time. I devoured the entire meal in minutes because I had to run right afterward to catch my train to the airport for London! Yes, I brought my apron with me across the seas. No big deal - I just love this class so much!

Buon Appetito!

Eternally yours,
Stephanie

Photo Source: 
Katie S. blogspot

The Food Of Italy: Tuscany

Ciao Lovelies!

I'm sorry for the sporadic postings this week. Midterms are coming up and I've been busy creating outlines while trying not to stay secluded up in the apartment. The Rome recap post is coming up as well as an outfit post (finally!) Onto the food! For cooking class, we explored the food of Tuscany which, for those of you who don't know, is the region where Florence is. Today we made Fried Rabbit and Artichokes, Tomato-Bread Soup, and Almond Biscotti.

Coniglio and Carciofi Fritti

Pappa al Pomodoro

Cantuccini

Coniglio e Carciofi Fritti:

Ingridients

400g rabbit legs
Rosemary
4 artichokes
1 lemon
70g flour
30g rice flour
1 egg
1/2 cup of White wine
Oil, salt and pepper 

Cut the meat in small pieces then put it in a bowl with pepper and rosemary. Leave for 30 minutes.Clean the artichokes, slice them, and leave them in a bowl of water with lemon juice. In another bowl, mix the two types of flours with the egg. Add the wine until it's a creamy consistency. Leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Get a big bowl and put ice cubes inside. Place the bowl of cream mixture on top of the ice to keep it cold.Take a frying pan and cover the bottom with olive oil. Dip the meat in the cream mixture and then put it in the oil. Fry until golden, turning when necessary. Dry the artichokes from the water and dip in the cream as well. Fry those, too. Sprinkle with salt, and serve.

 Pappa al Pomodoro:

Ingridients:

8oz stale coarse country bread 

3 cloves garlic 

Sage

A couple tablespoons olive oil 

1-1/2lb very ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into pieces 

1-3/4 pints light chicken stock 

Salt and pepper

basil leaves

Slice and toast the bread and break into pieces. Fry the garlic and chop the leek, sage, basil, and pepper in oil until it begins to color. Then add the tomatoes and bread. Stir, until the bread blends with the tomatoes. Stir in some stock to get a thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with more basil for decoration.

Cantuccini:

Ingridients 

330g flour 

150g sugar 

100g toasted almonds  

2 eggs 

1 yolk 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

50g butter 

Zest of 1 lemon

Mix the flour with the butter to make crumbles; add sugar, 2 eggs, lemon zest, and baking powder. Mix. Then mix in the almonds and shape the dough into long rolls. Place them in a pan, either buttered and floured or on parchment. Beat the yolk separately and brush it on top. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees C. Let them cool. Cut in diagonal slices. Put them back in the oven for a few more minutes to dry. They should be crunchy, not chewy.

This was such a delicious meal - it almost tasted like chicken but a smidgen better! The deserts can do no wrong in my book, but I wasn't expecting the rabbit to taste so delicious. I'm still not a fan of the artichokes, but I'm glad that I tasted it. The pomodoro soup was my favorite and I even used it as a sauce for the rabbit. I can't wait for next weeks class!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

The Food Of Italy: Emiglia Romagna

Ciao Beauties,

Today in cooking class we covered and cooked from the region that I have been most excited over: Emiglia Romagna! This is where my family immigrated from and I was excited to eat something that reminded me of home. As quoted from our textbook, “The people of Emilia-Romagna eat more, care more and talk more about food than anyone else in Italy. They like nothing better than to get together, eat, drink, tell jokes, sing and discuss the merits of dishes.” - The Food of Italy by Claudia Roden. There are a variety of prodcuts stemming from this region including: Parmesano Reggiano (which was first made in Parma and first sold in Reggio,) Balsamic Vinegar, Tortellini, Prosciutto di Parma, and Mortadella. Today we are making fresh ravioli pasta with cheese and spinach stuffing in a ragu sauce and Panna Cotta with berry sauce. 

Tortellini Alle Erbette

Panna Cotta Con Berry

The Ravioli:

Ingredients
2 eggs and 200 grams of flour

10 oz of spinach

8 oz ricotta

1 egg

Pinch of nutmeg

Salt and Pepper

2 oz melted butter

2 oz of freshly grated Parmesian

For the ragu sauce, chop up an onion, a carrot, some celery, a garlic clove, and some parsley. Melt some butter with oil in a pot and sauté everything just chopped, and add a few basil leaves. (Fun fact: Don't chop basil as it will eliminate the flavor!) After it has cooked, add two to three different types of meat. We used pork, beef, and sausage. Cook until the meat is brown. Add some red wine, and simmer until it evaporates. Then add some salt and pepper, a bay leaf, tomato sauce, and a little meat stock. Let it cook for 2 to 3 hours.

For the ravioli, make the fresh past by combining flour, eggs, pinch of salt, drizzle of oil and kneading it with your hands. After it’s smooth and elastic, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest. 

For the filling, wash some fresh spinach and cook it for a couple of minutes  in boiling water until the spinach boils down. Then drain it, chop it up, and let it cool. Add about 8 ounces of ricotta, 1 egg, a pinch of salt and pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and about 2 ounces of grated Parmesan; mix it all up. 

Using a pasta press and roll out some long, thin sheets. Put one sheet down on a floured surface. Dot it with mounds of the filling. Then cover with another sheet, pressing with your fingers around the mounds to stick the dough together. Use a pastry wheel to cut out the ravioli. Boil them for a few minutes until they are done. Toss them in a skillet with the ragu sauce to coat. Then, place a serving platter. Put the bay leaf on top to decorate.

The Panna Cotta:

Ingredients
1/2 Pint of double cream
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 Vanilla bean
3 Geletin Sheets

Put half a pint of cream with about 2 tablespoons of sugar in a pot. Add a vanilla bean and let it simmer 2 or 3 minutes, but don’t boil. Dissolve gelatin (1 teaspoon powdered gelatin, or 3 gelatin sheets) in cold water and then beat well into the cream. Pour into little dishes. Put it in the fridge to chill. For the panna cotta sauce, we made two kinds: strawberry and blackberry. Just put berries in a blender with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and some sugar and blend until well done. Once the gelatin is chilled, turn the panna cotta dish upside down onto a plate drizzled with sauce. 

Next week we will be studying the beautiful region that I am calling home for now: Tuscany! I'll be in Rome this weekend. See you all on Monday with my weekend recap!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

The Food Of Italy: Veneto

Ciao Lovelies,

This week, my cooking class studied Veneto, a northeastern region famous for the towns of Verona and Venice. The cooking in this region uses lots of spices and vegetables, as well as rice and polenta; because this region borders the Adriatic Sea, they eat a lot of fish and seafood.  From Venice comes tiramisu and translates to "pick me up." Another desert from Veneto is Zaleti, corn flour cookies with raisins. Today our menu is stuffed calamari and cookies!

Calamari Ripieni Alle Erbe Aromatiche 

Zaleti

Calamari Ripieni alle Erbe Aromatiche:

Ingredients
4 Calamari

4 Slices of Toast

1 Lemon

A Few Sprigs of Fresh Oregano, Wild Fennal, 

Basil, Marjoram, Mint, and Celery Leaves

Garlic, Red Onion, Salt, Pepper, and Oil

Splash of White Wine

We were taught that fish is at it's freshest when the head of the animal is still on, so when she brought out the squid, we each had to rip the heads off, pull out the bone, and make sure that the eyeballs were detached from the head. The squid was then cleaned and washed and we began to prepare the stuffing which included toasted bread, lemon zest, oregano, wild fennel, marjoram, basil, mint, and celery leaves, all to be blended. We sauted onion with garlic and chopped up tentacles and then added lemon juice and white wine. Finally the stuffing was put in and cooked. After the whole concoction was cooked, we had to stuff the bodies of the squid and close it with a toothpick. They are then placed in a pan with olive oil drizzled on top. We baked them for 10-15 minutes at 200 degrees celcius.

Cooking the stuffing

 

Stuffing the calamari!

The End Result!

Zaleti:

Ingredients
150 grams of very fine Corn Flour

150 grams Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 Pinch of Salt

150 grams Butter

3 Egg Yolks

100 grams Sugar

100 grams Raisins

While the raisins were soaking in warm water, We had to mix the flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt and then add in the soften butter. In a separate bowl we beat the yolks with sugar and added in the dough and squeezed raisins. We had to roll the dough and then cut them into small squares and then baked them for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. Add some powdered sugar for a nice touch.

I was reminded of my mom and aunts when using this baking tool..they use it to make ravioli!

The delicious cookies!

I really enjoyed this meal, especially after the disappointment of last week's meal. I was skeptical to try the seafood because of what happened when I was coming home from Barcelona (damn seafood paella!), but I threw caution to the wind and had a few bites. It was pretty good! I'm used to friend calamri so the texture of this was surprising but the stuffing was the best with it's strong lemon flavor. The cookies were so delicious, soft, warm, and buttery. At home, I would definitely add a lot less butter because the cookies were too buttery, but it did help make them so soft. I shamelessly ate four.

Next week we are exploring the region from where my family immigrated: Emiligia Romana!

Ciao for Now :)

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

The Food Of Italy: Lombardy andTrentino-Alto Adige

Ciao Lovelies!

 

For my cooking class this week, our class learned about the regions Lombardy and  Trentino-Alto Adige and made Risotto alla Milanese, Ossobucco, and Caramelle alle Mele. THese two regions are still in Northern Italy but more eastern that the Piedmont, Valle d'Osto, and Linguria, the regions that we learned about last week. Trentino-Alto Adige borders Germany so there is a very strong German influence on the food with both German and Italian languages being spoken. Their main foods include polenta, rice, and soup with very little emphasis on pasta (pasta is a lot more influential in Southern Italy.) Today we are making Osobucco Meat, a safron risotto, and caramelled apples in a pie crust.

Ossobucco: 

Ingredients

4 thick slices of shin of veal, cut with a piece of marrow bone

Flour

50g (2oz) butter

120ml (4fl oz) white wine

250g (8oz) tomatoes, peeled and chopped

Meat stock

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind

1 small clove garlic, crushed

1 anchovy, finely chopped (optional)

Melt butter in a pan. Coat the meat with the flour and brown in butter on both sides. Add the wine and let simmer for 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes and stock or water to cover and season with salt and peper. Cook, covered, for 1 and a half to 2 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure the meat does not stick, until it is so tender it comes away from the bone. Add stock or water to keep the meat covered at first. The sauce should be thick at the end.

To make a Gremolata: Mix together the parsley, grated lemon rind, garlic and anchovy. Place a little on each piece of meat and cook a few minutes longer.

 

Risotta alla Milanese:

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped (yellow onion, not red)

Small piece of marrow from a beef bon

2oz butter

1 3/4 pints meat or chicken stock

5fl oz dry white or red wine

10oz Arborio rice

Salt

 1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron

2oz grated parmesan

Melt half the butter in a pan, and fry the onion and marrow until the onion is soft. Heat the stock in a separate pan. Add the wine to the fried onion and boil. Add the rice and stir to coat and add a pinch of salt. Add the stock gradually, ladle by ladle, stirring constantly as it becomes absorbed. It takes about 20 minutes for the rice to cook. Then, add the saffron diluted in some of the stock. When the rice is done add the rest of the butter, and the Parmesan.

 Caramelle alle Mele:

Ingredients

250g Flour

2 Apples

2 Eggs

Pine nuts

140g Butter

200g Apricot jam

Powdered sugar

Sugar

Let the butter soften and cut into pieces. Work the flour with the butter; add the eggs and a pinch of salt. If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons of water. Wrap it up and put it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Peel the apples, cut in slices, and saute with 1 tablespoon of butter until gold. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar and saute a few more minutes. Let cool. Roll the dough and cut it in rectangular shapes. Place in the middle of each rectangle a teaspoon of jam, a few pine nuts, and a slice of apple. Close the edges and bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius. Once finished baking, sprinkle them with lots of powdered sugar.

The meal was good, but not great. Personally, I'm biased when it comes to risotto as I'm spoiled my mom mom's delicious risotto. Also, I don't like a lot of butter in my dishes and I could definitely taste the butter. I'm not the biggest fan of Osobucco either and this dish had a certain flavor that didn't sit well with my tastebuds. Both were pretty good though as demonstrated by my empty plate and satisfied tummy afterwords.  The best part was definitely the desert, I can'e even begin to explain how delicious the hot apricot jam and sugary apple slice was with a crunchy pastry crust underneath. Fabulous!

Buon Appetito!

Eternally yours,
Stephanie

Food Of Italy: Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, and Liguria.

Ciao!

Welcome to the first installment of a brand spanking new section of my blog. This is all about the different kinds of food found in each region of Italy. Every week in class, we learn about a different region and then cook a small meal pertaining to the region. This week we did Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, and Liguria, all northern regions. The foods that we cooked were Trenette alle Noci and Crepes Suzette.

Trenette alle noci is fresh pasta with walnut sauce. We prepared by measuring 300 grams of flour, placing it on the table, and  making a hole in the middle. We cracked three eggs into the hole using 1 egg per 100 grams of flour. A few drops of oil and a pinch of salt was added and then we mixed the eggs with our fingers, slowly working the flour in. We had to kneed the dough for about ten minutes until it became smooth and elastic. The dough was wrapped in plastic wrap and rested while we began to make Crepes Suzette.

To begin making the crepes, you need to mix two eggs with 20 grams of sugar and then add 75 grams of flour, 130 grams of milk, and 20 grams of melted butter. Grease a frying pan with butter letting it become very hot. Pour in only a little batter and swirl it around, waiting for it to cook. Once it is cooked, you toss it into the air to flip it onto it's other side. This part was so much fun! To make the sauce, melt 80 grams of butter in a big frying pan and add 60 grams powdered sugar and the zest of both a lemon and an orange. Add the crepes, folded in fourths to look like triangles, the juice from the orange, and four tablespoons of cointreau into the frying pan. Saute for a minute. Add four tablespoons of cognac, and fire it.

 With the fresh pasta made and the crepes made, it was time to start on the walnut sauce. you need to take two slices of country bread, remove the crusts, and soak it in milk. Then, in a blender, you put 300g (10oz) of shelled walnuts, 1 clove garlic, 300ml (1/2 pint) milk, 50g (2oz) freshly grated parmesan, 5-6 tablespoons light olive oil, salt and pepper, and the milky bread. Blend until smooth.With the fresh pasta, take it out of the wrapping, cut it into four smaller sections and flatten it with a rolling pin. Then flatten it even more with the pasta press, making it extremely thin. Switch seetings on the pasta press so that it shreds the pasta into strips of linguini. Place the noodles in boiling, salted water for just a few minutes. Once cooked, remove from water and place in a bowl and add the walnut sauce, mixing it in so that each noodle is covered.

Now, we are all set to eat! The crepes had a sugary sweet and citrus taste to it and were something I've never had before. I really liked the flavor and ultimately enjoyed them although I'm not a big fan of how the crepes get soggy before the sauce is added to them. The Trenette alla Noci was soooo good! The pasta was a little clumpy and it was really heavy (it sat in my stomach during my ballet class which was right after it) but the sauce was delicious and a new flavor that I've never tried before either.

 Boun Appetitio!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

Photo source: Tumblr.com
Katie S. blogspot