Dear Pasta Lover! Buon giorno from beautiful Verona in North East Italy! I hope you are all staying safe and well. |
|
I'm happy to report that the situation in Italy is getting better and better!! I hope the same is true for where you are. Because of the recent lowest numbers in new cases and deaths since October and a big jump in the numbers of vaccines given, the government has announced the easing of many more restrictions. The nightly curfew, which has been in effect since November, was pushed back to 11pm-5am on Monday and is set to be completely scrapped by 21st June! Six regions are set to be designated minimum-risk white zones. These are Friuli Venezia Giulia, Molise and Sardinia as of 1st June and the other three, Abruzzo, Liguria and Veneto (where I live) by June 8th. The rest of the country will probably remain low-risk yellow zones! |
|
Even more exciting is that beaches officially opened at the weekend, and tourists from EU, Britain and Israel were allowed entry into the country from Sunday without the need to quarantine for five days! Meanwhile Italy is now open to tourists from US (after more than a year!) but only those on Covid-tested flights, apparently currently being operated by Delta and American Airlines. |
|
I finally had my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine last Friday. I confess I was a little anxious as I have a history of allergic reactions. So, my lovely doctor hubby took me to have it in the allergy and immunology department in a hospital in Verona, where I was under observation for an hour after! Luckily, no reaction! Yes, I felt a bit under the weather over the weekend and my arm hurt. But, that was it. Even nicer was the fact that Salvatore gave me the injection. He asked the attending doctor if he could, and she said yes! Didn't feel a thing! (I'm a bit of a baby when it comes to needles.) |
|
My second jab will be on 4th June and I'm so excited to already be planning some trips! On the agenda (hopefully) is 2 weeks in Salento, Puglia at the end of July and a trip to Malta, where Oliver and Jaime, my two youngest sons, live. I haven't seen them since August/September 2019!!! |
|
My son Zach with my sister and me |
|
I'd also like to see my second son Zach, who works as a captain on a yacht in Monte Carlo. Plus, my mum in the UK turns 80 at the beginning of September, so I really want to be there to celebrate with her. |
|
And, my eldest son Sebastian may be getting married in August. He lives in Finland, so I want to be there too, of course! |
|
Last week I wrote about the herbs in my garden and herbs that are most popular in the Italian kitchen. There are a few more I didn't have space to write about. Top of that list is marjoram (maggiorana) mostly because I like it so much! This herb goes really well with both meat and fish and can be used with veggies too. Many Italians use it instead of oregano. In Liguria, it grows freely in the hills and they use it in a traditional stuffed breast of veal called cima alla Genovese. But, my favourite way to use it is with melted butter and pine nuts as a dressing for fresh pasta. Mint (menta) is a herb that grows wild in much of the Italian countryside, although there are different types. The type most used in traditional Italian dishes is called mentuccia or nepitella in Italian. Although some people say mentuccia is different to nepitella. In Southern Italy, they use mint to make a goat's cheese called cassiedu. In Tuscany, nepitella is used with mushrooms and stews. In Sicily, they make mint granita and add it to fish dishes. And, in Lazio, they add it to artichokes and tripe. |
|
Bay leaves (alloro) are another herb Italians add to a lot of dishes. This herb is actually the leaves of a tree and since my neighbours have one, I steal some when I need it. Italians use bay leaves in many slow cooked meat dishes and as an ingredient in 'aromi' the Italian version of bouquet garni. |
|
Finally, a herb I also love is wild fennel (finocchio selvatico). This grows every where in Southern Italy. I've even stopped by the roadside to pick it in Sicily. As you can imagine, the Sicilians make good use of it. The most famous Sicilian pasta dish with wild fennel is pasta with sardines (pasta alle sarde). In Tuscany, they use wild fennel seeds to flavour sausages and in Puglia it is used to make taralli biscuits. |
|
Check out these pasta recipes where the herbs play an important part in the flavours |
|
MY COOKBOOK: TRADITIONAL SEASONAL ITALIAN PASTA RECIPES VOLUME 1, AUTUMN/WINTER |
|
Check out my new shop page for online pasta courses and other pasta related products! |
|
Without the thousands of blog visitors, Facebook followers and newsletter subscribers who love pasta as much as I do, The Pasta Project wouldn't be the success it is today! So, I'd like to take this opportunity to send you a heartfelt thank you for being a Pasta Project subscriber! All the best from Verona, Italy |
|
Do make sure to add The Pasta Project to your contact list so that new e-books and newsletters won't get sent to your spam folder |
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment