Nourish by Spinneys: May/June 2023

Ciao!

This is our first Italian issue, and we hope you have as much fun reading it as we did creating it. As I write this, I have just returned from a two-week whirlwind tour of Italy, visiting our SpinneysFOOD trusted partners who produce our hard and soft Italian cheeses, olive oils, balsamic vinegars, canned tomatoes and pasta. It was enriching spending time with all the people behind these family-run businesses – all of whom are proud of their heritage, driven by passion, focused on quality and, ultimately, have interesting stories to tell. Read more about the Zanettis, Cremoninis, Berrutos and Bassos from pages 33-47. When it comes to this edition’s collection of recipes, our developer Katelyn is married to a Sicilian, Nino – who is also a passionate baker and cook – so we can guarantee that all dishes have gone through an extra layer of authenticity checks. Don’t miss our Viva Sicilia feature (pages 86-91) which looks at how Sicily, one of the world’s great gastronomic enclaves, owes much of its culinary culture to Arabia. And if you’re looking for a taste of Italy here in the UAE –check out our Chef’s Table feature with Michele and Bill Johnson of Pitfire Pizza (pages 16-19); our restaurant round-up on page 14 showcases novel experiences and Helen Farmer shares her favourite spots for a casual meal (page 112) with la famiglia.

Buon appetito!

Until next time,

THIS MAGAZINE IS PRODUCED BY

CEO SUNIL KUMAR

GENERAL MANAGER OF COMMERCIAL

TOM HARVEY

GENERAL MANAGER OF MARKETING

WARWICK GIRD

CREATIVE AND CONTENT DIRECTOR

TIFFANY ESLICK tiffany.e@finefarefood.com

DEPUTY CONTENT EDITOR

KAREN D’SOUZA

DESIGNERS

MICHELLE CLEMENTS, FRANCIS GACER & GIHANE YOUSSEF

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

ANKIET GULABANI

DIGITAL EDITOR

DEVINA DIVECHA

DIGITAL CONTENT CREATOR

REEMA RAHMAN

DIGITAL CONTENT WRITER

LYNN SOUBRA

CONTENT ASSISTANT

DIANNA ACIBAR

CONTRIBUTORS

ZAHRA ABDALLA,KATELYN ALLEGRA, EMILY EVANS, HELEN FARMER, CAMILLA HYLLEBERG, AASIYA JAGADEESH, STEPHEN PHELAN, LINDSAY TRIVERS & CASSANDRA UPTON

Spinneys Dubai LLC and the publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, howsoever caused. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without written permission.

PUBLISHED ON BEHALF OF SPINNEYS DUBAI LLC BY

© 2023 SPINNEYS DUBAI LLC

On location with Basso in Puglia, Italy

Regulars

THE CUT

10 7 OF A KIND Olive oil

12 DRINKS

14 RESTAURANT ROUND-UP

There are plenty of Italian restaurants in Dubai, all serving up a slice of la dolce vita

16 DOUGH DOMINATION

Michele and Bill Johnson are coming up to a decade of serving some of Dubai’s best-loved pizzas with Pitfire Pizza. In a free-wheeling conversation, they discuss all things dough, high quality ingredients and new launches

20 ALL YOU KNEAD

When Matthew Jones founded Bread

Ahead in 2013, he couldn’t have known that less than a decade later, his baked goods would find a fan following all over the world including in the Middle East. He shares his journey and the motivation behind his work

22 USE IT UP

Bread never goes to waste in an Italian kitchen. Leftover loaves are used to make dishes like panzanella, passatelli and susciella

24 READ, WATCH, LISTEN Cookbook, podcast and streaming recommendations

IN SEASON

26 Make the most of our fresh tomatoes, asparagus, potatoes, strawberries, melons and stone fruit

MEET THE PRODUCERS

34 EMOTIONAL MATURITY

The SpinneysFOOD range of Italian hard cheeses includes premium Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano made by the renowned specialists of the Zanetti family. Visiting their production sites in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, we learn how these master artisans uphold ancient traditions while exceeding the highest contemporary standards

A luxury product of Modena since medieval times, balsamic vinegar is still made the old-fashioned way even by modern innovators like Acetaia Giuseppe Cremonini. Welcoming us to their home with true Italian hospitality, the heirs of local food industry legend Giuseppe Cremonini explain the “special magic” that goes into every bottle

42 MASTERS OF PASTA

Spinneys sources many of its classic dried pastas – fusilli, macaroni, penne, organic and wholewheat spaghetti – from the famous Berruto family of Piedmont, Italy. On a visit to their factory we see how those shapes are made, and trace the brand’s roots from rustic wheat-farming to high-tech innovation

44 FRUIT OF THE FAMILY TREE

Loyalty and quality define the Basso family’s approach to making blended, flavoured and classic Italian extra virgin olive oils. From their base in Avellino to their super-intensive olive farm in Foggia, the Basso boys talked us through the long history, vibrant present and sustainable future of the brand

WEEKNIGHT WONDERS

50 Make delicious Italian meals using SpinneysFOOD pastas, pestos, sauces and ravioli

Recipe features

THAT'S AMORE

56 NONNA'S PANTRY

Olive oil, pasta, pesto, fresh tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and garlic are just a few quintessential Italian ingredients that are key to creating flavourful meals such as osso buco, Tuscan bean stew, chicken cacciatore and more

64 BUONGIORNO

Sweet baked goods and strong coffee go hand-in-hand for breakfast in Italy. Our recipes for custard-filled croissants, gelato in brioche buns and more will have you craving for this combination every day

3

COFFEE CULTURE

Arriving in Venice in the 16th century, coffee beans swept through the country and became an inherent part of everyday Italian life. We’ve used this popular beverage to flavour four traditional desserts

72 FAB FORMAGGIO

With over 2,500 varieties, there’s no doubt Italy takes its cheese seriously. These recipes cast the spotlight on some of the country’s most famous varieties

80 BUON APPETITO

Inspired by popular Italian food phrases, we’ve created recipes for a pasta, focaccia, torta and semifreddo give

86 VIVA SICILIA!

Sicily’s cuisine was forever changed by the arrival of Arab and Berber settlers in the 9th century. They introduced coffee, citrus, nuts, saffron and rice among other ingredients to the island and the mainland

92 LET'S TORTA-BOUT IT

Rich, multi-layered and textured, these showstopping Italian desserts are perfect for big occasions

Live well

110 PASS ME THE PARMI

When in Parma, tasting and learning about the region’s most celebrated cheese is a must. We round up the best places to visit while you’re there to get your fill of one of the oldest and richest cheeses in the world

96 BISCOTTI BOUNTY

Contrary to popular belief, biscotti doesn’t refer to a particular type of biscuit, it’s actually the Italian word for all biscuits. And each region in Italy boasts it own special variety

100 WHAT A GNOCKOUT!

This delicious dish is one of Zahra Abdalla’s top choices for an easy weeknight dinner. She uses South African boerewors, instead of Italian sausages, which add earthy spice

Little Cooks

101 Get the kids involved with making these easy tomato-based dishes using ready-made SpinneysFOOD products

112 FIVE FAMILY-FRIENDLY PIZZA PLACES IN THE UAE

Helen Farmer rounds up some of the go-tos for a feast, Italian-style

COVER RECIPE: TOMATO SALAD WITH SALSA DI ACCIUGHE – PG 27

The cut

Food, restaurant and product news that we think is worthy of being on the list!

TASTE OF TRADITION

Reach for Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil the next time you need to marinate fish and veggies, or make a flavourful salad dressing. It has fruity, grassy notes, with a slightly strong aftertaste.

7 of a kind

Olive oil can have a range of fl avours from fruity and grassy to peppery and nutty. These are some of the best at Spinneys

GOLD STANDARD

Elevate the flavour of pasta, risotto and roasted veggies with SpinneysFOOD Black Truffle Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Its earthy mushroom flavour and aroma sets it apart and a little goes a long way.

TRUE BLUE

Clearspring Organic 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made from a blend of mild, fruity olives and pungent olives, which results in a versatile oil that’s ideal for baking, cooking and dipping.

STRONG FAVOURITE

There’s no such thing as too much garlic. Our SpinneysFOOD Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Garlic adds a depth of flavour to pasta sauces, stir-fries, roasted potatoes and salad dressings.

NATURALLY GOOD

Waitrose Duchy Organic Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil is extracted from the finest organic olives grown in sustainably managed groves. Peppery notes and a fruity aroma make this oil an excellent choice for drizzling over soups or as a dip for fresh, warm bread.

LIQUID SUNSHINE

Cold extracted from Italian olives, SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a light, mild-flavoured oil that’s great for a variety of culinary needs from sautéing to dipping and salad dressings.

ALL ROUNDER

You can’t go wrong with Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Rich Taste. Cold pressed from premium-quality olives, its full-bodied, fruity flavours work well in marinades and sauces, but also drizzled on soups, pasta and salads.

GIVES YOU WIIINGS.

ALSO WITH THE TASTE OF CACTUS FRUIT.

DRINK UP

NEGRONI SBAGLIATO

Prep time: 5 minutes

Serves: 1

1 orange

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

4 tbsp San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa

SpinneysFOOD Ice

2 tbsp Le Petit Béret 0% Sparkling Rosé

To serve

TOP TIP!

Chill all the liquid ingredients beforehand so the ice melts slowly. This ensures the drink retains its bold, undiluted flavour.

Tips from The Tasting Class

The negroni sbagliato has become the drink of the moment due to a viral TikTok clip featuring British actor Emma D’Arcy. Despite this tipple’s new fame, it first gained popularity in Italy in the 1970s when it was accidentally created at Milan’s Bar Basso. Legend has it that while a bartender made a negroni, he reached for the gin but fortuitously picked up the prosecco instead. Sbagliato means a mistake, and this is one mistake worth repeating. The trickiest element to get right in a 0% version of a sbagliato is the trademark balance of sweet, strong and bitter. I achieved this by muddling orange peel with sugar and stirring through San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa. Replacing a prosecco was easy with so many new 0% sparkling wines available. I used a Le Petit Béret, so I could control the sweetness of the drink. If you select a sweet sparkling wine, be sure to taste as you go and adjust the sugar so that the drink keeps its balanced flavour.

3 to try

SAN PELLEGRINO SPARKLING

NATURAL MINERAL WATER

Sourced from a spring in the Italian Alps for unmatched flavour and quality. sanpellegrino.com

CIPRIANI NON-ALCOHOLIC BELLINI

The sweetness of white peaches combined with sparkling water make this a delightfully refreshing beverage. cipriani.com

BELVOIR NON-ALCOHOLIC PEACH BELLINI

Crafted from real peach, grape and lemon juices, this sparkling mocktail is ideal for a hot summer day. belvoirfarm.co.uk

1 Using a sharp knife, carefully peel a firm orange making sure to avoid the white pith – we only want the aromatic oils in the outer section of the peel. You need two pieces, which are 7cm long and 3cm wide. 2 Put one of the two orange peels in a rocks glass, add ½ tablespoon of sugar and muddle it. If you don’t have a muddler, you can use the handle of a thick wooden spoon. While muddling, grind the orange peel and the sugar together until the sugar resembles a coarse paste. 3 Pour in the San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa and stir to dissolve the sugar. Fill the glass with large ice cubes. 4 Top with the Le Petit Béret 0% Sparkling Rosé and stir gently to combine the drink without losing carbonation. 5 Hold the second piece of orange peel over the top of the drink and twist it with the exterior of the rind facing out. This will spritz orange oil over the top of the drink, further enhancing its aroma. Slide the twisted orange peel down the inside of the side of the glass and serve.

Create a ‘negroni sbagliato’ with a fi ne balance of fl avours

Negroni sbagliato

MAMMA MIA!

1

Located at the Address Sky Views in Downtown Dubai, Lucia’s promises an Italian experience of charm and sophistication paired with fun. Designed in Italian tones of lemon yellow and sky blue, the restaurant also has an outdoor terrace where live music entertains you as the evening progresses. When it comes to food, it does not disappoint. The carpaccio di Manzo, made with seared Kiwami Wagyu eye round beef, had extremely clean flavours with nothing more than Parmesan, rocket leaves and a balsamic vinegar dressing. We opted for pasta as a main and can recommend the tagliatelle alla Bolognese di Wagyu as a filling option. Share the Lucia’s tiramisu – there’s plenty to go around, but you might be fighting for the last bite!

perfection on the tongue. A particular favourite of ours was ‘roots’, which pairs the perhaps unlikely combination of celeriac, truffle, lettuce and sumac to create a harmonious marriage of flavours that is reminiscent of smoked meat. Meanwhile, home-made open ravioli, chargrilled corn and herbs come together for the Granoturco, which is elevated comfort food at its finest.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The outdoor terrace at Lucia’s Dubai at the Address Sky Views offers stunning views; Marea Dubai’s Granoturco (open ravioli, chargrilled corn and herbs); rolled beef cecina; Social’s chef Carmine Faravolo; the tiramisu at Lucia’s is great for sharing.

3

Chef Yunus Emre Aydin has launched a 10-course tasting menu at Marea Dubai honouring a variety of Italian ingredients through his creative lens. And while it seems like a lot, the delicate portions pack quite a punch. The journey starts with the chef’s take on the classic Margherita, which sets the scene for what is to come. The ‘carabaccia’, with caramelised onion, truffle, pecorino, Parmigiano Reggiano, is an homage to the onion soup that has origins in Roman times and is absolute

2

For a novel dining experience, book a table in Chef Carmine Faravolo’s kitchen at Social inside the Waldorf Astoria on the Palm. Chef Carmine hails from the South of Italy and learnt to cook from his grandmother, Nonna Maria. His dishes are rooted in tradition, but go expecting more molecular, playful, innovative creations – that are most importantly, delicious. Our meal started with an amusebouche series – what really stood out was the rolled beef cecina (dried beef) stuffed with a cheese mousse and topped with chives, lime and pomegranate gels. His stone-baked bread and Parmigiana are both nods to his Nonna. And the chef’s take on tonno e vitello (with tuna, veal, anchovies, capers and white radish) not only looks beautiful, but is also full of flavour and textures. Sitting in the heart of the kitchen is great fun – you really feel part of the action.

INSIDE SCOOP

It’s time to treat yourself and beat the heat this summer with artisanal gelatos that are bursting with flavour and creativity; we share our favourites to frequent!

Gelato: This home-grown business offers flavours you really won’t find elsewhere – in addition to the classics – and does it in style by partnering with other local businesses such as Mirzam Chocolate and Arab pitmaster Hattem Mattar.

2 Cento% Gelato: While you’ll find your share of Italian classic gelato flavours here, Cento% is also a great place to try something different like Lotus biscoff and coconut gelatos. Don’t miss the traditional Italian espresso cafe served with gelato and whipped cream.

3 Massimo’s Gelato: An authentic Italian gelateria, Massimo’s creates gelato flavours with ingredients sourced directly from Italy. With classic flavours like chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut on the menu, Stracciatella’s simplicity definitely shines.

There are plenty of Italian restaurants in Dubai, all serving up a slice of la dolce vita

1 Canvas

The first branch of Pitfire Pizza is an unassuming cosy spot in Dubai’s Jumeirah Lakes Towers where co-founders and husband-wife duo Bill and Michele Johnson started their pie empire.

The obsession with pizza started early on for Bill, at around 11 years of age. But his affinity with pizza has a richer past; his grandfather was a German baker in New York and those memories stay vivid in his mind.

“I have these memories of being around him, with smells of freshly baked German breads. There’s a bit of a propensity there, the connection with pizza and the dough. We are a pizzeria, but we’re really bakers,” he says.

Bill eventually went on to study hotel and restaurant management but left that world for corporate life, while Michele was a HR director before her pizza reign began. After a stint in Kuala Lumpur, the duo moved to the UAE in 2007 and started executing the pizza dream in 2010.

Michele adds, “It was something that we’ve always talked about. We both needed to go corporate out of university; there was no way we had enough money to fund a restaurant. But it was something that Bill never quit talking about. When we got to Dubai, we had 10 years’ [experience] of being expats. We found a business-friendly and expat-friendly business environment here that has good checks and balances in place – and we also realised there was no good pizza here.”

From devouring books about dough and pizza and even attending a pizza expo in Las Vegas, a lot went on before the first branch was even opened. And now the duo is set to open their sixth outlet in Dubai. Bill says, “Every industry, whether it’s airlines or automobiles or restaurants, is all about segmentation. And segmentation is understanding where you fit within the pizzeria

industry. A lot of that is dictated by your style and what type of oven you’re using.” He describes the pizza style as having the visuals of a Neapolitan pizza (with big puffy char crusts and “funked up” toppings) blended with a New York-style pizza for a longer bake.

The co-founders are grateful for the relationships they’ve developed through this business and witnessing the passion that people have for restaurants. That’s not to say they didn’t face challenges along the way, not in the least trying to operate a full, busy operation from a 378 square foot space. “Suppliers won’t give you any attention and your food costs are really high. It’s really hard to get employees to come to work for you because they come to your space and they think, ‘what is this?’ And you start out doing all of it yourself so you’re on a learning curve.

Fortunately, Michele and I have complementary skill sets so we’re a really great team and that’s been something that really led to the success of our company long-term, which is going to be 10 years old next year,” says Bill.

The success of Pitfire Pizza can be seen with the popularity of its pizzas (approximately 3,000 pizzas every Friday, reveals Bill), the obsession over the brand’s garlic knots (an appetizer made with the pizza dough that has a dedicated fan following), and the multitude of awards over the years (including, most recently winner of the Best Pizzeria title at the Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards 2023).

Michele reveals that the three best-selling pizzas are the Pepperoni Primo, the Margherita and the Truff Daddy (“because Dubai loves truffle”). She does say that with the last one, it took her a long time to launch a pizza with truffle on the menu because she doesn’t particularly like that ingredient. “When we create a pizza, we really want to do something that no one else is doing. There’s a lot of truffle pizza out there, but there’s not one like the Truff Daddy.”

She continues, “What you’re hearing here from us is an obsessive attention to detail, a refusal to cut corners and take short cuts, and a commitment to what it takes to do that. That’s what has kept our quality as good as it is. It’s so often that you see restaurants here open and start out great and then they go down. But when you have the owners, the founders or the creators just refusing to step away from that quality, which is us in a nutshell, then the sky is the limit.”

This comes through when both Michele and Bill speak of new flavour development and pizza launches. Bill says, “You have to take cues from the most successful restaurant brands. One of them for me is McDonald’s. I’ve been eating that

Michele and Bill Johnson are coming up to a decade of serving some of Dubai’s best-loved pizzas with Pitfi re Pizza. In a free-wheeling conversation, they discuss all things dough, high-quality ingredients and new launches

Filet-O-Fish sandwich for 50 years. McDonald’s has learned that you don’t mess with your menu. We have a line-up of 20 pizzas that are just phenomenal and to develop new ones is very, very tough. Michele and I, at the start of 2023, thought, ‘Let’s get some new stuff going’. So we had 25 pizzas and new toppings that we tested but none of them made the cut.”

But something else is on the cards. Michele reveals, “For the first time, we’re going to launch a chicken shawarma pizza. We had a lamb shawarma pizza for Ramadan, only for Time Out

Market. But this evolved almost from a challenge. I could have done a take on it, or an homage to it – I decided on the homage because I wanted to pay my respects to this beloved, iconic sandwich. And it tastes just like a chicken shawarma sandwich, but just on our pizza. And then I’ve got another one in the works as well, with burrata.”

Working with Time Out Market has been great for the brand, Michele says, because it made them look at combinations or dishes that were very out-of-the-box for a pizza brand – from a breakfast pizza to a festive one with stuffing, and much more. There are also collaborations with other home-grown concepts, such as the pizza collab with Moreish by K, as well as plans to work with the likes of Lila Taqueria.

All of this is also made possible by the pair’s insistence on sourcing high-quality ingredients. All Pitfire Pizza’s ingredients for the dough comes from Italy, along with a majority of its hard cheeses, flour and olive oils. The pepperoni comes in from the United States, the Italian sausage combines Dutch and Australian veal, while most of the toppings are made in-house. Ajman-based Italian Dairy Products supplies fresh mozzarella, and Bill acknowledges that they try to source locally wherever they can. He says, “There are some really interesting farms coming up now. They’re producing some great tomatoes and some of the rocket is really good.”

Bill muses, “Since we’ve lived here, it’s always been kind of a chain-dominated market and then the Italian concepts, but I think we’re the first independent, really craft-focused, artisanal pizzeria in the market here. I’ve always seen Dubai as a springboard into the food and beverage sector for the whole Middle East. It’s really one of the last frontiers for food and beverage. So the opportunity for us was to really jump in and be a home-grown, solid, really high-quality artisan craft pizzeria.” He continues, “Yeah, I’m living the dream.”

Michele adds, “And we have a great relationship that keeps us both going. We’re very happily married, a husband-and-wife team and partners in life. We’re very lucky.”

PITFIRE SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus resting time)

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

For the meatballs

125ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

57g breadcrumbs

2 SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

1 garlic clove

Small handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

½ tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

47g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated

1 tsp Maldon salt

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground Generous pinch of SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

1½kg SpinneysFOOD Grass-Fed Lean Beef Mince

Written by Devina Divecha ; Photography Aasiya Jagadeesh

For the sauce

2 small garlic cloves

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1¼kg SpinneysFOOD Organic Italian Tomato Passata

225g tomato paste

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

1 SpinneysFOOD Bay Leaf

1½ tsp Maldon salt

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground

250g Barilla Spaghettoni no.7

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley (optional)

1 To prepare the meatball mixture, combine the water, breadcrumbs and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Stir together until blended and set aside. Finely chop the garlic and parsley. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, until it turns golden. Combine the garlic, cheese, parsley, salt, pepper and oregano, then add this mixture into the breadcrumb mixture and mix well. Add the mince to the mixture. Using your fingers, gently lift the breadcrumb mixture from the bottom of the bowl and combine it with the mince. It is important to keep your fingers spread during this process. Keep lifting and mixing until well combined. Be careful not to overmix or to squeeze the meatball mixture. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, make the sauce. Finely chop the garlic. Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the passata and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat then add the oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and cool. Once cooled, store any unused sauce in the fridge for 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

3 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

4 Once the meatball mixture has rested, gently shape it into balls, approx. 60g each. Place the meatballs on the lined tray and bake for 17 minutes until just about done. Allow to cool. Any unused meatballs can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

5 Place your desired portion of sauce in a large saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the meatballs to pan. Bring to a boil then simmer for approx. 15-20 minutes. 6 Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water and generously salt the water. Once it’s at a rolling boil, add the spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. Once done, remove it from the water using a pair of tongs or spaghetti scoop and place directly into the saucepan with the sauce and meatballs. Reserve 250ml of pasta water. Mix the spaghetti with the sauce until well coated. If it’s too dry, add a little pasta water to loosen it up. 7 Top with grated cheese and chopped parsley, if using, and serve.

Pitfire spaghetti and meatballs

RE C I PE ONLIN E

Michele Johnson shares a family recipe for her famous apple pie, which you can now recreate at home!

When Matthew Jones founded Bread Ahead in 2013, he couldn’t have known that less than a decade later, his baked goods would fi nd a fan following all over the world including in the Middle East. He shares his journey and the motivation behind his work

All you knead

TOP TIP!

Push some of the toppings into the dough and leave others on top.

Lazy focaccia

When visitors poured into the Expo 2020 Dubai site, there were plenty of sights and sounds to queue up for. One surprise, at least for Matthew Jones, was the line of people snaked around the building leading up to his concept, Bread Ahead.

He says, sitting in the now relatively silent and empty Bread Ahead kitchen at the Expo City, “The Expo was incredible and gave us huge brand awareness. We didn’t know what to expect… I can remember the first day, I was upstairs in the bakery getting stuff ready. I came downstairs at 10am, opened that door and there were about 100 people outside waiting. It was incredible.”

But if there was anywhere that people would queue for bread and doughnuts (the latter of which probably has a cult following), Bread Ahead was it. Matthew says, “I was always in the kitchen and my mum was very keen on teaching me to bake. From a young age, I was always making flapjacks and rock cakes and brownies and carrot cake. It was just how we grew up in the kitchen.” Once the food and beverage industry was identified as one that interested him, Matthew worked alongside chefs such as Shaun Hill, Simon Hopkinson and Phil Howard in London at the height of the city’s food renaissance. Next, he opened Flour Power City Bakery in 1999 and then had a space in London’s Borough Market before officially founding Bread Ahead in 2013.

“I opened Bread Ahead with a new direction,” he says, “and I wanted to teach and I wanted to have retail shops.” When it comes to education, the Bread Ahead Baking School now has more than 40 courses, ranging from Japanese to South American baking techniques, learning about gluten-free baking and much more.

Education in baking is important to him. “In the early days at Borough when we started just as a market stall, often customers would ask, ‘What is rye bread? What is spelt bread? What’s the difference?’ And there was definitely this curiosity around baking, so I thought, ‘Let’s include people in an immersive environment inside the bakery where we can teach them to bake properly’ – and not just teach them to bake but teach them how to understand the ingredients and understand what’s going on and what it means.”

From a market stall to a London-based business to making its mark in the Middle East, including with a permanent outlet at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, Bread Ahead has certainly gone places and kept Matthew busy – but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He explains, “The process of baking is much deeper than people realise. In ancient times, the centre of any village or community was a place of worship and a bakery. So, to be a baker is a profound thing, it’s an honour to be a baker.”

“For me, the physical repetition of baking is a really important part of my day. It keeps me sane, it gives me a purpose. It’s never boring… every day, it’s the same, but it’s different. I really encourage people to connect with baking in that way, a bit like gardeners love gardening and

bees love making honey. I’m like a bee making honey. I love what I’m doing.”

LAZY FOCACCIA

Prep time: 15 minutes (plus proofing time)

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

For the dough

500g strong white bread flour

1½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

6g fresh yeast or 1 tsp active dried yeast

400g SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water, at room temperature

80g SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus extra for brushing

For the toppings

SpinneysFOOD Artichokes in Sunflower Seed Oil

SpinneysFOOD Cherry Tomatoes

Pitted black olives

SpinneysFOOD Fresh Rosemary

SpinneysFOOD Sea Salt Flakes

1 Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, add the yeast to the water and mix until dissolved. If using dried yeast, mix the yeast through the flour mixture. 2 Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the water, then using a spatula, dough scraper, spoon or your hand, bring the dough together to form a loose dough, mixing for a few minutes until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to bring the ingredients together. You want a glossy dough with no lumps of flour in it.

3 Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil around

the edges of the bowl and use a scraper or spoon to gently tease the oil around the edges of the bowl so it’s evenly distributed underneath and over the top of the dough. 4 Put your hands under one side of the dough, then pull it up and stretch it over to the other side. Do this from the bottom, then the top, then from each of the two sides (this is considered a single fold and will trap layers of air within the dough). Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Give your dough three more folds in the same way, resting for 30 minutes after each of the first 2 folds. After the third and final fold, move the dough to the fridge and rest for 10 minutes. 5 Lightly oil a large baking tray with some of the remaining oil, then gently slide the rested dough into the prepared baking tray. Fold it in half (like a giant Cornish pasty) and massage the remaining olive oil into the surface of the dough, making sure it’s evenly covered. Press your fingers into the top of the dough to spread it out to fill the tray. Make sure you press over the whole surface of the dough (this will give your focaccia its dimpled appearance). Add the toppings (except the salt) and leave to rest for 30 minutes. 6 Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 240°C, or highest gas mark. 7 Sprinkle the top of the dough with salt, then transfer to the oven and lightly spray the oven chamber with water or place a baking tray filled with 120ml water on the bottom of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until crisp and golden. 8 Remove from the oven, brush with a little more olive oil, then cool and serve.

Written by Devina Divecha ; Photography Supplied

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Matthew Jones; freshly-baked loaves; Bread Ahead at MOE, Dubai.

Use it up

Bread never goes to waste in an Italian kitchen. Leftover loaves are used to make dishes like panzanella, passatelli and susciella

ROAST VEGETABLE PANZANELLA

Panzanella is a Tuscan salad created as a way to use up leftover bread. It is often served as a side dish, or as a light lunch or dinner.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4

1kg Spinneys roast vegetable mix, from the deli

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Peppercorns, freshly ground, to taste

2 sprigs of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Rosemary

300g day-old sourdough or ciabatta

For the dressing

100ml SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

50ml red grape vinegar

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Peppercorns, freshly ground, to taste

1 small shallot or onion

100g pitted black olives

Large handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6.

2 Place the roast vegetable mix in a roasting tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with the salt and pepper and scatter over the rosemary. Roast for 30 minutes, or until golden and caramelised. 3 Twenty minutes into the cook time, tear the bread into chunks and scatter over the vegetables. Return the tray to the oven for the remaining 10 minutes. 4 In large bowl, whisk together 70ml of the olive oil, red grape vinegar and season well. 5 Finely chop the shallot.

6 Add the roast vegetables, crunchy bread, shallot, olives, and basil leaves and toss to coat.

7 Serve immediately.

VEGGIE

PASSATELLI

Passatelli are plump cheesy noodles, made from leftover bread, usually served in a comforting broth. This dish is a speciality of the Emilia-Romagna region.

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus resting time)

Cook time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4

For the pasta dough

4 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

200g day-old sourdough or ciabatta

200g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

2L beef stock

To serve

3 sprigs of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Thyme

50g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

1 To make the pasta dough, combine all the ingredients, making sure it is a stiff, homogenous mass. Add more breadcrumbs if the mixture is a bit sticky. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. 2 Bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a large saucepan. 3 To test the dough, slice off a piece of dough that will fit into a potato ricer and squeeze it through. Once it reaches the desired length drop it into the stock. If the pasta dissolves, knead a little more flour into the dough. 4 Once the dough is ready, press it through the ricer (to approx. 7cm long) into the stock and cook until the pasta floats to the surface, approx. 2 minutes. 5 Serve with

a sprinkle of thyme leaves, shavings of extra Parmigiano Reggiano and black pepper.

BASIL SUSCIELLA

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus refrigeration and soaking time)

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

For the dumplings

350g leftover bread

125ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil

80g grated Pecorino, or any hard cheese

1 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying SpinneysFOOD Arrabiata or Napoletana Sauce

To serve

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Mint

1 Soak the bread in the milk for 20 minutes or until soft, then squeeze out any excess. Finely chop the basil. 2 Mash the bread, basil, cheese and egg together. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Once chilled, form the mixture into dumplings. 3 Fill a saucepan halfway with oil and place over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the dumplings, in batches, turning constantly for 1-2 minutes, or until golden and starting to crisp. Drain on paper towels. 4 Place the sauce in a saucepan and add the dumplings. Cover with a lid and stand for at least 1 hour to allow the dumplings to soak up the sauce.

5 Gently reheat the dumplings in the sauce. 6 Scatter over the fresh mint leaves and serve while still hot.

Basil susciella

Passatelli

VEGGIE

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

These classics deserve a place in your library

Italian food, history, culture and society

For the home cook MY LIFE THROUGH FOOD

by Stanley Tucci

Italian-American actor and director Stanley Tucci has had a late-career renaissance, if not a reinvention, as everyone’s favourite cookbook writer and food show presenter. He and his wife Felicity Blunt have published two volumes of their own home recipes, and his travel series Searching for Italy drew a huge audience to watch him tasting dishes of the motherland. More recently this engrossing memoir details the way that food, and especially Italian cuisine, has given shape and meaning to his creative life on stage and screen.

CIAO HOUSE

For the traditionalist PASTA GRANNIES

by Vicky Bennison

The popular YouTube series of the same name tends to prove the widely-held belief that Italian grandmothers, or nonnas, are the true custodians of proper Italian home cooking. This beautifully photographed book documents presenter/writer Bennison’s cooking sessions with some of the country’s greatest pasta-making grannies, detailing their preferred ingredients and time-honoured techniques for mastering simple pastas like pici (hand-rolled spaghetti) and trickier propositions such as lumachelle della duchessa (fine-ridged tubes seasoned with cinnamon).

Given the visual appeal of both Italian cooking and Italian locations, it was only a matter of time before someone developed a reality show around the kitchen of a Tuscan villa. Presenters Alex Guarnaschelli and Tuscan-born chef Gabriele Bertacchini lead 10 skilled amateurs through a tense yet lovely-to-look at cookery competition, which sees them take lessons from Italian masters and undergo various related challenges in sumptuous backdrops like cheese caves and wine cellars.

For the romantic LIZZIE & DANTE

by Mary Bly

The very definition of a summer beach read, this sunny novel is the written equivalent of an aspirational rom-com about a Shakespeare scholar who falls for an Italian chef while holidaying on the island of Elba. Amid the yacht excursions and secret coves and movie-star acquaintances, Bly goes into considerable detail about the tasting menu of a particularly grumpy masterchef. The overall texture of the language and settings convey an almost voluptuous feel for the experiential pleasures of the Med – the cuisine in particular.

This is one of the better podcasts on drinking and dining in Italy, in large part because it puts every antipasti, wheel of cheese, or herbal aperitif in deep, rich cultural and historical context. To this end, Rome-based journalist Katie Parla, and Dartmouth College assistant professor in the department of French and Italian, Danielle Callegari, dig pretty deep into the recent and ancient past, and a conversation about a particular bread or dessert may teach the listener something about Roman emperors or medieval witches.

GOLA

In season

Make the most of our fresh tomatoes, asparagus, potatoes, strawberries, melons and stone fruit

TOP TIP!

The dressing can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Tomato salad with salsa di acciughe

Tomatoes

TOMATO SALAD WITH SALSA DI ACCIUGHE

The anchovy dressing in this recipe brings out the umami flavours in tomatoes – just make sure the tomatoes are perfectly ripe and at room temperature. Prep time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

200g SpinneysFOOD British Tomatoes on the Vine

For the dressing

2 garlic cloves

25g anchovies

A few sprigs of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

1 lemon

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Chilli Flakes

2 tbsp capers in salt

To serve Croutons

1 Slice the tomatoes and arrange them on a serving platter. 2 Finely chop the garlic, anchovies and parsley. Juice the lemon. 3 Add the garlic, anchovies, parsley and lemon juice to a bowl along with the olive oil, chilli flakes and

rinsed capers. Mix well. 4 Spoon the dressing over the sliced tomatoes. 5 Crumble the croutons over and serve.

Asparagus

ASPARAGUS FARFALLE

The farfalle can be swapped out for any small pasta. This is a summery dish that can also be served cold.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

250g farfalle pasta

1 bunch of asparagus

1 lemon

3 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil leaves

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions until the pasta is al dente. Drain and set aside.

2 Chop the asparagus into 5cm pieces. Zest and juice the lemon. 3 Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the asparagus and sauté until cooked, but still crisp. 4 Add the

pasta then the lemon juice and zest, torn basil and black pepper.

Potatoes

PENNE CON PATATE E ZAFFERANO

The combination of pasta and potato sounds unusual but works exceptionally well together. The saffron can be left out if you’re making this for a weeknight meal, or added for a more special meal. The secret to this pasta is reserving some of the pasta water to add to the sauce to make a creamy emulsion.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves: 4

250g SpinneysFOOD Penne Rigate

400g potatoes

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 sprigs of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Thyme

1 garlic clove

Large pinch of saffron

750ml hot SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

Asparagus farfalle

VEGAN

VEGAN VEGGIE

Penne con patate e zafferano

Strawberry and basil

panna cotta

Bresaola and melon salad with rocket and lemon

Baked nectarines and peaches with amaretti filling

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the penne according to package instructions until al dente. Drain, reserving some of the pasta water, and set aside. 2 Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. 3 Heat a large pan with the olive oil. Add the thyme, garlic clove and saffron. Add the potato slices and just enough hot water to cover the slices. Cover and simmer until very soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.

4 Once the potatoes are cooked, season well and add the pasta. Toss to coat. Add more pasta water to thin out the sauce, if necessary. 5 Serve immediately with black pepper, chopped parsley and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.

Melons

BRESAOLA AND MELON SALAD WITH ROCKET AND LEMON

This salad is a modern twist on the classic Italian combination of prosciutto and melon. It’s a simple, flavourful summer salad that can be made and assembled in minutes.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2

180g honeydew melon

80g sliced bresaola

80g Italian rocket

For the dressing

1 lemon

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground

1 Using a vegetable peeler, shave thin slices of melon and arrange them on a platter with the bresaola. 2 Place the rocket in a bowl. 3 Zest and juice the lemon. 4 Whisk together the lemon juice and zest, olive oil and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the rocket leaves. Toss to dress

the leaves then arrange them on the platter.

5 Serve immediately.

Strawberries

STRAWBERRY AND BASIL PANNA COTTA

Prep time: 15 minutes (plus setting time)

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes: 4

For the panna cotta

450ml fresh cream

1 tsp vanilla paste

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil, plus an extra for serving

75g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

3 tsp gelatine powder

50ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

For the macerated strawberries

200g ripe strawberries

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar

1 sprig SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil

1 Place the cream, vanilla paste, a handful of torn basil leaves and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil slowly. 2 Sprinkle the gelatine powder over the milk and allow it to stand for 5 minutes. Add the soaked gelatine to the hot cream mixture and stir to dissolve. 3 Allow to cool to room temperature then strain into 4 moulds of a 125ml capacity each. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until set. 4 Meanwhile, hull and quarter the strawberries. Sprinkle over the icing sugar and add the sprig of basil. Toss to coat and refrigerate until ready to serve.

5 To unmould the panna cotta, dip the moulds into boiling water briefly then unmould onto a serving plate. 6 Serve the panna cotta topped with the macerated strawberries and basil leaves.

Stone fruit

BAKED NECTARINES AND PEACHES WITH AMARETTI FILLING

The amaretti filling is baked inside the pitted stone fruit to make it look like their pits and it adds texture and crunch.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

3 ripe peaches

3 ripe nectarines

For the amaretti filling

100g whole-blanched almonds

70g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

60g SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar

1 large egg white

3 drops bitter almond extract

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Baking Powder

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Mascarpone

SpinneysFOOD Honey, for drizzling

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Butter a shallow, ovenproof dish that is large enough to take the halved stone fruit in one layer. 2 Halve and pit the stone fruit and set them in the dish, cut side up. 3 Spread the almonds out on a baking sheet and roast for 5 minutes until golden. Allow to cool. Place in a food processor and add both sugars and blend until fine. 4 Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the egg white, bitter almond extract and baking powder. Shape into balls the size of peach and nectarine pits and place in the centre of each stone fruit half. 5 Bake for 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. 6 Serve at room temperature with some mascarpone and a drizzle of honey.

VEGGIE VEGGIE

SpinneysFOOD Organic British Tomatoes on the VineItalian melons

SpinneysFOOD British StrawberriesSpanish stone fruit

SpinneysFOOD British Green Asparagus

We follow the sun, sourcing the freshest seasonal produce from around the world.

Ingredients:

•200ml Koita Organic Almond or Koita Lactose

Free milk

•1/2 banana

•1 tbsp cocoa powder

•Ice

•1 tbsp chia seeds

Steps:

2.Pour into a glass, smile and enjoy!

gredients njoy!

1.Blend all ingredients together

s

Meet the producers

Introducing our Italian famiglia of pasta, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and cheese producers

Angelo Cremonini

Paolo Zanetti

Stefano Berruto

Elisabetta Cremonini

Rodolfo Zanetti

Matteo Berruto

EMOTIONAL MATURITY

Written by Tiffany Eslick & Stephen Phelan Photography

The SpinneysFOOD range of Italian hard cheeses includes premium Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano made by the renowned specialists of the Zanetti family. Visiting their production sites in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, we learn how these master artisans uphold ancient traditions while exceeding the highest contemporary standards

by Camilla Hylleberg

The maturation room looks (and smells) like a city built of cheese. Wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano are stacked into towers and arranged into honey-coloured rows that rise to form a kind of skyline beneath the vast warehouse roof. Thus surrounded by the product which is his life and his legacy, Paolo Zanetti knocks upon one of those wheels with a small hammer. He is listening for acoustical differences that might suggest holes or cracks in the structure.

“The sound is uniform,” he says. “That means no defects at all. This is basically a perfect cheese, ready to be packed for Spinneys.” Paolo wears a white lab coat over his shiny designer suit, and a sanitary snood under the Zanetti-branded cap that covers his abundant curls. His bearing is that of a master artisan, successful businessman and eccentric scientist all at once. “When I was young I had months and years of this experience. I went to the dairy plant with my father and learned how to select the cheeses, checking wheel by wheel. It’s very important, before you sell, to understand what you’re selling, what the product really is.”

The Parmigiano Reggiano stored here at Zanetti’s Panocchia site, in the Parma province of Emilia-Romagna, is one of the two ‘kings of cheeses’ as Paolo puts it. The other, Grana Padano, is made at another Zanetti site, in its own specific production region on the opposite side of the River Po. There are many other cheeses in the range, but these particular items are especially renowned and coveted Italian delicacies, both officially certified under the auspices of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

“The best PDO products in the world,” says Paolo. “And I’m not just saying that because I am a Zanetti.” Indeed, he represents the fourth generation of a highly specialised cheesemaking operation that began with his greatgrandfather Guido, circa 1900. After the second world war, his uncle Antonio set about industrialising the business, and Paolo himself was born in that transitional period when many Italian companies were moving out of the country’s city centres, though his childhood home still housed the main Zanetti factory in the basement. He was raised on the aroma, and played football with the workers as a boy.

His grandfather Guido, meanwhile – son and namesake of the founder – started sending wheels to Switzerland, France and the US as early as the 1950s. Today, Zanetti is the top exporter of fine Italian cheeses, which are produced at multiple dairy plants and maturation facilities then shipped to 103 countries (including the UAE, where they’re sold under the auspices of the SpinneysFOOD brand).

Low-quality, generic replicas are also commonly sold in foreign markets as ‘parmesan’ or ‘granito’, or some other variation on the proper names and recipes. “They are copied because they’re fantastic products,” says Paolo.

He continues, “You don’t copy something if it’s not good.” If you’re looking for the real thing, you’ll find proof on the packaging and the rind itself, stamped with the official logos of the PDO designation and the regulating consortium.

Obviously the authentic product has an unfakeable flavour too, but some may struggle to tell the difference between these two superficially similar hard cheeses. Paolo is eminently qualified to outline the particularities of each, beginning with the separate production regions of Northern Italy in which each must be made to qualify for PDO status. Grana Padano is made with raw milk, he explains, while Parmigiano Reggiano mixes in 50 per cent

partly skimmed milk (which is collected in the evening and separated from its cream overnight before blending with the full milk collected in the morning).

Precision is vital in terms of time and temperature – no more than two hours can pass in getting that milk from the cow to the vat, and the heat has to hit certain markers before and after the rennet is added and the curd is cut. And for all the new technology that Zanetti has invested in over the years, most of which is designed to help maintain consistency and certain modern sanitary standards, a large portion of this gastronomic art and science still resides in age-old, hands-on methodology, or what Paolo calls ‘manuality’.

OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM TOP: Wheels of Grana Padano cheese are aged for a minimum of nine months; Fresian cows.

THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: Cutting into a wheel of Grana Padano; the cheesemaker checks the consistency of the curd during the cooking process.

“QUALITY...IS OUR SHARED PASSION ACROSS EVERY STAGE OF THE PROCESS, FROM THE FEEDING OF THE COWS TO PACKING OF THE CHEESE, RIGHT UNTIL WE DELIVER TO SPINNEYS.”

SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

SpinneysFOOD Grana Padano PDO

“Knowing the right moment to put the rennet in the cauldron, or to cut the curd with a spinno, then checking the consistency of the curd while it’s cooking … so much still depends on the experience and skill of the cheesemaker, who is really the key person inside the dairy plant.”

The finished mixture takes longer to mature than Grana Padano and the consortium will only fire-brand their approval onto the rind after a minimum of 12 months, though most wheels will be left to age for a further one to two years in the carefully controlled atmosphere of this enormous maturation house. The cheese that Paolo just hammer-tested began that process in September 2020, reaching an optimal 30 months old by the day of the Spinneys’ team visit. A matured Parmigiano Reggiano like this one has developed visible crystals across its interior, and a complex aroma with notes of butter, nuts, dried fruits, citrus and hazelnut.

“I like to open a wheel myself,” says Paolo, “and to personally smell that triumph of flavours.” When it comes to actual usage, this particular cheese is ideal for grating over salads and pasta dishes, though he also recommends it as a table cheese or appetiser. Grana Padano has a softer, mellower, more delicate flavour. It’s also good for grating and melting, and goes especially well with sweet fruits like figs or dates, as well as platters like beef carpaccio.

“When you eat any of our cheeses, the taste is always great,” says Paolo’s second cousin Rodolfo, as he walks amid a herd of Fresian cows on the other side of the Po, in the Grana Padano territory of Lombardy. The cattle

seem to know and love him, in his capacity as quality controller of the milk they supply, as well as of the finished cheese.

The youngest Zanetti in this family business, representing its fifth generation of cheesemakers, he too has been a part of the process since boyhood, surveying the dairy plants with his uncle (yet another Guido). What continues to amaze him about it, he says, is that the cheese tastes of “nothing” when the mixture is first boiled, but in only nine months – standard maturation for Grana Padano – “you get this fantastic flavour”.

Rodolfo, too, can easily rattle off the differences between this and Parmigiano Reggiano, not least the fact that the former is preserved with lysozyme, which is a natural enzyme found in everything from egg whites to human tears. But any Zanetti will tell you that the truly extraordinary thing about both cheeses is how little they have changed in the 1,000 years or so since they were first developed by local monks. Before Italy was Italy, those holy men found cheesemaking the best way to preserve the excess milk produced by the cows on the grounds of their monasteries. “These are both tremendously old cheeses,” says Paolo. “The technology has changed, but the ingredients are basically the same.” In that sense, the Zanettis see themselves as custodians, whose true responsibility is to maintain the quality of that ancient product.

“Quality is not just a word. It is our shared passion across every stage of the process, from the feeding of the cows to packing of the cheese, right until we deliver to Spinneys,” adds Paolo.

Parmigiano

Grana

Parmigiano

SpinneysFOOD

Reggiano Grated

SpinneysFOOD

Padano Grated

SpinneysFOOD

Reggiano Flakes

OPPOSITE PAGE: Paolo Zanetti knocks a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano with a small hammer to check for holes or cracks in the cheese.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The cheesemaking process begins by boiling milk; cheese is carefully placed in moulds; Grana Padano; a spinno is used to cut the curd; excess milk being drained from Grana Padano; Parmigiano Reggiano is manually cut into two halves; salting room for Grana Padano; the official Grana Padano stamp is only placed on a wheel once it has aged for a minimum of nine months.

SWEET THE ART AND SCIENCE OF & SOUR

Written by Tiffany Eslick & Stephen Phelan

Photography by Camilla Hylleberg

A luxury product of Modena since medieval times, balsamic vinegar is still made the old-fashioned way even by modern innovators like Acetaia Giuseppe Cremonini. Welcoming us to their home with true Italian hospitality, the heirs of local food industry legend Giuseppe Cremonini explain the “special magic” that goes into every bottle

Modena is probably best known for fast cars and booming voices, being the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari and Luciano Pavarotti. This industrial yet operatic Italian city is also the historic capital of balsamic vinegar, which is often home-brewed in wood barrels on rooftops around the town, using grapes drawn from the surrounding vineyards of the Emilia-Romagna region.

Over the last 15 years, Acetaia Giuseppe Cremonini has built a hugely successful modern brand on an ancient artisanal tradition. “Modena balsamic vinegar is a sweet and sour condiment produced in this area since time immemorial,” says Elisabetta Cremonini, whose late father Giuseppe owned the company. At the family’s villa just outside the city, Elisabetta goes on to provide a brief primer on the long history of this product, citing the use of boiled vinegar by the Roman Empire as both a food flavouring and a kind of medicinal ointment.

Some 1,000 years later, she says, it was identified as a regional speciality of medieval Modena and a “symbol of family wealth”, often gifted in the dowries of aristocratic brides. The word ‘balsamic’ first appeared as an adjective in the cellar registers of the Este Dukedom circa 1747, though official definitions and regulations didn’t apply until much more recently. In 2000, the European Union added the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (Aceto Balsamico di Modena) designation in the register of PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) productions. This was followed by the addition of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (Aceto Balsamico di Modena) designation in the register of PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) productions in 2009.

Elisabetta’s father was a local boy made good, having started out behind the counter in a small provincial butcher shop. Giuseppe worked his way up through the beef trade to become a major name in the food industry, steadily aquiring other companies, including Olitalia, and developing a popular line of pizzas that could be woodfired in a huge oven before freezing for mass distribution.

Being from Modena he felt somewhat obliged to move into the balsamic market, and finally bought a vinegar plant in 2007. “Unfortunately, he then passed away in 2008,” says Elisabetta with an audible, abiding sadness, “so my brothers and I took over the business.”

“Our father worked all the time, but he also liked to have guests in our home, enjoying typical local products like Parmigiano Reggiano, and of course Modena balsamic vinegar. He created this … magic atmosphere, with his love for the land and his respect for food traditions. His values are important to us, and we want to spread them around the world.”

A short drive away in Spilamberto, at the vineyardadjacent production plant of Acetaia Giuseppe Cremonini, Elisabetta’s brother Angelo admits that nobody in the family knew anything about actually making balsamic when they started out. So, they partnered with Alberto Ferrari (no relation to the racing driver and car designer, though Angelo does own a bright red Ferrari) a specialist who now serves as vinegar operations manager.

Having since grown to annual sales of seven million litres across 103 countries, and a turnover of €20 million, the siblings are now well qualified to explain their success.“The reason is quality,” says Angelo. “Beginning with the raw material, which is the most important thing.” The core product is traditional Modena balsamic vinegar,

SpinneysFOOD

Organic Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

made much the same way as in “ancient times”, he says, and within the contemporary dictates of PDO status.

SpinneysFOOD

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

PREVIOUS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Villa Cremonini; Trebbiano grapes; Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO is aged in residuerich barrels made from oak, chestnut and juniper woods

THIS PAGE: Angelo Cremonini.

OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Modena has a semi-continental climate and moderate rainfall that contributes to legendary grape-growing conditions; bottles on the production line; portrait of Giuseppe Cremonini; Alberto Ferrari testing a batch of balsamic vinegar; Acetaia Giuseppe Cremonini; Elisabetta Cremonini with her mother; balsamic vinegar PGI is stored in barrels of varying sizes.

This means using only the “must” of Trebbiano, Lambrusco or Ancellotta grapes, which are crushed and juiced before boiling to concentrations between 30 per cent and 50 per cent, then aged in residue-rich barrels known as batteria, of varying sizes and wood types – oak, chestnut, juniper. (The Cremonini batteries include casks as old as 80, and each of Elisabetta’s now-grown children had a barrel dedicated to them at birth.)

Evaporation over time helps reduce the fruit liquid to acetic acid. To qualify for PDO, that content has to be at least 12 years old (or 25 years for Extravecchio vinegars) before a sample is taken from the smallest barrel for testing by the board of certification, who then package it in their own authorised bottle. A PGI-approved balsamic, by contrast, need only be aged for two months, mixing grape must with wine vinegar at varying percentages.

“The more must in the blend, the sweeter and thicker it is,” says Angelo. “Not that one is better than the other, it just depends how you use it.” Thirty per cent must and 70 per cent wine vinegar is the optimal blend to go with a salad, he suggests, while reversing those ratios makes for a great accompaniment to meats or desserts. The range available at Spinneys includes balsamic glazes and varied wine and apple vinegars, and when it comes to developing new products the Cremoninis tend to balance their respect for tradition with a receptivity to market trends.

“We work wirth chefs’ associations, so we’ve got some new ideas for fermented vinegars, ancient grains, pulp fruit vinegars that go well with cheeses.” Their father’s spirit persists in their work ethic, says Angelo, and in the wise counsel of their mother, who is not directly involved in the business but can often help mediate between himself, Elisabetta and their other brother Camillo. “Well, siblings in a family busines don’t always agree, and our mother is very good at calming things down.”

“[OUR FATHER] CREATED THIS … MAGIC ATMOSPHERE, WITH HIS LOVE FOR THE LAND AND HIS RESPECT FOR FOOD TRADITIONS. HIS VALUES ARE IMPORTANT TO US...”

MASTERS OF PASTA

Spinneys sources many of its classic dried pastas – fusilli, macaroni, penne, organic and wholewheat spaghetti – from the famous Berruto family of Piedmont, Italy. On a visit to their factory we see how those shapes are made, and trace the brand’s roots from rustic wheat-farming to high-tech innovation

Inside the Berruto factory are pasta-making machines that look duly ultramodern – stainless steel, precisely calibrated, fully automated –yet also a little like ingenious Renaissance-era contraptions sketched out by Leonardo Da Vinci. Cutters, spinners, racks and rails operate along nine separate production lines, rendering dried pasta shapes that range from short, tight tubes, to strings as long as curtains, to the intricate nest-like structures, or sformatini, popular here in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy.

Complex as their operation may seem, says Matteo Berruto, “pasta is easy”. “It’s just two ingredients, water and durum wheat semolina. We use 100 kilogrammes of semolina to 30 kilogrammes of water in a continuous flow of material.” As plant manager, he’ll also admit this doesn’t quite account for the sheer diversity of dried pastas now made here, which include variations made with egg, or wholewheat, or vegetables such as peas. “Technology helps with the hard part of the job,” says Matteo.

“You can make large quantities and many varieties automatically, 24 hours a day. But tradition is still very important. You have to know the product very well, by hand and eye, to know what you want and what you’re looking for, which takes years of experience in the industry. So human perception has to be connected at every stage of the process.”

Matteo grew up nearby, beside one of the flour mills owned by his family, and one of the fields from which they harvested their wheat. “I used to watch the trucks in the courtyard,” he remembers. “It was very natural for me to go into this business.”

The mill has since been sold, and a certain quotient of the grain now comes from France, the US or Canada, though much of it is still sourced domestically, as many customers still demand 100 per cent Italian durum wheat. Since the days of Matteo’s grandparents, the company has grown to market gluten-free pasta, supply private pasta labels for retailers all over the world, including Spinneys, as well as producing its own three main brands – Arrighi, Italpasta, and a gourmet line called 1881 By Stefano Berruto.

Stefano himself, Matteo’s brother and company CEO, explains how that particular year was chosen for the brand name because records suggested that as the start date for “artisanal-industrial pasta production” among the

SpinneysFOOD Organic Penne Rigate

Carmagnola-based properties that later came to be owned by Berruto. “After recently digging deeper,” says Stefano, “we found that our presence here dates back further, to 1809, so we are actually an even older company.”

Those roots were originally fused to the farming of soft wheat, which fed into breadmaking and much later to grinding durum for pasta. “We still have some farms, and a lot of agreements with other farmers in the region to source the wheat used in our production.”

Stefano has now been in the company for 25 years, having “started from scratch” in the packaging department and steadily gained “deep knowledge about our overall activities”. As 90 per cent of Berruto’s output is exported to almost 100 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, the CEO can go into granular detail about the local market particularities.

SpinneysFOOD Macaroni

SpinneysFOOD Organic Spaghetti

For example: while “long shapes” like spaghetti make up 35 per cent of production, and the biggest-selling short cuts are penne and fusilli, lesser-known coquilletes are considered essential in France, where that shape was first invented. And while Berruto can produce all those classics with great consistency, Stefano will also tell you “innovation is so important”.

“Pasta is a well-established product all over the world, but the world is changing, and so are consumer habits, so we need to think how to make and use pasta in a more modern way.”

A few years ago, Berruto observed the booming demand for instant oriental cup noodles and applied their knowledge to developing an equivalent ready-to-eat pasta, which is precooked with steam and mixed with a range of outsourced sauces. Successful experiments in brewing beer with factory scraps of dried durum may soon come full circle, with that beer used to make a new strand of protein and fibre-rich pasta.

SpinneysFOOD Fusilli

But Stefano is talking about tech innovations, too, and making the whole process more sustainable. Solar panels on the roof provide 25 per cent of the factory’s energy, and a new power system will recycle the heat generated in the drying process. This is part of looking to the future, and though Stefano himself does not have children, he hopes that Matteo’s kids, and their sister Anna’s, will help ensure that Berruto remains one of the big names in Italian pastamaking, “a family company that keeps bringing new ideas to the market”.

Written by Stephan Phelan Photography by Camilla Hylleberg & Peter Peng

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Berruto’s pasta factory is situated in the Piedmont region, in close proximity to the Alps; quality checks at every stage are an integral part of the production process; high-tech lasagnemaking machine; incredibly durable pasta dough is fed into a machine that produces fusilli; freshly made spaghetti hung up to dry; corkscrewshaped fusilli pasta; Stefano Berruto (L) and Matteo Berruto (R).

FAMILY TREE FRUIT OF THE

Loyalty and quality define the Basso family’s approach to making blended, flavoured and classic Italian extra virgin olive oils. From their base in Avellino to their super-intensive olive farm in Foggia, the Basso boys talked us through the long history, vibrant present and sustainable future of the brand

Written by Tiffany Eslick & Stephen Phelan

Photography by Camilla Hylleberg

Falcons glide high overhead, hunting for mice among the fields of Foggia. Down at ground level, in this area known as ‘the granary of Italy’, the vivid red shell of a ladybird stands out against the deep green leaves of the olive trees. “This is a good sign,” says Federico Basso, whose family owns this farm and several others as part of its almost 120-year-old olive oil company. “Ladybirds are a positive symbol in organic farming.”

“They protect these trees by attacking and eating the other insects that are bad for the plants,” says Federico, “which helps us to avoid using chemicals.” He and his older brother Fabrizio represent the fifth generation of a business begun by their grandfather’s grandfather in 1904, which was a relatively simple and small-scale affair, restricted to delivering olive and vegetable oils around the family’s home turf of Irpinia, in the heart of the Campania region.

The brothers grew up in the trade, pitching in with the workers during their summer holidays, but formally joined the company to handle domestic sales (Fabrizio) and exports (Federico) in 2015 and 2016, respectively. It was their father, Sabino, the current company president who made Basso an international name when he inherited the business in the mid-1980s.

“My own father left me a company that only sold to the local market,” says Sabino. “For me it was important to take us abroad.” Beginning with the US and Canada – two major vectors for Italian immigration, and therefore natural points of sale to the wider diaspora – Basso kept expanding “day by day and year by year, to new customers in England, Australia, Japan, Korea …”. Today the brand is in 90 countries, including the UAE, where Spinneys stocks Basso’s organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), as well as a truffleinfused EVOO and a signature Mediterranean blended oil, sourced from trusted suppliers in Spain and Greece.

This geographic spread makes Sabino proud, as do his two sons, “simple, humble men”, whom he has entrusted to take the company into the future and perhaps “double” its current sales. The product itself is absolutely essential, in his view – Sabino eats EVOO with bread for breakfast every morning, sometimes with a spoon of sugar, and does not discount the possibility that it has help sustained his health through a lifetime of marathon running.

His particular region of Italy lends itself to a good quality of life, he says. Besides being famous for wine, olive oil and the gastronomic traditions preserved in the recipe books of resident grandmothers, Irpinia also has “the best biodiversity in the world”, and is now generating a lot of clean energy through wind and solar power.

Basso is very much plugged into that circuit, so to speak. Having been using photovoltaic panels since 2003, the company has since heavily invested in strategies and technologies for more sustainable production. “Most important is water management,” says Federico.

“About 70 per cent of water is wasted in agriculture, so we’re shifting to a system that allows us to control the exact amount of water that each plant gets. We are also reusing waste grass and other materials to enrich the soil with oxidants to help those plants grow stronger.”

Basso’s various olive farms extend to traditional, intensive and super-intensive operations. The latter prevails at this 59-hectare site in Foggia, where the trees are arranged close together, plantation-style, so pruning and harvesting are made easier. Quality-wise, trees grown in this system don’t give excellent olives until they’re about five years

OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Bottles of SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the assembly line; ladybirds are welcome visitors at the Basso family’s organic olive farms, where they protect the trees from harmful insects; the olive farm at Foggia.

THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: Fedele Basso (second from far left), Sabino Basso’s father; Arbequina olives; Federico, Sabino and Fabrizio (L-R).

SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

old, but the overall yield tends to be higher than with older plants. These particular olives are the Spanish varietal Arbequina, which Basso tends to use in blended oils, “because it’s very sweet with an almond taste quite different from the classic Italian olive”.

“It gives a good balance,” says Federico. “Not too aggressive but not too plain.” This site and others are managed by Vincenzo Fratta, an old university friend of Sabino’s “who shares our values in biological and organic farming”, while production is overseen 20-year Basso veteran Leopoldo De Falco, who talks us through the stringent quality control checks conducted before and after the oil goes into each bottle.

“We have a very strong quality department, and a chemical lab that is very important for analysis of the product,” says Sabino’s older son and CEO Fabrizio Basso, at the family home and company headquarters in Avellino. From here to the margins of the brand domain – some of its olives are grown as far afield as Tunisia – “all suppliers have to follow our direction, operate within our parameters and meet all our specifications.”

Fabrizio explains that the farming side of the business is a relatively recent development that more or less coincided with he and his brother taking an active role. “It was only a few years ago we started to look at agriculture as a natural link to the industrial part of the process. Clients can visit the olive trees that make our oil – this is a beautiful thing to see.”

Surveying the Villa Raiano vineyard, Fabrizio, too, remembers visiting production sites with his father as a kid, and says he never considered doing anything else with his life.

“I never thought of a future away from my family. I studied in Naples, and the UK, and then immediately came back to start helping the company. My brother and I brought in new ideas that were not so easy to share with our father and the older generation, but things are slowly changing now, we’re approaching a new way of doing business, with a wider range of products.” While current market trends tend to embrace all sorts of flavoured oils and infusions, says Fabrizio, the core product remains the Basso standard-bearer.

“We will always push on extra virgin olive oil, and especially our 100% Italian EVOO, which we believe has the best quality in the whole Mediterranean area.”

“... A FEW YEARS AGO WE STARTED TO LOOK AT AGRICULTURE AS A NATURAL LINK TO THE INDUSTRIAL PROCESS. CLIENTS CAN VISIT THE OLIVE TREES THAT MAKE OUR OIL – THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL THING TO SEE”

SpinneysFOOD Black Truffle Extra Virgin Olive Oil

SpinneysFOOD Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Garlic

SpinneysFOOD Extra Virgin Olive Oil With Chilli Pepper

OPPOSITE PAGE: Sabino, the current company president, with his sons Fabrizio and Federico, who handle domestic sales and exports respectively.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE

FROM TOP LEFT: The company’s first automatic bottling line; olive trees are planted close together to make pruning and harvesting easier; each batch of olive oil undergoes stringent quality checks before and after bottling; Federico with Vincenzo, who manages several sites for Basso; all olive suppliers have to operate within strict parameters set by the company; the signature Mediterranean blended olive oil made from olives grown in Spain and Greece; Avellino’s verdant landscape.

Weeknight wonders

FUSILLI ANTIPASTI SALAD WITH YOGHURT-BASIL PESTO DRESSING

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 9 minutes

Serves: 4-6

500g SpinneysFOOD Fusilli

285g SpinneysFOOD Roasted Mix Peppers

VEGGIE

55g SpinneysFOOD Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Sunflower

Seed Oil

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. 2 Drain and roughly chop the roasted mixed peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and tear the basil leaves. Combine these ingredients in a large serving bowl. 3 Drain the pasta (don’t rinse it) and allow to cool. 4 Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Grate the garlic. Juice the lemon. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a medium-sized bowl. 5 Add the dressing to the cooled pasta and toss well to coat. 6 Toss with the rest of the ingredients and serve.

285g SpinneysFOOD Artichokes in Sunflower Seed Oil

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Tomato Pesto

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil leaves

For the dressing

1 small garlic clove

1 lemon

250ml plain yoghurt

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Basil Pesto

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

COOK’S NOTE

Fusilli antipasti salad with yoghurt-basil pesto dressing

1 SpinneysFOOD Fusilli

4 SpinneysFOOD Basil Pesto

2 SpinneysFOOD Roasted Mixed Peppers

3 SpinneysFOOD Sun-dried Tomatoes in Sunflower Seed Oil

Always boil pasta in plenty of water. Never add oil to pasta water as it forms a coating on the pasta and prevents the sauce from clinging to it.

CHEAT’S LASAGNE

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 4

350g Bolognese sauce

150g SpinneysFOOD Organic Baby Spinach Kenya

2 x 250g SpinneysFOOD Four Cheese Ravioli

410g SpinneysFOOD Cheese Alfredo Sauce

Handful of fresh oregano

40g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

140g SpinneysFOOD Garlic Bread Slices

To serve Fresh oregano

COOK’S NOTE

There’s no need to par boil the ravioli. It will cook perfectly in the sauce.

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. 2 Spoon a third of the Bolognese sauce into a medium-sized baking dish (approx. 18cm x 20cm). Top with a third of the baby spinach and a third of the ravioli. Then scatter over some of the cheese sauce and fresh oregano. Repeat the layers once more, making sure the final layer of ravioli is nestled into the sauce. Pour the alfredo sauce over the top to cover everything. 3 Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano over the top. 4 Bake for 20 minutes before tearing the garlic bread slices over. Finish in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden and bubbling. 5 Serve the lasagne scattered with fresh oregano.

Cheat’s lasagne

3 SpinneysFOOD Garlic Bread Slices

2 SpinneysFOOD Four Cheese Ravioli

1 La Molisana Bolognese Sauce

FRIED SPINACH RICOTTA RAVIOLI WITH TOMATO MASCARPONE DIP

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

250ml buttermilk

200g breadcrumbs

250g SpinneysFOOD Spinach Ricotta Ravioli

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying

350g Tomato & Mascarpone Sauce

140g SpinneysFOOD Garlic Bread Slices

To serve

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh rocket

1 Place the buttermilk and the breadcrumbs in separate shallow bowls. 2 Working in batches, dip the ravioli completely into the buttermilk. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Place the ravioli in the breadcrumbs and ensure its well coated. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet. Continue with the remaining ravioli. 3 Heat 2cm of oil in a frying pan. 4 Fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, approx. 3 minutes. 5 Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain. 6 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. 7 Place the garlic bread in the oven and bake according to package instructions. 8 Drizzle the olive oil over the ravioli. Serve with the tomato and mascarpone sauce, garlic bread and rocket.

TOP TIP!

Make these in an airfryer for a healthier mid-week meal.

Fried spinach ricotta ravioli with tomato mascarpone dip

1 SpinneysFOOD Spinach Ricotta Ravioli

2 Essential Waitrose Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce

3 SpinneysFOOD Garlic Bread Slices

MAKE IT WITH

SPAGHETTI WITH LEMON AND PARSLEY ALFREDO SAUCE

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

500g SpinneysFOOD Spaghetti

Handful of SpinneysFOOD

COOK’S NOTE

Salt pasta water generously. Italians say that pasta water should taste like the ocean.

To serve

1

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook according to package instructions until al dente. 2 Finely chop the parsley. Zest and juice the lemon.

3 Heat the cheese alfredo sauce in a saucepan. Add the parsley, lemon zest and juice to the sauce. Season generously with black pepper. Add the cream and 4 tablespoons of the pasta water to the sauce and mix well. The alfredo sauce should be quite liquid in consistency. 4 Drain the pasta (don’t rinse) and add to the sauce. Toss through to coat. 5 Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano. Zest the lemon. Finely chop the parsley. 6 Sprinkle the cheese and lemon zest over the spaghetti. Finish with finely chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Fresh Parsley

1 lemon

410g SpinneysFOOD Cheese Alfredo Sauce

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste 4 tbsp single cream

20g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

lemon

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

Spaghetti with lemon and parsley alfredo sauce

1 SpinneysFOOD Spaghetti

4 SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

2 SpinneysFOOD Cheese Alfredo Sauce

3 SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper

SPAGHETTI ALLO SCOGLIO

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

500g SpinneysFOOD Organic Spaghetti

340g SpinneysFOOD Arrabbiata Sauce

250g SpinneysFOOD Cooked Prawns

250g live mussels

125g clams

1 lemon

To serve

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

COOK’S NOTE

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook according to package instructions until al dente.

2 Meanwhile, heat the arrabbiata sauce in a large saucepan and add the prawns, mussels and clams. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for 2-3 minutes until all the mussels have opened up. 3 Juice the lemon and add the juice to the saucepan.

4 Drain the pasta (don’t rinse) and add to the sauce. Toss through to coat. 5 Serve the pasta garnished with finely chopped parsley.

Spaghetti allo scoglio

Recipes, food styling and photography by TheKateTin.com

1 SpinneysFOOD Organic Spaghetti

2 SpinneysFOOD Arrabbiata Sauce

3 SpinneysFOOD Cooked Prawns

Cook pasta until ‘al dente’ or ‘to the tooth’, which means it should still have a slight chew to it.

That’s amore

Italian pantry essentials, breakfasts, coffee-infused desserts, famous cheeses, biscotti and more

Nonna’s pantry

Olive oil, pasta, pesto, fresh tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and garlic are just a few quintessential Italian ingredients that are key to creating avourful meals such as osso buco, Tuscan bean stew, chicken cacciatore and more

In Italian, cacciatore means hunter and alla cacciatora translates to a ‘hunter-style’ meal made with chicken (or rabbit), onions, tomatoes, herbs, vegetables, and usually wine or vinegar.

Chicken cacciatore

Herby cannellini bean gnocchi in balsamic lamb ragu

Cheesy baked polenta in tomato and roasted pepper sauce

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4-6

1 red onion

2 garlic cloves

1 SpinneysFOOD Red Capsicum

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

1½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

300g SpinneysFOOD Portobello Mushrooms

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Chilli Flakes

125ml chicken stock

1 x 400g tin SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Organic Italian Tomato Pesto

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

100g mixed pitted olives

2 tsp caper berries or capers

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil leaves

1 Finely slice the onion. Crush the garlic. Slice and deseed the capsicum. 2 Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

3 Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot or pan and brown the chicken on either side, for approx. 3 minutes, or until the skin becomes golden and crispy. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Reserve the oil in the pan. 4 Add the onion to the same pan along with the whole mushrooms and sauté over a medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add in the garlic, capsicum and chilli flakes and sauté for a further minute. Lower the heat and add in the stock, tinned tomatoes, tomato pesto, oregano, olives, capers and remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine. 5 Place the chicken in the sauce and simmer for approx. 30 minutes uncovered. Once the chicken is cooked through stir in the fresh parsley and basil. 6 Serve with crusty bread or creamy polenta.

HERBY CANNELLINI BEAN GNOCCHI IN BALSAMIC LAMB

RAGU

For the herby cannellini gnocchi

2 x 400g SpinneysFOOD Cannellini Beans

185g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

1 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

To serve

30g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated

1 Finely chop and rinse the leeks. Grate or crush the garlic cloves. Roughly chop the tomatoes.

2 Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a deep pan set over a medium-high heat. 3 Season the lamb shanks then fry, turning occasionally, until brown all over. Remove the shanks from the pan. 4 Lower the heat to medium. Add the leeks to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the crushed garlic and tomato paste and cook for a further minute or two. Add the tomatoes to the pan along with the stock, oregano and balsamic vinegar. Season and bring to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat and cook for 2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. 5 Meanwhile, drain and rinse the cannellini beans. Place in a food processor along with the flour, egg, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and parsley. Blend on high until smooth and combined. Form into a ball and place in cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

6 Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season well with salt. 7 Roll the dough into two evensized logs and slice into 2cm pieces. Lightly press the top and bottom together to form the gnocchi. Working in batches, drop into the salted water and cook for 5 minutes, or until they rise to the top. 8 Toss the gnocchi through the ragu. 9 Serve sprinkled with cheese and extra oregano.

CHEESY BAKED POLENTA IN TOMATO AND ROASTED PEPPER SAUCE

For an even quicker version of this dinner, pour the contents of a jar of SpinneysFOOD Napoletana Sauce into the bottom of a baking dish and top with the polenta discs. Bake until the polenta is golden. Prep time: 30 minutes (plus setting time)

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Serves: 4

For the balsamic lamb ragu

1 large leek

2 garlic cloves

4 SpinneysFOOD Roma Plum Tomatoes

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

500g SpinneysFOOD Australian Lamb Shanks

2 tbsp tomato paste

500ml beef stock

Handful of fresh oregano leaves

2-3 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano shavings

For the polenta

90g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

350ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

350ml SpinneysFOOD Full-Fat Milk

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

200g instant polenta

For the sauce

2 small red onions

1 garlic clove

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Chilli Flakes

10g fresh oregano leaves

1 x 400g SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped Italian Tomatoes

285g SpinneysFOOD Roasted Mixed Peppers

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

200g bocconcini

Handful of fresh oregano

1 Place a 40cm x 30cm sheet of cling film on the kitchen counter. Roughly grate the Parmigiano Reggiano. 2 Place the water and milk in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Crush the garlic and add to the pot along with the olive oil and salt. Slowly add the polenta while whisking until thick. Cook, stirring often for 3 minutes, until the polenta pulls away from the sides. Add 30g of the Parmigiano Reggiano. 3 Transfer to the cling film and quickly shape into a large cylinder – use the cling film to tightly roll the polenta. Twist the ends to secure it. Chill for 1 hour. 4 To make the sauce, finely chop the onions and crush the garlic. Heat the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pan then add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the chilli flakes, oregano, tinned tomatoes, roasted mixed peppers and salt. Mix well and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Place the sauce in a serving platter. 5 Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. 6 Gently unwrap the chilled polenta and transfer to a cutting board. Trim approx. 2-3cm off the ends, then cut the polenta into 1cm-thick slices. 7 Tear the bocconcini and arrange over the tomato sauce. Arrange the polenta discs overlapping slightly over the cheese. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. 8 Bake for approx. 35 minutes until golden and bubbly. 9 Serve immediately.

PIZZA FRITTA NAPOLETANA

To test the oil before you fry the pizza fritta (fried pizza), drop a cube of potato into the hot oil. When it turns golden and rises to the surface, the oil is ready. Prep time: 20 minutes (plus proofing time)

Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes: 12 small pizze

For the pizza dough

350ml lukewarm SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

4g dried yeast

5g SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

500g Tipo 00 flour, plus extra for dusting

For the Napoletana sauce

1 garlic clove

1 fresh red chilli

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil, leaves and stems

1 x 400g tin SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for frying

For the topping

200g bocconcini

Pizza fritta Napoletana

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil leaves

50g SpinneysFOOD Basil Pesto

150g SpinneysFOOD Artichokes in Sunflower Seed Oil

150g SpinneysFOOD Ricotta

100g black olives

1 Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer along with the yeast. Set aside for 2 minutes or until foamy. Add in the salt and a handful of the flour. Mix to form the batter. With the machine running slowly, add in the flour, a handful at a time until a soft pliable dough forms. You should be left with approx. 10% of the flour. Knead the dough in the mixer for 10 minutes or on a floured work surface for 20 minutes, until smooth and elastic. 2 Place the dough in an oiled bowl with a damp tea towel placed over it and set aside for 1 hour to proof, or until doubled in size. 3 Once proofed, knock down the dough and roll into a sausage. Divide into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls on a lightly floured surface and cover with a tea towel. Rest for 15 minutes. 4 To make the Napoletana sauce, finely slice the garlic and halve the chilli lengthways (removing the seeds, if necessary). 5 Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot and fry the sliced garlic until golden then add in the chilli and basil (including the stalks). Add in the tinned tomatoes and mash down any large chunks. Bring to a boil then lower to a gentle simmer for 10-15 minutes. Pass the sauce through a coarse sieve, pressing everything through. Season with the salt and pepper. 6 Working with one ball at a time, press down, stretching and flattening it into a 15cm round. 7 Fill a large pot with sunflower oil and place over a medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the dough rounds for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels. 8 Top each mini pizza with Napoletana sauce, torn bocconcini, basil leaves, pesto, artichokes, ricotta and olives. 9 Serve immediately.

TUSCAN BEAN STEW

If you like a thicker stew, blend 250-500ml of the mixture and add it back to the pot.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4-6

1 brown onion

2 medium carrots

1 fennel bulb

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 garlic clove

¼ tsp SpinneysFOOD Chilli Flakes

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

150g SpinneysFOOD Cherry Tomatoes

100g kale

2L chicken stock

1 tbsp white grape vinegar

2 x 400g tins borlotti beans

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

1 Dice the onion, carrots and fennel bulb to roughly the same size. 2 Heat the oil in a medium-sized Dutch oven. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes, until softened. Lower the heat and add in the carrots and fennel. Grate in the garlic then add the chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Cook for approx. 5-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add in the cherry tomatoes. 3 Chop the kale and add to the dish along with the stock, vinegar and beans. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 4 Finely chop the parsley and add to the stew before serving.

5 Serve with a drizzle of oil and crusty bread.

SFINCIONE

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus proofing time)

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4-6

For the dough

2¼ tsp dry yeast

250ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

50g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

150g semola rimacinata di grano duro (durum wheat semolina)

10g SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the topping

2 brown onions

75ml SpinneysFOOD Organic Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbsp tomato paste

16 anchovy fillets

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Chilli Flakes

40g coarse breadcrumbs

200g SpinneysFOOD Pecorino Romano, sliced

50g black olives

3 tbsp capers

1 Mix the yeast with 50ml of water and set aside for 5 minutes, or until foamy. 2 Combine the allpurpose and durum wheat semolina in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add in the salt, sugar and olive oil. Add in the yeast. Set the mixer to a medium speed and slowly pour in the remaining water and knead for 15 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. 3 Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel, or lightly oiled sheet of cling film. Set aside for 1 hour to proof until doubled in size. 4 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Lightly oil a 30cm x 20cm oven dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. 5 Peel and finely chop the onions. 6 Heat 60ml of the olive oil in a saucepan. Once hot, add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the tomato paste, anchovies, oregano and chilli. Cook for 15 minutes or until reduced and thick – the oil should collect at the top. 7 Scoop off the oil and place it in a bowl along with the breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly. 8 Place the dough in the greased dish and gently spread it out in

the dish, similar to how you would with focaccia. Evenly spread the tomato paste over the dough then top with the sliced cheese, olives and capers. Scatter the breadcrumbs on top. 9 Bake for 30 minutes, or until risen and golden.

OSSO BUCO

Osso buco literally means ‘bone with a hole’ in Italian. The dish is traditionally from Milan and usually is served with risotto Milanese (saffron risotto with the marrow fat from the bone).

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Serves: 4

For the osso buco

1 large carrot

4-6 celery stalks

150g brown onions

6 beef shins

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

50g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour, for coating

100ml SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 SpinneysFOOD Bay Leaves

2 strips of lemon zest, each approx. 10cm long

2 garlic cloves

2 sprigs of SpinneysFOOD Rosemary

100ml SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil

600ml non-alcoholic white wine

1tbsp SpinneysFOOD Tomato Passata

150ml meat or vegetable stock

For the gremolata

1 lemon

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

1 sprig of SpinneysFOOD Rosemary

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C or gas mark 4.

2 Peel and finely chop the carrot, celery and onions by hand or in a food processor – this is called soffritto. 3 To make the gremolata, zest the lemon and finely chop the herbs. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside. 4 Using a pair of scissors, snip around the fatty edges of the beef shins: this will help them keep their shape. Season each one with salt and pepper, then lightly coat them with flour. Tap off the excess flour. 5 Place the soffritto mix, olive oil, bay leaves, lemon zest strips, garlic and rosemary in a large ovenproof frying pan, or casserole dish, and fry for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent. 6 Heat the sunflower oil in a second frying pan and, when hot, fry the beef until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and add to the soffritto mixture. 7 Add the non-alcoholic wine and allow to reduce for a couple of minutes before adding the passata and stock. 8 Transfer the ovenproof pan or casserole dish to the oven and cook, uncovered, for approx. 1-1½ hours, until the osso buco is tender. 9 Serve with risotto Milanese and the gremolata.

Sfincione is a type of Sicilian pizza, originally made from a dough that’s equal parts bread and pizza flour to get a classic thick crust. It’s traditionally topped with tomatoes, onions, anchovies and breadcrumbs and seasoned with a sprinkle of dried oregano.

Sfincione

Tuscan bean stew

Osso buco

Buo ngiorn o

Sweet baked goods and strong coffee go hand-in-hand for breakfast in Italy. Our recipes for custard-fi lled croissants, gelato in brioche buns and more will have you craving for this combination every day

Cornetto alla crema

CORNETTO ALLA CREMA

Cornetti (croissants) are a typical Italian breakfast food served with an espresso. They can be filled with a number of fillings. This custard is a quick and easy way to turn a plain croissant into an indulgent breakfast.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Makes: 4

For the custard

300ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

40g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

20g corn flour

125ml cream

To serve

4 SpinneysFOOD Croissants

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2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, for dusting

1 Place the milk and vanilla essence in a saucepan and bring to a boil. 2 Separate the egg yolks from the whites. 3 Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and corn flour in a separate pot.

4 While whisking, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg-yolk mixture and combine completely. Place the pot on a medium heat and cook until thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. 5 Pour the mixture into a piping bag. 6 Pierce three holes through the bottom of the croissants and fill them with the custard.

7 Serve the cornetti with a dusting of icing sugar.

CIAMBELLA AL PISTACCHIO

Swap out the crema di pistacchio for Nutella or jam.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 8

4 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs, at room temperature

250g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

1 orange

1 lemon

4 tbsp hot water

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Organic Natural Honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

180ml SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil

400g ‘00’ flour

15g baking powder

150ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

200g crema di pistacchio

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, for dusting

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease a 24cm Bundt tin. 2 Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until very light and fluffy –

approx. 8 minutes. 3 Meanwhile, zest the orange and lemon. 4 Add the hot water, zest, honey, vanilla extract and salt to the bowl and beat again. Gradually pour in the oil while whisking, making sure it’s well incorporated. 5 Sift the flour and baking powder together then spoon into the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. Whisk until just combined. 6 Pour into the greased tin and bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely. 7 Place the crema di pistacchio in a piping bag fitted with a straight nozzle. 8 Using the long end of a wooden spoon, poke holes in a ring on the top of the cake reaching the centre of the cake. 9 Insert the piping bag and fill the holes generously to create a centre filling. 10 Unmould the cake and serve dusted with icing sugar.

FETTE BISCOTTATE

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus proofing time)

Cook time: 1 hour

Makes: 30

250g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Cinnamon

40g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg

5g instant yeast

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

1 tbsp milk

To serve Jam or Nutella

1 Grease a standard-size loaf tin. 2 Combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, sugar, egg, yeast, water, butter and salt to form a sticky dough. Form into a sausage big enough to fit into the loaf tin. Cover the dough and allow it to rise until it’s quite puffy, approx. 2 hours.

3 Preheat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5.

4 Brush the top of the dough with the milk then bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Ciambella al pistacchio

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5 Slice into thin pieces 1cm wide then place on baking sheets. 6 Mix the remaining cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the toast. 7 Preheat the oven to 160°C, gas mark 3. 8 Bake the fette biscottate for 30 minutes until crisp. 9 Serve alongside jam or Nutella.

STRAWBERRY ALMOND CROSTATA

This crostata can be frozen after it’s baked or before. If baking from frozen, add 5-10 minutes to the overall baking time.

Prep time: 30 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 35 minutes

Makes: 3-4

For the pastry

340g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour, sifted

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

200g SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter, cold

3-4 tbsp water

For the filling

300g almonds

240g SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, sifted

1 egg white

¼ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

For the topping

400g strawberries

1 SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Demerara Sugar

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Strawberry Preserve

1 To make the pastry, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Cube the butter. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Rub the butter and flour mixture between the palms of your hands to create thin sheets of butter, which will create flaky layers. Add in iced water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Then knead it on a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour. 2 Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the almonds and icing sugar in a food processor and blitz. Add the egg white and salt and mix until combined. 3 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Place a large oven tray or pizza stone in the oven to preheat. 4 Divide the pastry into 3 or 4 rounds (depending on the desired size). Roll out the pastry rounds on a lightly floured surface to approx. 2mm thick and roughly 20cm in diameter. 5 Spread the almond mixture over the pastry, leaving a 3cm border. 6 Hull, halve and finely slice the strawberries

Recipes, food styling and photography by TheKateTin.com

Fette biscottate is a typical Italian breakfast, which is especially popular among kids, who eat these sweet little toast-like biscuits with milk or spread with jam or Nutella.

Fette biscottate

then arrange them top of the almond mixture. Fold the pastry border over the strawberries to partially enclose them. 7 Brush the pastry edges with egg wash and sprinkle demerara sugar over the crust. 8 Place the crostata on a piece of baking paper and transfer to the preheated tray or pizza stone. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C, gas mark 4, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the crostata is deep golden in color. 9 Brush the preserve over the still-warm strawberries to give them a glaze and serve while still warm.

BRIOCHE CON GELATO

This is a typical Sicilian breakfast in the hot summer months – a soft pillowy bread roll filled with gelato. It can also be served with a topping of whipped cream. Prep time: 35 minutes (plus proofing time)

Cook time: 20 minutes

Makes: 12 buns

100ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

5g instant yeast

1 orange

1 lemon

2 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

500g cake flour

50g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter, softened

50g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

25g SpinneysFOOD Honey

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

2 SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

25ml non-alcoholic rum

2L SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying

To serve Gelato

1 Place the milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to dissolve. Finely zest the orange and lemon. 2 Add the eggs, flour, butter, sugar, honey, salt and zest to the bowl.

3 Using a dough hook, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until a soft, smooth dough forms. Cover with cling film and allow to rest for 15 minutes. 4 Separate the egg yolks from the whites. 5 Add the egg yolks and non-alcoholic rum to the dough and knead well. Cover again and allow to rise in a warm place until puffy and doubled in size. 6 Knock the air out of the dough by kneading it gently then divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. Cover and prove in a warm place until doubled in size and puffy. 7 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. 8 Glaze the dough balls with the egg whites. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and golden. Allow to cool. 9 Serve with gelato of choice.

Brioche con gelato

Strawberry almond crostata

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Coffee culture

Salted caramel affogato

SALTED CARAMEL AFFOGATO

‘Affogato’ meaning ‘drowned’ in Italian, is traditionally made from only three ingredients – espresso, gelato and sometimes a shot of liqueur. We’ve made our version more decadent by adding salted caramel.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Serves: 2

80g salted caramel

4 scoops Remeo Madagascan Vanilla Gelato

2 shots espresso

To serve Biscotti, optional

1 Divide the salted caramel between two glasses and top with the ice cream. 2 Pour the hot espresso over. 3 Serve with crushed biscotti, if desired.

COFFEE CHOCOLATE CANNOLI

In Italian, one of these delicious treats is referred to as a connolo and two or more are referred to as cannoli.

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes: 30 cannoli

250g SpinneysFOOD Ricotta

100g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

For the cannoli dough

300g cake flour

30g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter, softened

15g cocoa powder

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Instant Coffee

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

1 glass non-alcoholic white wine or marsala

1 egg white, for sticking

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying

For the filling

250ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

1 SpinneysFOOD Bay Leaf

1 clove

1 SpinneysFOOD Cinnamon Stick

20g corn starch

50g dark chocolate

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Cinnamon

2 shots espresso

60g chocolate chips

To serve

Coffee beans, for decorating

SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing sugar, for dusting

1 Combine the ricotta and sugar in a mediumsized bowl and refrigerate while you prepare the dough. 2 To make the cannoli dough, combine the flour, butter, cocoa, coffee, sugar and salt then gradually add the non-alcoholic white wine until a stiff, pliable dough forms (the dough should be a similar consistency to pasta dough). Knead the dough until smooth and elastic then cover and rest for 10 minutes.

3 Slice off pieces of dough and roll through a floured pasta machine starting at the largest setting and work your way through the notches until you achieve size 4 thickness. 4 Using a cookie cutter or cup, cut out discs of dough, then wrap around a cannoli mould. Overlap the edges and stick them together with a little egg white. Continue until all the dough has been used. 5 Fill a large pot with oil and heat the oil to 180°C. Fry the cannoli, in batches, until deepgolden brown. Each batch will take approx. 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and allow to cool. 6 Place the milk in a saucepan along with

Arriving in Venice in the 16 th century, coffee beans swept through the country and became an inherent part of everyday Italian life. We’ve used this popular beverage to fl avour four traditional desserts

Make the cannoli shells in advance and store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

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TOP TIP!

If you don’t have metal cannoli rods, you can either use cannelloni pasta shells, or scrunch up foil to form the rods.

Coffee cinnamon jellies

Espresso granita con crema

Coffee chocolate cannoli

the bay leaf, clove and cinnamon. Heat over a medium heat until just simmering. Add a little water to the corn starch to make a thin paste then gradually whisk the paste into the warm milk, whisking continuously until thick. Simmer for a few minutes until cooked. 7 Finely chop the dark chocolate and stir it into the milk mixture along with the cinnamon and espresso. Spread the chocolate sauce on a baking tray to cool.

8 Pass the ricotta cheese and sugar mixture through a fine sieve to get a smooth mixture. Remove the spices from the sauce and stir into the ricotta mixture along with the chocolate chips. Stir well. 9 Place the filling into a piping bag and pipe into each cannolo. 10 Dust the cannoli with icing sugar and decorate with coffee beans, if desired. Serve immediately.

COFFEE CINNAMON JELLIES

This type of dessert is very common in Sicily and hugely popular in the summer. Other common versions include those flavoured with jasmine flowers, prickly pear or watermelon.

Prep time: 5 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

500ml fairly strong freshly brewed coffee

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Cinnamon

100g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

60g corn flour

To serve

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 Rinse out a 500ml decorative mould with cold water. 2 While the coffee is still hot, pour it into a bowl, stir in the cinnamon, then add the sugar and continue to stir until cooled slightly. Sift the corn flour into the mixture and whisk to prevent any lumps from forming. 3 Strain the

mixture into a pan and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly using a spatula (don’t use a whisk as this will destroy the structure). Once the mixture has thickened and the corn flour has cooked out, approx. 5 minutes, remove the pan from the heat, stir for a few seconds to cool slightly before pouring it into the prepared mould. 4 Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. 5 Remove from the refrigerator and turn out on to a serving dish. 6 Dust with cocoa powder and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

ESPRESSO GRANITA CON CREMA

Granitas are similar to sorbets but have a much grainier consistency. The traditional flavour and texture varies throughout the island. In Catania it is very common to find granita flavoured with almonds, whereas in Messina it is often flavoured with coffee and served with cream.

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus freezing time)

Serves: 4-6

For the granita

70g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

250ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

750ml extra strong coffee

To serve

250ml whipping cream

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 Place the sugar and water in a pan over a low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the coffee, stir and set aside until completely cooled.

2 Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container and place in the freezer for 2 hours or just over, stirring every 20 minutes to give it a granular texture. 3 Whip the cream. 4 Serve in dishes or glasses. Decorate with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.

Brew that perfect cup or flavour desserts with the coffee in stores.

SpinneysFOOD Rich Roast Instant Coffee Granules

SpinneysFOOD Italian Dark Roast Coffee – Ground

Waitrose Italian Style Instant Coffee

SpinneysFOOD Italian Espresso Coffee Capsules

Taylors of Harrogate Rich Italian Coffee Bags

Granita originated in Sicily. Its roots can be traced back to the flavoured ice sherbets that found their way to the island during the Arab occupation. It is believed that the first Sicilian granitas were made from the snow that lay on the peaks of Mount Etna and the Nebrodi mountains.

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Fab formaggio

With over 2,500 varieties, there’s no doubt Italy takes its cheese seriously. These recipes cast the spotlight on some of the country’s most famous varieties

Truffle burrata with beetroot, hazelnuts and peach vinaigrette

COOK’S NOTE

If using fresh lasagne sheets, there is no need to pre-soak them.

Artichoke, cavolo nero and pecorino lasagne

TRUFFLE BURRATA WITH BEETROOT, HAZELNUTS AND PEACH VINAIGRETTE

The flavours in this starter might seem unusual but they work beautifully together.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Serves: 2

100g SpinneysFOOD Raw Hazelnuts

100g fresh beetroot

For the dressing

1 lemon

5 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

½ tbsp SpinneysFOOD Black Truffle Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 ripe peach

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground

To serve

2 x 150g burrata cheese

1 ripe peach

SpinneysFOOD Microgreens (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

2 Spread the hazelnuts out on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 5 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Place them on a clean tea towel and rub the nuts then remove the skins. Chop roughly and set aside. 3 Using a mandolin or sharp knife, thinly slice the fresh beetroot and set aside. 4 To make the dressing, Juice the lemon. Place the olive oil, lemon juice, water, truffle oil and the flesh of 1 peach in a blender. Season well and blitz until smooth.

5 On two plates, place 2 teaspoons of the dressing then place the burrata on top. Arrange the finely sliced beetroot around the burrata. Thinly slice the remaining peach and arrange the slices in between the beetroot. 6 Drizzle with extra dressing then scatter with the microgreens and serve.

ARTICHOKE, CAVOLO NERO AND PECORINO LASAGNE

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

1L boiling SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

3 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

250g dried lasagne sheets

For the bechamel sauce

90ml SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

40g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

500ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

Pinch of ground nutmeg

100g SpinneysFOOD Pecorino Romano

285g SpinneysFOOD Artichokes in Sunflower Seed Oil

100g breadcrumbs

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease a 20cm x 20cm oven dish. 2 Place the boiling water and 2 teaspoons of salt in a large dish. Add the lasagne sheets. Allow to soak while you prepare the sauce. 3 In a mediumsized saucepan placed over a medium heat, add the olive oil and flour and stir continuously to form a paste – approx. 4 minutes. Add the milk all at once and whisk until smooth and thick. Season with the remaining salt, nutmeg and ¾ of the pecorino cheese. Set aside. 4 Drain the lasagne sheets. 5 Slice the artichokes. 6 Spread a layer of sauce in the greased dish. Add a layer of lasagne sheets followed by a layer of sliced artichokes. Repeat until the dish is full, finishing with a layer of bechamel sauce. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and remaining pecorino cheese. 7 Bake for 30 minutes. 8 Allow to stand for 15 minutes before serving.

ROMAN GNOCCHI

This type of gnocchi is made from semolina, which is cooked and then allowed to set. It is an ancient Roman speciality and is still popular today.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

1L SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

¼ whole nutmeg, grated

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Black Peppercorns, freshly ground

250g fine semolina

250g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

100g SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter

3 large egg yolks

1 Place the milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a pot over a medium heat. Bring the mixture to just under boiling point, then tip in the semolina, stirring with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming. When the mixture becomes stiff, switch to a wooden spoon and beat well for approx. 15 minutes, until it pulls away from the sides of the pan. 2 Once the mixture is very thick, add 75g of the butter and beat until melted, then remove the pan from the heat and beat in 150g of the Parmigiano Reggiano. Pour in the yolks, whisking continuously. 3 Grease a baking tray and pour the mixture into it. Leave to set, approx. 20 minutes. 4 Using a 6cm cutter or glass, cut out round shapes. Overlap the discs in a buttered ovenproof dish and dot with the remaining butter and cheese. 5 Grill for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling. 6 Serve sprinkled with black pepper.

LEEK AND GORGONZOLA BASSOTTI

Bassotti is a crisp, cheesy baked pasta that resembles the corner piece of baked lasagne. It is usually served as a snack or light lunch.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves: 4

1 large leek

1L SpinneysFOOD Chicken or Beef Stock 50g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter

20g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated 350g fresh tagliolini, tagliatelle or spaghetti 40g gorgonzola

65g breadcrumbs

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

2 Rinse and finely slice the leek. 3 Bring the stock to a rolling boil and add the finely sliced leeks. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the leeks are tender. Remove from the stock. 4 Butter a 20cm x 30cm metal roasting dish liberally with the butter then sprinkle with half the Parmigiano Reggiano. Place the roasting dish directly over a gas hob or stove plate set to medium heat and allow the cheese to melt. 5 Remove from the heat and arrange the fresh pasta on top. Pour enough hot stock over the pasta to just cover it then sprinkle with the rest of the Parmigiano Reggiano, gorgonzola, blanched leeks and breadcrumbs. 6 Bake the bassotti in the oven until the stock has absorbed and the top is golden and crunchy. 7 Slice into squares and serve while hot.

RICOTTA PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE

This dish is best made the day before it is served. Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

2kg aubergines

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Coarse Crystal Sea Salt

½ bunch of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil

2 x 400g tins SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

1 garlic clove

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying 150g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated 150g SpinneysFOOD Ricotta

To serve Fresh oregano leaves

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

2 Slice the aubergines into ½cm slices and sprinkle with the salt. Allow to stand while you prepare the sauce. 3 Shred the basil and place it in a saucepan along with the tinned tomatoes, garlic clove, salt and pepper. Simmer gently over a low heat for 15 minutes. 4 Rinse the aubergine slices well and pat dry. 5 Heat the oil in a deep pan. Fry the aubergines in batches until dark brown. Drain on paper towels. 6 Arrange the aubergine slices in a 20cm round or square roasting dish. Scatter over ¼ of the Parmesan, then top with ¼ of the ricotta and ¼ of the sauce. Repeat the layers ending with a layer of ricotta. 7 Bake until golden and bubbly. 8 Scatter with the fresh oregano and serve.

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Leek and gorgonzola bassotti

Roman gnocchi

Ricotta parmigiana di melanzane

Green pea and mascarpone risotto

GREEN PEA AND MASCARPONE RISOTTO

This technique of making risotto is a great way to avoid standing at the stove for 30 minutes stirring. It creates a lovely creamy risotto with minimal effort.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

For the pea purée

150g frozen peas

120g courgettes

50g SpinneysFOOD Organic Baby Spinach

100ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

For the risotto

1 leek

1 small garlic clove

80ml SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

200g arborio rice

100ml non-alcoholic white wine

500ml vegetable stock

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Fine Black Pepper, to taste

40g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated

100g SpinneysFOOD Mascarpone

¼ lemon

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated

1 Bring a pot of water to a boil. 2 Blanch the peas, courgettes and spinach for 1 minute then immediately refresh them in iced water. Drain and place in a blender with 100ml of water. Blitz until smooth and set aside. 3 Finely chop the leeks and garlic. 4 To make the risotto, place a mediumsized saucepan over a low heat. Add in the olive oil then the leeks and garlic along with a pinch of salt. Sweat for 2 minutes until translucent. Stir in the rice and continue to cook over a low heat for 3 minutes, until the grains of rice appear shiny. Pour in the non-alcoholic white wine and stock. Stir and bring to a gentle simmer with only one bubble breaking the surface every minute. Season with salt and pepper then cover with a lid and leave to cook for 20 minutes. Check every few minutes

that it is not boiling. 5 After 20 minutes of cooking, beat the rice vigorously for 5 minutes. Add the pea purée, Parmigiano Reggiano, pepper, mascarpone and a squeeze of lemon juice. 7 Season with more salt, if necessary, sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately.

SUPPLI AL TELEFONO

These hot balls of rice are named after the telephone lines of Rome because the melting strings of mozzarella that ooze out when you bite into them resemble wires. It’s a great way to use up leftover risotto.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Makes: 15

½ small white onion

2 sprigs of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

1 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg

700ml cold SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

Large pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

300g arborio rice

200ml SpinneysFOOD Tomato Passata

1 × 125g SpinneysFOOD Mozzarella

120g breadcrumbs

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying

1 Finely chop the onion and parsley. Beat the egg lightly. 2 Pour the water into a large saucepan. Add the salt, onion and parsley. Bring to a boil, then add the rice and cook until tender, approx. 20 minutes. Drain the rice and put it in a large shallow dish to cool. Add the passata and stir in the beaten egg, a little at a time. 3 Using your hands, form oblong-shaped rice balls the size of a large egg. Make a hole in the centre of each ball with your finger and stuff a small cube of mozzarella into it. Close the hole over and squeeze the balls firmly between your hands. 4 Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Gently roll the rice balls in the breadcrumbs until well coated. 5 Heat enough oil in a saucepan or deep-sided frying pan. 6 Give the suppli one more squeeze before gently lowering them into the hot oil in small batches. Fry until golden brown. 7 Serve immediately.

SpinneysFOOD Ricotta

SpinneysFOOD Mascarpone

SpinneysFOOD Burrata

SpinneysFOOD Mini Mozzarella

SpinneysFOOD Mozzarella

Shop our variety of soft Italian cheeses from our producer Zanetti.

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Buon

Inspired by popular Italian food phrases, we’ve created recipes for a pasta, focaccia, torta and semifreddo

Come il cacio sui maccheroni’

translates to ‘like cheese on macaroni’. It refers to the best part of something.

Cacio e pepe

Avere le mani di pastafrolla’

means to have shortcrust pastry hands. This saying is used to refer to someone who has butter fingers and keeps dropping things.

Torta della nonna

contadino non far sapere quant’è buono il cacio con le pere ’

means to keep the farmer from knowing how good cheese tastes with pears. If farmers knew, they would keep everything for themselves.

Pear and gorgonzola focaccia

Al

Tutto finisce a tarallucci e vino’

means it all ends with biscuits and wine. Italians often say this at the resolution of disagreements, whether minor kerfuffles, or heated debates. It stems from an old practice in some regions of Italy where legal disputes were concluded with a handshake and a toast of red wine, along with a plate of ring-shaped tarallucci cookies.

Zabaglione semifreddo

CACIO E PEPE

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

60g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

450g bucatini

55g SpinneysFOOD Pecorino Romano

1 Fill a large pot halfway with water and season with the salt. Use a little less water than you usually would, as this will concentrate the starch released into the water and help thicken the sauce. 2 Heat the butter in a medium-sized nonstick pan. Add the ground pepper. Sauté until the pepper is fragrant and starts to sizzle. Turn off the heat. 3 Cook the pasta for 1 minute less than package instructions. 4 Add 4 tablespoons of the pasta water to the pan and return to a medium heat. Stir to combine. 5 Using tongs, place the bucatini in the pan and toss to coat. Add another 60-80ml of the pasta water to the pan to reach your desired consistency. 6 Grate in the cheese and serve.

TORTA DELLA NONNA

Prep time: 30 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 8

For the vanilla bean custard

1 vanilla pod

600ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

4 large egg yolks

150g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

30g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

For the shortcrust pastry

1 lemon

140g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter

250g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

100g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

3 large egg yolks

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

30g pine nuts

To serve SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, for dusting

1 Using a paring knife, split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Reserve the pod. 2 Heat the milk, vanilla pod and seeds together in a medium pot until it just comes to a

boil. Remove from the heat to cool slightly. 3 In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. Sieve and fold in the flour. Add in 60ml of the milk to the egg mixture and whisk together. While whisking, slowly pour in the rest of the milk mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the pot and place over a medium heat. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens. Boil for a minute to cook out the flour. 4 Remove from the heat and pour into a clean bowl. Place a sheet of cling film over the surface of the custard to prevent it from forming a skin. Refrigerate to cool completely. 5 Zest the lemon. Cube the butter. 6 In a food processor, combine the flour, lemon zest, baking powder, salt and cubed butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolks and water and process until the mixture comes together. Remove and cover in cling film. Chill for 30 minutes. 7 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Place a baking tray in the oven. Grease a 23cm tart tin. 8 Soak the pine nuts in water and set aside. 9 On a lightly dusted surface, roll the dough out to approx. 5mm thickness. Roll the dough over the rolling pin, lift and unroll into the tin. Press the pastry into the base and sides. Patch tears with excess pastry. Trim the edges so that they’re level with the top of the pan. Lightly prick the base of the pastry. Gather the remaining pastry and lightly press back into a ball. Place between two sheets of baking paper and roll out to 5mm thickness.

10 Spoon the custard into the tin and spread to level the filling. 11 Fit the second piece of pastry to fit over the custard and press in the edges to seal and trim off the excess. Brush the top with water and sprinkle the pine nuts over.

12 Bake for approx. 40 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool. 13 Place on a serving plate and dust with the icing sugar. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

PEAR AND GORGONZOLA FOCACCIA

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus proofing time)

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 8

680ml lukewarm SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

½ tsp active dry yeast

3 tsp brown sugar

600g OO flour

200g rye flour

3 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

120ml SpinneysFOOD Meditteranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus extra for greasing and finishing

1 pear

100g gorgonzola

3 sprigs of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Rosemary

1 In a medium-sized bowl, stir together 600ml of water, yeast and sugar until the sugar dissolves. In a very large bowl, whisk the flours and 1 tablespoon of salt together then add the yeast mixture and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir until just combined then cover and proof overnight until doubled in volume. 2 Spread 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 40cm x 30cm rimmed baking sheet. 3 Fold the dough onto itself once and then place it in the baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the dough then spread and stretch it to fit the baking sheet. Using your fingers, create dimples in the dough. 4 Mix 2 teaspoons of salt and the remaining water together until the salt dissolves, then pour over the dough to fill the dimples. Leave the sheet in a warm place to proof until bubbly. 5 Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6, with a large baking sheet inside. 6 Thinly slice the pear. 7 Spread the gorgonzola evenly over the dough then arrange the pear slices on top and scatter with the rosemary. 8 Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Remove the focaccia from the tray and cool on a wire rack.

ZABAGLIONE SEMIFREDDO

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus overnight freezing time)

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6

6 large egg yolks

100g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Honey

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp water

310ml pouring cream

30 savoiardi biscuits

To serve

150g mixed berries and figs

1 Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together in a heatproof bowl set over a medium-sized pot of simmering water until the sugar has dissolved.

2 In a small bowl, combine the honey, apple cider vinegar and water before adding to the egg mixture. Continue whisking for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened and holds its shape. 3 Whip the cream until soft peaks form and gently fold into the egg mixture.

4 Roughly break up the savoiardi biscuits and fold into the zabaglione. 5 Line a loaf tin with cling film and pour in the mixture. Cover with cling film and freeze overnight. 6 Turn the semifreddo out onto a serving plate and top with the berries and figs. 7 Slice and serve.

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VIVA SICILIA!

Arancini

The story of the ‘Saracens’ in Sicily began with violent conquest but proceeded into peace, prosperity and literal fruitfulness. Advancing into Southern Europe from North Africa in the 8 th century, these Arab and Berber Muslims planted lemon and orange trees as they went, adding a sour sting to the local palate, along with the sweetness of apricots and raisins.

Sugarcane came with them too, newly harvested and refi ned around Palermo. Christian convents and monasteries had already developed pastry recipes, to which the Saracens mixed in their sugar, almonds, sesame seeds and citrus zest to make the toffee-like Sicilian dessert giuggiulena (also known as cubbaita). They terraced the hillsides to cultivate nuts and vegetables, sewed the durum wheat from which the island made its fi rst pastas, and built syphon aqueducts to irrigate whole fi elds for rice.

Hence that other signature dish arancini – rice balls stuffed with meat or cheese. Indeed, as Sicily is now one of the world’s great gastronomic enclaves, it’s perhaps not so well known that native culinary culture owes at least as much to Arabia as to mainland Italia.

ARANCINI

A beloved street food taking its name from the Sicilian word for oranges, which these stuffed rice balls resemble in shape and colour when coated in breadcrumbs and fried. The rice itself was introduced by the ruling Arab emirate, and the original recipe may be derived from Levantine snacks such as kibbeh. Regional variations have long since developed around the island, including cone-shaped arancini inspired by the volcanic profile of Mount Etna.

Prep time: 45 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Makes: 8

1 brown onion

3 garlic cloves

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

450g arborio rice

1.2L chicken stock

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

50g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter

For the ragu

1 leek

2 medium carrots

40ml SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

400g SpinneysFOOD Organic Lean Beef Mince

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 x 400g tin SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

4 tbsp non-alcoholic white wine

For the coating

50g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

100ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

1tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

200g breadcrumbs

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for frying

Recipes, food styling and photography by TheKateTin.com

Almond granita

Caponata

1 Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. 2 To make the risotto, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes or so, until soft and translucent. Add the arborio rice and sauté for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the rice is lightly toasted. Add a ladle of chicken stock to the rice every 5 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed, while stirring continuously. This will take approx. 30-40 minutes. Once the rice mixture is creamy and the grains are just about tender, generously season with salt and stir in the butter. 3 Line a baking sheet with cling film and evenly spread the risotto in the tray. Place another sheet of cling film over it and refrigerate for 1 hour. 4 To make the ragu, rinse and finely chop the leek. Peel and grate the carrots. Heat the oil over a medium-low heat. Sauté the leeks and carrots until soft. Add the minced beef and sauté until browned. Season the meat and add the tomato paste and tinned tomatoes. Cook for a further 10 minutes then add the non-alcoholic wine. Gently simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked through. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 5 Once the risotto and ragu are completely cooled, place one heaped tablespoon of rice into the palm of your hand and use your fingertips to shape it into a hollow bowl shape. Place one teaspoon of ragu in the centre of your rice bowl and gently close the rice around the filling to either form a ball or pear shape. Repeat with the remaining ragu and rice. 6 Once all the arancini have been made, whisk together the flour, water and salt until smooth. Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate or baking dish. 7 Roll the arancini in the flour paste until fully coated, then roll in the breadcrumbs. 8 Heat the oil to 180°C. Fry the arancini in batches of two or three for approx. 3 minutes, or until golden. 9 Drain on a paper towels and serve while hot.

CAPONATA

Aubergines, too, were believed to be first grown by medieval Saracen farmers and gardeners, though not fully accepted by islanders as being edible until the 16th century. This classic Sicilian dish dates back almost that far, made with sautéed aubergines, tomatoes, celery, olives and onions, then dressed with capers and a sweet-sour mixture of olive oil, vinegar and sugar. Again, a great number of variations exist, some including sweet peppers, pine nuts or raisins, but without that distinct agrodolce (sweet-sour) taste

first introduced by those early Arab chefs, it is not considered a true caponata.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes: 500ml

2 large aubergines

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying

1 brown onion

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

50g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

3 tbsp raisins

TOP TIP!

1 sprig of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil

2 celery stalks

1 x 400g tin SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

100ml white grape vinegar

60g capers, rinsed

150g pitted green olives

25g pine nuts

1 Cube the aubergines and salt them generously. Allow to stand for 20 minutes. 2 Heat the oil to 180°C. 3 Rinse and pat the aubergine cubes dry then deep fry in two batches until a dark golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. 4 Peel and chop the onion. 5 Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onion and sauté over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until golden. Stir in the sugar and cook for a further 10-20 minutes, until caramelised. 6 Meanwhile, soak the raisins in warm water for 10 minutes. Shred the basil. Chop the celery. 7 Once the onions have caramelised add the tomatoes, vinegar, and

If you don’t have an ice cream machine, pour the gelato mixture into two zip-top bags. Lay them flat on a baking tray in the freezer. Freeze until firm. Break up the mixture and place in a blender. Blitz until smooth then return to the container and freeze again.

Pistachio gelato

Panelle di ceci

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celery. Simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the capers, olives, drained raisins, pine nuts, basil and aubergines. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. 8 Allow to cool completely before serving.

ALMOND GRANITA

Also eaten across mainland Italy, granita is believed to be derived from the ice sherbets that first came to Sicily from the Levant via Egypt and Morocco. Similar to sorbet, but with a coarser consistency, it is now made to different flavours and textures throughout the island. In Catania, it is very common to find granita flavoured with almonds (another Arabian import), whereas in Messina it is often flavoured with coffee and served with cream.

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus resting time and freezing time)

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes: 1L

200g whole peeled almonds

500ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

100g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

½ tsp bitter almond extract (or substitute regular almond extract)

1 Place the almonds and water in a blender and blitz until smooth. Allow the mixture to rest for

2 hours. 2 Using a fine sieve or muslin cloth, strain the mixture into a small pot, making sure to squeeze out all of the fresh almond milk. Discard the leftover almond pulp. Add the sugar and extract to the pot. Place the pot over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a gentle boil. Set a timer for 4 minutes. Stir the almond milk if it begins to boil over. After 4 minutes, pour the mixture back into the blender (make sure it’s clean) and blend it again. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. 3 Pour the mixture into a shallow container, cover, and place it in the fridge until it starts to develop ice crystals (approx. 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes). Remove the mixture from the freezer and stir it with a fork or whisk to break up the ice crystals. Return it to the freezer and repeat this process 3-4 times, until the granita has a smooth and consistent texture. Keep in mind that the time it takes for ice to form will decrease each time.

4 Allow the granita to thaw in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. You can also store it in the freezer for 1-2 days.

PANELLE DI CECI

Fairly common across Tunisia and the Mediterranean, panelle are an early form of fritter first developed by Arabs and Berbers in the region, filling bread rolls

with fried squares of chickpea flour, then seasoning them with fresh lemon – two key ingredients brought to Sicily by the Saracens.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6

250g chickpea flour

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

700ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for frying

4 soft bread rolls

To serve

Lemon wedges

1 Combine the chickpea flour and salt in a large pot, whisking together while dry. Slowly pour in most of the water, reserving some for later. While continuously whisking over a medium heat, mix from the centre outwards to prevent lumps from forming. Gradually pour in the remaining water, continuing to whisk until the mixture has a fairly liquid consistency. To check if it’s ready, lift up a spoonful of the mixture; it should move down without being runny. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool slightly. 2 Meanwhile, roughly chop the parsley, leaving the leaves

Couscous alla Trappanese with seafood in tomato sauce

VEGAN

VEGAN

nearly intact.

3 Return the pot to heat and stir continuously until the flour thickens. To speed up the cooking process, stir more vigorously; this should take approx. 30 minutes. Once it has the right consistency, add the parsley and stir again to distribute it evenly. Turn off the heat.

4 Using a spatula, spread the mixture onto a marble work surface until it is approx. 4-5mm thick. Let it cool a bit then trim the edges to create rectangle approx. 45cm wide. Cut this rectangle into smaller rectangles about 10cm wide. Allow the panelle to stand at room temperature until the surface of the dough is dry – this will make them extra crunchy. 5 Heat a large volume of oil in a pot. Once hot, immerse a few panelle at a time. Fry until golden, turning frequently, for approx. 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to paper towels.

6 Serve the panelle on their own or in between sliced bread rolls, using 5 panelle per roll. It’s best to eat them while still hot.

PISTACHIO GELATO

The almond and pistachio trees planted on Sicily by the incoming Arabs changed the landscape as well as the flavour profile of island cuisine. Gelato, meanwhile, was and is no less popular in Sicily than on the mainland, though the local variation has a different taste and texture than that of, say, Piedmont, at the foot of the Alps. Climate and available ingredients are key factors, and Sicily is simply too hot for a heavy, custard-based frozen dessert to offer more than a couple of minutes’ relief before the cream and eggs raise your body temperature. Fruit-based sorbets and granitas are preferred for that reason,

and while pistachio goes well with a milky gelato, many artisanal producers avoid fat-rich thickening agents. Instead, they use carob flour, which is readily available in southern Sicily.

Prep time: 30 minutes (plus overnight chilling and freezing time)

Cook time: 5 minutes

Makes: 1L

150g shelled unsalted pistachio nuts

130g granulated sugar

625ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

250ml single cream

160g granulated sugar

3 tbsp corn starch

1 Bring a small pot of water to a boil. 2 Add the shelled pistachio nuts and simmer for two minutes. Drain and rinse the nuts under cold water to cool them completely. Dry the nuts with paper towels and remove any leftover skins.

3 Place the nuts in a blender then add the sugar. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground, stopping from time to time to scrape down the bowl.

4 Add 125ml of milk and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set aside.

5 Heat the remaining milk in a pot and bring to a gentle simmer. 6 In a large bowl, whisk the cream, sugar and corn starch together then add the hot milk while whisking. Return the mixture to the pot and cook until thickened – approx. 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a few hours, or preferably overnight – it must be very cold.

7 Whisk the pistachio paste into the mixture.

Orange blossom crema fritta

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Strain the mixture then pour into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stop the machine when the gelato is thick and icy but still easily scoopable. 8 Place in a freezer-proof container and freeze until firm. 9 Gelato is best enjoyed a day or two after making.

COUSCOUS ALLA TRAPANESE WITH SEAFOOD IN TOMATO SAUCE

The roots of the traditional Trapani-style couscous with seafood can be traced directly to North Africa (where it was made with meat). Besides introducing the base grains of semolina that make couscous itself, the Saracens also taught islanders new fishing methods that eventually became standard in catching the seafood that also defines the dish. Its aromatics are mostly derived from Arabic cooking, too, including almonds and cinnamon or cloves.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves: 4

1 celery stick

1 carrot

1 brown onion

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

250ml SpinneysFOOD Organic Italian Tomato Passata

125ml non-alcoholic wine

1½L SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

500g mix of clams, mussels and prawns (reserving the prawn shells)

200g fish heads

Pinch of saffron

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

1 SpinneysFOOD Bay Leaf

5 SpinneysFOOD Black Peppercorns

300g couscous

2 garlic cloves

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley, plus extra for serving

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Cinnamon

500g white fish fillets

To serve

Lemon wedges

1 Roughly chop the celery, carrot and onion.

2 Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Sauté the celery, carrot and onion until they are soft without browning. Add the tomato passata and stir for 4-5 minutes. Pour the non-alcoholic wine and water into the pan then add the prawn shells and fish heads, saffron, a pinch of salt, the bay leaf and peppercorns. Allow the mixture cook for 40 minutes then strain and set aside. 3 Prepare the couscous according to the package instructions, replacing the water with the stock you just made. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before fluffing with a fork. 4 Finely chop the garlic and parsley. 5 Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a fresh pan over a medium heat. Sauté the garlic and parsley for 1-2 minutes. Add the

cinnamon followed quickly by the fish fillets and the shellfish. 6 Transfer the couscous to a large serving dish and top it with the fish fillets, shellfish and sauce from the pan. Drizzle more stock over the couscous to moisten it without making it too soupy. 7 Serve with extra parsley and lemon wedges.

ORANGE BLOSSOM CREMA FRITTA

The first mention of the lemon tree in any language comes from an Arabic source, and citruses bloomed across the medieval Emirate of Sicily. Islanders remain powerfully fond of lemons, eating them raw with salt, in salad, in sherbet, with meat and fish. They also infuse many desserts, along with other blooms used to fragrance and flavour native sweets: rose water, orange blossom, bergamot and jasmine.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

1 lemon

1 orange

500ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

3 egg yolks

150g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

40g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

40g corn flour

½ tsp orange blossom water

2 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

250g breadcrumbs

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for frying

1 Prepare a 23cmx23cm square baking tray by lining it with cling film. Place it in the fridge to cool. 2 Using a vegetable peeler, remove a strip of peel from the lemon and orange. 3 To make the custard, take a heavy-bottomed saucepan and pour the milk into it. Heat the milk over a low heat and add a strip each of lemon and orange peels. 4 Meanwhile, in a large glass bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the flour and corn flour to the mixture and whisk until it is fully incorporated. Pour a ladle of hot milk into the mixture to loosen it up. Remove the citrus peels from the milk and add the egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook the custard while continuously whisking until it reaches a thick, velvety, pudding-like texture. Add the orange blossom water to the custard. 5 Remove the baking tray from the fridge and pour the hot custard into it, spreading it evenly with a spatula to a depth of 2cm. Allow the custard to cool down to room temperature and harden a bit. 6 Slice the custard into squares or diamonds. 7 Place the eggs in a shallow bowl and lightly beat together. Place the breadcrumbs in a plate. Dip the custard squares into the beaten eggs then coat them in breadcrumbs.

8 Heat the sunflower oil in a deep-fryer or pan to 180°C. Fry the breaded custard squares until they turn golden on all sides. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on paper towels to drain. 9 Serve while still warm.

Make these Sicilian dishes using ingredients available in stores.

Waitrose

Waitrose Wholewheat

Waitrose

Lorena Orange Blossom Water

Cooks’ Ingredients Saffron

Couscous

Riso Scotti Arborio Rice

Sweet & Fragrant Blanched Whole Almonds

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Let’s TORTA-BOUT

Rich, multi-layered and textured, these showstopping Italian desserts are perfect for big occasions

itLemon torta paradiso

LEMON TORTA PARADISO

Originally from the Pavia, in Northern Italy, torta paradiso, or Italian paradise cake, is a light and airy cake with simple ingredients that combine to form a flavourful, finely textured crumb that almost melts in your mouth.

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves: 8

180g extra fine 00 flour

95g corn flour

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

1½ tsp baking powder

120g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter, room temperature

200g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs, at room temperature

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, for dusting

Whipped cream, optional

Fresh seasonal fruit, optional

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper. 2 Sift

together the flour, corn flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. 3 Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 8 minutes until very light. Grate the lemon zest directly into the butter mixture and add the vanilla and eggs then mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. 4 Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined – be careful not to overmix.

5 Pour the batter into the springform tin and tap the tin firmly on the counter to break any large bubbles. 6 Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown, and springs back when gently pressed with a fingertip. Allow to cool in the tin before unmoulding. 7 Dust generously with icing sugar and serve.

TORTA SETTEVELI

Torta setteveli, which means seven-veil cake, is a seven-layer cake traditionally served at birthdays. This dessert is made up of a base of sponge cake, chocolate and hazelnut Bavarian cream layers and a crunchy praline base.

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 8

For the chocolate cake

3 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

100g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

75g 00 flour

25g cocoa powder

15g potato starch or corn flour

For the crunchy chocolate

60g dark chocolate

10g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter

30g cornflakes

25g hazelnuts, skinned and toasted

For the chocolate mousse

250ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

100g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

35g corn starch

2 large egg yolks

120g 70% dark chocolate

75g hazelnut paste

2 tsp gelatine powder

2 tbsp water

500ml single cream

For the sugar syrup

200g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

200ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

For the chocolate mirror glaze

250ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

300g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

185ml cream

Torta setteveli

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90g cocoa powder

8 sheets gelatine

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease a 23cm cake tin. 2 To make the chocolate cake, place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat for 20 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and starch together then fold into the egg mixture gently. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool before unmoulding. Slice the sponge in half so you have two layers. 3 To make the crunchy chocolate base, roughly chop the chocolate and place it in a bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Add the butter and melt together. Roughly crush the cornflakes and hazelnuts then stir in the crushed cornflakes and nuts. Press the mixture into the base of a greased 25cm cake tin. Refrigerate to set. 4 To make the mousse, heat the milk in a saucepan. Set aside. Whisk the sugar, corn starch and egg yolks together in a bowl then gradually pour in the hot milk. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, whisking continuously, until thick and glossy. Divide between two bowls. Roughly chop the dark chocolate and stir it into one bowl and the hazelnut paste into the other. Sprinkle the gelatine over the water and allow to absorb. Microwave for 30 seconds until melted and then

divide between the two bowls. Stir to combine. Allow to cool to room temperature. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Divide between the two bowls and gently fold in the cream.

5 To make the sugar syrup, place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Set aside. 6 To assemble the cake, cut out a 25cm circle of baking paper and line the base of a 25cm cake tin as well as the sides. Place the crunchy chocolate base into the base of the cake tin. Spread half the chocolate mousse on the base, then top with one layer of sponge cake. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the sugar syrup on top of the sponge then add the remaining mousse. Top with the second sponge cake layer and another 2-3 tablespoons of sugar syrup. Place in the freezer while you prepare the topping. 7 To make the mirror glaze, combine the 220ml of the water, sugar, fresh cream and cocoa powder in a saucepan over a medium heat. Simmer, for approx. 5 minutes, until the mixture slightly thickens. Soften the gelatine sheets in the remaining water and add to the hot glaze. Set over an ice bath and whisk until the glaze thickens and reaches 26˚C, approx. 1 minute. 8 Remove the cake from the freezer. Unmould the cake and remove the paper collar. Set it on a small cake tin on top of a baking tray. Pour the glaze over, all at once, so it runs down the sides. 9 Carefully place it on a serving plate and refrigerate until ready to serve.

TORTA DI RICOTTA E AMARENE

Prep time: 15 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 8

For the pastry

200g SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

110g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

1 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg

1 tbsp vanilla extract

350g 00 flour

2 tsp baking powder

For the filling

2 x 250g SpinneysFOOD Ricotta

3 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

200g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

250g SpinneysFOOD Mascarpone, at room temperature

½ tsp almond extract

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar

To serve

100g Amarena cherries

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Edible Flowers

1 Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until creamy and pale, approx. 8 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Then add the flour and baking powder and mix to form a soft pastry dough. Form into 3 balls, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 180°C, or gas mark 4. Grease a 22cm springform cake tin. 3 Roll a ball of pastry between 2 pieces of baking paper into a 4mm-thick circle. Repeat with another ball of pastry. Use the base of the cake tin to cut out discs to form the top and bottom of the cheesecake. Place one disc in the base of the greased cake tin and the second on a baking tray. Freeze for 5 minutes. Place the cake tin in the oven for 15 minutes until golden (reserve the second pastry disc for later). Allow to cool. 4 Roll out the remaining pastry ball to form a 4mm-thick rectangle. Cut strips wide enough to line the sides of the cake tin. Chill until needed. 5 To make the filling, place the ricotta, eggs, sugar, mascarpone, almond and vanilla extracts in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into the lined cake tin and top with the remaining pastry disc. Press the sides and top together to seal. 6 Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden, then turn off the oven and leave to cool with the oven door open for 1 hour. 7 Refrigerate for three hours to allow the filling to set. Thirty minutes before serving, take the torta out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.

8 Serve topped with amarena cherries and edible flowers.

Recipes, food styling and photography by TheKateTin.com

Torta di ricotta e amarene

BISCOTTI bounty

Contrary to popular belief, biscotti doesn’t refer to a particular type of biscuit, it’s actually the Italian word for all biscuits. And each region in Italy boasts it own special variety

Pistachio and lemon cantucci

Occhi di bue

Ricciardelli

Hazelnut lady’s kisses ‘baci di dama’

Brutti ma buoni

PISTACHIO AND LEMON CANTUCCI

These nut studded bars are dry, crunchy and could even be called hard because they are baked not once, but twice. Keep the cantucci in a cookie tin and they will last for a long time, but, if you let them dry out at room temperature for a day, their flavour gets even better.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Makes: 10 cantucci

250g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

1 lemon

250g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

1 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg, at

room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g toasted almonds

100g raw pistachios

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Lightly flour a baking sheet. 2 Place the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer along with the baking powder and salt. 3 Grate the lemon zest into another bowl. Add the sugar and rub the zest into the sugar. Add to the stand mixer’s bowl along with the whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract. Add the nuts and mix the dough for 4-5 minutes. 4 Lightly flour our hands then place the dough on the baking sheet and shape it into a large log – 38cm long and 8cm wide. 5 Bake for 35 minutes. 6 Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 160°C, gas mark 2.

7 Cut the logs diagonally into 2½cm slices and lay them cut side up on the sheet. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes. 8 Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack. 9 Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

OCCHI DI BUE

These ‘ox eye’ cookies were named so because they

resemble the eye of a bull. These are buttery, melt-in the-mouth cookies with a tangy jam filling.

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 15 minutes

Makes: 12

125g SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter, cold 250g 00 flour

100g SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg white

300g SpinneysFOOD Raspberry Preserve

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, for dusting

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

2 Cube the butter and place it in a food processor. Add the flour and icing sugar and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Pulse

Savoiardi

VEGGIE

VEGGIE

by TheKateTin.com

until the mixture comes together to form a soft dough. Wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 3 Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to 5mm thickness. Using a water glass, cut out 7cm rounds. Cut out a small hole in the centre of half the cookies. Brush the edges of the whole circles with the egg white and stick the cookies with the hole in them on top. Fill the centre with jam. 4 Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5 Bake for 20 minutes, or until just golden.

6 Dust with icing sugar and serve.

BRUTTI MA BUONI

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Makes: 12

100g skinned almonds

100g skinned hazelnuts

9 large egg whites, at room temperature

240g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

¾ tsp vanilla extract

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. 2 Toast the almonds and hazelnuts then chop them to the size of fat rice kernels. 3 Beat 8 egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer until soft peaks are formed. Continue to beat, gradually adding the sugar, until the peaks are stiff and shiny. Stir in the vanilla until blended. Fold in the nuts.

4 Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. The mixture will deflate. It’s done when it is light brown and pulls away from the sides of the pan. If the mixture is dry and crumbly, add the last egg white, a little at a time, to moisten it. Remove the mixture from the heat. 5 Using a 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop, drop the mixture onto the baking tray, approx. 2cm apart. 6 Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until soft but golden. 7 Store for up to two days in an airtight container.

RICCIARELLI

These delicate and soft cookies have a marzipan-like texture. Ricciarelli are best when made at home and eaten fresh.

Prep time: 35 minutes (plus resting time)

Cook time: 25 minutes

Makes: 14

200g SpinneysFOOD Almond Nut Butter

200g SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar

30ml egg white

100g ground almonds

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar

1 Place the almond butter and icing sugar in a blender. Blitz to form a smooth paste. Add the egg white, ground almonds, baking powder and vanilla extract and blend until a soft dough forms. 2 Transfer the dough to a surface dusted with icing sugar and roll into a long log, approx. 2cm wide. Slice the log at 3cm intervals. Shape each piece into a diamond/lozenge shape.

3 Sift the icing sugar over the shaped dough and flatten slightly. Place them spaced apart on a lined baking sheet and leave uncovered at room temperature for at least 1 hour or overnight.

4 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

5 Bake the cookies until barely browned, approx. 20-25 minutes. The cookies should still be soft. 6 Serve with a dusting of icing sugar.

HAZELNUT LADY’S KISSES ‘BACI DI DAMA’

These buttery cookies are usually made with almonds, but since they originated in Piedmont, which is famous for hazelnuts, we’ve used them in this recipe.

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 15 minutes

Makes: 48 kisses

125g shelled hazelnuts

125g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

130g SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter, room temperature

1½ tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

125g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

120g dark chocolate

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease two baking sheets with butter.

2 Grind the hazelnuts to a very fine powder in a nut grinder or food processor fitted with the steel blade. (If using a food processor, add 2 tablespoons of the sugar so that the nuts don’t become too oily.) Mix the hazelnuts and the remaining sugar in a mixer bowl, or in the food processor. Add the butter, vanilla extract and salt and process until very light and creamy, approx. 4-5 minutes. Sift the four over the top and fold in. 3 Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. 4 Break off pieces of the dough, the size of fat cherries, and roll them into balls. Place 4cm apart on the baking sheets and flatten slightly to approx. 1cm thick. 5 Bake the cookies

until light golden brown, approx. 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. 6 Meanwhile, roughly chop the chocolate and place in a heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of over simmering water and allow the chocolate to melt completely. Set aside to cool slightly. 7 Pour the slightly cooled chocolate into a piping bag. 8 When the cookies are cool, pipe the chocolate onto the flat side of one of the cookies and sandwich with another. Repeat with the remaining cookies. 9 Store in an airtight container for 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

SAVOIARDI

Savoiardi, also known as ladyfingers, got their name from the house of Savoy, the most powerful dynasty in Northern Italy, when it ruled Piedmont in the 17th century.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Makes: 30

3 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs, at room temperature

160g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

2 drops vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

125g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour 40g corn flour

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 6.

2 Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Place the yolks along with 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric beater, beat the yolks and sugar together until light and thick, and forms a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is lifted, 7-10 minutes. 3 Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites in a warmed bowl at a high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar and continue beating at a high speed until the peaks are stiff and shiny. Beat in the vinegar and vanilla extract. 4 Sift the flour, corn flour and salt together. 5 Fold a quarter of the egg yolks into the whites; then alternately fold the flour mixture and the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. 6 Spoon the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 2½ cm plain tip. Pipe 12cm long strips of the batter about 2½cm apart on greased and floured baking paper-lined baking trays, in a savoiardi tray. Sift icing sugar generously over the tops. 7 Bake until lightly golden, 10-15 minutes. Cool on racks. 8 Savoiardi keep for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.

Brutti ma buoni means ‘ugly but good’ because not much about these cookies’ appearance is particularly tempting. However, these chewy, crunchy little hazelnut cookies are absolutely delightful.

VEGGIE

VEGGIE

VEGGIE

VEGGIE

What a gnockout!

This delicious dish is one of Zahra Abdalla’s top choices for an easy weeknight dinner. She uses South African boerewors, instead of Italian sausages, which add earthy spice

GNOCCHI WITH SAUSAGE AND PUMPKIN

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 4

500g SpinneysFOOD Traditional Beef Boerewors

1 large red onion

500g pumpkin

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus extra for serving

1 tsp fennel powder

500ml chicken broth

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

500g gnocchi

50g grated SpinneysFOOD Grana Padano PDO, plus extra for serving

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Organic Baby spinach

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley (optional)

1 Slice the sausages into small chunks. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and slice the pumpkin into small cubes. 2 In a mediumsized saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Once hot, add the sausages and fry until browned. Set aside. 3 In the same pan, add the onions and sauté until soft. Add the fennel powder and fry until fragrant. Add the pumpkin and broth, then cover the pan with a lid and leave to cook over a low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender. 4 Mash it gently using a spatula. Toss in the sausage chunks and season with salt and pepper. 5 Boil the gnocchi according to package instructions and drain once cooked. Add the gnocchi to the sausage-pumpkin mixture. 6 Add the cheese and baby spinach to the pan and toss everything together.

7 Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the extra cheese. Serve immediately.

Gnocchi with sausage and pumpkin

Little cooks

Get the kids involved with making these easy tomato-based dishes using ready-made SpinneysFOOD products

Alessandro Allegra

Prep these rollups a day in advance and bake when needed.

Lasagne rollups

LASAGNE ROLLUPS

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes: 6

200g lasagne sheets

100g courgettes

410g SpinneysFOOD Bolognese Sauce

410g SpinneysFOOD Cheese Alfredo Sauce

40g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Grease a large 6-hole muffin tin. 2 Soak the lasagne sheets in a single layer in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Drain. 3 Using a vegetable peeler, shave long thin pieces of courgette.

4 Working with one lasagne sheet at a time, slice each sheet in half lengthways. Take one half and attach it to the end of the other. You’ll be left with one long strip of pasta. Then lay the courgette sheets on top. Spread a spoonful of the Bolognese sauce and a spoonful of the alfredo sauce over the courgetti sheet. Roll up the lasagne sheet tightly. Place the roll in one cavity of the muffin tin. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients. 5 Sprinkle the cheese over. 6 Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

CREAMY TOMATO AND BASIL RISOTTO

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves: 4

500g baby tomatoes

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sprig of SpinneysFOOD Thyme

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

40g Cheddar

1 garlic clove

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

250g arborio rice

15g SpinneysFOOD Organic Italian Tomato Passata

750ml hot vegetable or chicken stock

25g SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mascarpone

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

2 Halve the tomatoes and place them on a baking tray along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the sprig of thyme. Season with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until caramelised and soft. Set aside. 3 Meanwhile, finely grate the Cheddar. 4 Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan and sauté the garlic and oregano. Continue to sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then add the arborio rice. Toast for 2-3 minutes until starting to turn golden. Add the passata. Season well with a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Simmer for 4-5 minutes to reduce the liquid, stirring often. 5 Next add 100ml of the hot stock. Stir continuously and, once the stock has been absorbed, add some more. Repeat until the rice is cooked and looks rich and creamy (this should take approx. 20 minutes). Add a little more water, if needed, until the right consistency is reached. Remove from the heat. 6 Stir in most of the grated Cheddar and butter. Adjust the seasoning to taste. 7 Serve with the mascarpone swirled through and the roasted tomatoes on top.

EASY CHEESY PIZZA TOAST

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes: 4

2 x SpinneysFOOD Medium Pita Breads

125ml SpinneysFOOD Classic Pizza Sauce

100g SpinneysFOOD Mozzarella Cheese

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

150g beef pepperoni

To serve

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil

1 Preheat oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. 2 Halve the pita breads to form 4 thin pita breads. Place on a baking sheet and spread with the pizza sauce. Grate the mozzarella cheese and sprinkle over the sauce. Top with the oregano and beef pepperoni. 3 Bake for 10 minutes until golden and bubbly. 4 Serve immediately.

ALESSANDRO’S SPAGHETTI AND MINI MEATBALLS

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

300g SpinneysFOOD Spaghetti

345g SpinneysFOOD Napoletana Sauce

1 sprig SpinneysFOOD Fresh Rosemary

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Peppercorns, freshly ground to taste 500g SpinneysFOOD Thin Beef Sausage

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta (don’t rinse) and set aside. 2 Meanwhile, pour the sauce into a pot and heat gently with the rosemary. Adjust the seasoning with salt and

VEGGIE Recipes, food styling and photography by TheKateTin.com

Easy cheesy pizza toast

Creamy tomato and basil risotto

meatballs

TOP TIP!

Make a large batch of mini meatballs and freeze them for quick and easy lunches and dinners.

Alessandro’s spaghetti and mini

COOK’S NOTE

pepper, if necessary. 3 Using kitchen scissors or a knife, slice the sausages down the middle. Scrape out the meat using a spoon. Roll the sausage meat into mini meatballs the size of olives. Drop the meatballs into the simmering sauce and allow to cook for 10 minutes.

4 Serve the meatballs with the spaghetti and a drizzle of olive oil.

CRISPY POLENTA FINGERS WITH VEGGIE KETCHUP

Prep time: 30 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

For the veggie ketchup

100g pumpkin or butternut

100g carrots

1 onion or leek

100g SpinneysFOOD Diced Sweet Potato

2 garlic cloves

SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

4 tbsp red grape vinegar

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Whole Black Peppercorns

2 allspice berries

1 clove

1 SpinneysFOOD Bay Leaf

1 x 400g tin SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Organic Baby Spinach

For the polenta fingers

600ml SpinneysFOOD Vegetable Stock

150g quick-cook polenta, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting

40g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. Grease and line a 24cm x 20cm tin with baking paper. 2 Chop the pumpkin into small cubes. Roughly chop the carrots. Halve the onion. Place

the diced sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots, onion and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season well. Roast for 20 minutes or until soft and caramelised. 3 In a saucepan, heat the vinegar, peppercorns, allspice berries, clove and bay leaf. Gently simmer for 5 minutes then strain. 4 Place the vegetables in a blender with the tinned tomatoes, strained vinegar mixture and baby spinach. Blitz until smooth. Pour the ketchup into a saucepan and simmer gently until reduced and thickened. 5 Add the stock to a large pot and bring it to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta, stirring constantly. Add in more water, if necessary. The polenta should be creamy with a porridge-like consistency. Once thickened, finely grate in the cheese and stir in the oregano and salt. 6 Pour into the lined tin and place in the fridge to chill and firm up, approx. 1 hour. 7 Slice the chilled polenta into fingers and brush with the olive oil. Dust with the extra polenta. Arrange on a greased baking tray in a single layer and bake for 30 minutes, or until crisp and golden. 8 Serve with the ketchup.

Crispy polenta fingers with veggie ketchup

VEGGIE

This veggie ketchup doubles up as a nutritious pasta sauce, just add a few tablespoons of water to thin it out and toss some cooked pasta through it.

Live well

On the Parmigiano Reggiano trail in Parma and Helen Farmer’s favourite pizza spots in the UAE

Parma, Italy

Pass me the

“Always break it, never cut it,” says Paolo Caramaschi as he chips and wiggles away at three large, spear-shaped wedges of Parmigiano Reggiano with the tip of his coltello a mandorla (a stubby almond-shaped knife). We’re standing outside his family’s San Bernardino dairy, on the outskirts of Parma, which has seen four generations produce wheel upon wheel of the region’s most celebrated cheese for almost a century.

There are two reasons for not trying to cut a piece of Parmi into uniform slices. The first is that the cheese’s dry, granular texture easily crumbles, especially if you’re working with an 36-month aged cheese, or older. The second is that using a specific, traditional knife is what the rules dictate. And, when it comes to Parmigiano Reggiano, rules are there to be followed.

Most importantly, Parmigiano Reggiano is a cheese that can be made with only three precise ingredients (milk – from specific cows that graze on a specific diet, salt and rennet), in a particular process, in a limited area of Italy because of its Protected Designation of

Parmi

Origin (PDO) status. It also must mature for a minimum of 12 months to get its official stamp of approval.

There are many more stipulations in place, which are set and governed by a Consortium. And they serve a tremendous purpose –protecting one of the oldest and richest cheeses in the world.

The making of a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano is fascinating to watch, and I highly recommend visiting the Caramaschi dairy, or any of the more than 300 producers in the region who accept visitors. Trying different varieties, right there, in the Italian countryside, will always be a memorable experience.

It’s possible to taste the cheese’s evolution as it ages: a 12-19 month wedge is harmonious and delicate, sweet and sour with notes of grass and sometimes fruit. From 20-26 months you’ll find more balance in the richness of aromas and flavours; 27-34 month-aged cheese is well-matured, drier, crumblier, stronger and spicier, while 35-45 months of ageing brings out an intense straw yellow, strong acidic crystals, chestnut and meat stock aromas, warm spicy notes and the smell of hay.

You’ll find Parmigiano Reggiano of all ages on all menus at restaurants in Parma – so when in the area… indulge in a cheese fest. Here are top spots to visit:

CROCE

DI MALTA

Tucked away in a square in the centre of Parma, right next to the Chiesa di San Tiburzio – a tiny 15th century church – this quaint restaurant with its charming courtyard is where to go when the weather is good. The menu is not expansive, but when everything is made with great seasonal produce, or the best ingredients from the region, you don’t really need a lot of choice. A crispy focaccia with stracciatella di burrata topped with anchovies is the perfect appetizer. The saltiness of the fish complements the fresh sweetness of the cheese. You’re in Lambrusco region, so a bottle of bubbly made with these grapes is imperative – and best enjoyed alongside a generous platter of cold cuts. Any of the pasta dishes will always come with extra Parmigiano Reggiano. For a double whammy, sprinkle it over cappelletti that’s stuffed with mushrooms, lathered in a Parmigiano Reggiano cream, and topped with toasted hazelnuts.

When in Parma, tasting and learning about the region’s most celebrated cheese is a must. Tiffany Eslick rounds up the best places to visit while you’re there to get your fill of one of the oldest and richest cheeses in the world

Written by Tiffany Eslick; Photography by Shutterstock.com, Tiffany Eslick & Inkiostri

OSTERIA DEI SERVI

For a far more traditional experience (red-andwhite checkered tablecloths et al), Osteria Dei Servi serves a huge selection of cheese paired with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and fruity accompaniments. The variety of aged Parmigiano Reggiano available means you can try everything from 24-month- to even 100-month-old morsels. It’s easy to spend a good 45 minutes biting into crispy torta fritta parcels, dunking nutty, salty cheese into tangy, syrupy vinegar, and relishing their home-made candied mandarin that has a mustardy-flavoured kick.

The restaurant flanks the Piazza Ghiaia in Parma’s historical centre. Yes, it attracts tourists, but locals lunch here, too. Remember it’s easy to get carried away by the appetizers – leave room for the home-made pasta; the pumpkin tortelli alla Parmigiana and tortelli d’erbetta with butter and Parmigiano Reggiano are comforting. osteriadeiservi.com

SOJ VINO E CUCINA

When in Italy, always sign up to a pasta-making class! And Soj is a cosy, cute corner spot in Parma at which to try one. The origins of tortellini (almost always served in a broth) cause fierce debate between the towns of Bologna and Modena. Parma seemed like neutral ground to test my skills at making this popular dish. The ring-shaped pasta are usually stuffed with meat, cheese, or vegetables – mine were stuffed with pumpkin purée and Parmi, of course. They’re delicate, but easy to make. To these, Soj’s chef added squash broth, sage butter, a decadent pumpkin cream; it tasted like autumn in Italy in one bite!

Insider tip: Soj does an outstanding pear and Parmigiano Reggiano gelato slab that’s smooth, crunchy (thanks to a nut topping) and sublime. @soj.vinoecucina

INKIOSTRO

This minimalist restaurant sits just outside Parma and offers the antithesis to Osteria dei Servi or Croce di Malta.

Inside its cavernous, monochromatic space, tables are set far apart and illuminated by stark lighting. They’re like stage sets, waiting for the stars (in this case each dish) to appear from the wings, and command attention.

The team at Inkiostro presents boundary-pushing takes on the region’s seasonal and famed produce. My multi-course meal was designed to showcase, you guessed it, Parmigiano Reggiano. Was it too much? No. The versatility of this cheese had the chance to shine.

The lineup included a 24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano risotto with a chervil and caper crumble; cheesy cabbage pasta lanterns; black salsify, pumpkin and porcini mushrooms with a 36-month aged Parmi carbonara, and dessert which may have had similar ingredients (pear, Parmi and honey) to that at Soj, but was a different taste sensation all together.

ristoranteinkiostro.it

OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM LEFT: Parmigiano Reggiano must mature for a minimum of 12 months in order to receive its official stamp of approval; the home-made pasta at Osteria Dei Servi is deliciously comforting.

THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: Parmigiano Reggiano’s age dictates its flavour profile ranging from sweet and delicate to warm spicy flavours with meat stock aromas; Inkiostro’s team pushes the envelope with its bold menu that showcases Parma’s seasonal and famed produce, including an entire multicourse meal revolving around Parmigiano Reggiano.

A PERFECT PAIR

The pronounced aromas of Parmigiano Reggiano with a maturation of more than 36 months (ideally) are complemented by the sweetness and slight acidity of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

When in Parma, take a day trip to Modena (under an hour’s drive away) and stop in at Acetaia di Giorgio run by the Barbieri family. This business (which exports globally) operates out of the attic of a 19th century villa. They specialise in making authentic balsamic vinegar, naturally – which means all they’re using is a single ingredient: local grape must from Lambrusco and Trebbiano grapes, which is aged over a period of 12 or 25 years, in a series of barrels.

The barrels are crafted from local woods such as oak, chestnut, cherry, mulberry and juniper, which add distinct and complex flavours to the vinegars.

FIVE FAMILY-FRIENDLY pizza places IN THE UAE

Helen Farmer rounds up some of the go-tos for a feast, Italian-style

For me growing up in rural north-east England, the idea of someone delivering pizza to your house (like in Home Alone) was unfathomable and beyond exotic. There was a local Italian restaurant that served inauthentic pasta dishes, and a late night döner kebab/takeout pizza place on the high street, imaginatively called Pizza Pizza. It was usually frequented after midnight, when diners would merge those cuisines, resulting in a topping never seen before in Italy and would make a purist weep. Let’s just say standards were low.

Today, raising kids in Dubai, the pizzas are so good that, given the choice, my six-year-old would have one for each meal. I probably would too. So which ones are worth your hard-earned dirhams?

BLU

I’m going to regret sharing this little gem, because getting a seat there is already hard enough.

Located at the Fishing Harbour in Umm Suqeim, there are a few tables outside overlooking the water, and a couple inside, where you can watch the wood-fired action. The menu is as small as the restaurant, with just seven Neapolitan pizzas and two choices of ice-cream. We usually go for the Margo, with San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte cheese, EVOO, and basil but the bougie among us will love the truffle-laden Tartufo. Best served with views of the sunset.

@blupizzeria

PIZZA EXPRESS

This ticks a lot of boxes for families, with kids’ meals that are crazy good value (47 AED for three courses and toy) and offer really good

quality and generous portions, from dough balls, chicken tenders or potato dippers to start, choice of pizza and pasta for main, then Nutella pizza, ice cream or fudge cake to finish. We never leave without leftovers. Pizza-making parties are also popular at the Al Ferdous branch on Al Wasl Road where, for 68 AED per child, your little chef and their friends can don a hat and apron, load up a base, craft their dream combo of toppings and leave with a certificate. Drinks and dough balls with Nutella for dessert are also included. pizzaexpress.ae

LA BURRATA

For us, a trip to Ras Al Khaimah is incomplete without a trip to this roadside restaurant. It truly doesn’t look like anything special from the inside, but the menu is worth the journey. We were taken by a friend from Milan, who is as particular about pizza as you’d expect, and he ordered us

TAKEOUT

Ask my kids what their favourite pizza is, and Pitfire Pizza (see pages16-19) is the immediate answer. They adore this home-grown hero for the Neapolitan and creative artwork on the boxes, while I love that owners Bill and Michele have gone from experimenting with dough in their garage, to multiple outlets, and cool collabs with local tastemakers. It doesn’t hurt that their pizza travels well and the garlic knots are irresistible.

pitfiredubai.ae

a meal to remember, from piping hot parmigiana di melanzane that you’ll finish with a swipe of freshly baked bread to rigatoni with lamb ragout. Of course, pizzas feature heavily, and the small kitchen is dominated by a huge oven that’s visible from your table, so kids can watch theirs being rolled and charred to perfection. laburrata.co

BREAD AHEAD

This place was the stand-out foodie hit of Expo Dubai 2020, tucked away in the Mobility District, often only detectable by the lengthy queues and the smell of melting cheese in the air. Born in London’s Borough Market, this bakery is famed for two things: pizza and doughnuts. Its fans celebrated when a permanent space in Mall of the Emirates opened recently, allowing us to get a fix of massive slices of pizza the size of your head, followed by a doughnut generously filled with raspberry jam. They also have a cookery school if you want to recreate the magic at home.

@breadaheaduae

DON’T MISS

Listen out for Farmer’s Kitchen on Dubai Eye103.8FM in collaboration with Spinneys. It airs from 2-5pm on Fridays.

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