Enjoy a Pisa of Italy
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Saturday May 16 2009
Pamper your tastebuds with some delicious Italian food, using seasonal ingredients which are fresh and affordable. Asparagus is in season now and it is very traditional, especially in northern Italy, around Pisa, to cook asparagus in puff pastry. I learned this recipe about 20 years ago when, for the first time, I went to visit the famous tower of Pisa. It was a family friend who prepared it for us and he told me that he won his wife with this dish. How romantic! Only use fresh asparagus for this dish, and you can substitute the Parmesan cheese with Pecorino if you prefer.
King prawns in caper and tomato sauce is one of my mother's special Sunday recipes. When I was a child, my father would go to the fish market to buy the fresh prawns, bring them home and wait impatiently for my mum to cook them in this delicious sauce. This is what I call a romantic dish.
If you love eggs and fancy something full of flavour this weekend, the baked omelette (frittata) is an exciting dish to try. It's very colourful and extremely easy to prepare. It is also a wonderful dish that can be eaten cold or the day after as a packed lunch for the office. Trust me, your colleagues will be so jealous! You can substitute the feta cheese with goat's cheese and, if you are not a big fan of sundried tomatoes, use fresh tomatoes.
What better way to cater for the family than with pizza, popular with both kids and adults? The original topping for a traditional Neapolitan pizza is tomato, garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil. The mozzarella was added by a Neapolitan pizza guy, who wanted to impress a queen called Margherita. Since then, it's become probably the most renowned and popular pizza in the world!
As you can see, I have added a few extra ingredients to make it more exciting, so you can do exactly the same, as long as it's not pineapple -- what is that all about?
Recipes from Buonissimo! by Gino D'Acampo (Kyle Cathie, £14.99) with photography by Kate Whitaker
Gino D'Acampo will be taking part in Taste of Dublin at the Iveagh Gardens from June 11-14 For information and tickets call 0818 300 030 or log on to www.tastefestivals.ie
- Gina D'Acampo
