Come Dine With Paolo: A Taste Of Italy!

Come Dine With Paolo

A TASTE OF ITALY….

The country we know as Italy is still relatively young. It was unified as a country on March 17 of 1861. Until then it was a mixture of various states, each with it’s own government, dialect or language, heritage, culture and cuisine.
Many Italians today still identify themselves firstly by the area they come from and secondly as Italian e.g. Venetian, Tuscan or Piedmontese.
The food and cuisine of Italy is also equally varied with each region boasting traditionally it’s own dishes.
One thing that definitely Italians all have in common is the love of life – “La Dolce Vita” literally the sweet life. They share a love of all things beautiful, with appreciation of the simple beauty of everything in the natural world, from this comes their love of food.
By understanding and respecting where their food comes from, an empathy with the natural environment and using fresh locally grown produce, comes the expression of joy and celebration of the bounties of nature.
For Italians food is not just about eating, it’s about family and the community.
Italy was not always an affluent country, using cheap local ingredients and sharing food with family and friends was also an economic necessity. But sharing food is a very integral part of Italian culture, Italians don’t like to eat alone. Food is always more tasty when shared with others!
This recipe is a celebration of tasty, nutritious, healthy food that is produced on a budget. The most important ingredient is LOVE……and we will be sharing the love of the natural world, the love of our family, friends and community.

This recipe is tasty and evokes the essence of Italy:
• Looks good, smell goods and has great textures and tastes
• Is quick and easy to make
• Uses simple and easy to obtain ingredients
• Is healthy and nutritious
• Can be made on a budget
• Can be shared with friends and family, but can be made into smaller portions also

This menu idea will be the approximate amounts to feed 4 people.
There are no hard and fast rules, adjust the amounts to suit your taste buds! The fun of cooking is to experiment.

Pasta with a meat and vegetable sauce:
There are literally hundreds of types of pasta. Originally, it’s believed to be a way of preserving a staple (wheat) throughout the winter months. All the various shapes have intriguing names that reflect their unique shapes such as “farfalle”…butterflies and “orecchio”…ears!
There is a basic “Italian-Style” sauce that can be created in bulk and stored as a basis for a quick meal by adding endless different meats and/or vegetables.
Pasta is quick and easy to make.
Simply boil a large pan of salted water, add in the pasta (100g per person) and cook by keeping the water boiling gently. Different types of pasta take different times. It should be cooked until soft but still with a little bite to it “al dente” in Italian. Drain in a colander, some people rinse it with boiling water to wash away any excess starch and stop it from sticking. A knob of butter does the trick and tastes nice too!
The sauce….
• Large Onion
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Tomato Puree
• A Little Salt
• Herbs (Oregano/Basil etc). Preferably fresh or use dried herbs
• Olive Oil and Ground Black Pepper

Dice up the onion and finely chop the garlic. Pour in a good measure of olive oil in a pan (a knob of butter can be added too). Put in the onions and garlic and cook gently until the onions are translucent, don’t burn them! Put in the tomatoes. Either fresh tomatoes, chopped or tinned tomatoes are fine. Also a good measure of tomato puree, salt, black pepper and herbs etc. Let this simmer for 15 minutes minimum stirring occasionally and ensuring that there is always plenty of liquid (add water as needed).

You can adjust the taste to you own preference by adding more of any of the ingredients. This is a basic sauce, remember this is full of natural ingredients. It will not taste like a jar of pasta sauce. It does not contain additives, preservatives and flavour enhancers.

To this add a choice of meat (minced beef, chicken, etc) and/or vegetables (mushrooms, peppers, courgettes or root vegetables etc). Slow cook to ensure the meat/vegetables have been thoroughly cooked through, 45 minutes should do it.

To get a more spicy taste, “Arrabbiata” in Italian add a little dried or fresh chili to the sauce. A sprinkling of Parmesan cheese finishes the dish!

Buon Appetito!

Author/photography – Paolo Piana