Tuscany with "Restaurant Fifteen" Chefs

After Naples, last month, I went back to Italy for a special visit to Tuscany,this time, I was in the company of the chefs from Fifteen
We arrived in Pisa on the 23 rd , me and the chefs with our lovely guide Lizzie from Liberty wines, our wine supplier.
 Our first stop was at the restaurant called Adriano in Cerrete Guidi, where we tasted Poggiotondo Chianti wines -Serra del Masso (producer), we also tried delicious Antipasti : Parma ham, Sopressata, Salumi.
For Primi we had tasty Penne alla Bolognese with a creamy texture and for Secondi we had a Selection of meat: Pork, chicken and beef.

                                                                                                               

We depparted from Cerreto Guidi and arrived at Petrolo for a visit, dinner and overnight stay at Galatrona farm.

 

We had a great reception, tasted few Olive oils and had a lovely dinner hosted by Luca Sanjust. In the morning we visited Galatrona Tower, from where we had a great view of the surroundings.

 We departed  from Petrolo after breakfast and arrived at Fontodi for visit and tasting Panzano with Giovanni Manetti the owner.

After the wine tasting we arrived at Officina Da Darui an amazing restaurant for lunch with Fontodi

At the restaurant we met Dario Cecchini, at the top left, a passionate butcher who is the Restaunt owner and works near by in his Macelleria in Panzano town, Chianti.

 Dario has his own Grappa Label

Our next stop was Villa Pitiana where we checked in to spend the night. Villa Pitiana used to be a monastery. 

Next day, we headed to Selvapiana for a visit and dinner, our host was Federico Giuntini

we saw some rare wines and I spotted my year!

we also tried some Vino Santo, delicious dessert wine.

Our last visit was Capezzana, a great producer of Olive oil and fine wines.

We had one of the best lunch at Capezzana hosted by the owner Ugo. His son Fillipo, deals with Olive oil production and Beatrice heads the marketing.We tasted some Olive oil and a selection of their best wine. An Extra-virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste.We tasted at Cappezana a 0.025% acidity( first on the right) very mild, gently on the palate.Very nice on salads or bread.

Just before our depart to Pisa Airport we stopped at La Molina, Chocolate Factory and bakery.

where we tasted the most amazing Panettone and Cantuccini Cioccolato. 

Naples "Trattoria Nennella"

Near the Hotel I stayed in Naples, I had dinner in a rather peculiar Trattoria called Nennella.
I will tell you why. The food was delicious, very simple but flavoursome... that's what you expect it to be.
 The difference about it was, at Nennella, the staff were totally bonkers or acted like they were.
Every time they got a tip from a customer, they lowered a basket from the ceiling and everybody(staff) shouted:
-Grazie!
That's not all, they were excessively loud calling the orders through a hole on the wall and singing like there was no tomorrow followed by the kitchen staff, waving hands; the tables were moved in a manic way to accommodate more and more people coming, (it is a very popular eatery amongst young locals) without any care of not disturbing the guests who were already eating there; the waiter who served us seems to be stoned and that's not all, he teased customers from a table near mine with mozzarella "impanata" (deep fried) ordered by another table asking who was hungrier could get it first. Did I mention that he drunk quite a few glasses of beer and wine from different customers' glasses?

MSC sustainable fishing practises, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood, fish

Working at Fifteen London Restaurant I've learnt all about MSC, sustainable fishing practises to save our fish for the future generations, for more information about MSC look up the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYCsBroqGBE

Vrisaki Greek- Cypriot Restaurant

On arrival.....
 I was greeted with a selection of little fresh salads dishes

I am a very difficult person to please when it comes to food as my friends always say...Well, in my defence, I have my high standards, I like it fresh, well prepared and made with love.
 Anyway, today I have the pleasure of eating one of the best Lamb dishes, thanks to my colleague Adam from Fifteen Restaurant, a Turkish Cypriot himself, suggest me this " gastronomical gem"called "Vrisaki".
                                                                      The Lamb
Tender, full of delicate spices flavour,cooked for hours in the oven served with roasted potatoes ( fresh not reheated), rice, and a delicious Greek salad.

Well recommended!

Vrisaki

73 Myddleton Road, N22 8LZ Full details & map

Cooking...for friends

Today I will share two dishes with you:                                                                                                              Sardines and fresh Italian Peaches Bruschetta
                                                                                                                 Marrocan style Lamb

                                            

I've cooked these two dishes for my friends another day, the Bruschetta was inspired by Fifteen Menu where I work, I had it first time there and I decided to do my version of it,

Bruschetta

Ingredients to make one unit:

One slice of Sour dough bread toasted or grilled

Fresh white Italian Peaches

Mint

Sardines, you can cheat using good Portuguese tinned Sardines(no skin and no bones)

Olive oil

Sea Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

and Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and place on Toasted bread and Voilà!

*You can add a drizzle of good virgin olive oil on top

Marrocan Lamb

Ingredients

Marinate

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1tsp ground ginger or fresh ginger

1tsp turmeric

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1,1kg 2 1/2lb lamb meat shoulder or leg

2 large onions, grated

2 tsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic chopped

1x200gr tinned chopped tomatoes

100gr dried apricots, cut in half

55gr raisins or sultanas

coriander and parsley taste

Preparation

Marinate the lamb with all spices and a little oil 1 hour or 2 before cooking it

Choose a large casserole pan for the job

Heat the oil and sear the lamb 

add chopped tomatoes, apricots,almonds,coriander, parsley leaving some for decoration

honey is the last item to be added.

Cook in slow heat for 35 to 40 minutes until tender

Serve with potatoes or rice,okra or your favourite vegetables.

River Cafe London

Today, me and my colleagues from Fifteen Restaurant went for lunch at

A little bit of information...
River Café brought to London the flavours of Italian home cooking with an emphasis on the finest ingredients, and an all-Italian wine list.It  is owned and run by chef Ruth Rogers and until early 2010, Rose Gray .The restaurant also brought to London a modern, open-plan kitchen and dining room with a buzzy atmosphere.
The River Café is also notable for the number of successful chefs that have trained in its kitchens. These include Sam and Sam Clark of Moro, Ed Baines of Randall & Aubin, April Bloomfield of the Spotted Pig (in New York) and celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Tobie Puttock.
                    Menu  selection :
                                 ANTIPASTI

               Calamari ai ferri - chargrilled squid with fresh red chilli & rocket £15

                                        

                                                        PRIMI

         Risotto con Pesche- with white peaches, purple basil & De Faveri Prosecco £13,50

                                                               

                                                   SECONDI

Burrida di Pesce - Ligurian fish stew with red mullet, langoustines, john dory, clams, tomato and
Fiano Donnaluna with crostino, chilli & parsley £40

                                                   

                                                           DOLCI 

                                         Sorry, couldn't resist!!! 

                               Chocolate Nemesis £8.50 

                                             I FORMAGGI

                                                       

        and the wines, chosen by Fernando Matumato, 15's Restaurant  sommelier:

                                             Main Course Wines:

               

                                                                         Dessert Wines 

Brazilian Couscous (Cuscus Paulista)

One of my " food memories" when I was a little boy in Brazil is my mother preparing a Sunday meal for the family. A favourite dish of mine was "Cuscus Paulista".
I only got to know the Moroccan Couscous version  later on, when I moved to London...
Very nutritious and cheap to make, it is a winner and it looks very impressive too!

I found out that the introduction of couscous into Brazil in the 16th sixteenth century, according to Luis da Cámara Cascudo was a result of the culinary influences of both Portugal and of African slave cultures (Cascudo, 1983, pp. 207–211). There are two varieties. Southern couscous (cuscuz paulista) is a steamed cake made from corn flour, vegetables, spices, chicken, or fish (prawns and sardines). The northern variety (cuscuz nordestino) is a steamed pudding made from tapioca flour and sugar and moistened with coconut milk. This is a popular Brazilian breakfast.

Now I will show few steps for a delicious Cuscus Paulista:

1-Choose fresh vegetables, peppers, peas, aubergines, whatever you like...

2-One of the essential ingredients is Hearts of palm which you can now find in good supermarkets in London!

This is the first step: cooking all vegetables and mixing it with fish stock, sweetcorn flaked flour.

You know when it is ready when it starts to bubble up and it isn't sticking to the pan any more.That is the final step.