Category: italian

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Wonderful Lunch in Venice

Grand Canal

Back in February I did a crazy thing, I went to Venice for the day. Actually as day trips go to Venice, I have done a fair few, but this time was the first day trip to Venice from the UK. I have been to Venice before.

I actually though I had written up what I had for lunch that day, I had written about the espresso I had, but not my lunch.

There are plenty of of places to eat in Venice, though as with many places frequented by tourists, some of these places aren’t necessarily that authentic or are over priced. When I visited Venice in the 1990s I did eat out in Venice, but always off the beaten track. So, on this visit to Venice, I was going to do just that. Even saying that there were lots of places I could have eaten.

I did wonder if I would find the place I had eaten some amazing food back in the 1990s, well, cut a long story short, I didn’t find it, it may have closed, changed hands, or as is more likely I just wouldn’t be able to find it.

I had walked through Campo Santa Margherita in the middle of Venice and had seen a few possible places to eat, but it was still early. Later in the day I managed to find the square again and decided I would eat at the Trattoria Pizzeria Antico Capon.

Trattoria Pizzeria Antico Capon

They had an extensive menu, but what has garnered my attention was the Menu del Giorno (or Menu of the Day) for just €17.

This was a two course menu with just two choices for each course. The restaurant had a range of choices, if what you wanted wasn’t part of the Menu del Giorno.

I ordered a beer and alongside came some fresh bread, and packaged bread sticks.

For the first course, the choice was spaghetti al ragu (meat sauce) or spaghetti al frutto di mare (with seafood). For me it was a no brainer, I went with the spaghetti al frutto di mare.

This was a bowl of spaghetti with clams, mussels, prawns, and squid. All brought together with a lovely tomato and red pepper sauce. This was delicious, the pasta was perfectly cooked, as the seafood looked as though it was freshly cooked. This was what you want when you order pasta from a restaurant. Amazing pasta, a homemade sauce and when you order seafood, you want a good proportion of seafood in the dish. With this plate, I got all that.

For the second course, I could choose between the frittura di calamari (fried calamari) or fegato alla veneziana (liver and onions cooked in the Venetian style).

Now normally in any other circumstance, I would choose the calamari, however I was in Venice and I wanted to have something local and special to that region, so I went with the fegato alla veneziana. Alongside I had the choice of patate fritte (fried potato) or insalata misto (side salad), I decided to have the patate fritte.

This was not the best looking plate of food but looks aside this was a delicious plate of food. The fegato alla veneziana was really tasty and full of flavour. Alongside the patate fritte were equally good. I don’t think I would actually order liver in a restaurant, though I did have some lovely grilled liver in an Italian restaurant in London once. However, what I really wanted to experience on my trip to Venice was some local Venetian cuisine, and this was what was on the menu. Despite an initial reservation, should I go for the calamari, I thought no, I am going for the fegato. I was pleased I did, as the dish was excellent.

The weather was dry and though it was cold, it was warm enough to sit outside, and I really enjoyed my lunch, sitting in the square and watching the world go by.

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Charlie Bigham’s Lasagne

I have been eating a few Charlie Bigham ready meals recently. Partly as I managed to get a couple reduced at Waitrose, but others have been on special offer. Not sure how “special” they actually are, but the ones I have tried I have enjoyed.

I do quite like lasagne, but the quality of supermarket prepared ready meal lasagne does vary. The lasagne at M&S has usually been very good, whereas the lasagne from Lidl was quite flavourless in comparison. 

I know I really should make my own, but it is to be honest a bit of a faff, and a ready made lasagne is quite a good choice for quick dinner when I am either late back from work or doing something.

Charlie Bigham’s Lasagne is described as slow-cooked beef & pork ragù with red wine & oregano, layered with egg pasta & topped with our creamy béchamel sauce. The website also states:

We take pride in testing our recipes until they’re just right. That’s how we found the perfect balance of pork and beef for our slow-cooked ragù, and how we discovered the exact red wine that with a dash of balsamic vinegar of Modena, makes this dish delicious. With an extra layer of creamy béchamel hidden amongst the five layers of egg pasta, there’s a lot that goes into our much-loved Lasagne.

It takes thirty minutes in the oven and one thing I did like was how easy it was to remove from the wooden tray it is cooked in. 

I did really like the flavour of the lasagne and the sauce was nice and rich. The pasta  did have bite and the browned cheese béchamel added to the tastiness of the dish.

It certainly costs a lot more than most supermarket lasagne, I was lucky that I got mine on special offer. However, I probably would get it again, even at full price.

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Wet Sponge Cake

One of the things I quite like about Lidl and Aldi are their themed weeks, where they have limited stocks of different kinds of products based around a theme, usually a country such as France or Italy.

Recently, Aldi did an Italian themed week, I picked up some pasta, but also what was a Tiramisu dessert which was described (or translated) as Coffee-Wet Sponge Cake with Mascarpone Cream.

This did amuse me, but also got me thinking about who does this kind of translation, in this instance at the Balconi factory in Italy. Do they not check with a native (or at least a fluent) English speaker about the translation?

You sometimes get weird translations with Chinese, Korean or even Japanese products, but usually with European products, the translation is more accurate. 

So anyone for a slice of wet sponge cake?

Actually I quite liked it.

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Back to Nuova Italia

veal chop

Having had a really nice meal at Nuova Italia in Ilchester, we had already decided if and when we got the chance, we would visit again. What was nice, was a week later after spending the day in Plymouth, on our trip home, we made a detour via Ilchester to make a second visit to Nuova Italia.

There are so many tasty items on the menu, I was tempted by the risotto, and the pasta. I also thought about having another pizza again. However, I decided I would try something different and went for the veal chop, which was cooked with garlic butter and white wine.

It’s not something I have had before, so was intrigued what it would be like. My daughter, went with the gluten free Pizza Boss. She enjoyed it last time and wanted to have it again.

The chop looked amazing, and was served with an order of fries. I think salad might have been a better option. The veal was tender and delicious and I really enjoyed it. I’ve not had a veal chop before and so was intrigued by what it would be like. It wasn’t as deep as flavour as you get with a steak, more like a pork chop. It was really nice, but I don’t think it would be something I would order again.

It was a really nice meal and as before we had excellent service. Looking forward to a future visit.

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Pizza in Ilchester

So, we went for a walk in Ilchester and ended up eating pizza. I’ve never been there before and we hadn’t planned to stop in Ilchester, it was merely an act of convenient desperation.

We were travelling back from Bournemouth and my electric car was running low on charge, I had planned to stop at a charger in Yeovil but couldn’t find a charger using the in-built navigation in the car. My daughter got her phone out and on Google Maps found one in Ilchester ten miles further up the road. We drove there. I did expect that there would be more chargers in Yeovil, but was frustrated that there didn’t seem to be many. There was a single charger in the car park. We stopped there and put the car on charge. We went for a walk. We found the Nuova Italia restaurant, they have a outside patio and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. They also have a table out the front with food and drinks on show.

My daughter liked the sound of the menu, and they did a good range of gluten free stuff, all their pizzas could be made with a gluten free base, and gluten free pasta was also an option.

We walked in and were given a lovely warm welcome. We sat down and looked at the menu. My daughter went with a gluten free Pizza Boss, this was a gluten free base with San Marzano tomato sauce, Fior Di Latte mozzarella cheese, roasted chicken and pancetta from Valtellina.

I had the Pizza Napoli. This was a white base mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce, Fior Di Latte mozzarella cheese, Tuscan Italian sausage and friarielli spicy vegetables from Naples.

They have a wood fired pizza oven and our pizza were cooked to order. It wasn’t long before our pizzas arrived. My daughter’s pizza looked wonderful. I have to say I didn’t think mine looked as nice.

My daughter said of her pizza, it was one of the best she ever tasted, the gluten free base was different to others she has had at other restaurants. 

Mine, despite the appearance was in fact rather tasty. I have a preference for the white base pizza, the sausage was delicious and the friarielli, a kind of broccoli added to the pizza.

Overall the meal was delicious, the service was excellent, it was good value for money and I think we would certainly visit again.

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Rummo Spaghetti No 3

With a coeliac in the house, we virtually cook with gluten free pasta all the time. Generally I am quite happy with the texture and consistency of gluten free pasta, and I have no problems cooking and eating gluten free pasta.

I have though had a few issues with cooking gluten free spaghetti, and have not been enamoured with the various types I have used. As well as clumping together, I wasn’t that impressed with the flavour and texture.

On a recent visit to Sainsbury’s I saw they were stocking a new Italian brand of gluten free spaghetti, Rummo Spaghetti No 3. I decided I would buy a pack and ut it in the cupboard.

On the Sainsbury’s website the description says:

I always wanted to create a gluten-free pasta that could give you all the pleasure and texture of the classic one. We select brown rice, yellow and white corn, strictly GMO free, then we blend them with a natural and ancient element stream. Thanks to our Laverazione al Vapore Method (Steam processing), we slowly obtain a soft, balanced dough that we extrude through bronze dies so that our pasta is more rough and bonds perfectly with the sauce. The result is Rummo Gluten Free with an incomparable consistency.

So, the other day when cooking a beef bolognaise, I decided I would use the Rummo Spaghetti No 3. I followed the instructions and cooked the spaghetti in boiling water for ten minutes. It did feel quite thin when it as uncooked, but after cooking for the proscribed time, it had expanded, and more importantly hadn’t clumped together.

I was really impressed with the spaghetti; it had a great texture and flavour. Certainly, the best gluten free spaghetti I have cooked with. So, impressed, the next time I was in Sainsbury’s I picked up another pack. It isn’t the cheapest pasta on the shelf, but I think it’s worth the extra cost.

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Why the slice of orange?

I was staying in York and was thinking about where to eat. I had seen La Terrazzina when out walking on previous evenings and I had been intrigued by the menu.

They describe themselves as

Welcome to La Terrazzina, the best Italian, Mediterranean & Asian restaurant in York! Our restaurant offers a unique and exciting dining experience that combines the flavors and aromas of Italian, Mediterranean, and Asian cuisine.

This was intriguing.

So I walked from my hotel down to the restaurant and I went to read the menu outside, at which point one of the waiting staff came outside and invited me in. This is something that I had seen in Portugal, Spain, and other places where I had been on holiday, not something I have seen very often in the UK. As I was pretty much made up in my mind that I was going to eat there, I went in and sat down.

One of the reasons I liked the idea of eating here was they had rack of lamb on the menu, so I was pretty much happy to order that.

I was given some bread and butter, which I had to return as the butter had mould on it. Well it looked like mould. It was replaced with some fresh bread and butter.

My lamb arrived.

This wasn’t though a rack of lamb, these were grilled lamb cutlets.  The lamb came with vegetables and potatoes, gravy, and a slice of orange. Not sure what the orange was about. I’ve had orange with duck, but never with lamb! The vegetables were al dente, and it was a good sized portion.

The lamb was cooked, slightly overdone for me. I think I would have preferred a “proper” rack of lamb that had been browned in a pan and then finished off by being roasted in the oven. Then carved into cutlets. The other option would have been to describe the dish as lamb cutlets.

Overall it was a nice dish.

Service was attentive and polite. The place doesn’t have an alcohol licence, but there is a Sainsburys Local next door, so you can pop there for wine or beer.

Still not sure about the orange slice.

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Which of these are Italian?

So I got a marketing email from Bella Italia. Now my experience of Bella Italia is that this is a chain restaurant serving Italian food, in the main pizza and pasta.

So I was a little surprised to see these options promoted on their new menu.

Nachos, well not quite, but pretty much nachos and salsa.

BBQ ribs with fries, no attempt here to even Italianise the dish!

Hickory or Buffalo chicken wings, with pecorino cheese.

I kind of understand that they want to widen the appeal of the menu, but I personally don’t think this is the way. They already have burgers on the menu, so these add to the non-Italian choices available.

I guess they did some marketing, and people were saying (or complaining) about the limited menu choices for those that don’t like pizza or pasta. Though if I was going out to eat and I didn’t want pizza or pasta, I wouldn’t go to Bella Italia.

I also think there are lots of Italian dishes which aren’t pizza or pasta which could be on the menu. For example there is only one fish dish on the menu, there are lots of Italian fish dishes out there. I guess, knowing how these chains operate that cooking Italian dishes fresh to order isn’t how the kitchen process works. 

I was just a little surprised to see American dishes such as wings and ribs on the new menu.

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Saffron Risotto

We recently had a saffron risotto, using a  box of Gallo’s Risotto a la Milanesa, which is risotto with parmesan and saffron. We have this quite often, after trying it once.

This is prepared risotto rice to which you only need add water, though you can add butter and parmesan at the end of cooking to add a little bit of luxury and more cheese flavour to the dish.

I usually cook risotto from scratch and this box allows you to cheat somewhat by cooking a risotto in about 15 minutes.

What you get is a bag of saffron coloured rice which you cook in water for 12 minutes before adding butter and extra cheese.

It’s a really bright yellow, which might put people off, but it is rather tasty, and there is a lovely taste of saffron in there.

When I blogged about this the first time I said:

It’s a really bright yellow, which might put people off, but it was rather tasty. If I can find it again I think I will get another pack. 

Well, we have had it quite a few times since then.

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Time for Filetto di Manzo e Rucola

I was staying in Berlin in December, for a few days attending a conference. The last time I had been to Germany was in 1985 staying for a couple of days in Munich on the way back from a camp in Yugoslavia. This was my first visit to Berlin and the first visit to a unified Germany. I was staying at the NH Collection Mitte ‘Checkpoint Charlie” in the heart of what was East Berlin. I had various meals and snacks while I was there in Berlin.

I did feel a little guilty going to an Italian restaurant while staying in Germany, but when you realise that Vapiano is a German restaurant franchise company headquartered in Cologne. The chain’s restaurants offer Italian food adhering to the fast-casual principle, it certainly has some German food credentials.

The service was simple, in that you ordered from a screen, took a buzzer, and then collected your food from the kitchen. Looking over the menu, I initially decided I wouldn’t have pasta or pizza, but would probably go with a risotto.

I did though look over the pasta menu, I liked the idea of choosing your own type of pasta, and it was fresh pasta. So, I changed my mind and went with the Filetto di Manzo e Rucola, or Beef Fillet and Rocket.

The menu could be accessed in English, so the description of Rinderfilet, Weißwein, Karotten, Zucchini, Champignons, Lauchzwiebeln, Zwiebeln, Rucola, could be translated to beef fillet, white wine, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, spring onions, onions, rocket.  Saw I could add “brot” for free, so I did. Well, my Grade 4 CSE German comes in handy when I remember that ‘brot’ is German for bread and it was a free extra to my food.

When my buzzer buzzed, I went to the kitchen to collect my food. The dish looked great.

It also tasted great. It was fresh and delicious. The steak was tender and I liked the addition of the rocket to the dish. The rest of the ingredients in the dish added to the flavours and textures.

I really enjoyed the pasta dish. The bread was nice as well.

Though I had intended to have the Bruschetta as a starter, because of the process of ordering through a screen meant that the Bruschetta and the pasta arrived at the same time. The Bruschetta was toasted bread with fresh tomatoes, onion, and rocket.

It was a great combination of textures and flavours. The tomato was nice, fresh, and it was well seasoned.

Tasty. Though another time I think I would order my starter first and then order the main course.

Had an Orangina as well to drink.