January 2021: Dine, Drink, Discover.
| Dine – Spaghetti alla Trapanese (serves 4) |
With most of us confined to our kitchens every evening, but longing to get dressed up, made up and head out to a restaurant with friends, I thought I would share one of my quick and easy recipes which could be your favourite stay at home pasta dish.
The sauce can be made in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta… my kind of recipe.
Fresh ingredients are key.. good quality spaghetti, the best ripe cherry tomatoes you can find… always smell them first, if they don’t smell like a tomato, they won’t taste like a tomato.
What you’ll need:
455g/1lb dried Spaghetti
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
150g/5oz Almonds
1 Clove of garlic …. I actually use 4
4 Large handfuls of fresh basil leaves
150g/5oz freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
A generous glug of extra virgin olive oil
600g/1lb 6oz Cherry tomatoes halved
What to do:
Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water.
Warm the almonds in a dry pan and then smash them up in a pestle and mortar until you have a coarse consistency and place in a bowl.
Bash the garlic and basil separately in the mortar and mix with the almonds, cheese and olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
Add the tomatoes and scrunch them with your hands into the almond mixture until they are completely broken up. Loosen with a little more olive oil and toss with the pasta.
Delicious served with a chilled bottle of Mirum 30.
| Drink -
Monacesca Mirum 30 |
This wine was introduced to me by an Italian friend a few weeks ago… how had I not discovered it before I really don’t know… I am in love with this wine… and the cantina is only half an hour away in Matelica. 100% Verdicchio… it has a smooth multi-vintage blend with notes of caramelised apricots, passion fruit and almonds … the grapes are handpicked and left on the vines an extra two weeks... creating a beautifully balanced wine.
This wine was introduced to me by an Italian friend a few weeks ago… how had I not discovered it before I really don’t know… I am in love with this wine… and the cantina is only half an hour away in Matelica. 100% Verdicchio… it has a smooth multi-vintage blend with notes of caramelised apricots, passion fruit and almonds … the grapes are handpicked and left on the vines an extra two weeks... creating a beautifully balanced wine.
Cellaring potential 20 years or more... maybe 2 days in this house! The production is sadly only 6,000 bottles this year, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mirum ... I need to stock up very soon.
For more information: https://www.monacesca.it/en/
| Discover –
Film
The Life Ahead |
Most of us are binge-watching our favourite re-runs on television at the moment but this film is definitely one of the best on Netflix.
Screen legend Sophia Loren returns to the screen at 86 to star in this incredible Italian film. Directed by her son, Edoardo Ponti, it tells the story of a holocaust survivor and ex-prostitute played by Sophia Loren and 12-year-old refugee, Momo, from Senegal.
Beautifully raw and sensitive, with a hint of humour, she definitely deserves an Oscar for this performance.
Why not curl up on the sofa with your plate of pasta, glass of wine and give it a watch.
Keep smiling and we really hope to see some of you in Italy this summer.
Dawn