Italian Style in your Kitchen this Christmas

Whether you are looking for a gift for a friend or simply want something to make your kitchen feel a bit more festive the new Extra Virgin Olive Oil Special Edition Filippo Berio tin makes a great Christmas present.

The limited edition 1L tin from Flippo Berio sports the Leaning Tower of Pisa which is not only an iconic landmark of Itlay, but also just down the street from Lucca where Filippo Berio is based.

The brand’s Extra Virgin Olive oil is fruity and thick making it the ideal choice for jacket potatoes, salads, meat, vegetables, fish, pasta, and as a dipping sauce.

Back in 1867 when Filippo Berio first started producing their olive oil brand the company used tins to help keep the oil shielded from sunlight and to help preserve the flavor that the brand is known for.  Using the same procedures the brand has been able to maintain their award winning taste making it a popular brand today as well.

This unique, limited edition tin is available on supermarket shelves from mid October, RRP £6.49 and enjoy a price promotion at Sainsbury’s from 24th Nov – 3rd Jan where the tin is on offer at £4.49

Italian Christmas Recipes

Christmas isn’t just about gifts, it’s also about wholesome, tasty foods. These unique recipes from Filippo Berio will bring a touch of Italian festive flavour to your Christmas period; and when you buy 500ml bottles of Filippo Berio Olive Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil you’ll receive different recipes on-pack to keep and use year after year.

Crunchy Roast Potatoes with Garlic

PREP TIME: 10 MINS
COOKING TIME: 1 HOUR
SERVES: 4

You’ll need: 900g Potatoes – Peeled, 6 tbsp Filippo Berio Olive Oil and 6-8 garlic cloves – unpeeled

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F or Gas Mark 6 and put a large roasting tin in the oven to heat.

2. Cut the potatoes into large, even chunks. Boil in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain, return to the pan, cover with the lid and shake the pan to roughen up the edges of the potatoes. Set aside.

3. Add the oil to the roasting tin and return to the oven for 2 minutes. Tip the potatoes into the hot oil, then turn to coat in oil. Roast for 30 minutes. Turn over the potatoes, add the garlic cloves and roast for a further 25-30 minutes or until crisp and golden.

4. Serve immediately.

Italian Chestnut Stuffing

SERVES 8-10 OR IDEAL FOR A 4.5kg TURKEY

You’ll need: 1 bulb fennel – trimmed and finely chopped, 4 shallots – finely chopped, 4 tbsp Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2-4 cloves garlic – finely chopped, 400g sausages (Italian-style), 200g peeled chestnuts, 2 tbsp fresh sage – chopped, 1tbsp fresh thyme leaves – chopped, 200g ciabatta bread – diced small, Grated zest 1 lemon, 1 egg – beaten and salt and pepper to season

1. In a large frying pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil, stir in the fennel and shallots. Cook over a medium heat until soft then add the garlic. Cook for another 1 minute before transferring to a bowl to cool completely

2. Remove the sausage meat from the skins and chop or roughly breakup the chestnuts. Add these and all other ingredients to the bowl and season well. Mix together using your hands. This mixture can be kept in the fridge for up to 24hrs until needed.

3. Cook the stuffing either in the neck of the turkey (adjust the turkey cooking time according to new weight), or in an ovenproof dish for 45mins- 1hour until golden brown on top.

Find out more at www.filippoberio.co.uk and Twitter @filippoberio

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Today Schwartz Spaghetti Bolognese pack combines most of the above making Bolognese sauce extremely simple and quick to prepare. Having said that, the people of Bologna will tell you that an authentic Spaghetti Bolognese needs to cook for at least 5-6 hours but unfortunately we aren’t all lucky to live in an Italian city where the pace of life is slow, relaxing and enjoyable. Below find the original Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe tailored around the needs of a modern cook.

Serving Guide

Serves 4

Prep Time

30 mins

Cooking Time

1 hr

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

6 rashers of streaky ‘pancetta’ bacon, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

Stick of celery

1 packet Schwartz Spaghetti Bolognese

1kg/2¼lb lean minced beef

2 large glasses of red wine

2x400g cans chopped tomatoes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

800g-1kg/1¾-2¼lb dried tagliatelle (people of Bologna will tell you that this is the traditional way)

freshly grated parmesan cheese to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the bacon until golden over a medium heat.

2. Add the contents of the Schwartz Spaghetti Bolognese pack and carry on frying until softened.

3. Increase the heat and add the minced beef. Fry it until browned.

4. Pour in the wine and simmer until it reduces in volume by about a third.

5. Stir in the tomatoes, carrots and celery.

6. Cover with the lid and simmer over a gentle heat for 1 hour until thickened

7. Make sure to keep an eye on it and stir occasionally, adding water if necessary.

8. In the meanwhile cook the tagliatelle in plenty of boiling salty water.

9. When ready sprinkle a little parmesan over the pasta before adding the sauce and finish with a handful of cheese and some cracked black pepper.

Schwartz Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients

Wheat Flour, Potato Starch, Tomato Powder (14%), Salt, Garlic Powder (3%), Flavouring, Onion Powder, Basil, Herbs, Sugar, Black Pepper, Oregano, Nutmeg.

SUITABLE FOR VEGETARIANS

NO HYDROGENATED FAT

NO ADDED PRESERVATIVES

NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS

SUITABLE FOR FREEZING

The sauce is suitable for freezing. Transfer the cooked recipe to an airtight container, let it cool down. Place in the freezer for up to 1 month. Before cooking, defrost thoroughly overnight in the refrigerator. Transfer to a saucepan and heat gently over a medium-heat, stirring occasionally, until piping hot throughout. You cannot re-heat food in a slow cooker.

Allergy Advice

This product contains Wheat

Nutritional Information

Energy: 114 Kcal

Protein: 3.7 g

Carbohydrates: 24 g

of which sugars: 5.4 g

Fat: 0.6 g

of which saturates: 0.2 g

Fibre: 2.8 g

Sodium: 1.8 g

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The site introduces consumers to some of the finest olive oil and balsamic vinegar producers from around the world. As well as an impressive choice of products, the website will help consumers choose the right oil and vinegar for their taste and style of cooking. Visitors to the site will also be able to be kept up to date with news from producers, join in monthly give-aways and ask any questions they may have about the oils and vinegars in today’s market.

James Tyler, getoily.com’s MD, said: “It’s an absolute delight to open up these wonderful products to the consumer. We’ve spent years meeting some of the world’s finest olive oil and balsamic vinegar producers, creating relationships that allow us to bring in some spectacular products for the public back here in the UK. It’s amazing to see the way the fine food business has changed in the UK over the past few years, not to mention how knowledgeable the consumer has become about produce from around the world.”

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All you need to do is to simply wrap slices of Parma Ham around scallops and thread on to rosemary spears, along with king prawns. Cook on a griddle or barbeque and serve with a delicious caper and coriander salsa.  Done!  The full recipe is given below.

Parma Ham is a completely natural food with nothing added except salt. Making a Parma Ham is a long and painstaking process. The curing is controlled carefully so that the ham absorbs only enough salt to preserve it to retain its distinctive sweet flavour.  Prosciutto di Parma, is produced in the hills surrounding the Italian town of Parma. The air in the Parmesan hills is unique, dry and sweet-smelling with breezes from the Apennine mountains, creating perfect environmental conditions for a natural “drying” of the hams.

The unique taste of Parma Ham is dependent on the traditional production process passed down from Roman times, carefully controlled by the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma. Only hams that have passed stringent curing regulations approved by the EU can be awarded the stamp of the Ducal crown – a five pointed coronet logo with PARMA in the centre which is branded onto the ham’s skin. The Ducal Crown is now a certification trademark.

For more information on Parma Ham, please visit www.prosciuttodiparma.com

Recipe for Parma Ham-wrapped scallop and king prawn surf ‘n’ turf skewers with a caper and coriander salsa

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main

4 long stems of fresh rosemary

4 slices Parma Ham, sliced in half lengthways

8 scallops

8 raw king prawns

olive oil

salsa:

2 handfuls chopped coriander

3 tbsp chopped capers

3 tbsp diced cucumber

1 tbsp finely chopped red onion

½ green chilli, finely chopped

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

zest and juice of 1 lemon

zest and juice of 1 lime

salt and black pepper

1.  Strip the leaves off the rosemary spears, leaving 2-3cm leaves at the end of each

2.  Wrap a strip of Parma Ham around each scallop

3.  Thread a prawn onto each rosemary skewer followed by a Parma Ham-wrapped scallop. Alternate prawns and scallops so that each skewer has 3 prawns and 2 scallops

4.  Combine all of the ingredients for the salsa and season to taste

5.   Heat a lightly oiled heavy based frying pan, griddle or barbecue  and cook the skewers for 1-2 minutes per side until the prawns are pink and no longer raw, and the scallops are firm to touch

6. Serve the skewers with plenty of salsa and green leafy salad leaves

Cook’s tip: If you are short of time, prepare the skewers in advance and refrigerate until you are ready to cook. The salsa can also be made and chilled for 3-4 hours in advance

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Some of the items sitting on the supermarket shelves under the guise of Italian cooking sauces can tend to be rather removed from the authentic Italian gastronomic experience. Sacla consumers need have no suspicions as to the ‘Italianicity’ of their chosen sauces and pestos though, with the majority of Sacla products still originating from within Italy itself, and the firm still residing in the hands of the Ercole family who founded it over seven decades ago. The Italian sauces that Sacla deliver to their customers can form a critical component of any Italian food recipes, or they can simply be used as condiments to add a sublime layer of extra flavour – but in either circumstance, Sacla sauces are a simple, time-efficient way to get an authentic taste of Italy into any meal

Still made in Italy to this day, Sacla stir through sauces are a particularly flexible addition to any dish, going with anything from pasta to potatoes. Amongst the broad range of flavours are oven roasted tomato and rocket (made from fillets of tomato and year-old Parmigiano Reggiano cheese), and Italian red onion and gorgonzola (which uses the piccante type of the famous cheese to deliver its great flavour). Sacla’s pesto range is similarly eclectic in terms of the rich range flavours on offer, with each of the ten varieties working as a complement for pasta, meat, fish and vegetable dishes alike. Again all made in Italy, the likes fiery chilli pesto and fresh coriander pesto can unlock fresh layers of flavour from a meal, while a tip from the Sacla team is to try the placing their classic basil pesto it under chicken breast skin before roasting.

Antipasti is an important element of many Italian food recipes too; it makes for a great appetiser with which to whet the palette ahead of the main dish, or a tasty addition to the likes of pizza, cold meat or salads. Sacla antipasti flavours include artichoke and char-grilled peppers. There are suggestions at Sacla.co.uk as to what foods you might like to try their sauces and pestos with, as well as a comprehensive range of online recipes which are categorised by the amount of time you have available to cook, the foodstuffs you want to include in your dish, and even the occasion for which you might be cooking.

Sacla (an acronym of Societa Anonima Commercio Lavorazione Alimentari) originates from Asti, in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, and seventy years from its humble beginnings, it is still working to fulfil the original goal of founder Signor Secondo Ercole; to bring the flavour of Asti to those people all around the world who are passionate about authentic Italian food. Using only the best in fresh ingredients – supplied by Italian farmers with whom Sacla have nurtured close working relationships which stretch back for decades – Sacla always favour a traditional, organic approach to cuisine, with quality and sustainability being of paramount concern.

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Hot on the trail of Rhodes Across the Caribbean, Gary Rhodes hot-foots it to Italy on a mission to learn the secrets of Italian cooking from the very best. Taken out of his comfort zone, Gary must learn how to master the dishes of ten Italian regions, whilst viewers are treated to an Italian cookery course as Gary picks up tips from masters.

Gary and his Sous chefs Clare and Marc, handpicked to take part in the series due to their love of food and Italy, will travel the length and breadth of Italy – from Rome to Sicily from Tuscany to Venice, discovering the delicacies of ten regions.

Using the stories of the Italian contributors as the guide to find authentic dishes, Gary will learn to cook their recipes using the abundance of fresh vegetables, olive oil, seafood and of course pasta, at each stunning location and will discover the traditional roots of the classic Italian dishes we all know and love.

Rhodes Across Italy culminates with Gary and his two apprentices catering for a celebration banquet in Venice, using the knowledge and skills acquired on this trip of a lifetime. In attendance will be the many mentors Gary has met on his Italian journey, eager to see just how much he has learnt from them. Will Gary be able to master the necessary Italian culinary skills in time, or will the pressure be too much for him and his apprentice Sous chefs?

Gary Rhodes says: ‘Italy showed off to me its wonderful natural beauty, abundance of gourmet delights and proved to be one of the most memorable and fascinating culinary experiences that I can remember. I think I’ve fallen in love!’

The sumptuous dishes and breathtaking scenery, as well as the heart warming tales from those Gary meets on his way, will provide some much needed comfort food amongst all this wintery gloom. Have a Venetian Spritz, or a full-bodied Chianti, put the pasta on the boil and recreate your own Italian winter break with Rhodes Across Italy.

All the recipes from the show as well as recipe clips will be available on goodfoodchannel.co.uk

Rhodes Across Italy starts weeknights at 9pm from Wednesday 20th January on Good Food.

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