by Danica | Jun 25, 2021 | Featured, GloKitchen
Rejoice! The days are finally warmer and longer, which makes weekends more enjoyable, too! A light breeze playing with your hair, a twinkle of sunlight dancing on your nose, and the smell of green grass and flowers hanging in the air – yes, you have guessed correctly, it’s finally summer again (at least in some parts of the UK)! This means grabbing a blanket, packing up the picnic basket and taking friends and family in tow to trot off to the closest green space there is to find. To beat the hunger pangs on a long afternoon lazing about, these tasty cheesy bread parcels are the perfect picnic snack to bring along – easy to carry around, no cutlery necessary and best eaten cold! A combination of salty goodness from the “King of Cheeses”, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Parma ham, milky mozzarella, aromatic fresh basil, sweet sundried tomatoes and the sharpness of sweated onions make these little pizza pockets the King of your picnic basket. Hail to the Summer Season!
Ingredients:
For 8 Parcels
For the dough:
500g mixed, plain flours (white and wholemeal)
320ml tepid water
2 tbsps. dry yeast
1 tsp. sea salt
1 pinch sugar
For the filling:
8 slices Parma ham
1 mozzarella ball
100g Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1 mid-sized onion
8 pieces sundried tomatoes
A handful of fresh basil leaves
Olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Extra flour for dusting
What you’ll need:
Mixing bowl
Measuring jug
Kitchen scales
Fork
Rolling pin
Grater
Chopping board
Large Kitchen knife
Frying pan
Flat baking tray
Tablespoon
Teaspoon
Wooden spoon or spatula for stirring
Cling film
Non-stick baking paper
Method:
- For the dough, take a mixing bowl and combine the flours forming a little well in the middle of the bowl. Add dried yeast, sea salt and sugar.
- Slowly add tepid water into the well and start stirring more and more flour into the water using a large fork until the clumps are getting bigger and start combining into an even mixture.
- Wash your hands thoroughly, then cover them and the dough with extra flour and start to knead. It tends to be easier to knead on a hard, flat surface instead of the mixing bowl. For this, make first sure that the worktop is clean and dry before dusting it with flour.
- Knead the dough thoroughly for at least 5 minutes, slapping it, folding, pulling and pushing it from every angle until it feels elastic and smooth.
- Put the dough back in the bowl, sprinkle some flour on top and cover the mixing bowl with cling film. Allow the dough to prove for about 30 minutes in a warm environment.
- In the meantime, chop the onion into strips. Sauté the onion strips by slowly heating up a frying pan with olive oil and spreading them out evenly over the pan and letting them cook, on low heat, until they turn transparent. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to avoid browning.
- Grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano, cut up the mozzarella and sundried tomatoes.
- Dust the worktop with flour. Take your dough and knead it for a few minutes, then take half and roll it out to a large square, approx. 3mm thick. Then take a knife and separate the dough into four pieces.
- Drizzle olive oil on each square and rub it in the dough.
- Distribute all ingredients equally: One slice of Parma ham per square, 1-2 tomato pieces, 1-2 slices of mozzarella, a tablespoonful of sautéed onions, a handful of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and a few fresh basil leaves. Add black pepper to taste. As the ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano are fairly salty already, I would not recommend adding any extra salt for taste.
- Take one side of the dough square and wrap it over the filling. Use your fingertips or the back of a spoon or fork to press the dough edges together so the filling won’t fall out. Glaze the parcels with olive oil using a pastry brush.
- Repeat the process for the other half of the dough with the remainder of the ingredients to make 8 parcels altogether.
- Place the bread parcels on a flat baking tray with non-stick baking paper and put them in the hot oven (middle-rack) for approx. 25 minutes or until golden-brown at 180°C (fan).
- After about 15 minutes into the baking process, take the pastry brush and glaze the bread parcels with water. This will make a crustier crust.
- After the baking process, let them cool and pack them up for a nice picnic.
(Credit to: Castelli/Parmigiano for these beautiful recipes)
http://www.castelli-uk.com
by Emily Ramraz | Jun 17, 2021 | Featured, GloKitchen, Travel
Ah, Italy. Land of pizza, pasta, espresso and more. Such a wondrous country. And at the epicenter of it all, Rome. The Eternal City. What a glorious place to visit. It is indeed a magical land, transporting you back thousands of years no matter where you venture. I firmly believe that Rome is a place everyone should visit at least once in their lives.
With all the history on display, visitors flock to Rome in droves, which makes it a tourist mecca… which means much of it is also a tourist trap. And nowhere is that more apparent than at it’s thousands of eating establishments, which all seem specifically designed to draw in sightseers and out-of-towners with the promise of a delicious, classic, Italian meal, but rarely deliver. Which brings up an interesting problem. Where should one eat?
Romans love holding onto their classic culture – and history in general – more than other place I’ve ever visited. This is wonderful in regards to preserving culture, heritage, history, art… but tends to stymie progress in the food and coffee world. Let’s consider what the phrase “classic” means when it comes to a meal.
Many Roman restaurants claim recipes handed down from generation to generation. This may very well be true, and Grandma’s recipes might have included the best ingredients possible… when she was alive. Remember, there was once a time that food was, by default, natural, organic and whole, as opposed to pre-packaged, chemically processed, mass-produced, and littered with chemical pesticides, chemical additives and preservatives. Let’s assume that Grandma’s recipes really did hail from 200 years ago, as opposed to from the 1950s, when frozen, canned and microwave meals were standard in every kitchen, and it wasn’t yet known how bad these foods were for you. Going with a best case scenario, Grandma’s recipe might have called for tomatoes, which she grew in her garden, and chicken, which came from the family farm. This sounds great, but that easily could have evolved into a mass-produced, GMO, subpar-tasting, mealy tomato and a water-and-antibiotics-injected, washed-in-chlorine, mass-poultry-farm chicken. Technically, still the same ingredients, but eons away in terms of taste and health benefits.
Bottom line is that, in today’s world of artificial foods, toxins, chemicals, additives, carcinogens, hormones, medicines and a whole other plethora of unappetizing ingredients added to our foods, sourcing good quality ingredients is the first step to a good restaurant. Unfortunately, I find that unless you’re paying a Michelin Star-level premium for your meal while in Italy, many Roman restaurants – even if they are sticking to the spirit of generational recipes – serve subpar quality ingredients, resulting in a subpar outcome, no matter how talented Grandma was.
Add to that, an alarming lack of consistency, some truly cranky service and crazily expensive food, it’s as if the Roman restaurant industry realized that since Rome is like Disneyland – non-stop tourists and no down season – they are unlikely to have a lot of repeat customers, so there’s no reason to worry about winning anyone over long term. And while I get how frustrating it can be to kowtow to ungrateful interlopers regularly, I don’t care! When I eat out, I want good food, good service, and – of course – a good price!
That’s why I was so happy when I finally discovered the best place to eat in Rome, which I ended up visiting numerous times:
Mercato Centrale Roma
Thank goodness for you! Located in the Stazione Termini (Rome’s main train terminal), the market is home to a wide variety of high quality food vendors, a wine bar, a coffee shop and a restaurant. Fairly new, having opened in October 2016, the Mercato took over the Cappa Mazzoniana, a century-old hall built by architect Angiolo Mazzoni, initially intended for use as the station’s restaurant, which never happened (until now). The thing that sets the Mercato apart from the other eateries in Rome is that they went out and sourced the best of the best in terms of local chefs, so you don’t have to. They did the research and you reap the benefits.
Whatever you might be in the mood for exists at the Mercato. Meat? Pizza? Gelato? You name it, you got it. They’ve got a pretty good system down, too. Sit at a communal table and a server takes your drink order. Then choose from one of the many stalls and eat to your heart’s content. Start with a glass of wine and an antipasti of cured meats and cheeses, move on to a pasta, have fish for a main, finish with a ristretto and something sweet. Each from a different vendor, specializing in a specific thing.
On this last trip to Rome, I frequented the Mercato a handful of times. I was over the moon about finding some enjoyable espresso there (something, surprisingly, very hard to come by in Rome), but it was the truffle stall (Il Tartufo di Luciano Savini, aka Savini Tartufi) that won my heart. We tried two different truffle pastas there, and they were, without a doubt, the best pastas we ate in Rome.
My favorite was the Gricia al Tartufo Nero. It starts with a calamaretti, which is a short, wide pasta tube, visually reminiscent of calamari, that collapses when cooked, trapping the sauce within (!). It’s coupled with bacon, a drop of milk, extra virgin olive oil and Pecorino Romano cheese, and then finished with a generous heaping of freshly grated black truffles. The sauce perfectly melds with the fresh pasta, and each bite is a reminder of all that is good in this world. I’d never had a pasta so delightful, perfectly cooked to the desired al dente consistency. Their Tagliolino al Tartufo was excellent as well, using a tagliatelle pasta in an egg/Pecorino Romano/extra virgin olive oil sauce. Both pastas were in the €15-20 range. That may seem expensive, but – to put Roman food prices into perspective – we went to a busy, casual osteria not at the market and ordered their truffle pasta. It didn’t even come close in taste or quality to the Mercato’s truffle stall, and it cost a hefty €37, nearly double the price.
The next time we visited the Mercato, we had the Trapizzini, a triangular shaped pizza bianca (pizza dough) stuffed to the point of overflowing with traditional Roman fillings. They recommended as a first timer trying the braised beef (their #1 best-seller), but, not being in the mood for red meat, I opted for the pollo alla cacciatora. Wow. It was a winner. The chicken was juicy, flavorful and so well cooked that it fell apart easily. It was cooked in garlic and white wine, and mixed beautifully with the crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside pizza dough surrounding it. My only regret is being too full to try another one.
At the Mercato, you shouldn’t miss out on something sweet. I opted for a tiramisu from Cremilla. Even though they’re known for their gelato, I couldn’t resist the look of this fluffy, velvety, coffee-tinged dessert. Sure enough, it was smooth, subtle, creamy and exactly what eating a tiramisu in Italy should be like.
Paired with an espresso from La Caffeteria (one of the few espressos in Rome I didn’t have to cringe to ingest, nor add sugar to), my meal was complete.
All in all, come to the Mercato to enjoy the hustle and bustle around you, and take in the smells of all the fantastic foods. Have a sit down meal at Michelin-starred chef Oliver Glowig’s restaurant on the second floor, enjoy a casual plate of lovely pasta at one of the many booths on the ground floor, or go really chill and simply grab a beer and a slice of pizza to go. Indulge in fried foods or sweets, chocolate and cakes. You can even buy some fresh produce on your way home. The market really does have it all, and they do an excellent job executing.
I tried a plethora of items and was pleased with them all. Mercato Centrale definitely offers a great choice for a variety of typical Roman foods (and more) at a good price. And you can trust the sourcing, because the vendors come highly curated.
In other words, when in Rome, do as the World Eater does, and eat at the Mercato Centrale at Termini I. Buon appetito!
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/GloTIMETV_
Like & Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/glotimetv/
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/glotimetv/
by Danica | Jun 1, 2021 | Featured, GloKitchen
A day out in the countryside or in an inner-city park is best spent with plenty of yummy provisions, I find, such as muffins. To me, of course, they are usually of the sugary kind and coupled with a cup of milky coffee as a firm part of my afternoon routine, but muffins can be a real savoury treat, too!
These chewy, aromatic little cakes receive their wonderful aroma from nutmeg, the buttery crunch from roasted pine nuts and the strong, uncanny umami taste and saltiness from the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese – a true feast for the senses! As an extra treat for the eyes, garnish the Parmigiano-Reggiano and spinach muffins with a dollop of nutmeg-spiced cream cheese and a crispy Parmigiano-Reggiano round made from grated cheese. These muffins are the perfect finger food for filling up your picnic basket as well as making wonderful party nibbles and stunning brunch displays.
Ingredients:
For 10 muffins
For the batter:
280g mixed, plain flours (white and wholemeal)
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 large eggs
225ml milk
75ml vegetable oil (extra oil for greasing the muffin moulds)
60g Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
100g baby leaf spinach
50g pine nuts
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 pinch sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp. butter
For the decoration (optional):
280g cream cheese
10 tbsps. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
What you’ll need:
Mixing bowl
Whisk
Kitchen scales
Grater
Tablespoon
Teaspoon
Small bowl
Strainer or colander
Measuring jug
Frying pan
Chopping board
Kitchen knife
Wooden spoon or spatula for stirring
Muffin baking tray (with 12 moulds)
Flat baking tray with non-stick baking paper
A glass with a small diameter, e.g. a Champagne glass
Pastry brush
Method:
- Thoroughly wash the spinach leaves. Melt butter in a pan and add the spinach. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Cook the spinach for approx. 5 minutes. Let it cool off.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flours with baking powder. Add eggs, milk, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and vegetable oil. Season the batter with sea salt, black pepper, ground nutmeg and sugar. Stir well until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.
- In a dry frying pan, roast the pine nuts until they brown. Let them cool of briefly before adding them to the batter as well. Add the cooked spinach to the batter along with the chopped garlic. Use a tablespoon to fold in the spinach, garlic and pine nuts and stir until the mixture is uniform.
- Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (fan).
- Take a large muffin tray (12 moulds) or two small trays and use a pastry brush to grease the moulds with vegetable oil.
- Use a tablespoon to evenly divide the batter among the moulds. It should suffice for at least 10 muffins. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, middle rack, at 170°C.
- For the Parmigiano-Reggiano rounds (decoration) take a Champagne glass or similar (ø3cm), fill it with a tablespoonful of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and turn it over on a flat baking tray covered with non-stick baking paper. Repeat the process until you have produced then evenly round mounds of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Make sure that there is enough space between the cheese mounds so they won’t fuse together. Bake them in the oven for approx. 10 minutes, and then leave them to cool off.
- In the meantime, use a small bowl to mix the cream cheese with the ground nutmeg. Stir well. Once the muffins are done and have cooled off, decorate them with a heaped teaspoonful of nutmeg cream cheese whip each and top off with a Parmigiano-Reggiano round.
(Credit to: Castelli/Parmigiano for these beautiful recipes)
http://www.castelli-uk.com
