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The new Pizza Maker World Champion, winner of the 11th Caputo Trophy, disputed in Nola, is the 54 years old Marcello D'Erasmo, that runs the pizzeria 'Mamma Rosa' in Ortezzano (Fermo Province). ''I have been making pizza for 35 years - he said - and the prize for me it 's really a too great honor. I did not expect. I am a bit 'dazed, I thank Naples and the Neapolitan masters who taught me. Thanks to them, their technique, their advice, I do the most beautiful work in the world.'' (ANSA). 
La Primavera is Italian for the Spring and today’s pasta features 3 vegetables that are synonymous with Spring: asparagus, artichokes, and ramps. Although ramps are no longer in season here, my Friends to the North may still be able to find them. If not, feel free to substitute a few Spring onions, thinly sliced, reserving the green ends for garnish. There’s still plenty of asparagus available at the market and, as you may recall from last week, I’ve a nice stash of artichokes in the deep freeze. So, with these ingredients, this pasta will just about prepare itself. Now, as much as I enjoy a cream sauce, it would only mask rather than accent the delicate ramps. As a result, I prepared this pasta similar to Aglio e Olio, but with ramps used instead of garlic and with artichokes and asparagus added to the mix. As such, the dish is certainly simple enough to prepare but its success lies in the timing. Remember it is better to have the sauce ready and waiting for the pasta than the reverse. No one likes mushy pasta... 
It seems like the artichoke was designed for stuffing. That huge cavity in the middle surrounded by all those layered leaves make it a perfect receptacle for all sort of savories. No wonder there are almost endless variety of stuffed artichoke recipes.
For the stuffing:
For the baking:
I am not a big fan of Tiramisu in the States, it can be a boozy, mushy mess and nothing I would ever want to order. So when I was given a heaping plate for dessert at a friends house when we first arrived, I was a little nervous about how I was going to finish it all to be polite- well it didn't seem to be a problem at all because it was lick-your-plate amazing! So what's the difference in the dish served at restaurants State-side vs. that of Italy? First off the eggs - this recipe calls for fresh egg yolks not whipped cream or imitation eggs making it much richer and secondly it's all in the lady-fingers! When Jason first asked for a lady-finger recipe to make this dish, our friend Daniella balked - "No, why would you do that? You buy Pavesini." And she was right! They perfectly hold up after being soaked in coffee & layered with cream. Tiramisu literally translates to "pick me up" and it sure does with all the coffee, eggs & sugar. Tiramisu - Serves 8 (use a 9x6 dish)
The writer Paolo Volponi used to say that the wines of the Marche region were similar to the local people: changing from valley to valley, with their own distinct characteristics. 
Liscaro has more aliases than an escaped convict - in our neck of the woods it is called liscaro, but travel outside our valley and it goes by agretto, lischi, liscaro, roscano, baciccio, barba del negus, barba dei frati, senape dei monaci. Just another example of how regional & local the cooking (& language) is in Italy! If you like spinach then you will love liscaro (or whatever you prefer to call it) - the flavor is a bit more subtle than spinach & not as irony. Even though it looks like blades of grass, I assure it tastes nothing like it (and yes, I've eaten grass!) Sauteed liscaro makes a delicious healthy side-dish, filling for an omelet or fritatta, tossed into salad - basically anywhere you'd add a leafy green veg, you can add liscaro - but nothing is better than simply sauteed with olive oil & garlic! Sauteed Liscaro serves 4
To write Cooking with Italian Grandmothers, Jessica Theroux has spent a year traveling around Italy, cooking with Italian women that were recommended to her as she traveled the country. The book nourishes the soul as she shares recipes and wisdom from a disappearing generation of women whose cooking is steeped in simple traditions based on an appreciation of and connection to their land and its rhythms. When she had arrived in Senigallia in Le Marche, at the home of a woman named Usha and her husband Vincenzo, she was introduced to the Plum-Almond Tart to the Lasagne with Truffles and Prosciutto. Vincenzo’s Broccoli and Pine Nut Pasta, which had an interesting twist on using broccoli in the sauce – you mash it with a fork! It is a delightfully healthy dish that is simple to make and quite yummy. Vincenzo’s Broccoli and Pine Nut Pasta Ingredients:
Gnocchi are small Italian dumplings usually made from potato, flour (traditionally buckwheat flour) and egg and shaped into small ovals. Home-made gnocchi are truly delicious and much easier to prepare than you might imagine. Ingredients for 4 people
For more than a thousand years, Italian hands have mixed and molded these few simple ingredients into this primary staple of their cuisine. 
FiberPasta is a dietetic pasta having the same pleasant taste as traditional Italian pasta, despite containing 15% of fibre, that means more than twice the amount of fibre of dark whole-wheat pasta. FiberPasta is made with 98% durum wheat and the addition of 2% inulin (prebiotic soluble fibre).
If by any chance you happen to stumble in this beautiful region give yourself a treat!...located out in the wild countryside the owners have gone out of the way to offer a truely unique dining experience. With authethic and wholesome products cultivated with love and passion the true essense of love for food is complemented by the musical background of our favorite groups from days gone by (Neil Young, Stones and Dylan...the night we were there) Tripadvisor Review 
Reduce grape must by two thirds by boiling it for 10/12 hours and enjoy the result with aged cheeses! 
URBINO, Italy – An elderly yet energetic woman backs through the curtain of wooden beads separating Macelleria Ubaldi, a butcher shop, from the sunny afternoon bustle of Via Raffaello near the center of town, still immersed in a loud and lively conversation with someone outside. Ending that exchange with a sharp laugh, she issues a quick buona sera while moving into an equally dynamic conversation with the young man behind the counter. For nearly a decade the Ubaldi family – Davide, with his parents and younger sister – has operated the only family-owned butcher shop inside Urbino’s city walls, the Macelleria Ubaldi. Standing behind the counter, Davide slices meats and making sausages to order with customers who are considered part of the family. |
Fried olives have originated in the Le Marche region of eastern Italy. There, they take pancetta, ground meats, cheese, herbs and spices and stuff large green olives, breading them and then deep-frying them to a golden crisp. Olive all’Ascolana is the name of the dish. I felt a slightly North African take on this tradition would be delicious. I stuffed them with a spicy, harissa cream cheese before rolling them in breadcrumbs laced with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. A bit of tang from the cream cheese, some fiery heat from harissa, a touch of sweetness from honey — the briny olives become even more complex and with a deeply satisfying, deep-fried crunch. If you have never tried fried olives, now is your chance. They are incredibly easy to make and work for everything from a movie night to an elegant hors d’oeuvres for a dinner party. Enjoy! Aliya LeeKong is Culinary Creative Director and Chef at Junoon in NYC. Servings:6 Ingredients
Up past the port town of Ancona is another treasure of a town, Senigallia. Along the waterfront you can find one of the best restaurant of le Marche, called "Al Cuoco di Bordo". There the verbal menu changes daily and always includes some interesting crudo, spectacular pastas like black spaghetti alla chitarra with squash blossoms and tiny shrimp, or a surprising orecchiette with clams and sea beans, or a great salt crusted bass. This restaurant has been prized with the "Premio Vincenzo Perini 2011" for the "Best Brodetto of Le Marche" (a rich traditional fish stew). 
A very small, intimate restaurant in the village of Bargni, you really do need to book . Catia & Virginio who own this restaurant used to run the quite exceptional Villa Federici... So they set about converting a part of their own house into this lovely restaurant. Everything is produced on the premises and you can see your meal being cooked in front of you . The food is very special--in keeping with the atmosphere of the restaurant. We went there 3 times when we were there last week and enjoyed some of the most lovely food we have had in Italy.The welcome is so genuine and sitting outside the views are wonderful... (tripadvisor review) 
Italian food history is shaped by the complex historical events of our country. Formaggio di Fossa and Ciauscolo are part of Italy food culture and have an interesting origin. The farmers started to bury the cheese in underground cellars (fosse) to preserve it from the insatiable hunger of the many passing armies and bandits. Apparently the name comes from the latin term “cibusculum”, little food, because it is used in small pieces and spread on bread as a snack. 
The following are recipes from La Cucina Picena, by Beatrice Muzi and Allan Evans , the school's directors of the Scuola Italiana del Greenwich Village. At the time of its publication, traditional culinary practices were endangered by societal changes: the book was an attempt to codify these recipes before their disappearnce. Luckily, the Slow Food movement and proliferation of Agrotourism helped revive interest in country cooking, giving it an extra breath of life, which one hopes will continue. An English edition is planned, which will include recipes of the aristocrats. (thanks to http://soleinfaccia.blogspot.it) 
If you are looking for an elegant method of serving small, young, spring zucchini go no further. Fettuccine with Zucchini in a Saffron Cream Sauce is both flavorful and stylish and is sure to please. The delicate flavors of saffron and zucchini are perfectly suited to each other. Saffron, as you may know, is one of the world’s most expensive spices. Originally cultivated in Iran, saffron was prized by the Romans and made its way throughout Italy. Today, fields of the beautiful purple flower, a form of crocus, can be found growing in Abruzzo, Le Marche, and Sardinia. Always look for threads of saffron rather than powdered, which can be adulterated and often has quality control issues. Long used as a part of traditional healing methods as well as the dyeing of cloths, saffron is widely used in cooking. Its aroma is often considered sweet and grassy, and fortunately for everyone’s purse, a little goes a long way to create a beautiful and flavorful dish. Serves 4 people Ingredients
Vittorio Beltrami is a cheese extremist, a philosopher, an Italian Einstein (with matching hairstyle), and a village madman. He confronts everybody around him with his “I am more Slow Food than Slow Food” philosophy, whether they will listen to him or not. “Too much technology! Everything should be made by manually! Goats are as smart as people! Nobody makes cheese like I do anymore! Slow Food has turned into a company!” The tirade starts passionately and angrily, but for the patient ones who continue to listen to him, it ends with hope and friendliness. And, if you’re a woman, with a kiss on the hand. Because I didn’t know what to do with six weeks of summer holiday, I spent two weeks working for this character. I heard the monologue above many times, directed at many different victims: customers in the cheese shop, tourists, his employees, or just random passers-by. I noticed that most of them actually listened to him and respected his authority on these matters. Maybe because his small, round goat cheese (Caprino) and cave-aged sheep cheese (Pecorino di Fossa) are actually really impressive, or maybe because of his olive oil, which can sometimes be found in the top ten of Italy. Maybe this was not a bad place for a summer job after all… Full article - Beltrami internet site 
Torrone Bedetti in a tempting confectionery, offers unforgettable tastes and fragrances of past times. A tradition handed down from father to son for three generations. Genuine and carefully chosen ingredients, handmade production, an untiring search for quality as well as a sheer taste for things that are simple but delicious. Bedetti produces attractive products, thanks to the greatest care for elegant and handmade wrappings, and to the search for original and refined gift ideas. 
The Azienda Agraria Angeli in le Marche boasts a varied production of natural foods growing at an altitude of about 900 m above sea level between the towns of Pieve Torina, Fiordimonte and Montecavallo. 
By Kenneth Foo In the rolling farmlands of the Marche region, amid cattle grazing on steep hills and farmers working their crops, sits the factory of the Pascucci company. 
One of most popular courses thechefsroom.co.uk organizes is Franco's Le Marche courses when he recreates some of his signature dishes that he was so well known for at the Walnut Tree Inn. Dishes from his homeland, Le Marche.
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