JamieOliver.com

If you're a fan of brownies - then this one is for you, big boys & girls! A rich chocolatey Nutella walnut cake that is ridiculously simple to make. (All it's missing is a scoop of vanilla gelato or a handful of fresh strawberries on the side.)

Torta con Nutella e Nocci
Chocolate Nutella & Walnut Cake
4 eggs
125 g sugar
125 g chopped walnuts
75 g Nutella
75 g dark chocolate
125 g butter
75 g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Beat the eggs with the sugar. 
Melt the butter, chocolate & nutella together.
Combine the chocolate mixture with the eggs & stir in the dry ingredients.
Butter & flour a spring form pan.  Add mixture to pan.
Cook at 350 F / 185 C  for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Join Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day on May 19th at La Tavola Marche (www.latavolamarche.com) for a very special farm to fork cooking class in Italy.  The focus of this class will be the importance of eating seasonally, with food sourced locally as well as how to start a garden at home.

So what is the Food Revolution?
It is the brain child of Jamie Oliver and his idea that together we can make a difference: a chance for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers' markets. We want to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone.

Food Revolution Day Cooking Class in Italy: Farm to Fork
In support of the food revolution - Meet in the kitchen of our 300 year-old stone farmhouse La Tavola Marche, tie on your handmade apron (our gift to you) and head into the garden to collect the ingredients for your cooking class with a stop at the chicken coop to pick up fresh eggs! These are hands-on, roll up your sleeves, dive-right on in classes. All the recipes will be in-season & local emphasizing the importance of eating this way. We will discuss how to start a small at-home garden and ways to support local farmers in your area as well. With baskets full of produce we will return to the kitchen to prepare our meal together including antipasti, first course, second course, side-dish & dessert - a five course meal in under 4 hours! The menu will be based entirely by what's in-season & sourced locally (in our garden).

What if you can't make it to Italy?
Visit the Food Revolution Day site & see where an event is taking place near you or better yet - host your own and take a stand for real food.
www.foodrevolutionday.com

Passatelli is a rustic Italian pasta meets German spatzle, noodle/dumpling made of breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, eggs, nutmeg & lemon zest. Found on dinner tables across Le Marche & Emilia Romagna, passatelli is best served in chicken broth but can also be dressed with sauce. (Some recipes call for no flour, others just a handful - this is a hotly debated topic even within Le Marche.)
I love pasta, I love bread, I love cheese and I love passatelli!

It may not look pretty but it is surprisingly light with a nice bite, and a lovely nutty flavor from the parmesan & nutmeg.


Passatelli in Broth
Passatelli in brodo 

6 eggs
250 g parmesan
250 g breadcrumbs
50 g type 00 flour
nutmeg
lemon zest
2.5 liters broth
This recipe does require a passatelli press or potato ricer to push the dough through, making thin snakes of passatelli.

Beat the eggs in a bowl.
In a separate bowl add all the dry ingredients including the nutmeg & lemon zest. Make a well in the center of the breadcrumb mixture bowl, pour in the beaten eggs and mix together to form a dough.

Turn it out onto a board & knead it 10 times. If it's still tacky dust it with a little flour. Then wrap it up in plastic & let rest for at least an hour.

After that push the dough through the passatelli press directly into simmering broth.
(Note: If you are making this to serve with sauce, allow it dry on the board for a few minutes.)

Allow to cook for a couple minutes in the simmering broth. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan over top.

Put down that caramel-colored watery condiment known as balsamic vinegar of Modena & try the real deal! (And trust me whatever you're using, no matter what you spent, 'aint this!)

Traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena D.O.P.  is like nothing you've ever tasted, a thick sweet syrup that must be aged for at least 12 years before it can be bottled, it's almost a pity to call it vinegar. With the first taste on your tongue, there comes an epiphany of what balsamic should taste like- an explosion of complex woody flavors (cherry, juniper) low in acidity and surprisingly fruity. Which then begs the question... what have I been eating for all these years?? Unlike ordinary vinegar which has its origins as a by-product of an alcoholic liquid, balsamic vinegar is produced directly from concentrated grape juice.

Jason & I recently returned after six years to visit Acetaia di Giorgio in Modena, a large manor house that has been the home for vinegar makers & their barrels for hundreds of years. In 2006 it was a very special stop on our honeymoon that left a lasting impression, not only for their inspirational family-run artisan operation, warm-hearted hospitality but also the lingering flavor of the most amazing balsamic either one of us had ever tasted.
We were welcomed like old family-friends by the proud wife of Giorgio, Giovanna for a tasting of balsamic vinegar in their attic. Our noses twitched as we climbed the stairs, the sweet smell of balsamic awaking our senses immediately. Warming the balsamic in the bottle with her hands, Giovanna lovingly explains to us the details of making traditional balsamic vinegar & how in a family of artisan vinegar makers, this is life as usual. Life like only 59 others know it. (There is a grand total of 60 certified DOP artisans of traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena!)
She passionately explains how the two types of grapes used; white trebbiano and red lambrusco are crushed and their  liquid or 'must' is boiled, reducing it by 50%. Then the liquid is placed in a series of barrels made of different types of wood (juniper, cherry, oak, ash) and continues to concentrate in the attic of their home for years to come.  Giorgio begins with about 150 liters of grape must that will be slowly reduced & concentrated to not even 3 liters over the next 12 years.

To be DOP certified a ‘expert taste tester’ will make a house call to sample your product, but only after  it has matured for 12 years and 25 years for the extra-vecchio , literally the extra-old. These expert tasters will guarantee the quality of the product by allowing the vinegar maker to use the distinctive 100ml bottle designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro to bottle their traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena. This unique bottle is literally the “Seal of Quality” that it has been produced in accordance to the rules, regulations & traditional procedures of the official Consortium. Only balsamic vinegar bottled in these bottles is considered the real-deal, acteo balsamico tradizionale di Modena D.O.P. - nothing else. The impostors arrive lining the shelves in many other fancy bottles too, but don’t be fooled! There is only one.

For the tasting, Giovanna pours droplets of thick black syrup into teaspoons.  As the first spoonful coats your tongue and you begin to swallow, breathing in all the complexities, you know you are in for a treat! Giorgio & Giovanna produce 8 different varieties of balsamic vinegars, some are finished in cherry wood & perfect with salads, fruits or light cheeses or others finished in juniper wood lend themselves better to lamb, game, meat. But before we taste the extra vecchio (which could be served as a digestivo, it’s just that good!) we must cleanse our palate & eat it with chunks of parmesano regiano. Ah yes, they compliment each other perfectly just like the sister-cities they are.

Giorgio pops in here & there, first to graciously welcome us & then to sneak a peak of our reaction to his hard work. They work well together, reminding me of Jason & I - the bubbly “public relations manager” & the earnest ego-free artisan. But there is nothing Giorgio & Giovanna are more proud of than their daughter Carlotta. In the family tradition of balsamic vinegar makers, they started a series of barrels for her when she was born of her very own vinegar! On this return trip to Modena we were able to sample Carlotta’s namesake a 25 year (extra vecchio) balsamic, it’s wasn’t ready six years ago, so we were eager to try their newest & most prized balsamico.

For Giorgio & Giovanna the future of all their balsamic lies in very capable hands of their daughter, ensuring the family business will continue. Giovanna, the unfaltering Italian mother she is,  confides with a smile- “Carlotta will need to find a husband though, a man is necessary in this work. At the very least to move the barrels!”


Now on the complete other end of the spectrum from family-run to commercial, the vinegar needless to say varies in quality. Big business has stolen the name ‘balsamic vinegar of Modena’ giving it little merit in it’s mass production of what is now thought of as a salad condiment & not much more. Read the labels of these commercially produced vinegars, many are made with harsh wine vinegar sweetened with sugar and filled with caramel coloring, preservatives & extracts, not to mention made in just a few hours (not years).

I would say most Italian use a red or white wine vinegar for dressing salads. The traditional balsamic vinegar is meant to ‘finish’ a dish and should never touch the heat of a pan! I would recommend a few drops on-top of steak (with arugula & shaved parmesan it’s out of this world), grilled radicchio, frittata, risotto, on a hunk of parm. or for dessert on fruit or ice cream.

To us, this (this traditional balsamic vinegar & the families producing it) is not only the true meaning of slow food but the core of what we love about Italians and honestly party of why we moved here. It’s the deep rooted family traditions, un-wavering passion for perfection and true artisans (whether it be food, linens, farming, crafts) that draw us to this country & these people, there is something about it that make you want to be part of it. Take for example something as simple as ‘vinegar‘ and how it can be transformed into an exquisite culinary delight with the love & painstaking attention to detail. I will forever associate the flavor of balsamic with Giovanna’s big smile & the smell of their attic surrounded by age-old barrels.  There is something about it where it transcends just food...each bottle is alive, rich & flavorful,  each spoonful celebrating the traditions of Giorgio & Giovanna’s family and a dying breed of Italian artisans.

Listen to our interview with Giovanna on iTunes - Podcast from Italy: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/podc … d376386901

To arrange a tasting or to order their traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena here are the details (and yes, they ship around the world!):

Acetaia di Giorgio
Giorgio & Giovanna
Via Sandro Cabassi, 67 41123 Modena
http://www.acetaiadigiorgio.it
Telefono / fax 059.333015
Mobile 338.6575552
Email: info[at]acetaiadigiorgio[dot]it

To read this post with more photos check out our blog: http://latavolamarche.blogspot.it/2012/ … negar.html

Nutrient-rich farro is an ancient grain with a nutty flavor & firm-chewy texture, making it wonderful to cook with in soups, salads & breads.  The Romans ate farro to give them strength as they marched across the Western World & would arrive with a full belly & battle-ready thanks to this hearty grain! This recipe for Farro & Leek Soup can be built upon based on what's in-season, in the Spring add peas & asparagus for bright flavor or in the Fall try walnuts & porcini creating a rich meaty flavored stew.

You should be able to find farro at most Italian specialty shops or health food stores. We are lucky to find locally grown farro right here in Le Marche, Italy!

farro & leek spring soup
Farro and Leek Soup
Minestra di Farro e Porri

(Depending on the time of year, you can add in asparagus & peas in the spring or mushrooms & walnuts in the fall if you like.)

Serves 4

2-3 glugs or tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, white parts only, sliced finely
1 cup or 150 gr farro
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 liter meat stock (vegetable or chicken stock is OK, however meat stock adds richer flavor) **Please do not use bullion cubes for this! There are only a few ingredients & they should be of the highest quality possible.
herbs of your choice - I use 1 sprig of thyme & a bay leaf
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
salt & pepper


In a heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil on med/low heat. Add in the vegetables and sweat until translucent and soft WITHOUT browning. If the vegetables stick to the pan, lower the heat & add a spoonful of water. 
Then toss in the farro, toasting with the vegetables for 1-2 minutes. Add in the herbs & stock. Season with salt & pepper.
Then Bring up to a low simmer and continue to simmer for 30-40 minutes until the farro is tender.
You can control the consistency of the soup: to make it more 'stewy'  hold back a little stock, and the contrary if you like it 'soupy,' add a bit more stock.
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and serve with toasty bread.

(More recipes: http://www.latavolamarcherecipebox.blogspot.com )