Diva Eats Italia

Whenever I travel, I always load up on food magazines, from whatever country I’m in. The recipe I posted here, came from a magazine I bought in Italy. This particular issue focused on baked pasta dishes. It mentioned that, “pasta e patate il forno,” was a popular recipe from the region of Calabria. When I decided to focus on this region on Diva Eats Italia, I thought of this dish right away.
Some of the things the region of Calabria are know for are, red onions, sausages, and peppers.
This recipe incorporates all of these ingredients into one dish. It has, caramelized red onions, sauteed red peppers, fennel sausage, sopperssata, also potatoes and tomatoes. The pasta is baked with gooey, creamy, cheese running through it. It’s one of those dishes, that’s great when you have to feed a crowd. I’m glad I found this magazine issue with this great recipe. It’s one that I’ll make over and over again.
I’ll be heading back to Italy and then on to Greece in a few weeks. I think I’ll bring an extra suitcase for the new food magazines I’m going to cart home.

Gustatela!
D I V A
continuare per la ricetta (recipe)>>

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In Calabria, peppers are used in many dishes. Not only the hot peppers, which are dried (peperoncini), but sweet red bell peppers (pepe rosso). The Calabrian peppers are slightly different then the varietal we get here in the states. They’re long, vibrant red and have a sweeter, yet milder taste.
Even though we can’t get, or at least it’s very hard to get, Calabrian sweet peppers, “peperoni ammollicali” is a dish that will taste good regardless. Just a little FYI..peperoni in Italian means peppers, not the American made sausage, that we put on pizza. (that’s not even Italian)
This dish is simply, softened peppers, capers, pecorino and homemade breadcrumbs. Using homemade breadcrumbs is crucial to the dish. Store bought, fine crumbs, will make the dish mushy. Homemade, can stand up better to the moisture of the peppers.
The best part about this recipe, besides being colorful & delicious, it can be eaten in many ways.
I’ve used this recipe, as a topping for bruschetta. What’s ever left over, I put in sandwiches with slices of fresh mozzarella. I’ve even used it in pasta. It’s all good!
If you decided to try this easy dish, remember to make a little extra to enjoy the next day.
Gustatela!
D I V A
continuare per la ricetta>> (recipe)

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Check this out over at http://www.divaeatsworld.com/?page_id=1160

My friend Barbara, was telling me, of a recipe that a colleague of hers makes every Christmas. I’m going to call it stuffed bread, for a lack of a better word. She sautes escarole, anchovy, garlic and green olives, which she then wraps dough around, to make a long loaf. As she was telling me, my memory flood gates opened.

I have an Aunt, that was one of those people, where cooking and baking came naturally. Everything she made was delicious, but I had my favorites. While my friend was talking, I remembered that my Aunt Lee, made a similar bread using broccoli rabe and black olives; I loved this….how could I have forgotten!! From the second I remembered, I wanted to make the bread.

I sauteed broccoli rabe with garlic and anchovy, then added the black olives. I rolled out pizza dough in a pan, put the cooled filing on one side of the dough, folded it over and then baked it. It’s that easy. When I took the first bite, the taste was so familiar that it made me smile.
I’m so happy Barbara, woke up my memory. It gave me a little piece of my past, with a person I loved.
Gustatela!
D I V A
continuare per la ricetta>> (recipe)

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Calabria is one of those regions of Italy, that’s not a popular tourist destination. I don’t know why this is true, because it has fabulous beaches; Tropea being one. We know a few people from Calabria, and they rave about its beauty and of course the food. They have Calabrian pride.

Like the regions of Campania and Sicily, Calabria had many people migrate to the States, bringing along recipes that we quickly adapted. Calabrians love their pasta. To them it’s the king of food….(my kind of place.) Each city in this region, has its own pasta specialty; many being tomato based, since they are grown right in their own gardens. There are two popular veggies of this region; eggplant, and onions. As for the eggplant, it’s used in everything, even desserts paired with chocolate. The onions are also frequently used, as a side dish, simply prepared.

Another thing Calabria is know for, is its peppers. Their cuisine is considered “spicy food,” due to the hot peppers that are grown there. Peppers are strung and dried in every house hold, and made into red pepper flakes or peperoncino.

This month I’m going to focus on cuisine from the region of Calabria. I’ll be making dishes that use the popular foods that Calabria is know for. I’ll be making a dish for each course. Appetizer (antipasto), first course (primo piatto), main course (secondo piatto), and dessert (dolce). Hope you follow along.

Gustatela!
D I V A

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There’s a new food trend going on in NYC….pizza fritta, which simply means fried pizza in Italian. There are pizzerias popping up all over the city making this their specialty. All I have to say is, “It’s about time!” Pizza fritta is nothing new in Italy; it can be found just about everywhere.
The first time I saw pizza fritta was in the city of Naples. There were actually two ways I’ve seen it made. First, the dough is fried and then topped and the other is, making a pizza with a top crust and then fried. Either way, it’s fried, so it has to be good!
Here in New York, there are two popular pizzerias that specialize in pizza fritta, Forcella and Montanara . Their take on fried pizza is slightly different, than the way it’s made in Naples.
The dough is fried, topped, and then baked in the oven. It looks like a regular pizza except, when the dough is fried, it puffs up and little air pockets form, making the crust super crispy but light. I can’t tell you how delicious this is!
I suggest you try making pizza fritta at home, it’s easy and I know you’ll love it. Make sure you keep some dough aside for dessert. Fry little disks of dough and then sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. YUM!
Gustatela!
D I V A
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