Recipes

How to make the tastiest Italian dishes with our olive oil

 

Lemon & chili pepper

Lemon pasta with chili pepper oil

Jadis from The Lemon Kitchen created a brilliant recipe using our chili pepper oil for an extra kick.

Ingredients for (4 people):

• 400g cassarecce or another pasta type
• 4 tbsp chili pepper oil
• 1/2 organic lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 100 g pine nuts
• Fresh parsley
• 1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced into rings
• 1 tsp salt

How to make it:

1. Cook the pasta al dente in salted water.
2. Toast the pine nuts until golden brown and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic, parsley, and red pepper for a few minutes over medium-high heat.
4. When the pasta is al dente, mix it into the pan with the sautéed garlic, red pepper, and parsley. Zest the lemon and squeeze half of it over the pasta.
5. Divide the pasta among the plates and sprinkle the pine nuts over the top. Drizzle with extra red chili olive oil to taste. Finally, sprinkle the lemon zest over the plates.
6. Enjoy your meal.

Buon Appetito.

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In this recipe, flavors are juggled together. The saltiness of the anchovies and sardines is enhanced by the sweet flavor of raisins and fennel seed.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 300 gr. spaghetti
• 400 gr. – fresh sardines
• 80 gr. fennel
• 30 gr. raisins
• pine nuts
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 1 onion
• Garlic olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon

 

How to make it:
1. Soak the raisins for 15 min. in warm water. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan.
2. Wash the fennel and boil it for 10 min. in plenty of boiling water. Drain the fennel and finely chop it.
3. Drain the raisins and put them in a pan with olive oil, season with a little salt and pepper. Add the sardines with their liquid and the anchovy fillets in pieces. Then cover the pan and turn off the heat.
4. Cook the pasta al dente and add salt. Drain and mix the pasta into the pan with the sauce and sardines.
5. Finally, sprinkle the pine nuts over the pasta and drizzle the whole dish with a bit of lemon juice and garlic oil.

 

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Risotto funghi porcini

Risotto with wild mushrooms and roasted cherry tomato

Super tasty, vegetarian, and this recipe basically always works. You make it, of course, with our premium extra virgin olive oil, riso Acquerello and oak-aged balsamic vinegar from Modena. Good ingredients are half the job.

Riso Acquerello is one of the best and most well-known rice producers in Italy. According to star chefs, it’s the Ferrari of risotto rice. After harvest, the carnaroli rice undergoes a year of aging in special cooling silos. As a result, this rice loses very little starch during preparation and absorbs a lot of moisture. The grains don’t stick together, but ‘ballano in bocca’: they dance in the mouth. Due to the high absorption capacity, the grains grow significantly in size and all the flavor ends up inside the grain instead of outside it. That’s exactly what you want.

Before you start, a quick side note about risotto. Don’t stir it with a fork in the pan. That damages the grain (and the pan too, of course). Make broth in a small pot, put the rice in water, maybe stir briefly with a wooden spoon, and then leave it alone. Definitely don’t stir when the rice isn’t covered with broth. Mamma mia, it’s not fried rice.

And yes, a nice bottle of white wine belongs too. Risotto should swim a little.

Ingredients for (2 people):

• 250 gr Acquerello (100% Carnaroli rice)
• 300 gr mushrooms
• 1 shallot
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 liter water
• 2 mushroom bouillon cubes
• Fresh parsley
• Parmigiano Reggiano 24M
• Cherry tomatoes
• Pepper mill
• About 1.5 dl white wine
• Splash of balsamic vinegar

How to make it:

1. Set the oven to 180gr and put the tomatoes on the vine with oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, pepper and salt in the oven for an hour, and pour yourself a glass of wine.
2. Put about 1 liter of water on the stove with 1.5-2 bouillon cubes. You might have some broth left over.
3. Take a wide sauté pan or soup pot with a generous layer of olive oil. Heat the oil, chop the shallot and add it with the pressed or sliced garlic. Let it sauté, but not brown. Add the packet of rice and let it sauté briefly too. Deglaze with a bit of white wine. Not too much, since you’ll drink the rest with the dish.
4. Once the wine has been absorbed, you can add broth.
5. Stir the risotto occasionally with a wooden spoon and add more broth once it’s absorbed. It’s best to add broth and only then stir. This way you damage the grains less. It can be al dente but shouldn’t have a hard core anymore.
6. Meanwhile, finely grate the Parmesan cheese.
7. Cut the mushrooms into strips and fry them over high heat with a pinch of salt and plenty of pepper.
8. Put the risotto on a deep plate, place a string of roasted tomatoes next to it, and the mushrooms over the risotto. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

Buon Appetito.

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Skin-fried sea bass

Sea bass is a beloved fish in Italy. The silver skin of sea bass is so tasty that it’s a shame to remove it. This recipe is simple but stunningly delicious.

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A recipe from Genoa

Trenette al Pesto

Toscanini is perhaps the best-known Italian restaurant in the Netherlands, and this recipe from them is really worth trying. Hence this recipe for a Trenette al Pesto. Trenette is a type of pasta similar to Tagliatelle or Linguine.

Ingredients (4 people)

For the pesto

• 3 bunches fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 clove garlic
• 100 grams pine nuts
• 150 ml oLivery olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated

For the pasta

• 350 grams trenette or other pasta
• 1 tray haricots verts, blanched
• 250 grams roseval potatoes

How to make it.

1. First make the pesto. Put the basil leaves with the sea salt, garlic, and pine nuts in the food processor and blend until it becomes a coarse paste. Then pour in the olive oil and finally add the cheese.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Cook them 10 minutes in plenty of boiling water until tender. Cook the pasta in salted water together with the haricots verts until al dente.
3. Drain the pasta and haricots verts. Add the pesto and cooked potatoes. Stir well and done.

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Our ultimate autumn recipe 🎃

Creamy pumpkin risotto with roasted hazelnuts

In autumn you find them in all shapes and sizes: pumpkins. For this recipe we used the orange Hokkaido pumpkin, which has a nice sweet flavor. But you can of course also use the old-fashioned butternut squash.

Ingredients:

• 2 small Hokkaido pumpkins
• 500 g arborio risotto rice
• 75 g raw hazelnuts
• 125 g mascarpone
• 125 g Parmesan cheese
• 2 finely chopped shallots
• 5 cloves garlic
• Fresh rosemary
• 2 tbsp chili flakes
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp oLivery olive oil
• Baking paper

How to make it.

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Cut the pumpkins in half, scoop out the seeds and strings, and cut into cubes of about 2 cm. Tip: warm the pumpkins in the oven for 5 minutes first, then you can cut them more easily.
2. Spread the pumpkin cubes on a baking sheet with baking paper. Also add the peeled garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, rosemary, and chili flakes.
3. Sauté the chopped shallots and add the risotto rice. Cook until the grains are translucent, then pour in the wine.
4. Let the risotto absorb the wine while it simmers gently. Then add the broth little by little until all the broth is absorbed.
5. Grate the Parmesan cheese and mix half into the risotto.
6. Meanwhile, toast the hazelnuts in a saucepan with a bit of olive oil and some chili flakes.
7. After 20-25 minutes, remove the roasted pumpkin and garlic from the oven. Remove the skins from the garlic so you’re left with just the soft, roasted center. Mix this with half the pumpkin and the mascarpone and fold into the risotto.
8. Put the risotto on a plate and garnish with the other half of the roasted pumpkin cubes, sprigs of rosemary, Parmesan cheese, and the roasted hazelnuts.

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A variation on classic pasta pesto

Spaghetti with walnut-sage pesto and zucchini

Do you also love pasta pesto but sometimes want a bit of variety? Then try this spaghetti with pesto made from walnut and sage. The fresh flavor of lemon and zucchini rounds it off perfectly.

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 100 g walnuts
• 1 lemon
• 100 g Parmesan cheese
• approx. 20 fresh sage leaves
• 6 tbsp oLivery olive oil
• 1 zucchini
• 500 grams spaghetti

How to make it.

1. Cook the spaghetti in water with plenty of salt and fry the zucchini in a splash of olive oil.
2. Meanwhile, make the pesto. Crush the walnuts finely in a mortar. Then add the sage leaves along with 6 tablespoons of olive oil and the pressed garlic. Grind in the mortar to a smooth paste.
3. Grate the lemon zest and Parmesan cheese and add to taste to the pesto.
4. Drain the spaghetti, place on a plate, and add the pesto. Garnish with the fried zucchini, some sage leaves, grated Parmesan cheese, and pieces of walnut.

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Baking with olive oil

Orange-olive oil cake with thyme and blueberry

We love baking with olive oil. Using extra virgin olive oil instead of butter makes the cake wonderfully moist. This orange-olive oil cake with thyme and blueberry is fresh, savory, and sweet at the same time. Something different from the standard birthday cake.

Ingredients:

• 100 ml whole milk
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme (+ extra for garnish)
• 3 eggs
• 100 gr sugar
• 100 ml oLivery olive oil
• 2 oranges
• 200 gr flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 50 gr powdered sugar

How to make it.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Slowly heat the milk to boiling point in a small saucepan. Add the thyme sprigs, turn off the heat, and let cool completely.
2. Beat the sugar and eggs until foamy with a mixer. Slowly pour in the olive oil while continuing to beat. Then beat in the juice and zest of one orange and the cooled milk without the thyme sprigs.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder over the bowl with the batter and gently fold it in.
4. Grease the baking tin with some olive oil and spoon the cake batter into the tin. Bake the cake for about 30 minutes at 180°C until done.
5. Meanwhile, make the orange glaze. Put the powdered sugar in a bowl and slowly add some juice of the second orange, until the glaze is just liquid enough to pour.
6. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool. Decorate the cake with the orange glaze, thyme leaves, orange slices, and some blueberries.

 

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With roasted garlic aioli

Fried artichoke

Vegetables are perfect for frying. The outside dries out and becomes crispy, while the inside stays juicy. These fried artichokes are a delicious example of that. The flavor is very subtle and juicy, you’ll keep wanting to eat it.

You can also use oLivery oil for frying, but you can also use another vegetable oil. This recipe comes from the book ‘Vet’ by writer Bas Robben.

Ingredients for (6 people):

• oLivery oil for frying
• 6 small artichokes, outer leaves removed, stem torn off and halved.
• salt and pepper
• lemon in wedges
• also needed: deep fryer or wok

How to make it:

1. First make the aioli. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Put the bulb of garlic in a small oven dish and fill further with 100 ml olive oil. Cover the top with aluminum foil. Put in the oven for 30 minutes.

2. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Then squeeze the garlic out of the skins and chop slightly coarser until you have 4 tablespoons of garlic pulp left. Put the garlic pulp in a tall measuring cup with 250 ml olive oil. Put an immersion blender on it and blend until a smooth emulsion forms. If it doesn’t work, add an egg yolk. Season with salt.

3. Heat the oil in a deep fryer or wok to 170 °C. For the cider batter, mix the flour with the cornstarch and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk in the cider with a whisk until it’s almost lump-free and forms a thick batter; a bit like pancake batter. Pour the batter into an oven dish.

4. Fry two artichokes at a time: dip them in the batter and use your fingers to work the batter well between the leaves. Fry the artichokes 6 minutes in the hot oil until golden brown and cooked through. Then scoop them out of the pan and let them drain on paper towels. Season immediately with salt and pepper. Repeat with the rest of the artichokes.

5. Serve with garlic aioli and lemon wedges.

Buon Appetito.

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Chili pepper olive oil

Pumpkin lasagna

Our favorite of this season; pumpkin. Despite its hard exterior, the pumpkin has a soft character. Pumpkin may be sweet, but it can handle assertive types like pancetta, gorgonzola, or chili pepper. Such a modest type is hard to resist, isn’t it?

You make this lasagna with it.

Ingredients for (4 people):

• 250 gram lasagna sheets
• 75 gram butter
• 75 gram flour
• 1 liter milk
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 leek
• 400 gram pumpkin
• 100 gram Parmesan cheese
• 100 gram aged cheese
• pepper and salt
• oLivery olive oil
• chili pepper olive oil

How to make it:

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Fresh summer recipe

Fish, with salsa and tomato salad

Jadis from The Lemon Kitchen made us another lovely recipe. Healthy and full of flavor with different textures. In this dish, the olive oil is the connecting factor.

Ingredients for (4 people):

• 500 g white fish from the North Sea with MSC label

• 5 pc organic tomatoes

• oLivery olive oil

• organic lemon

• 1/2 orange

• 1 tbsp capers

• 1 red onion

• 5 green olives

• 1 tbsp pistachio nuts

• salt, salt flakes, and pepper

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

How to make it:

Buon Appetito.

 

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Flatbreads, potato & goat cheese

Flatbread with tapenade

This flatbread is a quick and easy snack. Vary with herbs and cheese to make a tasty food combo.

Ingredients for (3 people):

• 4 flatbreads
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small potato
• 40 g goat cheese
• 25 g olives without pits, sliced
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 10 g basil
• 10 g mint leaves
• 10 g parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 25 g capers
• Lemon juice to taste
• olive oil

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Peel the potato and cook the potato until done.
3. Cut the rosemary and garlic a bit coarsely and put it in a small bowl with olive oil. Let it sit for 5 min.
4. Put the flatbread on baking paper and brush in the rosemary and garlic oil from the bowl.
5. When the potato is done, cut it into thin slices and place it on the brushed flatbread. Sprinkle a bit more olive oil over it and put it in the oven for 15 min
6. While the flatbread is in the oven, take the basil, mint, and parsley together and cut them finely.
7. Take a bowl and put the cut herbs, capers, dijon mustard, sliced olives, olive oil, and lemon juice together and stir it well together and add a bit of salt if needed, depending on your taste.
8. Take the flatbread out of the oven, sprinkle the tapenade over it, and crumble the goat cheese.

And there you have a tasty snack for the afternoon.

Buon Appetito.

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The tastiest sauce for fish, meat, and vegetables

Italian Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde is a well-known green sauce. This Italian version is of course made with olive oil. Vary yourself with your favorite herbs.

Ingredients for 250 ml:

• 2 tablespoons capers
• 2 anchovy fillets in oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• 1 bunch basil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 60 ml oLivery olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Puree all the ingredients for this sauce in a food processor. Season with pepper and possibly a bit more salt.

It can be that easy.

Buon Appetito.

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Strawberries, olive oil, and burrata

Burrata strawberry salad with olive oil

Spring also means the first strawberries. With this recipe, Jadis from The Lemon kitchen made a nice refreshing salad. Go to your local greengrocer to get fresh strawberries for this recipe.

Ingredients for burrata strawberry salad (2 people):

• 1 pc burrata ball
• 300 g fresh strawberries
• extra virgin olive oil oLivery
• coarse black pepper
• pinch of salt flakes
• ½ organic lemon, zested
• (sourdough) baguette or walnut bread

How to make it

1. Zest the lemon with a hand grater.
2. Cut the strawberries into quarters and mix with black pepper, salt flakes, olive oil, and lemon zest.
3. Place the burrata in the middle of a dish and arrange the strawberry salad around it. Drizzle a bit more olive oil over it. For a salty touch and extra texture, sprinkle a pinch of salt flakes and black pepper over the strawberry salad.

Buon Appetito.

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Quiche or tart with peas & pancetta

Quiche with peas & pancetta

Of course you don’t leave your mom standing in the kitchen on Mother’s Day. Doesn’t matter how equally the tasks are divided the rest of the week in the household. Attached is a recipe for Sunday’s meal. Pea tart with pancetta and mint is healthy, easy, and you can even make it a day in advance if you’re too busy on Sunday. Planning, love, and a nutritious meal on the table, how proud she’ll be of you. There is also a vegetarian version if you prefer that.

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Dolce | panettone con gelato

Panettone con gelato

In Italy it’s not Easter without Colomba; a sweet cake like the panettone. We baked a small variant (also called panettoncino). Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some sliced almonds, raspberries, and a splash of extra virgin olive oil. When you have little time you can of course also buy a ready-made panettone.

Ingredients for 4 panettoncini:

• 500 gr wheat flour
• 20 gr fresh yeast (or 40 gr instant yeast)
• 200 ml whole milk
• 150 gr unsalted butter
• 5 eggs
• 50 gr sugar
• 100 gr raisins
• 100 ml marsala
• 100 gr unsalted pistachio nuts
• 100 gr candied citrus peel
• 1 orange
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp nutmeg
• Salt
• Baking molds for the panettoncini, for example these

Ingredients for the dessert:

• Vanilla ice cream
• 125 gr fresh raspberries
• 50 gr sliced almonds
• oLivery olive oil

How to make it:

1. Start with making the panettoncini. Crumble the yeast and dissolve in 125 ml lukewarm milk.
2. Sift the flour over a bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour the yeast mixture in here.
3. Stir part of the flour through the yeast mixture from the middle outward with a wooden spoon until a thick (but still liquid) dough forms.
4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 1.5 hours.
5. Meanwhile grate the orange peel and warm the remaining milk until it’s lukewarm.
6. Take the wrap off the bowl and pour the milk in. Also add the orange peel, the sugar, the butter, and 4 egg yolks to the dough.
7. Beat it with a whisk or mixer to a smooth dough that you can easily knead.
8. Knead one large ball of the dough, put it back in the bowl and cover again with plastic wrap. Let it rise again for 1.5 hours. If it’s right, the dough will have doubled after this time.
9. Meanwhile bring the marsala almost to a boil in a small pan. Add the raisins, let them warm up briefly and then take the pan off the heat. Let the raisins soak for at least 30 minutes.
10. Divide the dough ball into 4 smaller balls and put these in the baking molds. Press them down well and cover with a piece of baking paper. Let the dough rise until it has doubled again, this takes about an hour.
11. Preheat the oven to 180C and brush the dough with some beaten egg yolk.
12. Bake the panettoncini until done in about 30 minutes. When the top browns too quickly, cover with some aluminum foil.
13. Let the panettoncini cool and plate up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some raspberries, sliced almonds, and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

Buon Appetito.

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Gnocchi

Gnocchi with rosemary pesto

A good pasta always works. Try this gnocchi recipe too. And if you feel like it, you can make the gnocchi yourself. With potatoes, egg, and flour. Then it becomes even tastier.

Ingredients for the gnocchi (4 people)

• 1 egg
• 600 g potatoes
• 400 g Italian flour

Pesto sauce

• 3 sprigs rosemary, remove the leaves and cut finely.
• 2 cloves garlic
• 50 g walnuts
• handful of basil
• oLivery olive oil
• rosemary olive oil
• basil olive oil
• 50 g grated pecorino romano

How to make it:

We start with the gnocchi:

1. Cook the potatoes with skin on until done in salted water.
2. Drain and let cool. Then remove the skin.
3. Mash the potatoes
4. Mix the potatoes in a bowl with egg and flour until the mixture becomes a ball and no longer sticks to your fingers.
5. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and make a long strip of those pieces by rolling it out.
6. Cut the roll into small pieces of about 2 cm wide and 2 cm long.
7. Make a ridge pattern by gently pressing a fork into each piece. You can also use a special gnocchi board for this.
8. Now you have homemade gnocchi!

How to make the pesto:

1. Toast the walnuts and the rosemary leaves until they start to smell, cut them finely, and keep a little aside for garnish.
2. Crush the two cloves of garlic finely and cut the pecorino romano into pieces.
3. Add a generous amount of rosemary and basil olive oil and mix everything. Set that aside.
4. Cook the gnocchi briefly in boiling water until they float up. Then scoop them out of the pan.
5. Put the cooked gnocchi in a heated frying pan on low heat with a bit of oLivery olive oil and shake the pan until the gnocchi is golden brown.
6. Now mix the pesto in that frying pan until the gnocchi is covered with a layer of pesto.
7. Take a plate, put the gnocchi pesto on it, with the leftover toasted walnuts and rosemary with a bit of lemon juice.
8. And voila, there you have your gnocchi rosemary pesto.

Buon Appetito.

Spaghetti alle Vongole

This recipe is brilliant and is definitely one of our favorites. Prepare the dish, for the best result, with a glass of wine in hand and your vacation playlist playing in the background

Ingredients (4 people)

• 1 kilo small clams (Vongole)
• a bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red chili pepper
• 1 glass white wine
• 400 gram spaghetti
• oLivery olive oil
• fresh pepper

How to make it.

1. First clean the shells well. Put the vongole for an hour in a bowl of water with sea salt. Rinse them several times in clean water and let them drain. Tap the sand out against your counter. Repeat this as often as needed.
2. Bring the water for the pasta to a boil and put the spaghetti in it right away.
3. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them finely. Chop the chili pepper finely. And cut the parsley coarsely
4. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan on high heat and fry the garlic, the pepper, and some parsley.
5. Add the vongole, the white wine, and a soup spoon of pasta cooking water. Cover the pan and wait until the shells open after a few minutes. Scoop them out of the pan and throw away the shells that are still closed.
6. Drain the pasta when it is al dente. Add the pasta to the sauté pan and stir well so the sauce sticks to the pasta. Add the vongole back to the pan.
7. Serve the pasta with the rest of the chopped parsley.

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Classic custard tarts from Puglia

Pasticciotti

Pasticciotti are classic small custard tarts from Puglia, filled with crema pasticcera (pastry cream). You can count on making friends with those. Saskia from Ciao tutti has managed to unravel the ‘secret’ recipe of master baker Luca Capilungo from Lecce and shares it with us.

Ingredients (15 pasticciotti)

For the dough:

• 1 kilo flour 00 (doppio zero)
• 500 gram butter
• 500 gram sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 egg yolk to brush the pasticciotti with
• 5 gram baking powder
• 0.5 teaspoon vanilla

For the crema pasticcera (pastry cream):

• 400 gram sugar
• 8 egg yolks
• 150 gram flour 00 (doppio zero)
• 1 liter milk
• 1 lemon

How to make it.

1. Start with the crema pasticcera. Put the sugar in a large bowl, make a well in the middle, and sift the flour into it.
2. Add the egg yolks one by one and stir the whole thing thoroughly with a wooden spoon until a thick, smooth mass forms. Keep stirring until there are no more lumps to be seen.
3. Pour in the milk bit by bit and then heat the cream mixture in a pan over low heat.
4. Add the lemon peel and keep stirring until the cream sticks well to the wooden spoon.
5. Take the pan off the heat and fish out the lemon peel. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and make sure the wrap really touches the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool well.
6. Now start on the dough. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and knead it into a smooth dough.
7. Make a large ball of it, cover it with plastic wrap, and let the ball rest for at least an hour in the fridge.
8. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and divide the dough in two. You use one half for the base of the pasticciotti; the other half to cover the crema pasticcera.
9. Divide the dough into pieces the size of a golf ball and flatten with your hands, until the dough is about as big as a coffee saucer.
10. Grease the pasticciotto baking molds with olive oil and line them with the dough. Press it in well and make sure the dough still sticks out a bit above the edge of the mold.
11. Fill a piping bag (with a large nozzle) with the crema pasticcera and pipe a generous amount of cream into each mold.
12. Also divide the second half of the dough into pieces the size of a golf ball and flatten with your hands, so that you can cover the filling with these dough discs. Press it in well and remove the excess dough, so that you get nice smooth pasticciotti.
13. Brush the top of the pasticciotti with the beaten egg yolk and place them in the oven. Bake them golden brown in about 20 minutes in an oven at 280°C (yes, really that hot).
14. Let the pasticciotti cool a bit after baking. Eat them while the crema pasticcera is still a bit warm, then they taste best.

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Folded little pizzas from Puglia

Panzerotti Speciale

Panzerotti are small folded pizzas with delicious fillings. They come from Puglia, where our olive oil also comes from. You can fill panzerotti with basically anything you want, but real Pugliese panzerotti are filled with local delicacies such as tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Panzerotti comes from the Italian word panza (belly). The buns puff up in the deep fryer like little round bellies, hence the name. In the past panzerotti were mainly made with leftover dough, nowadays people stand smiling in line for a quarter of an hour at street food hipster bars for them.

Of course the traditional recipe for the tastiest panzerotti dough is extremely secret. But Panzeró from Rotterdam was kind enough to give a few tips, which allowed us to put together a delicious recipe for you.

Ingredients (approx. 20 panzerotti).

For the dough:

• 500 ml lukewarm water
• 500 gr flour type 00 (or all-purpose flour)
• 500 gr wheat flour
• 7 gr (1 packet) active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp oLivery olive oil
• 2 tsp salt

For the filling:

• 500 gr buffalo mozzarella
• 200 gr tomato puree
• Handful basil
• Handful arugula
• Pinch of salt
• oLivery olive oil for frying

How to make it.

1. Start with making the dough. Mix the two types of flour in a large bowl. Dissolve the yeast and the salt in the lukewarm water. Slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour while you knead the dough. Then add the olive oil and knead until the dough is soft and smooth.
2. Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces and knead into 20 small balls. Place the dough balls on a baking sheet with baking paper, cover them with plastic wrap, and let rise for about 2 hours. They should then have become twice as big.
3. When the dough has risen you heat some olive oil in a deep pan to 180°C. You can measure this with a thermometer but you can also put a wooden spoon in the oil. When you see bubbles, the oil is warm enough.
4. Spread some wheat flour on the counter, put the dough balls on it, and roll them out with a rolling pin. If you don’t have a rolling pin you can also use something else with a similar diameter, such as a wine bottle ;)
5. Put some mozzarella, basil, arugula, and a splash of olive oil on one half of the dough. Add the tomato puree last so that the dough doesn’t get soggy. Carefully fold the other half of the dough over the filling to form a half moon shape. Press the edge down with a fork for the final touch.
6. Carefully put the panzerotti one by one in the pan with oil and turn them over after 10 seconds so that both sides are covered with oil. Fry both sides until they are golden brown (approx. 3 minutes). Take them out of the oil with a slotted spoon and let them drain on some paper towels.
7. Serve the panzerotti while they are still warm, then they taste best. Buon appetitito!

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Our favorite recipe with gnocchi

Gnocchi caprese

Before we share our favorite recipe with gnocchi with you, we have 5 nice facts about gnocchi.

1. You pronounce it as njokkie and it is Italian for “lump”.
2. Gnocchi is the plural form of gnocco. So: 1 gnocco, 2 gnocchi.
3. Gnocchi is not pasta because it is made from potato. You can already make gnocchi with 3 simple ingredients: potatoes, flour, and salt.
4. Gnocchi is actually eaten as primo (starter) or as contorno (side dish).
5. Cooking gnocchi goes very fast. They are done when they float to the top, and that is often within 2-4 minutes.

Ingredients (4 people).

• 600 gram gnocchi
• 500 gram cherry tomatoes
• 2 balls buffalo mozzarella
• handful of basil
• 40 gram pine nuts
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp oLivery olive oil

How to make it.

1. Roast the cherry tomatoes with the garlic and olive oil in the oven until they are nice and soft.
2. Cook the gnocchi done in 2 to 4 minutes and meanwhile roast the pine nuts in a small saucepan.
3. Drain the gnocchi and mix with the roasted cherry tomatoes and pine nuts.
4. Cut the ball of mozzarella in half and serve together with some basil leaves, the balsamic, and some grated Parmesan cheese with the gnocchi.

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Orecchiette + cime di rapa = quintessentially Puglia

Orecchiette with sardines, anchovy, and almond

You cannot go on summer holiday without having snacked on a plate. Pasta, onion, grain, oil, and anchovy: everything comes from the region.

Ingredients (4 people).

• 100 ml oLivery olive oil
• 100 gram fresh sardines
• 50 gram anchovy
• 6 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 500 gram dried orecchiette
• 1 long red chili pepper, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 lemon, finely grated peel
• Handful of almonds

How to make it.

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the olive oil, sardines, anchovy, garlic, and chili pepper and stir until the fish breaks down, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Cook the orecchiette in a large pan with boiling water al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Drain and reserve 50 ml pasta water. Add the pasta water to the anchovy mixture together with the Parmesan cheese, parsley, and lemon peel.
5. Add a bit more pasta water and season to taste.

Once again: it’s not complicated, but it’s about the balance. Tasting, tasting, and tasting again until you have it right. Good luck.

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A picture on your plate

Pasta Romanesco

Have you ever seen such a beautiful vegetable? Romanesco is an Italian vegetable, that looks a bit like broccoli. We made a brilliant pasta with cream with it. Also nice: this recipe also does very well with children.

Ingredients (4 people)

• 400 g long pasta
• 2 onions
• 1 piece romanesco
• 250 g guanciale or pancetta
• 150 g Parmesan cheese
• 200 g full liquid cream
• Black olives
• Salt
• oLivery olive oil

How to make it.

1. Cut the onion into small pieces. Chop the florets off the romanesco, wash them, and then cook them until slightly tender in a pan with plenty of boiling water. Rinse them afterward under cold water and let them drain.
2. Meanwhile cook the pasta in a pan with boiling water with some salt. Take a spacious pan and heat some olive oil in it. Sauté the onion and then add the pancetta. Fry until it is done. Then add the romanesco, black olives, and the cream. Season with some pepper and salt. Let the pasta sauce simmer a bit longer, to let the sauce thicken a bit. Keep stirring well, otherwise it will stick to the pan. Finally add the cooked pasta to the pasta sauce. Mix this well together and let it simmer for another 2 minutes.
3. Serve with the Parmesan cheese. Very tasty.