Tag: city

Fish menu for sea nostalgists back in the city – Italian Cuisine

For those who do not want to give up the scents and flavors of the Mediterranean once back in the city, a fish menu and a table with the unmistakable scent of Mediterranean scrub

Have you just left the umbrella to go back to the city and already miss the sea? A fish menu and the right atmosphere can soothe melancholy and bring relief. At least for a few hours.

Whether a romantic occasion or a meeting between friends, dinner is a ritual made not only of cooked dishes but of atmospheres, forgotten and rediscovered sensations. Every detail contributes to recreating this magic.

The table

The care that goes into preparing it is as fundamental as the commitment made for the preparation of the dishes: it is always and in any case the sign of a particular attention for the guests, who will immediately feel pampered.

Organizing dinner in an open space would give an extra touch to the evening: if not possible, place vases with fresh and fragrant flowers in every corner of the house, they will immediately create an atmosphere. The tremulous light of a candle will refer to the sprawling motion of the sea, the intense and heady scent of rosemary and myrtle bound together with a string of string to fill an old metal watering can, transformed into a vase and placed in the center of a romantic garden table dressed in white linen, will give the feeling of being still on a distant island. On the table, dishes from the forgotten family service, and on napkins, vintage silver cutlery, more chic if different ages.

A welcome

While waiting to savor the scent of the sea, serve a glass of Falanghina dei Campi Flegrei, a native Campania wine, delicately fruity, fresh, soft and slightly savory, given the volcanic nature of the place where it develops. In background the unforgettable notes of Pino Daniele: you just have to relax and enjoy the menu.

The menu

The beginning will be a surprise for the delicacy of the combination: an appetizer made with avocado and red prawn salad, oranges and julienne with fennel. All seasoned with an emulsion of extra virgin olive oil and orange juice.

The first course, like a Beethoven sonata, will overwhelm you with all the flavors of the Mediterranean, in a mix of intense colors: bronze drawn spaghetti seasoned with a marinated swordfish cut into cubes, dipped in a sauce of cherry tomatoes and aubergines, enriched with desalted capers, pine nuts and mint leaves. An enveloping yearning of Sicily, for the most nostalgic.

For the second, expect turbot rolls in crumbled bread crust and sautéed in extra virgin olive oil with the addition of untreated lemon zest. All served on a bed of baby spinach seasoned with a little oil and a handful of peeled almond slices.

Finally, as sweet, a tarte tatin with white peaches, garnished with sprigs of fresh thyme. It can be served in individual cocotte for a more tasty presentation.

The wines

With the appetizer and the second dish, both with a delicate flavor, you can propose a Ligurian Vermentino as the Flgono, straw-yellow in color, with an intense bouquet of white flowers and fruit. The taste is quite warm, fresh and tasty.

For spaghetti instead, more intense and decisive, choose a more structured and sapid wine, like a Grillo in purity, originally from the province of Trapani. It has fragrant nose notes, with a certain minerality and flavor in the mouth, deriving from the type of soil typical of that area. It is a persistent wine, suitable for more structured dishes.
For the dessert you can choose a Trentino Superiore Moscato Giallo Vendemmia Tardiva, wine with aromatic notes and moderate sweetness, fresh and very pleasant.

At the end of the dinner, for those who wish, a glass of limoncello or a rosolio, more delicate for the ladies, cannot be missing. And then a last toast, remembering the sea breeze on a warm summer evening.

Browse the gallery at the top with all the recipes and many inspirations

10 fish first courses that will make you dream of the sea even in the city – Italian Cuisine

Ten first courses based on fish to keep away the nostalgia for the sea and savor the atmosphere of a dinner on the beach

Have you already returned from vacation and you don't know how to find your good mood again despite the work rhythms are still languid? Waiting for the weekend to escape from the city may not be enough so why not indulge in the kitchen by preparing fish first courses, rich and full of taste, to be accompanied with a glass of white wine, savory and fragrant, to rediscover the joy and atmosphere of dinners by the sea? We have some ideas, take a cue!

Fresh or dry pasta?

A fish-based sauce is better suited to fresh pasta than the dry one. The fresh pasta is in fact more porous and better collects the sauce which, usually, is more liquid than a meat sauce or a vegetable-based dressing. Choose quality, which keeps cooking well and which, once it is ready to drain, leaves the water clear and not turbid, otherwise an important release of starch.

Long or short?

Another age-old question is the pasta format. In general, if you decide for a shellfish-based sauce, the longest ones are spaghetti and linguine, while if you prefer the short format, then opt for paccheri, penne, fusilli and tortiglioni, to be served with squid ragout , a sauce of gurnard or shellfish and vegetables.

Not just pasta!

Not just pasta for a first course of fish: also the rice it goes perfectly with shellfish, crustaceans and fillets such as gurnard, sea bream or redfish. If you choose the latter, more delicate, insert them when the rice is almost cooked, to prevent them from flaking off completely. And don't forget the aromatic herbs, which add a touch of freshness and perfume to your preparation.

And now 10 recipes of fish first courses that will make you still dream of the sea

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savor the present of an eternal city – Italian Cuisine

A tour to discover the markets of Vienna, including typical products, international specialties and trendy places to stop and eat

Cultured, elegant, austere. Vienna, city of composers, philosophers and artists. Cradle of Central European culture, for centuries the operational center of one of the most important royal families of the Old Continent, the Habsburgs. Famous, gastronomically speaking, for her kaffeehaus, the Sacher cake and the Wiener Schnitzel (the Viennese cutlet). Crossroads of peoples, a bridge between the West and the East. Being sucked into history is a moment, with the risk of losing it daily dimension of a more dynamic and multi-faceted city than one might imagine. To touch with hand its cosmopolitan side and to savor its present, the advice is to take a tour – between a visit to the Hofburg and one to the Belvedere Museum – among the markets in Vienna, in particular four: Naschmarkt, Brunnenmarkt, Karmelitermarkt and Kutschkermarkt.

Naschmarkt: central, multi-ethnic, an open-air restaurant

In the center, not far from the Wiener Staatsoper (Opera House) and a few steps from Palace of the Secession, there is the Naschmarkt. Born as a multi-ethnic market, today it certainly is one of the tourist attractions of the city. Scent of spices and sweets with a Middle Eastern flavor, fine French cheeses and Italian-made excellences, exotic fruit and fresh vegetables: on the benches is much more than indispensable. Also the signs speak different languages: German, Turkish, some Arabic and, obviously, Italian. Some stalls, in the evening, change clothes and turn into wine bar, like theUrbanek, a delicatessen shop, above all cold cuts and cheeses, served at the time ofappetizer with excellent Austrian wines. Among the kiosks they sell bratwurst and cheap beer, a series of have crept in trendy clubs, which turned the market into a big one open-air restaurant. To the Neni Israeli-Oriental dishes are served.Orient & Occident Turkish homemade specialties; for fish lovers there is Umar. Moreover, every Saturday from 6.30 am to 2.00 pm there is also a very colorful flea market (Wienzeile; Monday to Friday 6.00 am – 7.30 pm, Saturday 6.00 am – 6.00 pm).

Karmelitermarkt, farmer's market in a trendy neighborhood

Beyond the Donaukanal, the canal that cuts the city in two, at Leopoldgasse there is another fine market, the Karmelitermarkt, in the suburb of Karmeliterviertel, once inhabited mainly by the Jewish community today lively trendy neighborhood. Perhaps still little known, although it has been in the current square since 1910, in recent years it has become a reference place both from the point of view culinary that cultural. Even this, like many other markets in Vienna, has fixed stalls – small masonry buildings – and larger spaces equipped for street vendors, which are mainly here farmers. Since 2008 there is also a corner of Slow Food Wien. Every Saturday from 8 to 13 producers meet and offer traditional homemade food: bread, honey, jams, pickles, sauces, meats and cheeses. Many clubs around the market: for one healthy lunch break there is Kaas am Markt, a delicatessen shop and organic products, where you can also make small snacks. Another place to try is Schöne Perle, in the adjacent Leopoldgasse, which offers a reinterpretation of classic Viennese cuisine. And for those who just can't live without it Pizza Mari ’, a Neapolitan pizzeria very popular in the city (Leopoldsgasse; Monday to Friday 6.00 am – 7.30 pm, Saturday 6.00 am – 5.00 pm | Food stands from Monday to Saturday 6.00-23.00).

Brunnenmarkt: one of the most bazaar-like markets in Vienna

The Brunnenmarkt, in the Otkring, 16th district, is the largest street market in Vienna. It develops around Yppenplatz, which houses the structure of the old covered market, today transformed into a cultural center for the performing arts, the Brunnenpassage. The square is full of places to stop for lunch, after a dive in what it easily remembers the bazaar of a Turkish city. Taking Brunnengasse, you are literally sucked in by about 170 benches arranged along the road, made even closer by the crowd that populates it. On the stalls they are found above all cheap seasonal fruits and vegetables – lots of potatoes, onions, onions and turnips of all sorts – but also cheeses from all over Europe, cured meats from the Alps, cuts of halal meat and fish. Many kiosks with spicy kebab skewers to take take away and Turkish sweets overflowing with honey. In one there is also an oven from which gods come out smoking disks of Arabic bread. On the back of the square, on Saturdays, there is also the farmer's market, with a more restricted offer of local products, 90% organic: mushrooms, apples, honey, mountain cheeses. Among the cafés that populate the area, a must is the place Staud’s Pavillon, where jams and vegetable specialties have been sold since 1947. They are also worth a visit Mani, which proposes a modern interpretation of Middle Eastern cuisine and Völlerei, a modern trattoria offering slightly revisited classic Austrian cuisine dishes, all accompanied by excellent beers (Monday to Friday 6.00 am – 7.30 pm, Saturday 6.00 am – 5.00 pm).

Kutschkermarkt, refined products in a neighborhood market

Outside the usual sightseeing tours, the Kutschkermarkt is located in the 18th district, a mostly residential area, where many young families with children live. The market is the last on the road together with the Brunnenmarkt. The road on which it develops is uphill and, between one bank and another, there are several rooms well cared for where to stop for a bite. The advice is to go there on Saturday when, in addition to the fixed sellers, there are also the farmers' desks with their delicacies: fresh eggs, organic fruit and vegetables, jams, but also wine and sausages. The stalls are all well kept, some with a modern design and many can both buy and eat. Among these the most famous is the Pöhl’s Cellars, the wine bar of Irene Pöhl, a pioneer of the Kutschkermarkt, which also faces a counter of cheeses and cold cuts, one taste boutique where to stock up on typical products to bring back home as a souvenir. Between the benches, sometimes there is also that of new star of the Austrian bakery, Georg Öfferl, of the Dampfbäckerei Öfferl oven, known for its bread with steamed dough, defined as one of the best in the city (Kutschkergasse; Monday to Friday, 6.00 am – 7.30 pm, Saturday 6.00 am – 5.00 pm | Farmer’s Market 7.00-14.00).