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Caprese: the fantastic sandwich and where to eat it (in Capri) – Italian Cuisine


In Capri, with tomato and mozzarella, you make a sandwich for which you have to queue up, in the most famous delicatessen on the island (but it costs only € 4)

In the very chic Capri there is an address that brings everyone together, starred chefs, VIPs, Neapolitans on a trip and well-informed tourists. It is a delicatessen, with popular prices and with a queue outside; where to stop to taste one of the best kept secrets of the island.

The Futurist genesis

If LA Caprese is famous all over the world and is among the most famous dishes of the Italian summer, there is also a sandwich version. But it is not a fast food invention of the Third Millennium, it is part of the island's history at least when the "dish" version. The ingredients are the same: tomato, mozzarella, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and basil leaves. The salad version owes its origins to Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, futurist and gourmet in search of revolutionary dishes: strictly pasta-free, traditionalist because heavy to digest. In Capri, a "cheese and tomato" salad was already eaten, but during a gala evening at Grand Hotel Quisisana in 1922, Marinetti had the patriotic recipe served – where it is still in the paper.

IL Caprese, sandwich version, boasts the same popular origins and its fortune to a king himself, Farouk of Egypt. We are in 1951 and during a holiday in Capri, the sovereign asked for a snack, and so he tasted a street food that was consumed by the commoners. The success was such that it can still be found on the menus of the bars on the island and throughout the coast. But where to eat a good one?

Where to eat it: the chef's advice

The Capri chef doc Luigi Lionetti, of the starred restaurant Le Monzù of the Hotel Punta Tragara – the most luxurious on the island – has no doubts: "The delicatessen down by the port". Is called Aldo's delicatessen, the surname is Cuccurullo, and to recognize it just look in front of the ferry dock in Marina Grande: has the yellow curtain and the row outside. Inside is an ordinary delicatessen, which still sounds special in Capri, with a nice fridge with beers from 66 to 2 € (and drinks ready to be taken to the beach) and a delicatessen counter where mozzarella and salami dominate. At the moment they slice the sandwich in half, French or with soft oil (it depends on what is left over) the tomato strictly beef heart, the braid of mozzarella fior di latte, basil leaves broken with your fingers, a sprinkling of salt, a drizzle of oil and go into the wax paper € 4 for 30 cm of goodness: because size also matters. There are those who have raw ham added, others cooked, some eggplants in oil: everything is weighed at the moment. Then they write the price on your slip of paper and you go to the cash desk (two meters away) where Aldo's wife prepares the receipt. And for € 5 including a drink, you can take a bite at one of the Capri institutions. Where to eat it? On the beach or, better still, as an aperitif at sunset along the promenade of via Grotta Azzurra, Punta del Miglio or Forte Mesola. Capri will not be a low-cost destination, but it offers absolutely democratic corners of poetry.

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The new (fantastic) pizzas by Franco Pepe – Italian Cuisine

The new (fantastic) pizzas by Franco Pepe


Now he is also a Knight of the Republic for social commitment during the epidemic. But for gourmets, the Maestro remains, able to combine fantasy, research and technique. Always in the name of the great Italian product. Here are his latest masterpieces

Enthusiasm as a teenager and humility as an apprentice: Franco Pepe is like that. Not surprisingly, he has earned such esteem on the field that he manages to bring to Caiazzo, a village in the Casertano area, the best chefs in Italy and major foreign brands to Authentica Stellata, a "friendly" performance where he and a guest chef prepare pizza in a separate room for eight customers. Ultimately, he became a star despite always claiming the role of craftsman and baker. Oriented towards innovation, continuous study, experimentation on dough and cooking, but, at the same time, intensely linked to the tradition, that of Campania and the family. During the lockdown, Pepe worked once more on social issues, so much so that he re-entered the group of Italians who particularly distinguished themselves in community service during the coronavirus emergency. He was awarded the honor of Knight of the Republic with a particular motivation: "When he had to close his restaurant, he prepared pizzas and biscuits for the poor and the elderly in difficulty, organizing a fundraiser for the Caserta hospital.

Two rooms, six segments of the Gambero Rosso

Now it has returned to its place, dividing between Pepe in Grani and La Filiera which is located inside the Albereta in Erbusco, Relais & Chateaux of the Moretti family, that of Bellavista. Both have the Tre Spicchi, the highest recognition of the Gambero Rosso Pizzerias Guide. "The two rooms are full in compliance with the security protocols, despite not having lowered the prices. We all need serenity, in Caiazzo for example I have adapted the garden to accommodate a very particular area, with the three tables of silence in homage to a great artist like Ezio Bosso, author of the music in the background , explains Pepe. Hospitality reigns supreme, the menu is a sequence of fireworks that start from the country's most studied (and most copied, if they can) dough, made with flour 0 Pepper, variable mix, modified several times during the year to optimize perfume and variability. "You cannot impose a single mechanical technique, you have to to listen the dough to understand what it suggests to you, after all it is like a creature ", Franco underlines, with a smile.

Very Italian products

The reopening has led to new pizzas as to the revisiting of other already known ones. Always with the polar star of Italy. You see Double hit: one of his ingenious fried pasta cones that wants to celebrate two of the major Italian dairy products. In this case, the parmigiana is cooked, then made liquid until it becomes a cream parmigiana with basil reduction. The smoked DOP buffalo mozzarella from Campania is ennobled with Grana Padano Dop chips. Or Buffalo Tuna, a classic of Piedmontese origin – vitel tonné – adapted on pizza and made local by marinated buffalo meat, which is refreshed by curly endive, pepper and crispy celery, as well as well garnished with tuna sauce. It's still, Estitalia which in Spain would be considered a great tapas: another fried cone, filled with a veil of grana padano fondue, buffalo mozzarella wrapped in San Daniele ham, semi-candied cherry tomatoes and freeze-dried basil. It is not real pizza, but a brilliant taste that Pepe dedicated to the Italian summer.

Sweet pizzas

There is also a pizza born during the lockdown. «In quarantine, I used what I had in the pantry, not being able to get fresh, in fact on the Sciuccaglia there is no mozzarella , explains Pepe. Intense flavored pizza thanks to Alife onion, San Marzano tomato dried in Trapani salt and the impalpable slices of Sciuccaglia, typical bacon from Campania. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of oregano complete the delicious mix. In the greedy part, the imagination of his son Stefano enters. It's his there Cerasella: fried pizza stuffed with the Elixir Falernum of the Antica Distilleria Petrone, then topped with a slice of fiordilatte and melted dark chocolate. Perfect example of that sweet-salty contrast that the master of Caiazzo likes a lot. And the idea to remember the friend and colleague pastry chef Alfonso Pepe, who passed away in early February, must also be attributed to Stefano Pepe. With the father he developed the exquisite Fried Pastiera: the filling of the cone includes citrus flavored pastry cream, mozzarella, toasted hazelnuts, mixed candied fruit, orange zest.

Manual skill in power

One aspect of every Pepe creation is striking: however sophisticated it may be in technique and raw materials, his is an almost primordial pizza, almost without the use of electricity: starting from his or his hands until cooking in a wood oven, powered by shavings. Moreover, if there is an episode that we like to remember, it concerns the time when the transformation project of the former Albereta warehouse into the current La Filiale had started. Franco often said, very serious "I never thought of working where Gualtiero Marchesi was". And if the location is not the same (the Marquesan restaurant was inside the hotel), the concept remains valid: a Maestro is never forgiven. This is why we must remain humble students. Like him.

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Return to work: fantastic vitamins and where to find them – Italian Cuisine

Return to work: fantastic vitamins and where to find them


Stress, fatigue, moodiness and lack of energy. Resuming work after a summer break is often tiring and tiring, so much so that we feel the need to take food supplements to which we ask for a little sprint.
But are we sure it is the right method to regain strength? Fruits, vegetables, cereals, fish and dairy products contain good amounts of vitamins that can help us if taken regularly with a healthy diet to feel fit and find the lost grit.

Before thinking of multivitamin menus, it is good to keep in mind that all of them vitamins fear light and heat, so it is good to keep food in dark and fresh places and not to exceed with high cooking temperatures.

Here are the main vitamins we need and the foods we can find them in:

Vitamin A: Cod liver oil, liver, egg yolk, butter, raw carrots, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, cabbage, garlic, wheat germ oil, parsley, dandelion, watercress, pumpkin, fresh spinach, chicory, tomato, lettuce, melon, apricot, peach, orange and watermelon. It is generally found in all yellow-orange vegetables.

Vitamin B 1: whole grains, meat, chickpeas, white beans, Spanish beans, wheat germ, beef liver, pork, salmon, dried sunflower seeds, brewer's yeast.

Vitamin B 2: Brewer's yeast, beef offal, milk, yogurt, cheese, chicken, almonds.

Vitamin B 3: Peanuts, white meat, veal, beef liver, anchovies, tuna, sardines, swordfish, salmon, whole grains, milk, cheese.

Vitamin B 5: meat, liver, peas, lentils, whole grains, wheat germ, brewer's yeast, soy, peanuts, lobster, eggs.

Vitamin B 6: Foods based on wholemeal flour, avocado, bananas, hazelnuts, wheat germ, brewer's yeast, carrots, rice, lentils, shrimps, tuna, salmon.

Vitamin B 7: Egg yolk, fish, prunes, brown rice, walnuts, oat flakes, oranges, bananas.

Vitamin B 9: Oranges, kiwi, dark leafy vegetables, tomatoes, legumes, wheat germ, brewer's yeast, veal liver, cereals.

Vitamin B 12: Fish, shellfish, meat and dairy products.

C vitamin: Citrus fruits, kiwi, strawberries, black currants, broccoli, watercress, spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes.

Vitamin D: Herring, mackerel, sardines, cod liver oil, butter, fatty cheeses, eggs.

Vitamin E: Peanut oil, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, olive, whole wheat, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts.

Vitamin K: Spinach, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cereals, meat, dairy products.

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