Flavor of Italy

Flavor of Italy

Food Tours and Vacations in Rome and Throughout Italy

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Things to Do in Rome

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  • This is my delightful four year old grandson who calls himself my sous chef. He’s holding his own mini-colander with just enough pasta for one person, and he’s wearing his apron featuring cows and trucks. Both gifts from @victoriacschmidt ❤️. Most kids love to cook and play in the kitchen and their innate skill level is greater than you might think. If you have a little person in your life start cooking with them! #kidsfood #kidsfun #cookingwithkids #cookingwithkidsisfun #childrenscakes #childrenofinstagram #cookwithkids #cookwithyourkids #kidscooking #kidscook #kidscookingclass #kidscookingclasses #italiankids
  • Come on, it’s just too hot to cook, right? But what if you could make a delicious pasta dish in the amount of time that it takes to cook the pasta? So we’re talking 10 to 12 minutes. If you love pasta like we do then that is completely doable, agreed? So here’s the recipe for two people: 200 g of spaghetti 14 large cherry tomatoes A clove of garlic 1/8 cup, or a little bit more, extra virgin olive oil Eight basil leaves A handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese Bring salted water to a boil and toss in your spaghetti to cook. While the spaghetti cooks sizzle a smashed garlic clove in the olive oil. Add the tomatoes, whole, cover and simmer until the tomatoes soften and the juice seeps out. Turn off the heat, toss in the basil leaves, stir the sauce, and cover. When the pasta is cooked, drain and reserve a little bit of cooking water. Toss the spaghetti into the sauce and add pasta cooking water by the tablespoonful if necessary. Toss in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve. Now that’s pretty easy and something you can manage in the summer heat, right? #spaghetti🍝 #pastapasta #pastas #pastasauce #easyrecipes #recipeshare #recipeoftheweek #recipeoftheday #summerrecipes #summerrecipe #foodhacks #foodhack #easyrecipes #tomatoplant
  • Rome is a wealth of fountains and you’ll find them just about everywhere throughout the city. One of the lesser known is the Fountain of the Jail (La Fontana della Prigione), on the corner of Via Manara and Via Goffredo Mameli in Trastevere, which takes its name from the central marble figure of a prisoner trying to free his tied hands. Unfortunately this marble figure was lost during the subsequent restorations and relocations of the fountain. The fountain dates back to 1587 when it was completed and located on the Esquiline Hill. It was dismantled when the original Termini station was built and relocated to Via Genoa, but it was again dismantled in the early 1900s and moved to its current location. Unfortunately the central marble figure that gives the fountain its name remains missing. This fountain is one of a group of fountains built to provide water to the Viminale and Quirinale areas of Rome tied to the underlying aqueduct for the area, the Acqua Felice. The fountain was recently restored in 2005 / 2006. #romeitaly #romeitaly🇮🇹 #rome🇮🇹 #romefountains #roma🇮🇹 #fontaneditalia #fountains #fountainsofrome #travelhacks #travelhack #travelhacker #flavorofitaly #italytravel #italy_hidden_gems #italy_ig #italylovers #italy_photolovers #italyphoto #photoitaly #italian_place #italiancity #italian_city
  • If you saw my Instagram post yesterday you know we had a mega-festa for the ferragosto holiday. I made enough Pasta alla Norma for over 30 people and by the time we got to the pasta course we had eaten so much else that I ended up with leftover pasta! Pasta alla Norma is one of my absolute favorite pasta dishes because the hero ingredient is eggplant and I adore eggplants! I decided on this pasta because we have an abundance of beautiful purple eggplants in our garden. I’ll be posting the recipe to this luscious pasta dish soon. The ingredients are classic: deep fried eggplant, a fresh tomato sauce, fresh basil and grated ricotta salata. Basically you slice up the eggplant, salt it and let drain for an hour or two. Once all the bitter liquids have purged out you rinse the eggplant to get rid of the saltiness and then squeeze it dry. Then deep fry the slices and set aside. In the meantime make a tomato sauce with extra-virgin olive oil, fresh or canned peeled tomatoes (In this dish canned peeled tomatoes work better) and a garlic clove. While the sauce is cooking roughly grate the ricotta salata. I set a few slices of eggplant aside to top the dish, but all the rest I slice into strips or slice into biggish squares. Penne pasta is ideal for this dish. Once it’s cooked I put it in the serving dish and toss in the tomato sauce. I then toss in the eggplant cubes and about 2/3 of the ricotta salata. The last step is to top the pasta dish with the remaining ricotta salata, the fresh basil and the reserved eggplant slices. If you’ve never had this pasta dish then go for it! It’s exquisitely delicious! Originally this is a Sicilian pasta dish. Supposedly the name comes from the Vincenzo Bellini Opera, Norma. Whatever its history it’s absolutely delicious! #pastaallanorma #vincenzobellini #pastanorma #eggplants #pastapasta #pastas #italianfood #italian_food #italians #italianholiday #italianholidays #ferragosto2019 #flavorofitaly #foodhacks #foodhack #partyfood #partyfoodideas
  • Our terrace is prepped and ready for our big party today to celebrate Ferragosto, perhaps the biggest Italian holiday of the year, a day to get together with friends and family to share fun times and great food!. It’s one of our favorites because we can celebrate outdoors and enjoy the pool. Our menu will be lots of pasta, a big grigliata, deep fried veggies, delicious cheese and salami, tons of fruit, dessert and ice cream. And lots of great wine of course!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But what is Ferragosto? Like most holidays in Italy it’s in part tied into Christian heritage. The word Ferragosto means August holiday and comes from the word Feriae Augusti, and was originally established by emperor Augustus in 18 B.C.E.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Also in mid August on the 15th is the major Catholic feast day celebrating the assumption of Mary. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But for almost every Italian it’s a day to share with friends and family, along with good food and wine! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ How do you celebrate Ferragosto?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #Italianfood #AssumptionOfMary #ChristianHolidays #ItalianHolidays #ferragosto #LifeItaly
  • There are two picking seasons for figs in Italy: mid July and then again in September. The September figs are known as settembrini, taking their name from the month they ripen. When the figs are ripe and ready to pick there are hundreds of them. Unlike other fruit if you place them together in a bowl they will bruise and ruin. The classic way to store them in Italy is on a fig leaf, but if you choose to refrigerate them this can be complicated. I place figs in egg cartons so each one is perfectly protected and if they’re small enough I can close the egg cartons and store them stacked in the refrigerator. A few years back I discovered freezing as an optimal way to preserve figs. I rinse them off, lay them out on a dish towel to dry and then freeze them on a baking sheet. Once they are frozen solid I place them in airtight plastic bags and use them all winter long. Of course they are not the same as when they are freshly picked but they are pretty darn amazing and work well in almost all recipes! Take a look at today’s story for some ideas or check out the recipe in my bio link. #figs #fig #figjam #figcake #foodhack #foodhacks #preservingfruit #orchard #orchards #recipe #italianfoodporn #italianfoodlover #italianfoods #lacucinaitaliana #flavorofitaly #veganfood
  • CARROT CAKE 🥕 One of the best loved cakes worldwide is undoubtedly Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. Beyond the fact that the flavor is divine it's simple to make as it can be done entirely in a food processor. And if a cake can be nutritional Carrot Cake is right up there as it's laden with carrots.Originally Carrot Cake was an American Cake but now it's also a favorite in Europe and Italians love it. You'll find it on the menu at tons of Italian restaurants nowadays. #carrotcake #carrotcakes #vegancarrotcake #cakeoftheday #cakelover #cakelovers #cakelover🍰 #carrotcupcakes #carrots🥕 #foodoholic #foodhacks #foodhack #flavorofitaly #italians #food52 #lacucinaitaliana #lacucina #dolcegusto #easyrecipes #recipeideas #recipeoftheweek #recipeoftheday

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