Crema Tortelli
Recognized as one of the Traditional Italian Food Products (P.A.T.), the most famous dish of the Crema food tradition is typically prepared during the town festivals or for other important family events
Recognized as one of the Traditional Italian Food Products (P.A.T.), the most famous dish of the Crema food tradition is typically prepared during the town festivals or for other important family events
Oil cakes have a long tradition especially in Mediterranean countries where olive oil is abundant. In Austria sunflower or rape oil is used instead and candied bitter orange peel, aranzini, and pine kernels are also added.
What makes the apricot so special for Austria is its protected designation of origin ”Wachauer Marille” coming from the famous Wachau Valley. This enchanting Danube valley is one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Europe. Whether genuine Wachau apricots or not, they always add distinctive acidity and moistness.
During the imperial era, Vienna was completely in a spin over almonds. No wonder, since the Viennese pastry chefs were focussed on everything that made fine dishes taste even finer. And that definitely included almonds!
“Dining like Kings” under the Austrian monarchy did not necessarily mean fine dining. Franz Joseph, the Emperor of Austria, for example, preferred simple meals. One of them was a simple Gugelhupf for dessert, which he loved to have served by his life-long confidante Katharina Schratt.
This hearty soup, pronounced ‘looshcosh’ in Romanian, hails from Ardeal (a region of Transylvanian Romania) and probably comes from the Hungarian soup called lucskos kaposzta.
A delicious dessert, the apricot jam distinguishes itself with its unique flavour, being one of the least “sweet” jams and definitely one of the most delicate desserts for a hot summer day and not only.
Meatballs of various types are an integral part of Romanian cuisine and the word chiftea (pl. chiftele) (pronounced /kif-te-a/ – /kif-te-le/) is clearly an indication of their Turkish origin, the word being a corruption of the Turkish kofte and related to the Middle Eastern kafta.
In the Moldavian region of Romania they are also commonly known as parjoale (/pur-joa-le/) although these seem to be a little larger in size than the standard Romanian chiftea. Due to the preference for pork in the Romanian diet, these meatballs are most commonly composed of pork, perhaps in combination with some beef. Lamb chiftele are quite rare in Romanian cuisine.
These cauliflower croquettes have a moist, light interior and, if cooked right, a crispy coating. Cauliflower is more usually pickled in Romanian or the whole florets are battered and fried.
This aubergine salad is served as a starter along with crust bread and various other ‘salate’ or on the table for a late summer barbeque. It can easily be made well in advance and make plenty, because it’s also extremely delicious just on its own for a lunchtime snack, and all the better with some crispy grilled ‘lipia’ bread (a kind of round thin bread, something like a flatbread or pitta). What’s more, it’s simple to make!
Bassano is a small and lovely town not far away from the city of Palladio, where a precious white plant grows up every spring, becoming the main protagonist during Easter – the asparagus.
Eggs and Asparago Bianco di Bassano DOP represents one of the most typical dishes of the Veneto province. The dish is an example of a simple but tasty regional recipe and goes very well with white wines.
Capons are often used in the traditional cuisine of Vicenza and Capon ala canevèra is a dish that is usually prepared in winter, during Christmas holidays.
But what is the canevèra? It’s a kind of pipe used as a blowhole during the cooking process in the oven, so the meat can keep all its taste.
A great dish of Veneto’s cuisine tradition is the classic but tasty recipe of pasta e fasoi.
For the locals of Veneto beans are related to strength and survival, as they helped families to feed themselves and carry on during hard times of war and famine.