The blog of San Lorenzo

Hi there.

I knew it would happen. I wrote a little intriguing introduction, almost hoping not to get noticed.

Now, that wasn’t much to ask. As far as I know this is a young site. I actually haven’t seen any comment posted before. But the moment I post my entry, someone (Peter) visits the site and DOES post a comment.

You have to know that any comment posted generates an email that invites me to check it. I almost fainted when I saw it (maybe that was also a side effect of the soaring temperature in my house: the fainting, I mean, not the email).

You can’t imagine my relief when I actually read it. Peter, mate, thank you! I was ready for some harsh sarcastic comment, destroying a not even budded blog carrier. But you actually liked what I wrote. Wow!

So overwhelmed was I with joy, that I replied to your email address and took me almost a week to get back to you on this blog. So, you are probably not checking this site anymore. I have to get better at these things.

Anyway, Peter did not write only to show appreciation for my not-exactly-impeccable writing skills. He actually had a question: he’s visiting some Italian friends and would like to buy something from San Lorenzo as a gift. Any suggestions, he asks.

Easy question, right? Wrong.

This reminds me a bit of an American friend, who wanted to write on his web-site some "authentic" Italian Christmas recipes and wanted my advice. Could I tell him what Italians eat at Christmas?

I still shiver at the thought. Not only from North to South the number of traditional Italian Christmas dishes would probably cover an encyclopaedia, but even from house to house on the same street in the same town people’s opinion on the must-have dishes and their right recipes differs massively. My ex-boyfriend’s mother (from Naples) wouldn’t dream to celebrate the Nativity without some fish dishes. My mum (raised in Verona) wouldn’t dream of cooking any fish. Not exactly like a wee difference on the right stuffing for the turkey…

Ask good Jamie Oliver (I love Jamie, by all means). His book, Jamie’s Italy, shows both deep love and inconsolable despair in his rocky relationship with Italians; he could never find the perfect recipe to please everybody in his long culinary journey along the Boot.

So, Peter, you ask me how to please your friends with the right food? Tough!

Without further information I will just touch the fundamentals. So, three suggestions for you and for all, whom it might concern.

1. Olive oil.

Olive oil is actually the wrong title. It is like writing "wine". Olive oil differs widely depending on the region of origin, it’s climate, the olive variety, the production technique (cold pressing only for me, thanks). So I should say that a good, regional DOP (Denomination of Origin Protected) is always a joy to receive. Try with the extra-virgin olive Oil DOP from the Ligurian Riviera, made with Taggiasco olives.

 2. Parmesan cheese.

Good aged DOP parmesan cheese (parmigiano reggiano) has one million uses in the Italian kitchen. And is never enough. Do not buy it grated… please (not that you will find it from us)!

3. A fast-food dinner Italian style.

Get some good regional pasta (trofie) with the appropriate regional sauce (pesto alla genovese) and say you will be taking care of the food. You still have to cook the trofie in salted boiling water, but even microwave heating ready-made pre-packed horrible stuff takes a few minutes of your life. Success guaranteed and friendship reinforced!

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Scritto da admin alle 17:49, in Main category

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Orders received between 17 July and 20 August will all be sent after 21 August, because until then our friends and staff at the factory in Pieve di Teco will be enjoying their summer holidays. Let’s take this opportunity to thank them. At the end of the day they are the ones who - by bottling, packing and wrapping - make possible this wonderful game of "goodies", which is what San Lorenzo is all about: happy holidays, and come back in even better shape than before!
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Scritto da Antonio Tombolini alle 16:46, in SL blogs

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Hi there.

I feel like one of those characters in the cartoon strips. You know, the super-heroe (or better, heroin) with a hidden identity. Except I do not have superpowers, nor anything to hide, really.

Antonio Tombolini, the deus-ex-machina of the San Lorenzo website and blog, dragged me here… and here I am, with no photo, no email you can reach, no website to click on… it is slightly embarassing, I feel like the ‘net-ghost’. For the moment, at least.

Well, I could certainly start with the name, it sounds like a good place to start: Simonetta. I am one of the gazillion Italians living and working in London. You may have gathered a good insight of the blues (azzurri) presence in London if you were  passing by Trafalgar square/ Piccadilly on Sunday night, after the world cup final. I could not resist mentioning it, excuse moi…

Well, I will not tell you much more for the moment. I have the exciting role of becoming your accredited guide of San Lorenzo UK. Having become, almost inevitably, a mutant breed of Anglo-Italian (scary creature, still no superpowers) I will settle here for the time being and teach you a great deal about my race. Needless to say, food and wine are high up in my priority list, so expect a lot of diversions into the wonderful land of Pantagruel…

So, meet you here…

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Scritto da admin alle 0:07, in SL blogs, Main category

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Of course, the name doesn’t help: one is called Aceto Balsamico di Modena [GB] (the one in the photo), and the other’s called Aceto Balsamico di ModenaTradizionale (traditional) [GB], but they are two completely different products. It’s not hard to tell the difference, and it’s explained well on the product descriptions. They also have completely different uses. The first one is perfect for marinades and salads, while the second one is delicious when drizzled on Parmesan cheese, or even better straight from the teaspoon, like a precious essence.
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Scritto da Antonio Tombolini alle 11:15, in In the spotlight

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Last week I was in Florence. Whenever I go, I never fail to pay tribute to the legendary Lampredotto sandwich: so even last week, at lunchtime I found myself in front of the counter at Nerbone, in the beautiful Mercato Centrale di San Lorenzo (yes, we share the same name, perhaps we could sign a twinning agreement…).

Lampredotto is the leanest, firmest part (the abomasum) of a calf’s stomach. It is cooked in a nice aromatic stew, finely chopped and arranged on an open sandwich, with a sprinkling of salt and a little salsa verde. The other half of the sandwich is moistened with the broth used for cooking. Sweetness, suppleness, sophistication, satisfaction: these are the sensations that this mouthwatering sandwich offers you. The next time you’re in Florence, even before you think about going to a restaurant, drop in to the San Lorenzo Market, go to Nerbone and have a sandwich or a dish (as I did) of lampredotto.

[There are delicious things that you’ll never find on San Lorenzo: the kind of dishes, recipes and street food that have strong local ties, that you can only try when you’re actually there, where they are made. If you know of any (from Italy or elsewhere), drop me a line here.]
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Scritto da Antonio Tombolini alle 11:55, in Main category, Products

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Extra-virgin Ligurian olive oil Riviera dei Fiori DOP [GB