The blog of San Lorenzo

It may look out of season, as we ate mainly during Christmas time, but is there a season for something good?

Among the wonderful array of Italian torroni, this nougat from Alba is remarkable for its special softness, delicate crumbliness and full flavour. This is thanks to the ingredients which have been used for generations: Piedmont hazelnuts, clear comb honey, white cane sugar and a dash of vanilla. Slow, extended cooking gives this product a remarkable flavour and a special kind of crumbliness.

At least in the States, where Prosecco is finally considered for what it is: a very good wine! Neglected for many year as simple ingredients for cocktails, Prosecco is now considered a wine of its own.

And we are proud to offer you a great Prosecco, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene d.o.c. Extra Dry, and an even greater wine (which cannot be considered Prosecco, but more an Italian Champagne), Franciacorta D.O.C.G. Brut - Millesimato 2004, both perfect all the way through your dinner!

Lesson 2: know our preserves

In Italy we love savoury preserves: olives, artichokes, peppers, mushroom, tuna, anchovies, sauces for pasta… We have a wide range of preserved food that we add to our meal almost daily.

Best preserves are made with genuine, healthy, ripe ingredients, treated and preserved only with natural agents, like vinegar an/or oil and nothing artificial added, like the San Lorenzo preserves!

When do we eat them? Often as appetizers, paired with cured meat or fresh buffalo mozzarella, but we can have them even as side dishes, heated over a low fire or straight from the jar.
Imagine a hot summer afternoon, cicadas all around, a little fresh air only under the trees where your dining table is… What’s best then is eating something fresh, that can go from a nice salad with some olives, some cured meat with a side dish of preserved onions, sun-dried tomatoes, chilli peppers filled with anchovies and capers, and maybe roasted peppers or porcini? And why not some preserved fish? And this will make a complete meal, varied and perfectly tasty! A perfect Italian meal…

Then at night, when it’s fresher, put some water to boil, add pasta (now that you know what to do with it) and once cooked, dress it with one of our sauces. Then, again, a perfect Italian meal!

And now you are on the right trail to eat like an Italian, for the rest of your life!

I have to admit it! I cannot conceal it anymore! I’m among the organizers of tonight Girl Geek Dinner Italia in Milan (sold out since weeks!)
In the last 3 months we were sneaking out and meet on Thursday night, secretly, changing place every week, to avoid stalkers and curious! Like a secret sect!
As you know, we delighted few Girl Geek Dinners in the Uk with our Italian wine, and we would love to do the same all over Europe!
Tonight we’ll greet people with a glass of Prosecco di Valdobbiadene!

Are you among the attendees tonight? Twit what you think and fell about it!
Are you an organizers of Girl Geek Dinners around Uk, Ireland and Continental Europe? Write me (sara [dot] maternini [at] gamil [dot] com): we would love to get involved and please you with some Italian wine!

Only peppers and salt, that’s all you need to prepare this authentic delicacy. The important thing is to pick the peppers when fully ripe, and select them carefully.

Cut by hand and roasted on a griddle over charcoal, they are then hand-peeled and jarred in their own liquid.

Well, accordingly to the European Court only the cheese produced in Italy, and more specifically, produced by the Consortium for Parmigiano Reggiano in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna to the west of the Reno River and Mantua to the east of the Po River, can be called Parmesan, or Parmigiano Reggiano.

Finally, the same rules that applies in Italy will apply all over Europe!

Why are we so precise? And why do we care so much?

Well, we have a tradition that dates back to the roman times, and Parmigiano Reggiano is still produced in that same way, with cow eating real grass and therefore producing high quality milk to which no additives are added. Parmigiano Reggiano also has long ageing process (and San Lorenzo sells you a rare 36 months Parmigiano Reggiano) and natural fermenting agents in the milk, present only in that part of Italy, give the cheese its flavour, texture and unique taste.

And we are proud of it!

Lesson 1: love, desire and know your pasta

Basic facts:
- Pasta is the basic element of our diet: we eat it almost everyday and/or every other day, that’s for sure (unless you married a foreign, in which case he/she cannot understand all this and he/she is doomed to constant grumpiness from his/her Italian pasta’s junky chubby! ;D).

- We like our pasta al dente, a concept often misunderstood outside our borders: al dente basically means that when you bite your pasta it resists, it’s not soggy, it’s still hard in the middle (probably very hard for a foreign palate!). The only way to ruin a dish of pasta it’s to overcook it, so stick to directions! And the directions on our packages are the most detailed you can find! The only way to have pasta al dente is that it HAS to be made with durum wheat, and our pasta it is, of course, 100% Italian organic durum wheat. And I assure it makes all the difference.

- We like pasta dressed, but not over dressed with too much sauce: you have to taste the pasta AND the sauce, not just the sauce. Sometimes we like to go back to our childhood and enjoy a dish of pasta with only a spoon of extra virgin olive oil and some grated Parmesan, and we feel again in our mother’s kitchen…

Few secrets to keep peace with Italians:

- Never mock our love for pasta, never!

- We can make the difference in taste between each shape of pasta: for us penne and spaghetti taste completely different and we dress them differently! That’s why you can find infinite pasta shapes all around Italy! And remember, do not mock us for this!

- DO NOT CUT your spaghetti or ANY PASTA in front of an Italian EVER, unless you are ready to accept a disbelieved, then ashamed, look… And to loose a friend…

- Never mock our love for pasta, never! Really, never!

An advice
Unless you are super sure about what you are doing, do not cook pasta to an Italian, never! They’ll probably begin to question you with what seem strange questions: which trade mark is? Where have you bought it? How are you going to dress it? Well, all this unless you buy San Lorenzo pasta, then you are a bit more on the safe side, but not entirely safe anyway!

You don’t know what Valentine’s day treat will suit you best?

Well, why not go for our new fresh Pastiera di Grano (Naples speciality, made with ricotta and candied fruits) or our Chocolate truffles (once you eat the first you cannot stop) or our Chocolate and hazelnut spread (forget all the similar products: this is the ultimate indulgence!)…

We give you a wide choice of liquors too, like Barolo Chinato, the perfect companion for chocolate!

To ensure they are so small and delicate, the capers are picked when they are still buds, and not as ripe fruits, as is usually the case.

Cleaned, sieved and sized by hand, they are soaked in a gentle wine vinegar which completes their flavour without altering it. They are unbeatable in sauces, salads, vitel tonné or a variety of dishes – all you need is a little imagination.

This pesto is obtained exclusively from top quality products. All the basil comes from the Ligurian Riviera, rightly considered to be the absolute best for this recipe. Only pine nuts, no peanuts or walnuts. The right proportion of grana and pecorino cheeses. A hint of garlic according to tradition. Extra-virgin olive oil.

Result: Rigorous respect for the traditional Ligurian recipe ensures an extraordinary flavour, guaranteed to make you forget all the “impostors” now available in the shops.