After our visit to the Amalfi Coast, and with two bags full of luscious organic lemons, I wanted to make risotto al limone.  But as I rummaged around the internet for a recipe, I was dismayed at the amount of butter that was called for and butter is something we don’t even keep’ in out refrigerator! As we already eat out quite a bit with clients, at home we try to cook as lightly as possible. So I decided to experiment using olive oil instead of butter, which will make a delicious and dietetic dish. Then I rummaged in my kitchen cupboards to see if I had all the other ingredients. Hmm, no rice.  So, refusing to be daunted, I invented my very own pasta al limone like this:

Sauce ingredients for 2 people:
1 stem of fresh garlic, chopped
1 leek, sliced
Pinch of saffron
Parsley
Extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ a lemon
Grated rind of ½ an organic lemon
¼ cup of water
½ cup of white or rosé wine
200 gr. of long pasta

The cooking time is so quick, start by heating the water for the pasta in a pot (and remember to salt it when it boils).

Wash the lemon. Heat the water in a non-stick frying pan, add the garlic and allow the flavor to sweat into the liquid. Then add the leek, and salt to taste.  When all the water has evaporated, add the wine.  When the wine evaporates, add the lemon juice and saffron.  Then add the grated lemon rind and parsley and put aside until the pasta is ready.

In the meantime, you’re water has boiled and you’ve cooked 200 grams of long pasta.  When it’s still very al dente, put the pan back on the stove and transfer the pasta (together with a little of it’s water) and stir over a high flame until the water has evaporated. Douse with olive oil and serve.

Festa di Vico at Vico Equense is where the great chefs gather to cook, compare recipes and compete in a relaxed and festive atmosphere.   

In its 4th year, this is an unrivaled culinary event organized by Gennaro Esposito, the Pavarotti of chefs and owner of the restaurant Torre del Saracino on the Amalfi Coast.
If you love good food, wine and chef-talk, this is one occasion you won’t want to miss!

This year’s objective is to raise money to outfit an emergency syncope unit at the Santobono Hospital in Naples. This year’s principle sponsor is the Pastificio dei Campi, historical pasta-makers of Gragnano. Visit their website at http://www.pastificiodeicampi.it/

Recipe for 15 people:
500 gr Flour
3 Eggs plus 3 egg yolks
100 gr Sugar
40 gr Butter
Pinch of Powdered yeast
Pinch of Salt
1 Small Glass of Rum or Sambuca
300 gr Honey
Candied Fruit
Grated Rind of 1/2 Lemon
Peanut Oil for frying

On a pastry board make a well in the flour and mix in the eggs, butter, sugar, yeast lemon rind, salt and the liquor. Knead until the mixture is homogenous, then shape into a ball and let stand for half an hour.

Lightly flour the pastry board and roll dough into into long round strips that are no wider than your pinky.  Cut the strips into tiny pieces the size of chick peas and place on a clean kitchen towel sprinkled with flour.  Before frying take the excess flour off the dough by shaking them in a sieve.  Fry until slightly golden and drain on paper towels.

Pour the honey into a large double boiler and heat until it is liquified.  Add the fried dough and mix gently, making sure that the honey pentrates evenly over all the balls.  Add the candied fruit and stir again.

Pour onto a plate.  (The traditional composition is made by placing an empty jar in the middle of the plate and pouring the honeyed mixture around it in order to form a ring.  When the mixture has cooled, carefully take away the jar)

“Waste not, want not.” Whether times are good or bad, through thick and thin, this has be the best, simplest, most deliscious and ecological recipe in the world. With a zillion possibles variations, start getting creative: rub garlic on the bread, use feta cheese instead of mozzarella, add onions… uh oh, my mouth is already watering!

Stale, but not dry, bread
Firm, ripe tomatoes, diced
Mozzarella, diced
Basilico
Oregano
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Cut the bread into squares, place the cubes in a flat pan and bake in a hot oven, keeping an eye on them so that they get barely browned.  In a large bowl mix the bread with the tomatoes and mozzarella.  Add lots of basilico, a pinch of oregano, salt, pepper and mix well.  Let stand in the refrigerator for half an hour prior to serving.