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ernie
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Good Evening/Buona Sera,

 

Does any kind soul know where I might find a type of pasta called bucatini (small pierced holes) please ?  It’s rather like long, but thinner macaroni, in a way.  It is well known in Italy in the recipe Bucatini alla amatriciana (pigs cheeks, cut into very small pieces) Miam Miam.

 

I found one or two sites in France which can supply, but the postal charges are “di troppo” – like, I mean, €17.25 for two packets.  Too high.

 

It would be kindness for which you would be in line for everlasting friendship (as it were).

 

Mi Ringrazie in anticipo/My sincere thanks in advance.

 

ernie

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Thanks ernie for asking about these pasta, I looked at the link redredwine gave

and, well, I am still smiling.......... as I think where I come from,

we'd call these 'straws'. I have never seen pasta like them before,

ever.[:D]

Have you not got an italian deli in your local big

town. We were lucky as in the Savoy, formerly owned by italian

ducs, there are still a lot of italian shops and I'm sure that I could

have bought this pasta in one of the shops.Or use that link, dear but not tooo expensive.

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And Many Thanks to you too idun, equally appreciated.

Unfortunately, here is nothing remotely Italian as far as the eye can see, so to speak.  I once drove 45 kms to check out an "Italian" resto, but the owner/chef, an amiable Italian, refused to speak that language to me as his wife, a nice French lady, would not allow it, because all their customers were French.  I’ll probably take a drive to Bordeaux if nothing comes up.

Bucatini are a little thicker than a straw would be.  The theory, so I was told, is that the little bits get inside the “tubes” although that seems a little fanciful, but it’s a smashing dish, always popular and quick and easy to make.

Here are some pics :

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bucatini+images

I always found the ideal accomaniment to be ... vino rosso, but perhaps you know that already ?  I'm sure RRW does

Arriverdela da ernie.

 

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I suppose it is the same with macaroni, the sauce gets inside.

http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/trouverlesprofessionnels/rechercheClassique.do?idContext=1920048509

edit: sorry that didn't work. If you bring the page up and then put 'boutique specialities italien' in Quo, Qui? and then 'Bordeaux' in Ou, it'll ask if you want epicerie fine, click on that and there is a list.

Have a look at that page and then try putting your local big town in, instead of Bordeaux, you never know you could be lucky.

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I have hesitated to say this but I have found bucatinni in both Netto and Carrefour.

Mind you, that's a few years ago.

My favourite is parpadella and I sometimes manage to find it.  I'll always buy a few boxes when I see it.

I think that's one of the main differences between French and UK supermarkets.  You can go back time and again to a UK supermarket and always find something you'd bought there before but in French supermarkets, you find something you really like and you never find it again!

Very strange...................

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Merci mint -  Ah .. you raise my hopes, then you dash them to the ground  :), but I'll check them out in any case.  Thank you for your assistance. 

Parpadella - I think that might also go under the name of pappardella/e.  I've had it in Italy, highly recommendable.  For me, pasta is THE meal, tasty, attractive in appearance, simple to prepare and not expensive, plus - an instant translocation to il Bel Paese.  If only I could find a shop stocked with Italian wine, but at the same prices of the local sludge ....  dream on ernie.

ernie

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Instant gratification ?  Mai, never, perish the thought, that’s a modern concept.  I tend toward Slow Food, an Italian institution :   http://slowfood.com/ .  To me, instant gratification means drinking good wine from the bottle …

 

 

And I am always ready and primed for the Italian weeks at good old Leedle.  Thanks for the reminder Betts.  They currently have a Chinese week, with some excellent stuff, at the right prices.

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[quote user="ernie"]

Merci mint -  Ah .. you raise my hopes, then you dash them to the ground  :), but I'll check them out in any case.  Thank you for your assistance. 

Parpadella - I think that might also go under the name of pappardella/e.  I've had it in Italy, highly recommendable.  For me, pasta is THE meal, tasty, attractive in appearance, simple to prepare and not expensive, plus - an instant translocation to il Bel Paese.  If only I could find a shop stocked with Italian wine, but at the same prices of the local sludge ....  dream on ernie.

ernie

[/quote]

Oh ernie, if you lived nearer, my OH can speak Italian with you!

Well, do you like opera?  If so, we can definitely talk for hours[:D]

There is a chap called Gino who has a programme airing at present on UK TV about Italine cuisine.  If I catch it again, I will give you a heads up for sure!

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[quote user="Pommier"]This is the cooking programme mint mentioned http://www.itv.com/ginositalianescape

and funnily enough, today I made a recipe which was on last week's programme (and it was lovely!) called Pollo all'aceto balsamico.[/quote]

Snap, Pommier, I was going to make that Italian dish.  So now, may I ask you something?

If you didn't have thyme, what herb do you think would be a good substitute?

I didn't make it a few days ago(when I was cooking a chicken) because I'd already drunk up all the white wine in the house and I hadn't been to the shops [:$]

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Mint,

Ah !  l'Italia, Roma, mi manca da Roma ... Magari ....

Your part of France is rather a long way away, I agree. Italians round this neck of the woods are as rare as monopaedic ballerinas, I'm afraid.

... l'opera, La Divinissima, Renata, Pavarotti anche Ornella Vanoni, Fiorella Mannoia ...  No, no, this reverie must stop or I'll lose control.

Thanks for the Gino heads-up, but I only have French TV, yes, I know it is considered oddball by many, but I do live in France.

 

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Well, Madame (or Sir ???) I don't feel at all qualified to answer such a lofty question, although I thank you immensely  for the compliment you consoder I might know.  Thyme is such an individual and strong flavour, I don't use it all that much, but maybe you could try basilico and or rosemarino.  The latter is excellent for the authentic potato pizza slices i used to have for a light evening meal, at a super Mamma e Papa place near the convent where I used to stay sometimes at the end of Nomentana.

I gottago.

Ciao da ernie

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I've got fresh thyme so that's what I used, but I've also got dried thyme which I'd think would be ok.

The only thing I'll change next time I cook this recipe is I don't think it needs any oil as both the chicken and the pancetta (most own up here - I used smoked lardons!) release quite a lot of fat.

Ernie - if you want to you could watch Gino's Italian Escape on catch-up TV on the computer.
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Now there is a word, 'authentic'.

Our best friends in France are an italian married to a french lady. We have quite a lot of french friends with an italian souche too. You can say authentic, but the arguments I have heard, 'animated' would be an understatement, as apparently all regions of Italy have their own authentic way of doing things and the other regions are wrong. In fact from the sounds of it, all italian families have their own recipes.

Ernie why didn't you move to the Savoie or Haute Savoie, even Isere, lots of italian stuff in all three counties and lots of families as I said with an italian souche and lots of people I know speak italian.

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Hi Pommier,

OK, Thaks for that, I checked the site, it looks tantalising, I'm defo gonig to give it a go.  And thank you for that link, I will check it out when I have a minute.

Mint :  Sorry I hijacked your message, a little confused there.  I've never been asked for culinary advice and jumped to  conclusions, that will teach me to read more carefully..

Much appreciated in any case,

Cheers from Ernie

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[quote user="ernie"]

Hi Pommier,

OK, Thaks for that, I checked the site, it looks tantalising, I'm defo gonig to give it a go.  And thank you for that link, I will check it out when I have a minute.

Mint :  Sorry I hijacked your message, a little confused there.  I've never been asked for culinary advice and jumped to  conclusions, that will teach me to read more carefully..

Much appreciated in any case,

Cheers from Ernie

[/quote]

No probs, Ernie, and no need for apologies.  I love it when people talk at cross purposes or when everybody posts at the same time and all the answers are all mixed up like in an Italian dish of antipasti (how many i's in that word?)  

Of the latter, my favourites are deep fried courgette flowers and those little round things like dough balls.

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PatHCA :

 

Well, I believe “Montalbano” is the name of an Italian TV series, but I would not watch Italian TV if you paid me, although the average Italian watches more than 4 hours per day.  Maybe I missed something good ?

 

But recipes for Sicilian food – Now you’re talking man !  Sicilian food and wine arrive like a bomb burst the first time you try them in Sicily.  I’ve been lucky enough to go there twice and can’t wait to go back.  The history of this island is rivetingly interesting and the people love to talk about their “Mama”, which is what they call Etna.  I could go on, but ….

 

When in Palermo I stayed at a B&B which is a member of “Addio Pizzo” (Goodbye to bribery) an organisation dedicated to resisting the Mafia protection rackets.  This takes great courage when you are aware of the number of people killed every year by the various Mafia-style organisations.

 

Yet another fascinating element of Italy.

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Howzit Mint !

You are very kind, I thank you.  

 

While I’m not a huge fan of the ravioli family, I do enjoy those small round jobs you mentioned, which might be calzone/calzolini, struffoli or piadine or even gnocchi or palline di gnocchi.  Also they could even be gnochetti/gnochellini (I’m guessing).   Every region seems to have its own specialities, which, although they may well be identical to other dishes found elsewhere, always seem to have quite different names.  Rather like Italian politicos you could say …

 

For the record, I have never managed to make gnocchi successfully, the results are usually horrendous.

 

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