What i really love about Italy, well one of the many things, is that, you can still find shops that sell just one or to products, which they have been doing for years, decades or even centuries. They follow beautiful traditions, love what they are doing and do it so well, that it´s the best thing in the world. We found a small joint ecxatly like that(not by accident, we were shooting a documentary on Italian food culture) and here´s the story of the Rainone family and its recipe for the most delicious doughnuts called Bomboloni and Frati which the family, by the way, has been making since 1920…

Let´s make it clear: the Bomboloni are the ones with sweet pastry cream and Frati are the Doughnut shaped with the famous hole. The Rainone family sells only these two types of sweets – and that´s it! Well, almost. In the winter time they add fried Polenta, called Scagliozzi, to their sortiment and the Bomboloni come in three different variants; filled respectively with pastry cream, Ricotta cream and the mmmhhlicious chocolate cream.

Here´s the recipe for Bomboloni(fantastic name) filled with pastry cream.

1. Make the pastry cream following our 5 minute recipe here

2. work the flour, sugar, butter, the grated lemon zest, salt and the yeast dissolved in water into a non sticky dough – almost as it is a bread dough. Even better, use a stand mixer and beat the dough on medium speed.

3. Leave the dough, patted into the shape of a ball, to rest at room temperature in the mixing bowl, covered with a tablecloth, for one hour.

4. Punch down dough. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface. It has to be 1cm high. Use a 5-7 centimeters cookie cutter or a glass to cut out circles.

5. Cook in frying oil at 180 degrees celsius turning over the Bomboloni as soon as they start to puff. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the oil and leave them to rest for a minute on paper towel.Toss in sugar to coat.

6. Cut a hole in the Bomboloni with the tip of a knife and fill a little cream into the cake using a piping bag. Leave a small dot of cream on the top as decoration.

Ingredients serves 4

300g flour

50g sugar

50g butter

20g yeast and 150-200ml of water

Grated zest from 1 lemon

a pinch of salt

Cooking oil for frying

Visit the Rainone family and their Antica Friggitoria on Via del Cardinale in Livorno, Toscana

Claudia is a sucker for anything containing sugar, especially anything soft and creamy. Now, this Italian pastry cream is normally used for sweet tarts or inside the delicious Brioche(top picture)… But pour it over some fresh berries and thats your dessert right there!

How to

1. Bring the milk, lemon zest and vanilla seeds to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Remove lemon zest.

2. In the meanwhile whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Add flour little at a time and whisk well.

3. Add half of the milk and whisk well. Add the other half of milk and stir constantly until incorporated. Bring to a simmer and leave it simmering for a couple of minutes while stirring well.

4. Pour into a small bowl and leave to cool down with a piece of plastic wrap on top.

What you need

2 egg yolks

60g of sugar

10g flour

250ml whole milk

seeds from half a vanilla bean

2 pieces of lemon zest

L´aperitivo is a snack and a drink together with friends or family, at home or at a bar in the early evening. It´s more about socializing than about the food, but this little snack is so delicious that one can easily forget time and space. Normally we keep Italian sodas like Sanbitter og Chinotto around the house, which would be the normal drink for the aperitivo, but we ran out and “had to settle with” the tiny bottles of the thick and refreshing Italian apricot juice which we found hiding in the back of the fridge.

Easy snack

This recipe is from the Michelin starred restaurant Joia in Milano where I worked 3 years ago. There´s really nothing to it..

1. Cut the eggplant in thick slices and sprinkle some salt to take out the moist. Leave them on some paper towel or cloth towel for 10 minutes. Rinse well and pat dry them.

2. Coat the slices in the Chickpea flour. Fry them for a couple of minutes on both sides. When golden remove and leave to drain on paper towels. Salt well

Ingredients for Melanzane fritte

1 eggplant

100g Chickpea flour

good quality cooking oil for frying

salt

The leek and ham tart, also called Porrata or Torta di porri, is very similar to an ancient recipe from Florence. This version has less ingredients and is from the great Paolo Petroni´s cook book: Cucina Toscana. I had some leftover pastry dough in my fridge, but you can, by all means, make your own. I´ll throw in Paolo´s recipe for one as well. Enjoy it as a main course or as we did, as a late afternoon snack(Aperitivo) along with Italian Moretti beer.

´Aperitivo´ simply means getting a pre-dinner drink/beer and a snack at a bar between 6-8pm with your friends. The snacks lined up at the bar could be small sandwiches, olives, or pizzette(tiny pizza) and they are usually free when you buy your beverages. Pretty nice deal, isn´t it!? well anyway, this is how you do.

1. prepare the pastry dough by mixing together some flour(Italian Tipo 00 preferable) with salt, add the butter, which has room temperature and is cut in small pieces, the beaten egg and some cold water if necessary. Work the whole thing to a nice firm dough, rather quickly, and let it rest in the fridge for an hour.

2. roll out the dough and cover the tart mold(25 cm). Press the dough around the edges and prick it with a fork. bake it in the oven at 200 degrees C for 3-4 minutes. Then take it out.

3. Sauté the finely sliced leeks in 2-3 tbs of olive oil for 3 minutes or so and then take it off the heat. Beat the eggs, add the grated Grana Padano cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Finally add the leeks and mix well.

4. Cut the ham into pieces and place them on the dough. Pour over the egg and leek mixture and bake it in the oven til golden on the top. Let it cool down a bit before serving.

Ingredients – serves 4-8

For the pastry

250g flour

100g butter

1 organic egg and salt

The egg mixture

1 kg of leeks(the white part)

2 eggs

2 tbsp of grated Grana Padano(granular parmesan cheese type)

100g cooked ham

2 tbsp bread crumbs

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Autumn isn´t quite here yet! But the last few days have been pretty cold and wet though and they made me long for the more heavier dishes. Rustic, rich in flavours and cheaper cuts of the animal – like this veal stew ´alla Toscana´.

Spezzatino alla Toscana – serves 4

800g veal middle neck, cut into cubes

2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 red onion all cut into pieces

1 garlic clove, chopped fresh rosemary, 1 bayleaf

140ml dry red wine

400g peeled tomatoes, chopped

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Varm up the olive oil and the garlic in a large saucepan. When the oil is hot enough, remove the garlic and sauté the chopped vegetables for a couple of minuttes and then add the meat. Brown well on all sides. Add the wine and let it reduce a little. Add the tomatoes, bayleaf, rosemary, salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover the saucepan and cook very gently until the meat is tender.

A few months ago we had the privilege to go to Tuscany to shoot a documentary on Italian food culture. One of the many restaurants we visited was the famous Da Sandro e Elisa in Livorno(Leghorn). The city is a port city on the Ligurian Sea, and is known for its many traditional seafood dishes. One of these dishes is the exquisite, and easy to make, Squid with Swiss chard. Here is Sandro´s recipe for Le Seppie con le Bietole.

Squid with Swiss chard – serves 2

1/2 onion finely sliced

1 garlic clove

100ml/7tbsp olive oil

2 whole Peperoncini(dried Chili pebber)

300 g cleaned squid, body and tentacles cut into large pieces

300g Swiss chard coarsely chopped

2 ripened peeled tomatoes finely chopped

250ml/1 cup dry white wine

100ml/2/5 cup of fish stock

Salt and freshly ground pepper, fresh finely chopped Parsley

Warm up the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic clove, Peperoncini and onion. Sauté for 1 minute and then add the squid. Stir and cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, add the Swiss chard, salt and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add white wine and bring to a boil. Cook for another 4 minutes and then add tomatoes and stock. Cook over a high heat for 20 minutes or till the squid is tender. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Sprinkle with the parsley before serving.

Ristorante Da Sandro e Elisa, V. Condotti Vecchi 29, Livorno

http://www.ristorantedasandroeelisa.com/

Claudia´s grandma “Nonna Giovina” is 86 years old. She is original from Abruzzo, but ran away from home when she was only 16 to marry her boyfriend and settle in Tuscany. Her food is so tasty and full of love. This is her recipe for a small delicious Tuscan antipasto. You don´t actually have to make Pesto, here it simply refers to the Italian word Pestare, which means to pound, ground or beat. In this case just chopped parsley and chili. Anchovies marinated in pesto is a simple appetizer with few ingredients, so it is of utmost importance that they are of good quality.

Anchovies marinated in pesto – serves 4

8 anchovies preserved in salt

100ml Extra virgin olive oil

1 Fresh red chili

a small handful of fresh parsley

Remove the salt from the anchovies and take out the backbone. Lift off the top half of the fish to expose the backbone and bottom half, the backbone should easily lift off. Chop chili and flat leaf parsley finely together or grind it in a mortar. Mix ingredients with olive oil and pour it over the anchovies. Leave the marinated anchovies in the fridge for a couple of hours. Take them out of the fridge 1/2 hour before serving.

Suggestion: Salt-packed anchovies have a strong salty flavour. Leave to soak in water for one hour for a less salty taste.

One of the best flat italian omelettes is the Frittata with zucchine and zucchine flowers. The very tiny green courgettes with flowers, which you can find in almost every vegetable market around Italy, are just perfect for this recipe.

Frittata con fiori di zucchine – serves 2

4 organic eggs

1 small onion finely diced

4-5 tiny Zucchine(courgettes) with flowers, finely sliced

Olive oil, salt

Pour 3 tbsp of oil in a non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add onion and zucchine to the skillet and sauté 2-3 minutes. Beat the eggs and add salt. Add the eggs to the skillet stirring occasionally. When the omelette is starting to solidify and the eggs on the top are not to runny, turn it over, using a plate. Let it slide back into the skillet and cook it for another 2-3 minutes or till the Frittata is golden on both sides.

Cities around Italy still have shops selling nothing else but fresh eggs from local farms. A tradition of good quality products, local farming and animal welfare is held high.

De Gustibus is a new Italian food blog. Weekly updates, pictures, recipes and more. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook… First blog post is on its way, Enjoy!

Ciao, Claudia and Claus