All posts tagged: Italian cuisine

Pasta Aglio Olio to the Rescue

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I don’t know what it is about the 1st of January that everything touches ground zero and everyone has hopes of suddenly turning over a new leaf. And for most people that new leaf is losing weight. Everyone writes down that great resolution and goes on some sort of diet (or at least they start thinking of one). Unfortunately for me, everytime I even think of a diet – I get crabby and mean and generally ill-tempered. So to ensure everyone around me and I stay sane, my easy fix for a more healthy meal is to just cook at home.

Amiamo La Pizza – Fall in love with Pizza @ Mezzaluna (Movenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore, BEL Circle)

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Pizza! Not the rolled-out-of-your-backyard Pizza Hut one, but the really good Italian, wood fired thin crust, topped with fantastic cheese and fresh herb variety! I mean seriously, how can you not fall in love with that one? That’s exactly what ‘Amiamo La Pizza’ means and that’s exactly what I did – fall in love with it! I generally reserve my opinions till the end of the post, but this one deserves special mention – it blew my mind and captured my heart (not to mention the little pirouette my taste buds did!). Movenpick Hotel & Spa is hosting a gourmet pizza festival at their Italian fine-dining restaurant – Mezzaluna till the 21st of July. (Open for dinner). They have carefully put together a menu of pizzas from different regions of Italy which they have paired with wines from Moncaro. The pizzas are also offered with the choice of regular white or whole wheat crust. (I was skeptical of a whole wheat base, but once I tried it I was a convert.  It somehow tasted more …

La Tagliatella and a Girls Night out (Now Closed :( )

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A dinner date with the girls is never just a dinner date. It a rambunctious event! When eleven women meet for dinner, rest assured that’s where the party is! We chose La Tagliatella – the Italian chain restaurant. 100ft road Indiranagar (where else?) houses the first one in Bangalore and the second one in the country (Delhi’s Vasant Kunj was the first). I had already dined at their Barcelona outfit and was prepared to make space for huge portions and home style hearty Italian food. What I was unprepared for was completely missing the restaurant next to Sony world and driving around in circles. (That’s your hint – it’s next to Sony World!). I arrived half hour later than the appointed time and no one believed my story. They claimed I had to be blind to miss the huge sign and the ‘we are now open’ banner. Sigh…! The décor can be a little too much at first glance (ok – it’s actually TOO much), but it’s in line with the rest of the chains. …

Lunch at Aloro, Crowne Plaza (Electronic City, Bangalore)

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Bangalore is really being kind to people who love food. The number of restaurants cropping up every day and the many cuisines that you can eat here are amazing. It’s no wonder that people are upping the ante and offering us patrons of good food more opportunities to indulge. The ‘Food Lovers Gourmet City’ event (click here) offers prix fixe menus from 31 of the city’s top restaurants for you to enjoy. It runs from 15th – 31st of March, so I’ve been blocking my calendar and trying out signature dishes of the city’s gourmet destinations at a VFM price point. I told you we Bangaloreans had it good! Aloro at the Crowne Plaza was never on my radar (how far is electronic city!!) till this event. The menu looked too good to pass up. So a couple of us girls decided to head out for lunch. (No, this was not a kitty party :P). Thankfully one of them decided to ferry us there and I didn’t have to turn into a raving abusive lunatic …

Penne a La Vodka

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Featured on Foodgawker.com and Tastespotting.com on 24th Jan 2013 Featured on The Berry on 26th Feb 2013 I’m still detoxing after the excesses of December, but this dish needed to get made! I just got assigned an additional role at work and to add to that, we have a new boss. Changes, changes, changes – how I hate them! (Especially, when I’m not the one making them!) Since I’d sworn off alcohol atleast for a month (part of the detox plan), I needed to find an alternative. (And No, I can’t make the ‘special’ brownies). So I gave myself and my frazzled nerves some loving, in the form of Penne a la Vodka. It doesn’t count as cheating because technically, the alcohol content is supposed to burn off when you deglaze the pan with it. (It’s another story that when you’re off alcohol, even a whiff of it can send you into a happy place). Anyway, this is a classic recipe and loved the world over. It’s sophisticated enough to serve at a dinner party …

Bruschetta a la Italia – Red, White and Green

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This appetizer is so packed with flavor and color and taste, that it’s always a hit at a party. It doesn’t even need any cooking! So if you want to impress with minimal effort and maximum style – this is the one for you. I call it ‘a la Italia’ because once I assembled it, I realized that it had Red, White and Green. I was giggling away to myself very bemused, that an Italian dish must encompass the colors of the Italian flag – hence the christening. Bruschetta (bru-sket-ta) is a very popular starter to an Italian meal. Though many people assume that bruschetta is bread topped with tomato and Basil and olive oil (that’s a popular topping), it is actually just roasted/ toasted bread rubbed with garlic and some olive oil. You can top this up with interesting combinations and have a fun start to a meal. I always have Pesto and Sun Dried tomatoes at home, so this combo was a no breezer for me. I also picked up some lovely bocconcini …

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto

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When we think of pesto the first thing that comes to mind is the Basil pesto. But pesto has now become a generic term for anything that is made by pounding ingredients in a mortar and pestle. So the original form – the basil one, is now called Pesto alla Genovese. (That will always remain my favourite, but I am not won’t of trying other versions to increase my repertoire of dishes.) The other popular one’s are the Red bell pepper pesto and the Sun dried tomato pesto. I always work with what I have in the fridge at any given point in time – and yes Bell peppers it was. Pestos as you know are super easy to make and keep well in the fridge under a layer of olive oil. So it’s always wise to make more than you need and pack away the rest in the fridge. When one dish has more than a couple of uses, it climbs the ladder of success pretty fast. (i.e. I make it more often and …

Risi e Bisi

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All good food is comfort food but some rank higher in the list. And if it’s warm and soft and has ham and cheese in it… the points just go way up! When I first read the recipe, I concluded that I liked the name very much. Sounds just like ‘hot rice’ in Kannada! Risi e Bisi actually means rice and peas in Italian. It’s a classic Venetian risotto dish. Comforting for sure, but also simple to make. My version has sweet corn in addition to the peas, just because I think the sweet flavor complements the salty ham well. I use frozen peas in this dish. They are cheaper and are available year round. They also often have a better flavor than the fresh ones, as they are frozen at source immediately after being picked, which helps retain their sweet taste. I bought a kilo of very expensive risotto rice and am using it judiciously, but feel free to use Idly rice. (Apparently the final result is comparable). Don’t take my word for it… …