Italy has a wonderful culinary tradition of using locally grown beans, legumes, and grains one type of which is the ‘farro’ or spelt grain. It is a lot like barley but has a nutty flavour due to the drying process employed after harvesting. You may even have eaten farro without actually knowing.

This insalata di farro makes a great summer salad using the farro grain. Ingredients include: farro, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, black olives, capers, one diced carrot and one diced red onion, fresh basil and to dress some olive oil, black pepper and salt. Being a salad and all you can then add what you like and let your imagination loose.

The recipe is from Eleonora on Aglio Olio e Peperoncino - see her post on what to do with your salad once you’ve got your ingredients. And if you haven’t checked out her marvellous recipes and encyclopedic knowledge of the Italian culinary tradition, you’re missing out.

Photo | Flickr

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This easy Italian recipe will have you making homemade focaccia with only a little patience required for rising time. Focaccia is a tradition that is most closely linked with Liguria, where you can generally find Italy’s best focaccia.

The ingredients for this classic rosemary and potato focaccia are: 25 grams of yeast, 100 ml of warm water, one teaspoon of sugar, two boiled potatoes, some rosemary and ‘manitoba’ flour. For the top of your focaccia you will need plenty of olive oil and salt.

Mix the yeast and sugar together, slowly add the water and then mix with the flour (unfortunately our recipe doesn’t specify how much so it might be hit and miss at the start). Knead your dough into a soft, large and elastic ball. Leave it to prove, covered, for about 30 minutes.

When the dough is about double its original size, then roughly mash the potatoes, mix them with the dough and place it in all in an oven tray. Drizzle some olive oil over the top, add salt and rosemary. Cook in a hot oven of 180°C for about 35 minutes. This makes a perfect Italian snack for any party!

Photo | Flickr

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This Italian recipe is quick and easy to prepare; in no time you will have a delicious snack!

Ingredients; Manitoba flour; I/2 cup warm water; yeast; 1 teaspoon sugar; stoned black and green olives; mozzarella cubes; oil; salt.

Directions: mix the sugar and yeast and pour in the warm water. Next sift the flour and start to knead until shiny and elastic. Cover and leave it to rest in a warm place for about an hour. When it has doubled in size, start to roll it out with your hands. Add the filling and roll into balls. Sprinkle with salt, add oil and bake at 180 c for 20 minutes! Delicious!

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Whether famous or not, apples are a traditional Italian product, with the most well known being the apples of Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy’s north. An old Italian food festival is being revived though, at Casalnoceto, between Alessandria and Pavia, where the apple was once king.

At the eastern border of Piedmont, the festival or ‘sagra‘ of the ‘pom di moj’ (in Italian dialect), is being held to celebrate the method that was once invented to preserve apples. The ‘moj’ method was one where healthy apples were washed, placed in a demijohn with a large neck, and covered with a slightly alcoholic wine and vinegar. They were kept there for about 40 days and then were taken out towards the end of March to be eaten at the traditional spring festival.

The apple festival of Casalnoceto takes place on Sunday, March 21st, starting at 9:30 am and going all day. You can taste the bitter-sweet local apples and discover this relatively unknown but beautiful part of Italy. Casalnoceto is located about 100 km east of Turin, and only 75 km from Milan, making it a great option for a day tour from Milan. For more information on the town, see the Piemonte in dettaglio site.

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This old Italian recipe for bread-crumb balls comes from Apulia, a region in Southern Italy; it’s delicious and will leave your taste buds hungry for more!

Here are the ingredients: bread crumbs; 1 egg; grated pecorino cheese; 1 garlic clove; parsley; extra virgin olive oil; salt.

Preparation: soak the breadcrumbs in a bowl of milk, then drain ( squeeze to expel all the remaining liquid) Next add to it the egg, pecorino, oil, garlic, chopped parsley and salt. Roll into balls and then fry in a little oil. Cook the breadcrumb balls until golden brown.

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Bruschetta is a delicious Italian appetizer that one can prepare in no time at all. Here are the ingredients: four or six slices of durum wheat bread; 1 large potato; salmon; lumpfish roe; oil; salt and white pepper.

Preparation: cook a big potato in slightly salted water, drain and then chop into small cubes. Next place them in a pan with a little oil, pour in sour cream and mayonnaise and stir until soft and creamy. In the meanwhile toast the slices of bread until golden and crispy. Next pour the sauce over them and garnish with salmon, lumpfish roe and dill.

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World famous Italian chef, Gualtiero Marchesi, has decided to dedicate a new sandwich to Italy. The chef, famous for his Michelin-star efforts for Italy, is making the sandwich not long after the brand image campaign surrounding the McItaly burger.

Marchesi is creating three sandwiches inspired by Italy, and by its modern architectural promise, particularly associated with Expo 2015. The chef from the La Scala restaurant, the Biffi Scala, envisions a new-age Milan - that created by the likes of Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid.

Marchesi’s sandwiches will adopt the shape of the three Milan skyscrapers that the two architects are building at the CityLife complex in Milan. The buildings have been nicknamed: the ‘Dritto’ (Straight), the ‘Curvo’ (Curve) and the ‘Storto’ (Crooked). We will have to wait to taste them…

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We’ve looked at plenty of Italian snacks here on Dolce Vita, but this is the first I’ve heard of anything like this Italian cheese snack. If you’re going to throw an Italian snack party, you could try this “parmesan cheese pudding” with your friends.

Ingredients: 200 grams of grated parmesan cheese (make sure it’s the good “parmigiano” stuff), 200 grams of robiola (like stracchino cheese), three eggs, two egg whites, 200 mL of fresh cream, 50 grams of flour, 40 grams of butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Mix the parmigiano and robiola cheese together in a bowl, add some butter and nutmeg, and then add half the flour and cream. Mix together for a smooth consistency. Add the eggs and egg whites and continue mixing. Grease six small tins, add some flour and then pour in the mixture. Place all the tins in an oven-proof dish with some water in the bottom and cook in a hot oven at about 170°C for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

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There are many Italian cheeses that you can treat yourself to, and often the enjoyment is increased by choosing the right side serve for your cheese. With soft cheeses, aged cheese and everything right down to the simple ricotta or mozzarella, Italy has much to offer. But if you experiment with other traditional Italian products like marmalade, jams and other sweet or savoury accompaniments, you will find yourself in a real cheese paradise.

For example, with the asiago cheese from Trentino, you could try a “radicchio” or chicory condiment, where the bitter taste of the vegetable works well with the slightly mature cheese. A soft cheese, but with a strong taste, like “caciotta” blends nicely with a forest fruit or strawberry and raspberry jam, with its slightly sour taste.

A classic marriage of Italian cheese and condiment is a vintage pecorino with fig jam. Its perfume and sweetness blends nicely, and the fig accompaniment can be used for harder cheeses like parmigiano reggiano (parmesan) or grana padano.

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If you’re looking for great happy hour in Rome, try the American Bar Ballantine’s when next you’re in the eternal city. It’s located on via Salvatore di Giacomo, 19/23 and has jumped on board the current trend of happy hour and aperitifs that many Italians are now enjoying as essential part of their Saturday night out.

Ballantine’s serves food with aperitifs from 6pm to midnight every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, including hot pasta buffet, for about ten euros a head. You should consider this your drink and dinner all in one - we certainly don’t recommend backing up for food at a restaurant somewhere after this happy hour!

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