andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

A few weeks ago I was in Sorrento - at  Gio Ponti Restaurant  in the spectacular  Hotel Parco dei Principi  to be exact.  It was my first visit back in nearly 2 seasons so I was super excited to see what  Executive Chef Vincenzo Piacente  had been up to.  Of the many dishes I tried and admired, this Neapolitan classic -  Candele Pasta alla Genovese  - stood out.  I had a chance to hang out in the kitchen as the chef and brigade were plating up.  I took advantage of that time to learn a little history about the dish from Marcello Mosca -- a true Neapolitan. Marcello shared with me that this classic recipe handed down to him by his grandmother was basically a poor man's dish.  Onions, carrots and pork were slow cooked to form the pasta sauce and it was used to top pasta formats such as maccheroni.   Nowadays, pork has been replace with beef - preferably with some fat to withstand the long cooking time ( a few hours at least). A popular choice for the pasta f

A little over a month has passed, but this appetizer starring flying squid by Chef Michele De Martino of Casamare in Salerno is unforgettable to say the least.  A dish that is a tasty mix of land and sea. I asked the chef for the recipe and here it is. Squid alla Luciana with Taralli from Agerola For 2 people you need 2 medium flying squid (cooked), onions to taste, 6 Gaeta olives, and a bit of Pantelleria capers, 3 piennolo tomatoes.   These  ingredients are mixed together with bite sized taralli from Agerola and a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Amazing! .