A Recipe To Enjoy....

This is one of my favourite recipes that is truly simple, tasty and fun to make! Make sure to follow the instructions carefully, and if you do decide to give it go make sure to send us your pictures of the final product.

Organic Mushrooms Alla Puttanesca with Espeletter Pepper

First we select local organic and super fresh mushrooms like lobster mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, and drizzle them with good olive oil from Spain. Then make sure to roast them in the oven for 20 minutes to concentrate their flavors and allow them to get SEXY as I say!

We then dice up some spanish onions(only fresh spanish onions will do here) with garlic, anchovies, baby grape tomatoes, capers, dried olives and fry them all up. At this point we add the roasted mushrooms and saute it all together for 3 minutes, then add 1/2 tsp espelette chilli powder from the Basque region.

This will all be served with lots or grated pecorino romano and a glass of Spanish tempranillo from La Rioja Spain. Delicious!

The one secret ingredient I also add at the end to top the mushrooms is "Guanciale Fritto" (crispy pig cheeks), and that allows the whole dish to transform into Mushrooms Alla Amatriciana Con Guanciale...hahaha.

If you take a look at this recipe closely, it is all about simplicity. We are only using 7 ingredients and of course LOT'S of care and great music in the background to keep us inspired!!

Chef Rene Rodriguez
Buen Apetito

Carbonara Facts - Basic Steps To Success

For the past couple of years, it seems that Spaghetti Carbonara is becoming a household item in many restaurants and dinner tables at home. Seeing how it's far from the most exotic pasta recipe, Spaghetti alla Carbonara (more or less literally translated as 'spaghetti as that of the charcoal maker') is a great middle step between that and just plain marinara. Despite carbonara's popularity and easy recipe, I still find that chef's overlook the simplicity of bringing out it's natural flavours.

The following basic steps are by no means the bible to making carbonara, but if you want to really impress your taste buds and the entire dinner table I recommend you pay close attention!

- The spaghetti needs to be super al dente, only the best organic egg yolks and real pecorino should be used to bind the sauce.

- The guanicial (pig cheek) needs to be tacky, crispy, hot and molten all at the same time.

- The cracked pepper should be fresh and coarse from a grinder, and last but not least the right amount of salt should be added while emulsifying the egg yolk during the cooking of the pasta.

It's not rocket science, however it does require some patience and timing. I'm quite confident that these steps will bring you success on the pasta plate.

Chef Rene Rodriguez

Buen Apetito