My father used to say: It’s all about the best quality ingredients you have in your kitchen to create a tasty recipe.

And I feel so lucky that since my childhood my palate got to experience the True Italian Taste! This makes it very easy today to recognize if a product derives from genuine and high-quality ingredients.

Now you can ask, how can you recognize an original Italian product?
To recognize real Italian products you have to read PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or D.O.P. It stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta (literally Protected Designation of Origin.

According to latest market insights, the most copied Italian product is Parmigiano Reggiano, followed by Prosciutto di Parma and San Daniele, but also, Grana Padano cheese, Mozzarella di Bufala, Asiago and Gorgonzola cheese are copied.

Pay attention on the labels and the packaging. If you read “traditional ham” or “country ham” for example, usually they aren’t real Italian products.

100% Made in Italy products combined with creativity make the magic happen in the kitchen!

On this occasion, Chef Cristian Pratelli from Casa Artusi and presenter Sara Bello provided a group of media experts with their expertise during an online cooking class organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce from Geneva & Zurich under the motto: Authentic Italian Table. Chef Cristian used a selection of fantastic Italian products we had received at home, too.

Can you imagine how high my heart jumped when I got delivered the True Italian Taste box full of flavours?

This is what the box included:

A white wine called Greco di Tufo – L’arietta Vinosia from the Campania Region!
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A Franciacorta from the company Ca’del Bosco
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A Moscato sweet wine with bubbles called “Dolce Le Rughe”
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Oliixir Biologic Extra virgin Olive Oil from Sicily distributed by Foodforhealth in Switzerland
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Pacchetelle di Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP
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Olive Caiazzane Nuova Eden – Agricola San Giovanni Antonio
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Conchiglie Pasta di Gragnano – Afeltra
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Ceci di Controne – Chickpeas from Michele Ferrante – Controne (Salerno)
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Risotto rice from Risoacquerello
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Parmigiano Reggiano 24 month Consorzio Vacche rosse

What would you create with Conchiglie pasta, tomato sauce, eggplants, Parmigiano Reggiano and Mozzarella di Bufala?

Chef Cristian inspired me a lot with the preparation of the crunchy rice paddies paired with hummus & Friarielli. By now I had never stuffed Conchiglie pasta with mozzarella di Bufala &  eggplant! Watch how I prepared the Conchiglie here.

How to prepare the Conchiglie pasta

Ingredients:

• 200 gr of Conchiglie Pasta Afeltra
• 1 aubergine
• 250 gr Pacchetelle di Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP
• 2 Mozzarella di Bufala (ca. 125 gr each)
• fresh basil
• Biologic Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Oliixir

Preparation:

• Boil the Conchiglie for ca. 7 Min. – Take them out of the water and let them cool down.
• Peel the skin of the eggplant and cut the same amount of stripes (ca. 0.5 cm thin) as Conchiglie you are going to stuff.
• Cut the eggplant into little cubes and pan-fry them golden with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Season with salt and herbs. Let it cool down. Fry the eggplant stripes until they get golden, too – put apart.
• Cut the Mozzarella into little cubes, and add it to the eggplant cubes.
• In another pan, fry the garlic with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the tomato to make a delicious sauce.
• Stuff the Conchiglie with the cubes, and make a loop with the eggplant strip around the Conchiglia so that it looks like a little cute package.
• Take a square mould and distribute the Conchiglie
• Pour the tomato sauce over the Conchiglie as a final step. Grate as much Parmigiano Reggiano you like over the pasta
• Put it in the oven for ca. 20 min. You can put an aluminium foil for the first 15 min. in order to prevent the pasta to dry out.

Pair a delicious white wine from Campania – The Greco di Tufo “L’arietta Vinosia”. It is refreshing with a marked but harmonious acidity, supported by fresh minerality.

A big thank you to all involved parties for this unforgettable culinary trip with 100% Made in Italy products!

In the mood to get inspired on a Piedmont Trip? Read my blog post here!

This blog post has been created as part of a collaboration with the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Switzerland. The project “True Italian Taste” is part of the government program “The Extraordinary Italian Taste” which is promoted and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and carried out by Assocamerestero. It was launched in 2016 in the markets of North America, to then land in the following years also on the main reference markets of Italian agri-food exports in Europe, South America, Asia and Australia. The project is being developed in collaboration with 36 CCIEs in 23 countries around the world and aims to raise awareness among foreign consumers about the consumption and informed purchase of food 100% made in Italy to counter the phenomenon of Italian Sounding, which improperly uses words, colours, locations, images, names and recipes that recall Italy for foods that have very little Italian about them. True Italian Taste aims to spread a greater knowledge of the characteristics of typicality, places of origin and nutritional aspects and DOP-IGP certification.

My personal highlight: Traditional Neapolitan Pizza – I am happy I have found you crispy & wood fired

Living in Zurich is absolutely a privilege. The choice of international food is diverse, you don’t get annoyed so fast. Nevertheless, it took me a while to find a pizza place, that makes the pizza according to my desire and demand.

How a pizza should be if you ask my opinion

The pizza bottom thin and crispy, but slightly chewy on top, the tomato sauce fresh, ideally with San Marzano tomatoes grown in the rich volcanic soil. The cheese only premium Italian Quality Fior di Latte. It’s a second variant of mozzarella created using fresh cow’s milk. The alternative that can be used is Mozzarella di Bufala from the Campania region. This is made by using the fresh milk of water buffalos. Other cheeses do not belong on top of a pizza!

How to recognize the difference: the mozzarella melts and the Fior di Latte forms a string,

I have found a pizza following my requirements at Ristorante Più located at Kasernenstrasse 95 / Europaallee in the old Sihlpost. The restaurant belongs to the well-known family Bindella offering traditional Italian cuisine in several restaurant in Switzerland.

Talking to one of their Managers Davide Di Salvo made me immediately understand, that important ingredients are passion and care in the selection of every single ingredient. He shares with me the secret of the Fior di Latte used on their pizza. I prefer Fior di Latte on the pizza, since it is less fat than typical mozzarella and makes my stomach not fill full after the meal. The dough they prepare at Più gets enough time to rest, at least 48 hours, this makes the dough ideal to digest.

Did you know, that the art of Neapolitan pizza making has joined UNESCO’s list of “intangible heritage”?

The Pizzaiolo team is from South Italy of course, I feel home sharing stories about food and observing them creating the magic that comes in a approx. 400 degrees heated wood fired oven. After only 3 minutes the pizza is crispy and ready for me. The ambience at Più is typical Italian. The building is spacious, stylish and with true Italian vibes. I feel happy here!

Choose between two basic pizza and create your individual one!

In the mood to choose by yourself what comes on your pizza? Try this concept at Più: order between the Marinara pizza (tomato sauce, garlic, oregano) and the Margherita (tomato sauce, fior di latte, basil) as the base. Get toppings to share with your friends. Grilled vegetables, parmesan cheese slices, bresaola, fresh tuna or rucola for example.

Try their antipasto with the burrata and the pane carasau. It is a unique, very thin crispy bread you would only get 1000 Km far away on a Sardinian Island! An absolute must. The matching aperitivo is the Apertas, it has some Aperol, lime juice and a cortese cedrata made of a very special Italian Lemon sort.

Do you like to enjoy a quality pizza to go, try their area next to the main restaurant. The pizza is smaller of course, costs start as of 9 CHF (marinara). In the main restaurant Pizza start as of 22 CHF (Pizza dello Chef with ham and champignons)

Soon I will be exploring their other branch at Schiffbau that has been recommended to me to be a unique place for other true Italian dishes.

Address: Kasernenstrasse 95, 8004 Zürich

Opening hours: Monday – Thursday:  11.30–14.30 / 17.30–23.30 uhr , Friday: 11.30–14.30 / 17.30–24 .00,  Saturday: 11.30–24.00, Sunday: 11.30–23.00

In the mood of more restaurants in Zurich? Get inspiration on my food guide here.

www.piu-ristorante.ch