Divino vino

Last Friday while out sniffing out un italiano ristorante nuovo at the Dempsey enclave, I left unimpressed with the service and prices but hung onto the cock of our S$62 bottiglia di vino 'Possessioni Rosso' - an utterly delizioso velvety gem from the villa Serego Alighieri and Masi cooperation. Che romantica when I realised that these talented winemakers are also direct descendents of the poet Dante Alighieri (best known for his 'Divine Comedy').

Hmm, perhaps I might just drop in and drink my liver dry at Casal dei Ronchi slapped in between Verona and Veneto, since nearby medieval town Mantova is on my itinerary this autumn. Anyway I want to say salute to my latest amico E da Roma - ciao bello! Spero ti sei divertito leggere il mio blog. Allora, forse ci vediamo quando torno in Italia. Non posso credere che ho finito livello dell'intermedio 2 ora... and moving onto intermedio 3! I'm still shitty at carrying on conversations under pressure but hopefully I can string together a few sentences and replies back in my 'comfort zone'.

Whenever I'm hungry for Motherland, I'd whip up a HUGE bowl of pasta per esempio, last week I cooked penne al porcini e parmigiano in 2 consecutive evenings, to which my mamma turned her nose up at the heavenly pungency of the cheese. V had brought me a precious small block of parmigiano from Bologna 'La Grassa' that I grated lovingly and sparingly over each pasta meal. Here's the formula for bliss - go on try it, it's easy.


'Motherland' Penne Al Porcini e Parmigiano
Ingredients
3 fistfuls of penne, cooked al dente
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
10 slivers of dried porcini, soaked in hot water & drained
4 sprigs of basil, roughly chopped/ torn
1 generous tbsp freshly grated parmigiano
Pinch of piccante / chilli flakes
Generous pinch of salt

Method:
- Heat olive oil in pan and fry garlic till fragrant (not burnt!).
- Add porcini and piccante, stir around for 30s and add cooked penne.
- Mix well for 30s, then add basil and salt.
- Remove from heat and serve with grated parmigiano. Buonissimo.