Academia Barilla just broadcasted an online press release announcing to the media the launch of its latest artisan Italian food products. We want to provide a description of these new products to our Italian Food Lovers readers, along with some of our serving suggestions and delicious gourmet recipes.

Today we will talk about the Academia Barilla Italian Tomato Sauce, Academia Barilla Pesto alla Genovese and Academia Barilla Pitted Sicilian Green Olives.

ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE

Academia Barilla’s Italian Tomato Sauce is the result of a premium quality, exclusive Italian Scarpariello tomato grown in the heart of Emilia-Romagna, Italy’s Food Valley.

An incomparable fresh and sweet flavor enriched with extra virgin olive oil, this all natural tomato sauce is a traditional, delicious recipe with an intense red color great for a variety of Italian pasta courses.

Characteristics and serving suggestions:

- Aroma: Scent of sweet, vine ripened tomatoes.
- Flavor: Sweet and delicate with fresh tomato taste.
- Texture: Smooth texture is a perfect complement for a variety of pasta dishes.
- Serving suggestions: very versatile; its smooth texture is a perfect complement for a variety of pasta dishes.

PITTED SICILIAN GREEN OLIVES

Academia Barilla’s Pitted Sicilian Green Olives are personally selected from the centuries-old trees of the well-known Belice Valley of Sicily. Here, the red soil and warm climate offer the precious and renowned Nocellara del Belice D.O.P. olive variety.

Seasoned with hot pepper, local wild oregano and garlic, this traditional Sicilian recipe offers fresh and exceptional Mediterranean flavors.

Characteristics and serving suggestions:

- Aroma: Rich and intense aroma of olive pulp, enriched with Mediterranean spices.
- Flavor: An intense and fresh fruitiness with traditional Sicilian flavors.
- Texture: Firm olives with minced herbs and spices.
- Serving suggestions: perfect as an appetizers, a first course and as a snack.

PESTO ALLA GENOVESE

A unique non-pasteurized fresh pesto direct from the seaside town of Sanremo in Liguria, Italy. Made with the freshest basil of the Italian Riviera, top quality extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano and whole pine nuts.

Characteristics and serving suggestions:

- Aroma: perfume of fresh sweet basil and aged Parmigiano Reggiano.
- Flavor: tangy, sweet, freshly picked basil.
- Texture: chunky, minced basil and whole pine nuts.
- Serving suggestions: perfect for lasagna, gnocchi and pasta al pesto.

Enjoy Academia Barilla’s Italian gourmet gastronomy! Remember you can buy them all at the Academia Barilla online shop! Academia Barilla Pesto alla Genovese is exclusively available at Sur la Table at this Sur La Table link.

Tomorrow we will publish a gourmet recipe using some of the new Academia Barilla products, stay tuned!

Welcome back to Chef Matteo Carboni of the Academia Barilla Culinary School who, after telling us about the different variety of table grapes in an Academia Barilla video last week, will share with us his Chef advice on how to make Grape Must Jelly, and how to prepare Sugoli, a traditional Parma gourmet dessert. Enjoy the video chef tips!

As recommended by Chef Matteo Carboni in the video above, results are better when different varieties of grapes are mixed, which will result in a richer flavor. In the video recipe, Chef Carboni uses Sultuna, Pans and Moscate, which he introduced in his last video here on Italian Food Lovers.

Before proceeding with the grape hand-pressing. Matteo advises to use 4 pounds of table grapes in order to obtain 4 cups of table juice for 6 servings.

Not an easy job! You will surely need some strength to do this. Chef Carboni suggests to begin pressing the grapes with your hand, then to proceed crushing the remaining grape berries one at the time with your fingers before filtering the grape juice and giving it a final hand-squeeze to get as much juice as you can.

For 4 cups of grape juice we will need 4 oz of all-purposes flour that must be mixed with the grape juice in a bowl. Start with a little bit of juice. Mix with a whisk ensuring there are no lumps. Add the rest of the juice and keep mixing for a few more minutes until all the lumps disappear.

Put the mixture in a pot and bring to a boil, constantly stirring it. Keep boiling for 2 minutes before placing the mixture into molds while it’s still hot. Chef Carboni uses two different molds based on the servings he desire to prepare. Place the molds in the fridge, allowing them to rest for at least a couple of hours.

The first recipe prepared by Chef Matteo Carboni, Sugoli Grape Jelly paired with Pecorino Cheese and hazelnuts, is a dish that you can serve at the end of the meal as a dessert, or before the dessert. 

Chef Matteo Carboni concludes the video with a final dessert preparation, using the bigger Sugoli Grape Jelly molds that have been in the fridge for a bit longer. For the dessert presentation Matteo simply adds fresh cranberries, fresh mint and ground dark chocolate to the Sugoli Grape Jelly.

Chef Carboni also suggests trying a glass of Moscato wine (Muscat wine), to enjoy with this delicious Italian gourmet dessert.

Thank you Matteo, we can’t wait for your next video recipe!

Today we have a present from Sur La Table to all Italian Food Lovers, a 20% off Friends & Family discount coupon that you can use at any Sur La Table location of the gourmet and chef store across the United States.

Please click this link to download and print the coupon, that will look like the image here above. If you don’t live close a Sur La Table store you can always shop online and use the discount code 110811 at check-out, as suggested also by Jack Schwefel, Sur La Table’s CEO in his letter to Sur La Table’s Friends and Family:

Dear Sur La Table Friends & Family, 

We are kicking off the holiday season at Sur La Table and are delighted to offer you our special Family & Friends 20% Off Coupon, just in time for the upcoming holidays. Use it in any of our 72 stores across the country or at www.surlatable.com.

This special event is 6 Days only, so don’t miss it: valid from Thursday, November 6 through Tuesday, November 11.

Please find here attached a coupon which you can use to forward to your friends and family. To find our nearest Sur La Table store, visit the store locator page at our website. We also realize that not everyone lives near one of our stores, so to use the Friends & Family Coupon online, use promo code 110811 at the checkout window.

Have fun shopping!

Jack Schwefel, CEO
Sur La Table

Thank you Jack and everybody at Sur La Table for this nice and surely well appreciated discount offer!

Remember that you can find the entire Academia Barilla Italian gourmet food product collection at Sur La Table, and you can use the 20% discount coupon on some of the most delicious artisan gastronomy food products from Italy, only up to November 11, so hurry up!

Happy Halloween weekend to all Italian Food Lovers!

We know you will be eating plenty of pumpkins over the next few days, while playing with other carving scary Halloween faces like this one we found on Google Images!

Today’s recipe, our tribute to Halloween and Halloween treat to all Italian food lovers is to teach you a great way to savor those pumpkin seeds from your carved pumpkin! In Sicily still is a tradition to toast and salt the pumpkin seeds, and enjoy them as snacks alone (munchies) or with an aperitivo.

TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS, SICILIAN STYLE
A traditional Sicilian recipe from Academia Barilla
Cooking time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

- plenty of Pumpkin seeds
- Academia Barilla Monti Iblei Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Academia Barilla Natural Sicilian Sea Salt with Black Olives
- black pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

Start by scooping all of the pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin. Make sure to rinse the pumpkin seeds very thoroughly to remove all of the pulp.

Drain the pumpkin seeds and spread them out on a paper towel, allowing them to dry for a minimum of 2 hours. 



Preheat the oven 275 F. While the oven is preheating, pour some Academia Barilla Monti Iblei Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a ceramic bowl. Toss the pumpkin seeds in the Academia Barilla Monti Iblei Extra Virgin Olive Oil mixture.

Drain the Pumpkin seeds and lay across a baking sheet with an edge. Sprinkle with Academia Barilla Natural Sicilian Sea Salt with Black Olives and black pepper.
 Bake about 30-45 minutes, tossing every 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Allow the pumpkin seeds to cool before serving.
 Enjoy!

Happy Halloween to all Italian Food Lovers from Academia Barilla and the Italian Food Lovers blogging team!

Welcome back to Italian Food Lovers with more Chef recipes from the Barilla Italian Cooking Weekend at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Garden Chef Series event earlier this year.

Today Chef Rob Levitt (pictured here below at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s event) of Chicago’s gourmet restaurant Mado shares with us an interesting gourmet recipe from the Italian gourmet event: Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Salad with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Balsamic Must! Ready? Let’s go to the kitchen!

GRILLED PEACH AND PROSCIUTTO SALAD WITH PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO AND BALSAMIC MUST
A recipe by Chef Rob Levitt
(serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

- 4 slightly under ripe peaches (free stone are best)
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- Academia Barilla Unfiltered Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 tablespoon Academia Barilla Natural Sea Salt
- 4 twists fresh cracked black pepper (or to taste)
- 7 tablespoon Academia Barilla Parmigiano Reggiano (shaved with a vegetable peeler)
- 4 paper thin slices Academia Barilla Prosciutto di Parma
- 8 tablespoon Academia Barilla Balsamic Must
- arugula leaves (optional)

PREPARATION

Light a charcoal or wood grill, and let the coals burn until you have a nice, even, medium heat.

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Toss with the lemon zest, olive oil, thyme leaves, 2 tablespoon salt and pepper.

Place the peaches on the grill cut side down. Let them cook for about four minutes, or until they can be lifted easily from the grill and have nice lines charred into them (the grill marks are mostly aesthetic. If they stick a little, it’s ok, they will still get the smoky grill flavor we are going for).

Turn the peaches 90 degrees and let cook 2 more minutes. Turn over and let cook for 2 minutes.

Take the peaches off the grill and place in a bowl with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss together and let cool.

Cut the peach halves into thirds, divide amongst 4 plates, and season with remaining sea salt.

Scatter the Parmigiano shavings over the peaches. Lay 2 Prosciutto slices over the peaches. If using, scatter the arugula leaves around the plate and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.

Drizzle with the Condimento Balsamico, and finish with a twist of black pepper.

Thank you Chef Levitt for sharing this yummy recipe with our readership! We look forward to having you as a blog guest again soon!