Italian Food Lovers

Again this year, Valrhona, a leading chocolate producer – from the cultivation of cacao to the final product – chose to present its new irresistible preparations at Academia Barilla.

As a matter of fact, the Valrhona meeting, entitled Il Gelato sotto i riflettori or “Gelato Highlight,” was held at the Academia Barilla headquarters in Parma, Italy. Here, Valrhona shared with their clients Read more…

Just in case you are still unsure of what to serve your guests this Easter, Academia Barilla chef Matteo Carboni has put together a festive springtime recipe that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. And it gets even better. In this instructional video, Matteo will walk you through the cooking process, step-by-step. It couldn’t any easier than this.

You will find the recipe for chef Matteo’s Easter rack of lamb with herbs and Read more…

Spring is in the air (and on our plates!) A look at three great springtime recipes found in the Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library.

Spring has sprung here in Italy, and it is no more evident than at the market. The stalls of radicchio and other bitter, winter greens are slowly disappearing, making way for next season’s fashions. What joy can be found in the arrival of tiny, tender fava beans, crisp radishes, spring onions and strong fragrance of fresh garlic. Read more…

This is not your average Hollywood award show. And thank goodness for that.

At this year’s Academia Barilla Film Awards, in place of red carpets and designer gowns, there were potato and onion frittata. The films nominated for an Academia Barilla film award included stories of chefs hard at work, a family of wine-barrel makers and even an impromptu cooking lesson.

On March 4th, Read more…

Here we are finally with Barilla USA Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni, who we have called in at Italian Food Lovers by mistake a couple of days ago - sorry Lorenzo!

Chef Lorenzo Boni and his team have been the spine of the Barilla Italian Cooking Weekend at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Garden Chef Series. Pictured here below, you can see Lorenzo in action during the cooking demo, surrounded by an attentive crowd and… the full range of Academia Barilla gourmet products, which are all available online at the Academia Barilla online store.

As “resident Chef” for Barilla USA Lorenzo proposed several recipes to the participants to the event, and we are glad to be able to share with you the first one today, an easy-to-prepare pasta salad: Farfalle Piccolini Pasta Salad.

FARFALLE PICCOLINI PASTA SALAD
A recipe by Chef Lorenzo Boni
(serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

- Barilla Farfalle Piccolini pasta, 1 package
- Academia Barilla Monti Iblei extra virgin olive oil, 4 tablespoons
- 1 ripe avocado
- Cherry tomatoes, 2 pints
- Red onion, julienne, 1 cup
- Pine nuts, 1 tablespoon
- Academia Barilla Pecorino Sardo Gran Cru, grated, 1 cup
- Basil, 5 leaves
- Lemon juice from 1 lemon
- Salt, black pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

Cook pasta according to directions, drain one minute prior to the lowest cooking time; drizzle with a little oil in order to prevent the pasta from sticking together and allow it to cool down flat on a sheet tray.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion with 1 tablespoon of oil. Set aside.

Slice the tomatoes in half, season with salt and let drain in a colander.

Sauté the pine nuts over medium heat till lightly brown.

Dice the avocado. Combine all the ingredients with pasta, season with salt and pepper.

Allow the salad to rest for half hour at room temperature before serving.

Thank you Lorenzo for sharing with us your pasta salad recipe - we’ll publish more recipe of yours soon again!