Italian Food Lovers

Today we have for you another Italian food creation of Barilla’s Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni’s series of gourmet recipes made with the new Academia Barilla artisan gastronomy products: Sicilian Tuna Carpaccio.

Ready? Let’s go to the kitchen! Missing a Academia Barilla ingredient? Just follow the links in the recipe to find the respective products at the Academia Barilla online shop.

SICILIAN TUNA CARPACCIO
A recipe by Chef Lorenzo Boni
(serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 lb, tuna sushi grade, sliced thin
- 4 tablespoons, lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons, Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 cup, heart of celery, julienned
- 1/2 jar, Academia Barilla Nocellara del Belice Olives, sliced
- Academia Barilla Sicilian Sea Salt with Orange Zest, to taste
- 4 leaves, basil, julienned
- 2 slices, bread

PREPARATION

Arrange the tuna slices on a platter. Season with lemon, Academia Barilla Sicilian Sea Salt with Orange Zest and pepper; marinate for five minutes.

Combine the drained olives with celery, basil. Top the Carpaccio and serve with warm bread croutons

To make croutons:
Rub bread with Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Academia Barilla Sicilian Sea Salt with Orange Zest and pepper; grill or toast in the oven until slightly brown.

CHEF TIPS
While making this dish, keep the celery in ice for extra crispiness.

Thank you very much, Lorenzo! We are sure that our Italian Food Lovers readership really appreciated the additional Chef tips that make italian cuisine more tasty!

More recipes prepared by Chef Lorenzo Boni with the new Academia Barilla products coming soon…

We just blogged about the new Academia Barilla Italian Tomato Sauce and, as promised, here is the first recipe proposed of Barilla’s Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni’s series of gourmet recipe prepared using the new products just included in the Academia Barilla gastronomy line.

Today Chef Lorenzo Boni teaches Italian food lovers how to make Italian Fish Soup a classic seafood dish from the Italian gastronomy tradition - with, of course, with an Academia Barilla twist.

CLASSIC ITALIAN FISH SOUP
A recipe by Chef Lorenzo Boni
(serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

- 4 tablespoons, Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 white onion, julienned
- 8 mussels
- 8 pasta clams
- 1/2 lb sea bass fillet
- 8 shrimps, head on
- 1/3 cup, white wine
- 1 jar, Academia Barilla Italian Tomato Sauce
- 4 slices, Italian bread
- 1 tablespoon parsley, roughly chopped
- salt and black pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

Clean and rinse the clams and mussels very thoroughly.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion with 2 tablespoons of Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil for five minutes over medium heat.

Add the mussels, clams, Sea Bass, shrimp and wine; season with salt and pepper and reduce over high heat for one - two minutes.

Add the Academia Barilla Italian Tomato Sauce and simmer until the fish is thoroughly cooked.

Meanwhile rub the bread with the Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil and toast it in the oven until it is crunchy.

Arrange the soup in a platter, surrounded with the bread croutons. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil before serving.

Thank you Lorenzo for your recipes, and for using the new Academia Barilla Italian gastronomy line as main ingredients!

Look out for our upcoming posts: more delicious recipes from Chef Lorenzo Boni, Tuna Carpaccio and Spaghetti with Pistacchio - you don’t want to miss those yummy ones!

This month Barilla Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni proposes a scrumptious antipasto recipe, a variation of the classic Italian bruschetta, made with one of the new Academia Barilla ingredients we introduced last week, the new Academia Barilla Spicy Sicilian Cherry Tomato Topping (and other Academia Barilla gourmet products): Bread Croutons with Chick Peas and Spicy Tomato Topping.

Are you ready? Let’s go to the kitchen!

BREAD CROUTONS WITH CHICK PEAS AND SPICY CHERRY TOMATO TOPPING
A recipe by Chef Lorenzo Boni
(serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

- 4 slices Italian bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 4 tablespoon Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 jar (15 oz) Chick peas
- 1 clove Garlic
- Black pepper, to taste
- Academia Barilla Sicilian Sea Salt with Orange Zest, to taste
- 1/2 jar Academia Barilla Spicy Sicilian Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Topping

PREPARATION

Sauté chopped garlic in 2 tablespoon of Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil until slightly yellow. Stir in chick peas, cook for three minutes over medium heat.

After three minutes, process the chick peas in a blender with a little water until very smooth. Season with black pepper and Academia Barilla Sicilian Sea Salt with Orange Zest.

Brush the bread with the remaining extra virgin olive oil and grill or toast the bread until slightly golden brown.

Top the bread with 1/2 inch layer of the chick pea mixture and then place a small amount of Academia Barilla Spicy Sicilian Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Topping before serving.

Thank you Lorenzo for this wonderful recipe using the new Academia Barilla gourmet products!

Last Friday Academia Barilla announced with an official press release some gourmet news we have partially anticipated here on Italian Food Lovers over the last weeks: the launch of a new series of authentic Italian gourmet food products that enrich the existing Academia Barilla Italian gastronomy food line.

As we generally do here at the Academia Barilla press office, we republish the content of the press release while taking advantage of the blog publishing features to publish also the product pictures, so you can easily recognize them when you’ll see them on top shelves at the top gourmet food shops across the United States and the rest of the world!

We’ll also add direct links to each of the new Academia Barilla products at Academia Barilla online store, where you can order your gourmet specialties and get them delivered home in just two days!

Here we go with the first part of the press release (note: we split the press release in two posts as it was getting pretty long with all the images).

Academia Barilla launches new Italian gourmet food products to expand its authentic Italian food collection.

After launching the Giada De Laurentiis Selected by Academia Barilla Italian gourmet food celebrity collection, Academia Barilla presents a new range of authentic Italian regional food delicacies to bring to the gourmet table - the flavors and traditions of Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Sardinia, Sicily and Tuscany.

Parma, Italy, September 12, 2008 - After the successful launch of the Giada De Laurentiis Selected by Academia Barilla Italian gourmet product line, designed together with Italian Chef, cookbook author and TV celebrity Giada De Laurentiis, Academia Barilla announces a new expansion of its Italian gourmet food product collection with the release of a number of new food specialty products. These new products include rare regional extra virgin olive oils, tasty sauces and pesto, delicious green olives, an herbaceous herb mix and creamy cheese spreads.

Extra Virgin Olives Oils

The first two products added to the Academia Barilla specialty food collection are two Italian olive oils that enrich the already large collection of Academia Barilla estate bottled Italian extra virgin olive oils.

The new 100% Italian Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil brings to dishes a very fresh taste, with strong undertones of green grass, Pachino tomatoes and oregano. 

100% Italian Unfiltered is the most natural extra virgin olive oil produced in Italy with innovative methods that surpass traditional centrifuge processes, leaving the oil’s original flavors and properties intact, with no sediments or pulp.

Academia Barilla also added a 100% Italian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, one of the few organic olive oils available made from 100% Italian, organic olives, that brings a mild taste to the table, with hints of ripe olive, grass and sweet almonds.

Sauces and Pesto

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

With 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.

Another addition to Academia Barilla is a new Academia Barilla Pesto Genovese, a unique non-pasteurized fresh pesto made in the seaside town of San Remo in Liguria with the freshest basil of the Riviera, top quality extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano and whole pine nuts.

Introducing the new Academia Barilla’s bruschetta and pasta toppings!

Academia Barilla Spicy Sicilian Cherry Tomato Topping and its mild version Sicilian Cherry Tomato Topping are two delicious succulent blends of naturally sun dried cherry tomatoes and chili peppers, from the small Sicilian town of Pachino, made following the authentic Sicilian recipe with local sweet tomatoes, fresh basil and hot chili peppers for the spicy version.

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We split the press release here to announce all the other exciting new Academia Barilla gourmet products at the next blog post! For more info about Academia Barilla and the new gourmet food products, please contact Stephanie Sette in the United States by calling +1 847-405-7564, US toll-free 866-772-2233, or emailing ssette@barilla-usa.com.

Stay tuned with Italian Food Lovers and Academia Barilla!