Pasta is one of the most popular Italian dishes in the world. You can find it everywhere, it comes in all different shapes and sizes to suit every taste, but you have to be very careful to pick the right brands, in order to have the most delicious experience that surely will make your taste buds dance!

We picked some of our favourites De Cecco pasta, and some ideas of how you can create lovely dishes with it. Enjoy!

Penne Rigate were born in the North of Italy and take their name by their characteristic oblique cut. They are perfect for oven dishes, and innovative and original sauces, as well as with the traditional ones, such as all’arrabbiata, ragu’ alla Bolognese and many more.

Mezzi Tubetti durum wheat semolina pasta is a very short pasta originated from Campania in southern Italy. They are excellent in broths, and also perfect for broth soups or dry pasta dishes with light tomato and basil sauces.

Gnocchi di Patate is a typical dish of the Italian culinary tradition, in the various regions gnocchi can differ for their dough, size and shape. Combined with only selected potatoes and soft wheat flour, you’ll have a tasty and balanced product that can be cooked in a few minutes! They are perfect to create inviting dishes from preparations with a meat sauce, to more original recipes like creamy cheese sauces, to more simple dishes with melted butter, or parmesan cheese.

Remember this week we have 10% off on Pasta, so hurry up buy your favourite pasta and create delicious dishes to impress your family and friends!

As you may know Italians are passionate about coffee, but you’ll be impressed to know that Italy is not the biggest consumer of coffee in the world, the Scandinavians countries have a higher consumption of coffee! The reason is coffee is seen as a light drink to be consumed during meals, and for Italians coffee has a strong flavour and digestive-stimulating properties and therefore is consumed in small doses.

Coffee can be a cheerful, exotic experience that brightens our moments of relaxation, and an indescribable experience of the senses. Coffee offers an intensity and depth of flavour that reflects not only the inherent complexities of the beans, but also the hard work and knowledge that goes into growing, harvesting, importing, roasting and brewing coffee.

When you drink Kimbo Coffee, you just get that exact feeling. You can experience a creamy, full-bodied, sweet with a hint of chocolate coffee, with a strong aroma and well-balanced flavour.

Founded in Naples, the home of espresso coffee, Kimbo Coffee is one of the most unique brands of coffee all over the world. Here the sweet flavour of Brazilian coffee meets with the delicacy of Colombian coffees, the spicy fragrance of Indian coffees, the full body of African Robusta or the marked acidity of the coffees from Costa Rica.

Kimbo have expertly honed the art of making excellent quality coffee, and it certainly meets the most diverse tastes with a complete range of different products.

If you are an expresso lover, you definitely have to taste Kimbo Espresso Napolitano. The full body, intense flavour and persisten crema, makes a unique version of the authentic Napolitan tradition.

For those who love coffee but prefer a deccaf version, Kimbo Deccaf is a dream come true! This decaffeinated coffee preserves the rich aroma and full flavour of classic coffe, and it can be drunk at any time of the day.

For the ultimate coffe lover Kimbo Gold Meal is a most. This coffee is a blend of premium coffees, prevalently from the best Brazilian plantations, expertly roasted to strike a perfect balance between the intense aroma and full-bodied, round flavour.

So the next time you have a cup of coffee, make sure you choose the one that really suits you and enjoy till the last drop!

]]> http://www.nifeislife.com/blog/2012/01/from-the-world-to-your-cup/feed/ http://www.nifeislife.com/blog/2012/01/a-taste-of-the-mediterranean/ http://www.nifeislife.com/blog/2012/01/a-taste-of-the-mediterranean/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:12 +0000 samantha http://www.nifeislife.com/blog/?p=951 An enchanted island blend by all that is best about the Mediterranean. Sicily is one of the most incredible places in the world. With an inviting turquoise sea and a tantalising display of exotic and colourful ingredients, Sicily offers not just the perfect landscape, but also one of the most unique and fabulous cuisines in the world.

For Sicilians, food is a tradition but also an art. Some family recipes are passed down from generation to generation.  A product like sun-dried tomatoes has a traditional process that begins by choosing the most full-flavoured tomatoes, then they are traditionally dried in the sun, and to ad a unique touch they can be dredged with grated aged Grana Padano cheese and flavoured with the finest basil leaves… a match made in heaven!

Believe it or not, it’s possible to add some delicious ingredients of Sicilian cuisine to your ordinary recipes, just by picking the right products. The beauty of Italian (and Sicilian) cuisine is if you pick quality products, even the simplest combinations make for the most gorgeous meals.

You can incorporate to your normal salad, some delicious grilled artichokes; the char grilling intensifies and enhances the superlative flavour of this delicious veggie, and it definitely will give a fun twist to any salad.

And what about olives! The mix of black olives and succulent green olives makes a perfect combination; you can notch up this combination of rich and fruity on pizza and in salads too.

The marvellous semi-sundried tomatoes can go with everything and top any meal in a second. You can put them in pasta, salads, pizza, chicken, beef and so on.

We can go on and on about this mouth watering food, but there is nothing better than tasting it! We know we’re not in Sicily, but guess what? This week we’re bringing you the taste of the Mediterranean cuisine straight to your door!

So go on and try our Sicilian product line Diforti and experience the taste of the Mediterranean cuisine anytime you want it!

Hey everyone!

This time we’ll talk about one of the most popular yet delicious Italian biscuits ever!

If you’re Italian maybe you already know what we are talking about. If you’re still in wonder, let us introduce you to: Pavesi Gocciole.

Pavesi Gocciole is not just another biscuit, it is the perfect combination of the most delicious chocolate drops covered by a buttery shortbread that melts and definitely makes your taste budes dance!

What makes Gocciole so special?  Well they just have the right amount of sweet and chocolate, it’s like a splash of pure chocolate in your mouth that melts with a mellow, rich effect, but not for a minute do they seem overwhelming.

This delicious biscuits are incredibly popular in Italy amongst children and well… everyone else!

You can enjoy this mouth watering biscuits in the morning by themselves or you can try the Italian way: Take a Gocciole, dunk it in milk or chocolate milk and enjoy!

Yummy!

La Befana is one of Italy’s oldest and most celebrated legends. The name Befana derivates from the Greek word “Epifania” which means manifestation or appearing and it commemorates the visit of the Three Wise Men to baby Jesus.

Each year on January 6^th the children in Italy awaken in hopes that La Befana has made a visit to their house.

Legend has it that in the 12^th night of Christmas, the Three Wise Men were travelling to Bethlehem to pay homage to the new born baby Jesus. In their search they decided to stop and ask for indications of which direction to take; they knocked on a door and an old lady came to open it, they asked if she knew the road which led to Bethlehem but the woman did not know where the place was, the Three Wise Men asked to join them, but she refused because she had a lot of housework to do. She later changed her mind and went looking for the Three Wise Men and the baby Jesus, but was unable to find them, and so she stopped every child to give him a present in the hope that this might be the Baby Jesus.

Therefore, every year on the night of January 5^th the day of the Epiphany, “La Befana” will travel in her magic broom to every house in in search of the baby Jesus bringing gifts. Climbing down the chimneys, she fills the children’s socks with candy and presents if they were good and black coal or dark candy if they were bad.

Many families leave her a small glass of wine and a small plate of goodies.

So make sure to keep those stockings hung by the chimney tonight, you might awake with a sweet surprise from La Befana!

Give your loved ones the gift of great taste this Christmas with our super-sized, ultra special Royal Hamper. A collection of our most popular, most delicious, choicest products .

Inside your loved ones will find:

Salame Toscano Produced all over Tuscany, this tasty salami is made from finely ground pork meat and fat and flavoured with salt, pepper, garlic and white wine. It is characterized by a strong fragrant taste and intense aroma.

Pane Carasau from Sardinia This is the typical bread from Sardinia, incredibly thin and brittle. It’s perfect for putting with cured meats, cheeses or just sprinkled with a little olive oil and salt.

Wild Boar Salame is a traditional Italian mini salami made from wild boar with a unique texture and stronger flavour. Best to be enjoyed with some olives and a full-bodied red wine.

Cacciota Cheese with chilli This is the flagship Pecorino of Caserta, where cheese made from ewe and cow’s milk has been produced for centuries, and where the same ancient traditions are still used in its production. The Cacciota cheese has intense and spicy flavour because it is greased with oil and chilli. Use it to prepare salads, starters or in its own.

Extra virgin olive oil from Umbria it is an oil with a fruity flavour and slightly bitter aftertaste, of deep green colour with emerald glints and the pleasant fragrance of fresh olives. Ideal for every type of cuisine as both a table oil for salads, garlic bread, soups and cooked vegetables and for use in cooking.

Parmesan cheese Definitely a symbol of Italy! This hard cheese has a slightly granular texture and distinctive salty taste, definitely one of the world’s most popular and widely-enjoyed cheeses. You can taste it on various dishes like pasta, rice, or with fresh fruits as well as nuts. Accompany parmesan cheese with red wines like our exquisite Chianti Classico.

You can also find in this hamper a fabulous selection of  sweets like Traditional Panettone, Pandoro and superior quality nougat. As weel as exquisite wines like Col de’Salici Prosseco di Valdobbiadene and Amarone.

The Celebration Christmas Hamper has the perfect combination of good food, wine and sweet delicacies. Find out more about these lovely Italian delicacies:

For those who love pasta, we have the perfect option! Mezzi Paccheri di Gragnano is a lovely pasta made with durum wheat semolina. This delicious pasta is made near Naples, and it’s perfect to taste it with meat sauces.

Casareccia Classic Taralli, is a savoury crunchy snack from southern Italy(Puglia) aromatised with white wine and extra virgin olive oil, perfect for a tasty snack throughout the day!

White wine or Red wine? We have both! Col de’Salici Prosseco Extra Dry is an Italian white wine made with grapes from selected hillside vineyards  inValdobbbiadene, Treviso. This Prosecco has a soft texture, clean taste, with green apple fruit, floral notes and a delicate finish.

We have the best red wine!  Campolongo di Torbe Amarone Classico Masi is a tipically rich Italian dry red wine made from dried grapes from Campolonge de Torbe vineyard. This Amarone has an intense, boquet, with aromas ranging from bright, fresh fruit through dried red fruit notes to warm scents of chocolate and vanilla.

An exclusive product by one of the most famous italian chefs in London! Enjoy the exclusive Locadeli Olive Oil, from the celebrated Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli. Locadeli Olive Oil is unfiltered, and the notes of cut grass, tomato and artichoke make it an ideal accompaniment to grilled meats and cheeses.

Taste one of our most unique and delicious cheeses! Pecorino di Pienza, is a unique sheep’s milk cheese which takes its name for the ancient city of Pienza, the flavour is strong with a winy and somewhat tannic aftertaste. This cheese is made in the Province of Siena.

Dessert? What about a mouth-watering Italian Christmas cake?  Pandoro is the traditional Christmas cake from Verona, also known as golden bread Pandoro is topped with powdered sugar to resemble the snowy peaks during Christmas and is beatifully hand-wrapped to give a perfect presentation!

Also enjoy a fabulous selection of delicious sweets as Panettone, Superior quality Nougat and Baci Chocolate!

The festive season is almost here!  And what a better way to celebrate than giving your loved ones the gift of great taste this Christmas with our selection of Christmas Hampers!

This time is the turn of the Festive Feast Hamper, a selection of the most popular Italian delicacies beautifully presented in our traditional closed top hamper. Find out more about the delicious selection of products in this Hamper, you’re going to love it!

Unique in the world, the Traditional Mature Balsamic Vinegar is an exclusive balsamic vinegar produced in the Province of Modena, Italy -  is obtained from cooked grape must and aged for 24 months. Its traditional and inimitable flavour is a delicate balance between sweet and sour, fall flavoured and sapid with velvety undertones.

The region of Liguria, Italy is another famous region for their delicious food; this region produces one of the most renowned and delicate olive oil known as Ligurian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. These extra virgin olive oils are carefully selected in order to offer superior quality and an incomparable round and sweet taste perfect to tantalise the taste buds of olive oil lovers.

One of our favourites delicacies is Piennolo Cherry Tomatoes from Vesuvio, which owes its name to the Vesuvian farming tradition of braiding the bunches of cherry tomatoes around a piece of string tied in a ring, so as to make a larger bunch (piennolo) which is hung in a dry and ventilated place, the tomatoes can be picked off the piennolo during the following months. You can enjoy these delicious cherry tomatoes in a preserved presentation in a glass jar.

Following the sweet delicacies, you will love the sweet and incomparable taste of our unique Superior Sweet Jam, perfect as a filling for cakes and crepes or alternatively you can eat it with cheeses or ice cream.

You can’t miss the famous and traditional famous Italian Christmas cake, Panettone. This traditional Italian sweet bread originally from Milan is filled with raisins and candied fruits have become one of the favourite Christmas and New Year’s cakes around the world.

As a sweet final touch enjoy Baci Chocolate, one of the most famous Italian chocolates, the hazelnuts mixed with milk dark chocolate give each Baci its distinctive creamy flavour. each chocolate comes in a blue and silver wrapper with a little message inside, that makes it unique.

We’re sure you love Christmas desserts, and one of our favourite ones is truly a star among Italian cakes..Pandoro!

Pandoro is a traditional Italian sweet yeast Christmas bread from Verona. The name of this delicious cake shaped like a Christmas tree means golden bread as the name Pandoro is the conjunction of two Italian words pane (bread) and oro (gold). Pandoro has a pleasing yellow, almost golden colour due to the amount of egg yolks in the bread, and it is baked in a star-shaped mold, that gives the unique form of a star.

Pandoro is topped with powdered sugar to resemble the snowy peaks during Christmas, and some say it resemble the snowy peaks of the Italian Alps during the magical time of Christmas. It can be sliced vertically or horizontally into star-shaped slices that give a beautiful Christmas tree-shape presentation.

You can serve this delicious cake with different types of creams like mascarpone, melted chocolate, and flavoured whipped cream.  You can also enjoy Pandoro with the top sliced off hollowed out and filled with ice cream like vanilla gelato.

As you can see there are many ways to enjoy this mouth-watering Christmas cake, so don’t wait any longer and enjoy the unique taste of this famous Italian cake!

When honey, egg whites, toasted almonds and sugar met long ago in Cremona (Italy) they created a little miracle for Christmas: Torrone.

Five hundred Christmas ago, the Duke of Milan ordered his of Torrazo, the bell tower of the city.

Maybe you do not want a full tower of torrone, but you can still choose your torrone style! this sweet delight can be morbido (soft) or duro (hard).

Traditionally,in Italy torrone is eaten after lunch and dinner from Christmas Day until January 6^th when the celebration of the Epiphany (in Italy giorno della Befana) takes place.

You can enjoy a wide variety of torrone: you can have the classic one or if  you want to add more flavour you can choose chocolate, almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios, and you can also try the delicious combination of Torrone with limoncello just to name a few!

Taste this mouth-watering Christmas miracle with hot espresso or after dinner with amaro(bitter liqueur) or a sambuca (a sweet anise-tasting digestivo), you can also chop and fold it into softened gelato.

We’re sure you will love it!