RECIPE: Zia Elisabetta pasta with asparagus and ham. Seasonal, delicate and delicious.

Mr. Asparagus acutifolius belongs to the family of Liliaceae, picked in springtime, healthy food for its specific properties: diuretic and ideal for a pre-bikini diet.
In the kitchen, just wonderful for a risotto, Italian omelette, or simply cooked flavored with olive oil and vinegar etc

Today recipe is an idea of Zia Elisabetta, simple, quick and very delicious. You can use Farfalle, Penne or Maccheroni pasta or Maccheroni pasta (see our special Martelli).

Ingredients for 2 people:
250 gr. wild asparagus spears
100 gr. Tuscan ham
1 onion
black pepper
extra virgin olive oil Triglifo
sheep cheese Pecorino Toscano
250 gr maccheroni pasta

Wash the asparagus, cut and select the spears. Chop the onion and make crispy in a large pan with extra virgin olive oil Triglifo. Add slices (or cubes) of the Tuscan ham for a few minutes.
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water until al dente. Add the asparagus spears to the boiling water for the last 2-3 min of the cooking time (this will give a special flavor to the pasta).

Drain the pasta and asparagus, then mix in the pan with the ham, sprinkling grated Pecorino and adding freshly grounded black pepper.

Healthy and tasty spring dish for all.

Perfect match with our red wine DOC Macchion Del Lupo

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RECIPE Mamma Antonietta's best pasta sauce: Sicilian broccoli pasta.

Here is a simple and delicious recipe of a fantastic and rarely know pasta dish:

Main course for four people.
Get
+ 500 gr of our Maccheroni Martelli
+ 500 gr broccoli (better broccolini, now is the season!)
+ 2 anchovy fillets
+ red hot chilli pepper
+ salt
+ 1 garlic clove
+ parmesan
+ 1 small spoonsfull of pine nuts
+ 1 big spoonfull of raisins.

Boil enough water to cook the pasta in your beloved pot. Once the water starts boiling (only then!) add salt and then the broccoli (only the flower heads) and let the veg cook for about 10 minutes. Make sure not to over cook the broccoli, they must be still a bit hard. In the meantime, keep the raisins in a bowl with water to let them get softer for about 5 minutes, then dry out the water. When ready, take out the broccoli and put them in a plate. In the same water start cooking the pasta. Sauce: pour a bit of our extra virgin olive oil on a large pan and add the anchovy fillets and the garlic. The anchovies will melt in the hot oil and the garlic will get soon “blonde”. Once the garlic is toasted take it out and add as much as you like hot pepper (crushed or whole) together with the cooked broccoli. After 3 minutes add raisins and pine nuts, the sauce is done! In the meantime the pasta will be ready al dente. Mix the pasta for a few extra minutes in the pan together with the sauce. Just before serving top with sliced parmesan. You are practically a sicilian chef now.

DID YOU KNOW? Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family, and is closely related to cauliflower. Its cultivation originated in Italy. Broccolo, its Italian name, means "cabbage sprout." Because of its different components, broccoli provides a range of tastes and textures, from soft and flowery (the floret) to fibrous and crunchy (the stem and stalk). Oh yes.

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