With restrictions constantly changing and restaurants constantly being opened and closed, it’s hard to get a break from cooking. When quarantine first started many of you couldn’t wait to have more time to dedicate to your homes and the kitchen in particular, but now that restrictions are dragging on, perhaps some of you haven’t gotten tired of your culinary routine. That being said, here at the Aia we’re here to help. Read on to get some fun and easy new recipes that will revamp your kitchen habits and bring some variation to your routine.

Pasta con le Cime (not to be confused with the famous pasta con le cime di rapa)

Cime refers to broccoli florets. The most popular broccoli variety here in Southern Italy is cime di rapa, or broccoli raab (fun fact: did you know the broccoli species comes from Italy - more info from Wikipedia). Le orechiette con le cime di rapa is the most popular dish in Puglia. It’s cooked by boiling the cime and the leaves in hot water with salt until they’re tender and then cooking the same pasta in the water you’ve boiled the cime di rapa, this allows the fresh pasta to soak up the nutrients that are leached into the water that the broccoli have been boiled in. For those of you who don’t Have access to cime di rapa or broccoli raab, we recommend pasta con le cime.

Pasta con le cime (serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1 head of broccoli or cauliflower

• Anchovies to taste

• 500 g of pasta of your choice

Preparation

1. Boil a head of broccoli or cauliflower florets in hot salted water until tender but still slightly crunchy. Remove from water.

2. Boil 400g of pasta until al dente (see package for cooking time) and remove from water.

3. Meanwhile toast a cup of breadcrumbs with olive oil in a pan with some crushed garlic

4. Once brown, mix pasta with broccoli or couliflower florets and top with breadcrumbs.

It’s a delicious and fast way to nurture a family of four.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Some of you may be intimidated by making an eggplant parmigiana. In the traditional recipe, the eggplants is breaded in flour and fried. <fun facts about eggplant parmigiana).

Easy Eggplant Parmigiana recipe

Ingredients

• 3-4 medium sized eggplants

• 1 can of tomato sauce

• 1-2 balls of mozzarella

Preparation

1. Slice 3-4 medium sized eggplants in 1/4 inch slices

2. Grill on a grill pan or electric grill each side until tender

3. Meanwhile prepare the tomato sauce. We recommend getting peeled diced tomatoes and mixing with salt, olive oil, oregano and a little sugar to cut the acidity. Then blend with a hand mixer to get rid of the chunks

4. Slice 3-4 mozzarella balls in thin slices

5. Now it’s time to assemble the eggplant parmigiana.

You have two options:

• Option 1. If you are serving as a starter you can make little individual eggplant towers by layering sauce, eggplant, cheeSe and more sauce, followed by another layer of eggplant, cheese and sauce. Repeat for as many layers

• Option 2. If you are serving as a main dish take a casserole dish and cover the bottom with sauce, then line the eggplants to cover the bottom of the casserole. Cover with cheese, sauce and then top with another layer of eggplants until you’ve reached the desired height (we recommend at least three layers). The last layer should be covered with sauce and cheese.

6. Bake in the oven at 200 C (400 F) for approximately 25 minutes.

Pasta con le cozze, rucola e ricotta dura

No pasta says Puglia quite like a fresh semola pasta with mussels, ricotta salata and arugula. Keep in mind pasta has a lot of rules in Italy, don’t add just any cheese to a seafood pasta, especially not parmesan. Ricotta salata is used often in Puglia to compliment salty flavors of the sea.

Pasta with mussels, arugula and ricotta salata

Ingredients

• 1 kilo 2.2 lbs mussels

• 500g cavatelli fresh sémola pasta

• 1 bunch of arugula

• Ricotta salata to your liking

Preparation

1. Boil the mussels until they open

2. Remove from the shells and drain the water from the mussels

3. Meanwhile boil the pasta until cooked ,see cooking instructions (don’t put salt as the mussels are already salty)

4. Toast some garlic with olive oil and lightly sauté the mussels

5. Mix mussels with pasta

6. Serve by topping with arugula and grating cheese on top to your liking

For those of you who don’t want to set foot in the kitchen, don’t worry, At the Aia’s got you covered. We offer farm-to-table meals, featuring mouth-watering local delicacies to be enjoyed poolside or under the olive trees. We’re waiting to delight your tastebuds! Book your experience now!