Bertolli with Butter – an Evening with Gennaro Contaldo

I have seen Gennaro Contaldo many times on television on his own or with one of his friends Antonio Carluccio or Jamie Oliver but let me tell you meeting him in person is a great experience. The man is a true gentleman, self effacing with a great sense of humour!

I had the pleasure of meeting Gennaro at an event held at Food at 52 on behalf of Bertolli with butter – an ingredient that gives you the best of both world in the cooking department.  Adding olive oil to butter gives a higher smoking point i.e. the food will be able to be cooked at a higher temperature before smoking and burning.

As usual at any event held at Food at 52 there are plenty of lovely plates and dishes over flowing with fresh and tantalising ingredients.

I have made pasta quite a few times at events and cookery schools but I didn’t really get excited or enjoy the experience.  Working with Gennaro was a pleasure, hearing him describe the process of starting with one egg and 100gm of ’00’ grade pasta flour per person (we made a double dose each for the practice) and turning it into the simplest and purest form of food heaven, Italian style!

We began rolling out our pasta dough and for the first time I really enjoyed the experience, I really ‘got it’!  Gennaro said my long piece of pasta was excellent!

We then stood back and watched the pasta master create loads of different shapes ready for the simplest sauces!

A spinach and ricotta ravioli with a butter an mint sauce. To serve 4 uses 100gm Bertolli with Butter ….

or you could use the same mixture to make Tortelloni with Butter and Mint sauce …

A plate piled high with a selection of wild mushrooms ready to make ……

….. Tagliatelle with wild mushrooms – to serve 4 only uses 50gm of Bertolli with Butter.

Farfalle with peas and mint – to serve 4 uses only 50gm of Bertolli with Butter.

And finally a simple penne shape with Bertolli with Butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese – the simplest essence of Italian pasta you can make!

Gennaro says there are four main points to simple, delicious, good and easy pasta.

* It’s all in the water,
* Pay attention to the instructions and timer,
*Al dente is ‘numero uno’
* There is a perfect pasta shape for each dish or sauce.

I shall be following these tips and look forward to enjoying fresh pasta.  We were sent home with a pasta maker and some Bertolli with Butter. There is no need to open a jar of sauce when you can use Bertolli with Butter for the tastiest and easiest sauces!