Okra

Growing up in Italy, I must admit I had never even seen or heard of Okra, but when I moved here I was finally introduced to it. My friend Chris usually puts it in his famous Ginger Soup, but this summer, during my family vacation in the Greek island of Paros, I tried a different version of it. The version I had in a small Taverna in Paros, was Okra with Tomatoes. I decided to try it myself and found a good recipe for it in an old Greek cookbook my mother gave me when I moved to London, called Greek Cooking by Lesley Mackley. I love Greek food because it is so simple but so tasty, and this Okra recipe was really easy and quick, so here it is (I changed it a bit):

Okra
Olive oil
Chopped Onion (She says to add a leek and a clove of garlic, but I only used onion)
Tomatoes (Chopped in small pieces)
Tablespoon of Lemon
Salt and Pepper
A pinch of Sugar

First, cut the stalks off the Okra carefully without piercing the pods.
In a large pan, heat some Olive oil, and then add the onions until gold.
Add the Okra and let cook for about 5 minutes, covering pan with a lid.

Now add the chopped tomatoes, (I added some passata as well as the chopped tomatoes to make it a bit saucier), sugar and lemon.
Let cook until sauce is reduced and Okra is tender.
Sprinke some salt and pepper and it's read to eat!

I love it a side dish with meat, enjoy!

Salone del Gusto 2012

I was lucky enough to attend this years Salone del Gusto in Torino, thanks to my mother who let me tag along with her and help out with the work.
The salone happens every two years, and this was actually my third time at the Salone, and loved it! This was the first year that the Salone and Terra Madre were both under the same roof, so I got to taste some amazing food from all over the world, not only Italy. Thought I would share some of my favourite pictures from the trip:

The city of Torino is beautiful and its people are as well, so it is really worth a visit.

Turkish Breakfast

I've never liked eating anything remotely sweet for breakfast, so im always excited to see what people have for breakfast when I travel to other countries. In Spain, I loved the Pan y Tomate (literally bread with tomatoes), but it was when I traveled to Istanbul that I found my perfect breakfast: Turkish Breakfast.
In Italy, it is extremely rare for people to eat a big breakfast, and it usually consists of a cornetto and cappuccino, rarely do people make a more 'salty' choice.
Turkish breakfast usually consists of: cheese (feta, or any kind you prefer), olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, some kind of cold-cut meat, and an egg. I usually have mine without the meat, and with a boiled egg, in an attempt to make it healthier; all comes with a piece of bread (I choose brown).
I'm sure   any Italian would be horrified to know that I like to have cucumbers and olives for breakfast, but I dont care, it still remains my favourite breakfast!

Sophie is back in London

I haven't been really good at keeping the blog up to date whilst on holiday, but, now I am back in London and ready to write about the beautiful things going on again!

Since this is the first post after a long summer of no-posts-at-all, I thought I might share with you some of my favourite pictures from the places I was lucky enough to visit! Of course I was back home in Rome for a while, then Positano, Montenegro, Croatia, Puglia, South of France and Greece. I traveled a lot this summer and it was one of the best so far! 

Hope you enjoy!

Positano, Amalfi Coast

Kotor's Bay in Montenegro

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Circo Massimo, Rome

South of France

Bari, Puglia

Lecce, Puglia

Naxos, Greece

Keu! Vietnamese Sandwiches in London

I had heard people talking about Vietnamese sandwiches, and had tried it a couple of times and I must say I wasn't crazy about it. That is until Anissa took me to a small Vietnamese place near her flat in Old Street. These sandwiches are actually called Banh Mi, and what makes the ones at Keu so delicious is the bread: Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Their classic Banh Mi is composed of baguette filled with spiced pork belly, ham terrine and chicken liver pate, and is amazing. I also tried some of the one stuffed with the spicy roast duck. This is the perfect place for a quick meal, and if you are not hungry (shame on you), you can have a glass of their freshly squeezed orange juice or their delicious Vietnamese coffee.

Classic Banh Mi

Crispy duck

332 Old Street, London EC1V 9DR

Word on the Water

I haven't been the only one enjoying an internship, my room-mate has happily been interning on a boat. Yes, she has been spending her days on London's only book barge, that sails across London selling books to happy people. This book barge is the living proof that there still are some people out there who love a good bound paper book, and not the Ipad or Iphone version. The barge is a beautiful 1920's art deco one, but the best part is the barge's crew. Three friends run the boat, with the captain being a man named Paddy. There are two lovely cats that make their way through the books and are always up for a belly rub. Most of the books are second-hand ones, some are very rare and all prices are extremely reasonable. Since they only like to stay in one place for two weeks, you can find out where they are going to be moving next through their Twitter account. If it's a nice day they will also have live music on the top of the barge. I would say that making a visit to Word on the Water on a sunny day is one of the most fun experiences i have had in London.

07976 886982

Broadway Market

Last week I took advantage of the beautiful weather and explored new areas in London. Last saturday I met some friends in Hackney at Broadway market for lunch. It took quite a while to get there with the bus, but was worth it. It takes place on a little road that is closed to traffic on Saturdays and is full of food stalls. There is a burger stand, vegan stand, ghanian food, indian food, and I spotted quite a few dessert stands with huge slices of cake (one only sold different kinds of cheescakes!).
There are some stalls that sell clothes and just a 2 minute walk from the market is Regents canal where you can sit and eat whatever you picked-up for lunch, and enjoy the music that comes from the barges.

Broadway Market  London, Greater London E8 4PH

Context Travel

I have been interning at Context Travel for a while, it's a touring company that I initially came across in Rome. They organize amazing walks and tours in 15 cities worldwide. The people giving the tours really know what they are talking about, always make it fun, and that's why it has been so successful. I have been going on their tours and taking photographs for their website, it's been really fun and have also learnt a lot about the city I'm living in. Here are some pictures I took on a few walks around London, enjoy!

Sophie Minchilli in London is back!

So I've been gone for a while, busy working, traveling back home to Rome and interning for Context Travel. But I am back and settled in London, so i will be posting some new blogs very soon, in the meantime here are some pictures I took when back in the lovely Roma, Enjoy!

My favourite pasta: Amatriciana

Also managed to spend a couple of days by the sea in Bari:

Pasta Broccoli and Sausage

I have a slight obsession with vegetables, and while in London I feel like I truly miss my dear Roman vegetables. The other day I was in Waitrose and made a huge discovery: Romanesco Broccoli! This is one of my absolute favorite vegetables, it has a very bright, light green color and is almost cone-shaped. It has a very creamy and nutty taste compared to normal broccoli, and in Italy is used for a lot of different recipes. I decided to make pasta with broccoli and sausage.
Here is the recipe: (Didn't really follow one from a book)

- Pasta
- Garlic
- Sausage
- Romanesco Broccoli
- Olive oil
- Hot pepper
- Parmigiano (Pecorino Romano would be better, and they do sell it at Waitrose, I saw it!)

Cut the Broccoli in pieces, cutting off the tough parts
Cut the Sausage in small pieces

In a pan, let some oil, garlic and hot pepper heat.
When the Garlic starts to turn golden, toss in the sausage.

When sausage starts turning slightly brown, add the pieces of broccoli.
Put a lid ont he pan, and let cook. If it looks dry you can add some water, or I sometimes like to add some white wine.

In the meantime, let the pasta cook in boiling water.

When broccoli is cooked, toss pasta in the pan and mix all together, if needed you can add some more olive oil, and later grate some cheese.

Buon Appetito!