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.