Delhi is very rich in culture and food. We experience world culture and food here, and the foodie in me always looks for an opportunity to treat my appetite to different cuisines. I love Italian food and when I received an invitation to the ongoing festival of breads, wraps and pizzas at the Select City Walk mall outlet of the Italian restaurant Spaghetti Kitchen, I couldn’t resist paying a visit.
Chef Ashun was there to help me through my journey of Italian food. The festival is called “Amore Di Pane”. Chef Ashun translated it as “Love for bread”.
He suggested that I start with a pizza. I got lost in the divine taste of flaming hot pizza topped with sliced onion, capsicum, jalapenos, chilli and cherry tomatoes. It comes in two different crusts: cracker (a thicker, crusty pizza with a cracker like crunch) and Roman (thin crusted traditional Roman pizza). I tried both. The pungency of jalapenos was like magic on my taste buds and enhanced my craving for more.
The second serve was smoked chicken wrap. This is grilled strips of chicken, smoked on the barbeque, wrapped in a flour tortilla with gorgonzola (blue-veined, pressed Italian cheese made of cow's milk) and mustard dressing. I liked the tenderness of chicken and the pungent taste of gorgonzola.
Chef Ashun said, “Gorgonzola is one of the world’s oldest blue-veined cheeses. This is made with un-skimmed cow’s milk. It takes three to four months to attain full ripeness. This crumbly and soft textured cheese gives off a nutty aroma. It’s mild to sharp to taste depending on its age.”
Soon, it was time to eat the healthy roasted vegetable ciabatta. This sandwich is stuffed with oven roasted mushrooms, sweet peppers, onion and zucchini with tomatoes, enhanced with feta and classic pesto in crusty ciabatta bread. This was served with fries, summer salad and pickled vegetables. Chef Ashun said that this sandwich is both tasty and healthy.
Towards the end of this food journey, I was served muffaletta (classic Italian bread pre stuffed with herbed Italian vegetables with cheese and baked). Chef Ashun said, “This bread is stuffed with spinach, cheese, potato, zucchini and tomatoes puree.” My evening was rounded off with the tanginess of cheese.
The festival concludes on June 10.
