Take an Italian Trip Down Memory Lane With Us

Our favorite family memories are those of the time we lived in Naples, Italy. When in 2013, Matt received orders to work as U.S. Naval Officer with NATO in Italy, we believed our family won the lotto! Seriously, these were our winning numbers - three years - in Southern Italy! SI! (Insert fist pump in the air visual.) Italy holds such a special place in our memories for all the adventures we took as a family and all the food (and wine) we enjoyed in all the regions and beyond. It is where we believe our sea salt idea started as we loved to use the Mediterranean Sea Salt while living overseas and often dreamed to visit annually to restock on all the products we loved to use while living there. In reality, we haven’t returned since 2016. After Matt retired from the U.S. Navy in 2017, we started our next chapter of operating our own small business - and that is a book in itself! ;) So allow me to go down memory lane for this recipe post. While this dish is super yummy, super easy and in Italy known as ‘Cucina Povera’ (no-waste “poor cooking” use what you have from rural Italy), we realize that what we often miss the most is the affordability of products in Italy such as olive oil, bronze-dyed pasta, and walnuts (noci) and of course the vino da tavola (table wine). However this dish is so unique with the use of parsley and walnuts, and light as it is dressed in lovely extra virgin olive oil and garlic that you will find this Cucina Povera a valuable recipe to have in your repertoire.

While living in Italy, our favorite thing to do as a family was to jump in our little car on the weekend and go exploring. We were molto fortunata (extremely lucky) to live near the Amalfi Coast. During the colder months, Amalfi Coast is very similar to Newport in that the town quiet’s down….like realllllyyyyy quiets down and you almost feel like you have this beautiful place to yourself. Well, this one day, it truly felt like our own. We walked down Via Marina Di Praia which hugs the azure blue Mediterranean Sea and discovered this isolated cove with a rocky beach and dotted with closed for the season restaurants - except one - Bar Mare Petit Restaurant. The proprietor, Salvatore Ferraioli welcomed our family with a smile and told us to come in and his mama would make our family a pasta lunch. It was just our family of 4 at one table and Salvatore and his mom and dad at the other table watching futbol. Mama prepared gnocchi Sorrentina for our boys and her signature dish for the adults. Mama Mia, we were beyond lucky that day to have discovered this gem of a place and be welcomed in!
Our fond memories prompted us to recreate the dish his mama made for Matt and me - Spaghetti Alla Conventuale is the official name, but we say Salvatore’s Mama’s Spaghetti. ;) 
Grazie Mille Salvatore et Mama!

AKA - Salvatore’s Mama’s Spaghetti

How did we use our finishing flaky sea salt in this dish? We chopped the parsley, prepared the breadcrumbs, sprinkled our finishing salt on top and added it as a garnish. MAJOR Italian TIP - we use only pasta di Gragnano in our casa. It is bronze-dyed pasta that is worth looking up and stocking your shelves with it. Tell us what you think when you try it - you may never go back to any ole’ pasta.

Serves 4

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 anchovies under olive oil or salt, rinsed well

1 hot chili, chopped

Large handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

1 pound thick spaghetti

10 fresh walnuts, chopped, plus extra to garnish

1 TBSP grated pecorino

1 TBSP fresh breadcrumbs made from stale bread

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the garlic and cook until golden. Add the anchovies, chili, and parsley and cook for about 3 minutes or until the anchovies start to melt into the oil. Remove the pan from the heat. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water for 10 minutes or al dente. Drain reserving a cup of the cooking water.

Add the spaghetti to the anchovy mixture, along with the walnuts, pecorino and breadcrumbs, and toss over high heat. Add some of the reserved pasta water to create a thick, creamy sauce. Garnish with the chopped walnuts, parsley and sea salt.

Buon Appetito!
Here’s just a few photos from our favorite pasta to our Italian pics. We sure do miss Italy!