016: Summer in Italy — beating the heat and our favorite no-cook recipes

August 9, 2015

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Learn how Italians deal with the summer heat, some traditions in Italy during the summer, and some of our favorite no-cook summer recipes.

Topics we cover:

The problem of finding fans in Italy at the height of summer
And how this relates to the Italian mindset when doing business
Ferragosto in Italy, where the entire country shuts down and goes on vacation for two weeks
Puglia listed as having one of the best beaches
The sea culture in Italy and how the sea water and air is thought to be very good for you
Why Italians used to bring newborns into the stable to smell urine
The different reasons Americans and Europeans come to Italy
The theory of how the Serbian War was an economic plan
What our neighbors think of our pool
“Cliff diving” into our pool
Our recipe for a wonderful tomato and tuna dish
What we believe is the correct way to make a caprese salad, including putting the basil in the middle, NOT on top
Why the caprese is the national Italian dish
The correct to serve pasta and sauce, marrying the two flavors
The zucchini stalk pasta we cooked the other night

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Click here to learn the top 4 ways Italians beat the heat without AC!

Tomato boats

Simple, tasty appetizer or side: half-ripened tomatoes, tuna, mayo, topped with anchovy and capers. A photo posted by Villa Cappelli (@villacappelli) on Jun 30, 2015 at 11:01am PDT

Take a firm plum tomato (firm is key, can’t be too ripe and mushy), and cut it in half length wise. Scoop out the seeds and membrane so you are left with a boat. Combine some good quality tuna with some homemade mayo (recipe below) and dash of pepper and then add your tuna to your tomato boats. Top with a sliver of anchovy and a couple of capers.

Villa Cappelli Mayo
Take 3 eggs, 1/4 cup (60 ml) of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of salt and place in a blender, hopefully a high-speed blender like a Vitamix. Blend for about 10 seconds until the mixture is nice and combined, increasing the speed slowly. Then SLOWLY pour in 1.5 cups of Villa Cappelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil as the blender is running. Watch the mixture and when it starts to thicken, stop. In the Vitamix this shouldn’t take much longer than 30 seconds max. Refrigerate and use within 2-3 weeks.

Villa Cappelli Caprese Salad

#villacappelli #food #natural #culinarytour #puglia #cheese #lunch

A photo posted by Villa Cappelli (@villacappelli) on Jan 19, 2015 at 10:36am PST

Take a ball of fresh mozzarella into ¼ inch slices. Place your ovals of mozzarella on plate. Tear up some fresh basil and place on each slice of mozzarella. Slice up your tomatoes and place them on top of each slick of mozzarella and basil. Season your tomatoes with a little salt, then top each slice with a nice pour of Villa Cappelli extra virgin olive oil.