Pictured : some of the strongest women I know. Family & friends of the heart - location: Farmhouse Italy

L-R Silvana, Adriana, Myself, Fausta, Rachel

We Italians love a good ‘festa’.

For those of you who have lived in Italy, you'll know that the Festa della Donna (International Women’s Day) is celebrated with blooming mimosa flowers that can be found on almost every street corner ready to gift to a wonderful ‘donna’ (woman) in your life.

La Festa della Donna is celebrated each year on the 8th of March and is a significant day because it reminds us of the importance of women all around the world. Once upon a time women were suppressed and discriminated against, but on the 8th of March in 1917 in San Petersburg, after the 1st World War, women marched the streets to fight for womens rights. 

Pictured: The most important woman, friend & role model in my life: Mamma

The mimosa is the chosen plant to give women on this special day. There are a few different reasons why it is thought that this bright yellow bloom was chosen.

Some say the flowers of the mimosa are a reflection of what a woman is, being bright, cheerful, delicate and strong all at the same time.

Others say that the flower was chosen just after the war, when there wasn’t much money around, so it was economic and easily found in the fields, blooming every year in March.

Picture Pinterest

Buona Festa della Donna a tutti!

Have fun celebrating all of the strong, beautiful, sensitive, caring, loving women in your lives!

Pictured: the other most important woman in my life - Nonna 95 years old

It's Almost Pasqua!

For every region it Italy, Easter comes with many different traditional recipes. In my papà's region, with 'Pasqua' come 'I Fiadoni Molisani', sweet or savoury. It is a recipe you'll need a load of eggs for! 'Le uova' (eggs) being symbolic of spring and abundance. 

Other names for 'i fiadoni' are 'casciatelle', 'sciarone' or 'fiarone'. Whatever you choose to call them, they are delicate and delicious, and pair beautifully with an aperitivo, or a simple glass vino rosso or bianco.

They are shaped like a mini calzone, and are filled with a tasty cheese & black pepper mixture, or you may prefer the sweet version which is filled with ricotta and choc chips or candied fruit. While cooking they puff out, like a balloon ready to burst. Each town has it's own variation of how to make these little traditional Easter morsels, but the one I'm going to share with you is my mother-in-laws savoury version. They are very easy to make and smell absolutely delicious while they are cooking. Enjoy!

La Ricetta 

Il Ripieno

Let's start with the filling....

500gr of grated pecorino cheese 

5 eggs

1 small sachet of yeast for sweets (lievito per dolci)

Black pepper (I put a few pinches but you can put more or less)

Nutmeg (a couple of pinches)

2 beaten eggs put aside to paint the tops of the fiadoni before they go into the oven which should be preheating at 180 - 200 degrees

Once mixed together it should look a similar to this. 

La Pasta

Now for the pastry...

500g of plain flour 00

4 eggs

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 sachet of yeast for sweets (lievito per i dolci)

Place everything in a bowl like so and mix into a messy ball

Knead away!

Make smaller balls to roll out with a rolling pin before putting them through the pasta machine

Work the dough through the pasta machine until you get to around number 6 or 7 on your machine 

Flap the pasta in half so it covers the filling and with your hand gently push around the edges of the filling. With a glass or cookie cutter, make a half moon shape.

Place them onto a tray, snip the top of the pastry with some scissors or poke with a fork, then paste them with the beaten egg before placing them in the oven.

Place them in the over until golden brown. They should puff up and some of the cheese will ooze out of the small hole you made in the pastry.

Buon appetito and Buona Pasqua!