IDIC 2022 – GINO RAZZANO – MOTOR YATCH, TRANQUILITY, MEDITERRANO SEA, ITALY

GINO RAZZANO is a protagonist of the 14th International Day of Italian Cuisines, on June  2, 2022, and has been one of the founders of this unique initiative born in 2008. This edition, which for the first time will be celebrate on Italy’s national day, has as its official dish the Pasta e fagioli con le cozze that has its origins in the Neapolitan coastal cuisine, in the city of Torre del Greco. In that city was born also  the late Tony May (1937 – 2022), the New York-based extraordinary restaurateur and educator, who has been among the greatest promoters of authentic and quality Italian cuisine in restaurants outside of Italy. The IDIC 2022 intends to honour in this way Tony’s legacy, to keep alive his message.

Although in the past IDIC mainly “celebrated” traditional dishes (Carbonara, Pesto Genovese, Ragu’ Bolognese, Tiramisu’, Risotto Milanese etc.), it had also one edition dedicated to a dish of Gualtiero Marchesi when he passed away, and two editions to dishes created by famous Italian gastronomes as Leonardo da Vinci and Pellegrino Artusi.

This NFT, un indelible memory of the event, is also a tribute to all customers of Fabio and his restaurant for participating in this great celebration of authentic Italian Cuisine.

The IDIC was born as a reaction against the systematic forgery of Italian cuisine and products. It aims at protecting the right of worldwide consumers to get authentic and quality Italian cuisine when they go to eateries labeled as “Italian”. Thousands of chefs, restaurateurs and lovers of Italian Food all over the world join the annual IDIC appeal, a tradition by now, launched by itchefs-GVCI (Virtual Group of Italian Chefs), a network of over 2000 culinary professionals working in 70 countries. True Italian cuisine is part of the world’s cultural heritage; its celebration is not against creativity in the kitchen or innovation. It’s only about establishing some basic principles: when the name of a traditional Italian dish is used, that dish should be prepared in the traditional manner.

PASTA E FAGIOLI CON LE COZZE

Pasta with Beans and Mussels

THE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4
– 400g cannellini beans
– 1400g mussels
– 350g mixed pasta
– 120g ripe tomatoes
– 2 cloves of garlic
– Crushed red pepper
– Parsley
– Extra virgin olive oil
– Salt

METHOD

Clean the mussels well; rinse them under running water and remove all the incrustations with a knife or by rubbing them together until the shell is perfectly clean.

Fry the garlic, oil and a few sprigs of parsley in a pan.

Add the mussels, cover with a lid and wait for them to open (it will take about 5 minutes). Once open, filter the cooking water with a narrow mesh sieve and set water aside.

Shell the mussels and put them aside, removing those that have remained closed.

In another saucepan, prepare a sauté of garlic, oil, red pepper and parsley.

Add a few tomatoes, already scalded and skinned, and then the beans. If you use dried beans, make sure you soak them overnight and cook them for an hour. If you have used canned beans, cook them for about 30 minutes. In both cases, season with salt and add some of the liquid from the mussels previously set aside.

At this point, you can cook the pasta separately or directly in the casserole dish. If you cook the pasta separately, drain it well al dente, add it to the casserole dish and finish cooking, adding the mussels (already shelled).

For a creamier result, you can cook the pasta directly in the casserole dish, adding the remaining liquid of the mussels, as needed. Stir often.

Add the shelled mussels a few minutes before the end of cooking. Serve with more fresh chopped parsley. From La Cucina Italiana

https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/italian-food/italian-dishes/pasta-with-beans-and-mussels-neapolitan-recipe