All language subtitles for A.Taste.of.Italy.S01E07.Campobasso.1080p.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-squalor

(cheerful music)

- I'm chef and
restaurateur Nisha Katona.

The star of our show there
is a gorgeous aubergine.

I love coming to Italy on
delicious foodie forays

to see what Italians
are really eating.

This is a tuna hot dog, I've
never seen anything like it.

Buongiorno.

In the markets, this is
like an Aladdin's cave

for the pork lover, which I am.

On the streets.

(bright music)

And in the restaurants.

It's well-worth getting
here just to try this.

Now I'm taking the
path less traveled

to hidden culinary hotspots.

It's one of the most beautiful
cities I have ever seen.

On a voyage to uncover recipes

and ingredients passed
down from generations.

(laughing)

You bring in your
family, your history.

- Our history is the
base of our future.

- Proving there's more to
Italian food than just pizza.

Mint and tuna try it.

I would never have
thought about it.

And on the way I'll be
cooking up new dishes

inspired by my travels.

- It's fantastic.

- A million different colors

and a thousand
different flavors.

So join me on an
idyllic Italian escape.

Delicious.

(opera singing)

Situated east of Naples,
beautiful and unspoiled Molise

is a verdant land
dotted with farms.

(opera singing)

Today, I'm in Campobasso
which is a capital of Molise,

Italy's smallest region.

And one that up to this point

has been overlooked by tourists.

They're seriously
missing out as here

there's everything you
need for a great trip.

A grand castle
overlooking the city,

a medieval historic center
where you can find shops

full of local produce and
traditional restaurants

serving classic Molise recipes.

(guitar music)

And it's surrounded by
a gorgeous landscape

which is where I'm heading to
see something extra special.

(guitar music)

Molise is known as a
little ancient world

and many old traditions
are still alive and kicking

out here in the hills.

In the countryside
around Campobasso,

I've been hearing
about an artisan cheese

that I've got to see
with my own eyes.

I've come to a dairy
farm run by two sisters,

Maria and Francesca,

who together are
upholding a time-honored

cheese-making tradition
unique to this area.

And I find Maria cutting
the mozzarella type cheese

into little pieces.

What are you gonna do?

I've never seen this.

(foreign language)

- So this boiling water
is changing the structure,

the structure is
becoming elastic.

- Yes.

- And what will
you do with that?

(foreign language)

- Do you want it
to become stronger?

- Yes.

- Longer?

(foreign language)

- So Maria is making a treccia.

(foreign language)

- Which translates as plait.

And seeing her
fashion is from mage

gives me an inkling as to what

the final cheese will look like.

Okay, that's amazing, yeah.

(foreign language)

- And that cold water,
is it making it firm?

Locking the shape?

(foreign language)

- It makes it solid, yes.

(foreign language)

While the cheese rope cools
down, I've got to know

more about the history
of this dairy artistry.

(foreign language)

So you're saying the
cheese got blessed,

they actually used
to bless the cheese

and the horse men would wear it.

- Yeah.

(laughing)

Yeah, what a story
and I'm not surprised

they blessed it, so fantastic.

- [Maria] Thanks.

- So fantastic.

(foreign language)

If I understand correctly,
Maria is about to plait

the cheese strands into
some kind of dairy scarf.

(foreign language)

- Yeah, can I?

Can I?

- [Maria] Okay.

- Is this all I have to do?

- Okay.

- I can do this.

- Okay.

(bright upbeat music)

- It's like one of those
beautiful loose knit blankets.

- Yeah.

- That's incredible, wow.

But it's also mouthwatering,
it makes you want to eat it.

It's such a fun thing.

- Yes.

- It looks beautiful
in the way that only

a food can look beautiful,
it's so strange.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- Thanks.

- That is brilliant,
that is excellent.

(foreign language)

- So visually appetizing
and you eat it like this.

It's the moment I've been
waiting for, I really love it.

It's a little bit
yoghurty as well,

but it's fresh and light and I
love how you know everything,

you know everything there
is about this cheese.

- Yes.

- So it's in safe hands it's
really good to meet you,

really good to meet you.

And what else could
I do after that,

but bless this cheese myself.

Seeing it knitted before
my eyes was an incredible

thing to witness and all
done with such love and skill

and it's so
beautiful to look at.

(guitar music)

I'm already bowled over
by this delightful region

and it's out of this world
cheese, but as I head back

into town I'm also excited
about my appointment

at one of the best
restaurants in the area

and who wouldn't be?

Here in the medieval
heart of Campobasso,

I'm heading to a
historic restaurant

run by an award winning chef

who's putting this place
right on the foodie map.

I'm on my way to meet
Simona de Castro,

a born and bred Campobasso
chef who's making waves

in the culinary world.

(foreign language)

Beautiful street.

- Yes.

- And what a stunning location
to have a restaurant in.

This high-end hidden gem
is built into the rock

overlooking the city.

And Simona's cooking is
famous for her modern take

on traditional dishes
which literally look

like a work of art.

(foreign language)

- Ah, this is a beautiful
piece of meat, belly pork.

(foreign language)

What are you going to make?

(foreign language)

I can see a whole load
of intriguing ingredients

so this is going to
be one tasty dish.

(foreign language)

Its

(foreign language)

Really?

(foreign language)

So this is gonna give
it that devilish edge.

As well as lots of ingredients
there are several stages

to this inventive recipe.

(foreign language)

Search beautiful meat.

(foreign language)

Its a lot of paprika
and then into the skin.

(foreign language)

Simona then adds more flavor
with salt, fennel seeds,

Rosemary, and finally
large chunks of garlic.

(foreign language)

See, that's real
restaurant food, huh?

(foreign language)

- Good, vinegar
yeah, a bit of acid.

(foreign language)

So you're sealing the bag,
vacuum packing it, huh?

(foreign language)

I can wait, I can wait.

- Whoa.

- By removing the oxygen,
vacuum packing preserves

the juices and
flavors of the meat

so it will be super
succulent when it's cooked.

But now onto the next component
of this modern masterpiece

potato, which Simona
mushes before getting

all molecular on me.

(foreign language)

I feel like I've gone
back in time to straight

to chemistry class.

Whoa, so what is in there?

(foreign language)

Herbs?

I'm not usually into
such technical things,

but this is absolutely worth it.

You're smoking it with the
smell of dried herbs, wow.

The mush rests in the
smoke to let it infuse

with the herbal aroma
before Simona unveils

more culinary wizardry, wow.

Polenta crisp I've never
seen one before, beautiful.

These chips are simply
made from polenta flour,

water and salt then dried
and they spring back

to life with hot oil.

Wow, the drama, beautiful.

Polenta crisps, this certainly
is a super modern dish.

(foreign language)

Now what do you
do with this meat?

(foreign language)

To finish the recipe Simona
takes some marinade pork

she prepared earlier
and cuts it to suit

the modern look of this dish.

Why are you so careful
about the shape?

(foreign language)

Simona's precision in this
recipe is astonishing.

She's so meticulous
in cubing the meat.

(foreign language)

This kind of modern shapes,
but this deeply ancient flavor.

(foreign language)

I'm gonna go and wait with
my knife and fork like this.

See you in a minute.

While I take a seat
in the restaurant

Simona plates up the dish
with yes, you guessed it,

the utmost precision.

First come the succulent
paprika coated pork cubes

then three Herby smoked
potato pillars are piped on.

Shallot sweetened beetroot
compot is carefully

dotted onto the plate.

Slivers of caramelized onion
grace the pillowy potato

and finally the
polenta chips crown

this mouthwatering masterpiece.

(slow tempo music)

(foreign language)

Oh, that is beautiful.

That is, and the
smell is incredible,

but it looks like a work of art.

Come and join me.

Let's try the Pampanella.

A rich color so dark,
it is utterly delicious.

The smoke from the paprika,

it's deeper and
denser, beautiful.

And the potatoes as well when
that burnt smell of herbs

absolutely, the
flavors are incredible.

This is world-class food,
every element on this plate

is absolutely superb.

So you could have gone
anywhere in the world to open

a restaurant, but you came
back to Campobasso, why?

(foreign language)

To you and Campobasso,
it's good wine as well.

(opera music)

What a day it's been
and I already feel

I'm getting a
wonderful insight into

the tastes and traditions
of this gorgeous region.

And for my final taste,
I'm going to track down

the origins of Simona's dish
all the way to the street

before I cook my own
tribute to the city,

my paprika pork and breadcrumbs
with a warm tomato salsa.

A really perfect
little lunch that.

(cheerful opera music)

Today I'm in Campobasso
the capital of Molise

in the Southern east of Italy.

A relatively unknown region
with few visitors up until now,

as I'm here tasting my way
around their unique cuisine.

A truly unbelievable knitted
cheese, that's incredible.

And a mouth watering and
beautifully executed pork dish.

This is world-class food,

every element on this
plate is absolutely superb.

I'm looking forward to cooking
my own homage to this city,

but first I've got one
last taste to explore.

One of the many reasons
that foodie should come here

is for the street food,

particularly a slow
cooked pork sandwich

that locals rave about.

This paprika
marinated pork panino

is the ancestor of Simona's
geometric port masterpiece,

but very much simplified
and with the addition

of vinegar infused
friggitelli peppers.

And I've heard this is the best
place to get my hands on it.

(foreign language)

I come for pampanella.

(foreign language)

- Yes, please.

(foreign language)

- With everything,
with everything.

This succulent pork has been
marinated for almost 15 hours

even more than chef Simona.

I love that there is the fat

(foreign language)

I love it and is it paprika?

(foreign language)

The sweet one is for the
color to make it red, yes?

And then the other one
for a little bit spicy.

(foreign language)

No, a little bit

(foreign language)

not much.

(foreign language)

The panino is lightly
toasted on the grill.

Then it's filled with
friggitelli peppers

from Southern Italy, which
will cut through the fat

of that slow cooked pork.

Gosh, how am I
going to eat that?

See it's almost,
that's incredible.

Do people eat this at night?

(foreign language)

Very good, can I try it?

(foreign language)

So moist and the meat
is lovely, the paprika.

(foreign language)

It's a good mix and
the cut, is it the neck

or the shoulder of
the pig or the leg?

(foreign language)

But I suppose when it's
marinaded for that long

any cut is going to taste
delicious and succulent.

Thank you very much, lovely.

(foreign language)

So that's my last
taste of Campobasso,

a delicious pork panino
and now it's high time

I cooked my own dish
in recognition of what

this city means to me.

They are passionate
about their local produce

and they're passionate
about their defining flavors

and here it's all about
the pepperonchino,

it's about the paprika
and it's about the fennel.

So I'm gonna show you a really
simple breaded paprika pork

with a warm tomato salsa using
all of those ingredients.

And here it is my simple
paprika spicy breaded

pork escalopes with a tangy
tomato and pepper salsa,

perfect for a quick, simple
and super tasty lunch.

I'm going to start
with that warm salsa.

Now this salsa is going
to feature the paprika

that they love so much here
and to give it a sweetness,

I'm going to use onions and
I'm going to use some peppers

that are just finely
sliced, just a little bit

that's for flavor and it's
for sweetness and zing.

To start the fry, add some
extra virgin olive oil,

a good bit in the pan.

I'm gonna go two
garlic cloves in there

just crushed to flavor that oil.

So they pop in, all right.

So I want that garlic to
go just golden and sweet,

give its perfume to the oil.

This is the next stage and
this is really important.

This is paprika powder.

And I reckon this is really
underrated ingredient.

The way you start dishes
with paprika is to put a good

teaspoon into the frying
oil as you're frying it

and it smells incredible.

It smells roasted and sweet,
completely transforms.

Add to the peppers and the
onions to the fiery paprika oil.

And we just want those now
to go a little bit soft,

to help the veg soften
we need to add a small,

but key ingredient.

Adding the salt to the
vegetables at this stage

encourages the
water out of them.

And as soon as they start
to go a little bit soft

which is the stage I'm at now,

I'm going to add really simple
and the best tinned tomatoes.

It's worth spending a
little bit more and getting

a good quality because
they are really rich.

So I'm gonna add a couple
of tablespoons of that.

Let's go three, in fact.

Stir the tomatoes and let that
tangy mixture mel together.

Now, you know when the
tomatoes are cooked through

when the whole thing stops
being red and it goes

to kind of golden brown, but
you also get this golden veneer

around the side of the pan,

which means that oils have
come out of the tomatoes

and the tomatoes are
all cooked through.

And already the salsa is
taking on a glorious shimmer.

What I've loved about being
in Campobasso is meeting

the various chefs and producers.

And you know what?

They've been young women who
have this burning passion

to keep the traditions alive,

to keep these
ancient recipes alive

that just really
resonates with me.

To lessen the sharpness of the
tomatoes, add pinch of sugar,

and to bring that tang
I'm just going to add

a tiny little splash of
white wine vinegar, right?

And I'm happy with that I'm
going to get on with my pork

and I'm going to coat the
pork with a spicy crumb.

Now, I want to start with
flavoring the breadcrumbs.

To make the cream
spicy and pack a punch

I'm mixing in
paprika, fennel seeds

and a sprinkling
of chili flakes.

These are not ingredients
that I would have usually

associated with Italian
food, but you know,

the way that they cook
in this part of Italy,

in this landscape
is so different.

Yeah, it's what I love
about this country

is there's a thousand
different cuisines across it.

So there we go, we
simply mix that in

and now for the star ingredient,

here's that gorgeous rosy pork.

It's just loin chops that
have been cut really thin

and that's important because
this is a quick cook,

it really is.

And I'm just going to start
by seasoning the pork itself.

Now I'm just going to
crack a couple of eggs,

beat them roughly because
I'm going to start dredging

my pork towards flavor now.

Take a pork escalope and coat
it on both sides in flour,

my beaten eggs, and then into
our Campobasso breadcrumbs.

And you can see already,
I mean, just look at that

the fennel and the
pepper and Chino

sizzle them in the pan to
give them a gorgeous color,

which in the hot oil should
only take a few minutes.

So that's three escalopes
sizzling away in the hot pan

and don't they look
mouthwatering already?

Can you see that one side
is already golden brown

because they're so thinly cut.

We want them crunchy and
we want them golden brown

and they're a really quick cook.

Just get some of that
excess fat off on the paper,

that's fine.

It's been minutes and
we're ready to plate up.

So first up that tangy tomato
salsa, a lovely large dollop

and slice the crispy
breaded escalope.

You can hear that crunch
from the coated breadcrumbs

and the smells it's released
from the fennel seeds.

Finally garnished
with a few leaves

of fresh peppery
parsley and that's it.

A really perfect little
lunch that my paprika pork

in breadcrumbs with
a warm tomato salsa

and my tribute to everything
I've learnt in Campobasso.

And I've certainly learnt
a lot here in Campobasso

from the spicy red of
pampanella street food

and the re-imagining of it
into a culinary work of art

to the symbolic tradition
of cheese knitting.

This region is not
just worth a visit,

but it will always be
a special place for me.

(opera singing in
foreign language)