When an earthquake struck Central Italy on 24 August 2016, almost 300 people were killed, and some of the priceless cultural heritage held in the historic centers of towns like Amatrice, Norcia and Arquata del Tronto. In respone, Carlo Petrini launched a relief campaign around the famous Amatriciana pasta. The ‘A Future for Amatrice‘ campaign calls on restaurants around the world to put pasta all’amatriciana on their menu for a year, with a contribution of two euros from every dish served going to the relief fund. Restaurants around the world have heeded the call, from Chile to the Republic of Congo, and this week an event was held at the Battistessa Studio by Slow Food Swan Valley and Eastern Regions in Western Australia with the same aim, showcasing local ingredients and raising money for quake victims. To put an interesting local twist on proceedings, the Amatriciana sauce was prepared using Smooth Skin Geraldton tomatoes, an Ark of Taste product.
Slow Food Swan Valley and Eastern Regions have also kindly provided us with a recipe for an apple strudel they made and presented at the event, which was made using with Pickering Brook Apples, Swan Valley Macadamia Nuts and Swan Valley Sun Dried Muscat Grapes (an Ark of Taste product) – these are the ingredients they used, so you’ll need adapt the recipe according to what’s available locally!
Ingredients:
10 Spring roll pastry (150mm x 150mm)
5 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
50gr WA Pistachio nuts from the Avon Valley, chopped
80gr Macadamia nuts from the Swan Valley, chopped
1tbsp Honey
100gr Swan Valley sun dried Muscat grapes, soaked in Amaretto liquor
Zest of ½ lemon and Lemon essence
50gr Raw sugar
Cinnamon, ground
50gr Bread crumbs, toasted in butter
Sunflower oil for frying
Icing sugar
Method:
Place the apples in a saucepan, add the sugar and a little bit of water and cook until soft but firm.
Transfer them into a bowl and add the pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts, sun dried Muscat including the liquid, honey, lemon zest and essence, ground cinnamon and mix well.
Place the spring roll pastry on the bench, sprinkle the bread crumbs on ½ of the pastry leaving 30mm from the edges, place a spoonful of the filling on top of the bread crumbs, fold in the sides and roll to make a strudel; brush the edge with a thick cornflour paste and press to seal well. Place the strudels on a tray with the sealed edge facing down and refrigerate for ½ hour.
Heat enough sunflower oil in a wok and deep fry the strudels until golden brown. Place on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil, transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with a scoop of your favourite ice-cream and fresh berries.
Slow Food Swan Valley and Eastern Regions will also be present at Slow Food Australia’s National Conference, which starts on November 17 in Mildura, Victoria.