Home Living Cooking As the Italians say, you are what you eat

As the Italians say, you are what you eat

It’s been 30 days since I returned home from my trip to Italy. The smell of the air, the vibrant colors of the cities and the freshness of the food still linger in my mind.

in the kitchenRecreating something after you have watched it being made and then had the pleasure of tasting it might sound easy, especially when it only consists of four main ingredients. Wrong. I will tell you this, the source of those four ingredients make such a huge difference when it comes to the end result.

Freshness counts. I don’t mean freshness as in this lettuce is seven days old which means it isn’t very fresh. I mean fresh as in I bought this lettuce from the organic farmer down the road fresh.

Fresh, clean, good, products can make a dish taste completely different than using packaged or pre-prepared items from big box chain grocery stores.

Now I understand and do the same when it comes to certain things, such as lemons. I cannot go down to the lemon farm and pick fresh lemons, but if I have a choice you won’t catch me squeezing lemon juice out of a bottle onto my salad.
Fresh squeezed lemon juice comes from a lemon.

Also I do know and appreciate that certain big box grocery stores do carry locally grown produce. All you have to do is look very closely (I mean pull a magnifying glass out of your pocket close) and read to find out where what your eating comes from.

This is one of the things I learned while I was in Italy, be aware of what you are eating. The Italians truly live by ‘you are what you eat’. They wont allow certain products to be sold in their country if they don’t know where they’re grown or produced. Just some food for thought.

Since we are on the topic of freshness I thought I would provide you with a fresh recipe for a salad I had the pleasure of tasting while on my travels. The key to making your tastebuds dance with this one is using fresh ingredients and it is best served right away. This is a perfect dish to enjoy alongside some bread and cheese or as a side dish to your main meal.

2015_0411_kitchen_mushroom_salad2Fresh Mushroom & Parsley Salad
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lb white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
1/2 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, cleaned and chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice, squeezed fresh
2 ounce piece Parmesan Reggiano for shaving
Salt and pepper to taste

• In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the mushrooms and parsley. In a separate small mixing bowl combine the lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss the mushrooms with the oil and lemon juice mixture. Taste for seasoning. Place the mushroom mixture into a serving dish. Using a peeler shave pieces of the Parmesan Reggiano over the top. Serve immediately.

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baig kayleigh
Kayleigh Van Vliet Baig was born and raised in Riverhead, where she lives with her husband Tahir.

Kayleigh has been in the culinary industry for the last 12 years, working in kitchens on the East End. She also is a personal chef.

Look for In the Kitchen with Kayleigh every Saturday on RiverheadLOCAL.com.

Got questions? Recipes? Ideas? [contact-form-7 id=”26578″ title=”Write to Kayleigh”]

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Kayleigh Van Vliet Baig
Kayleigh is a sous chef at the Meadow Club in Southampton. A Riverhead native, she is married and the mother of a daughter born in December 2016. Email Kayleigh