A taste of Italy
Scotland’s wonderful produce matches perfectly with Italian recipes made with love and care, writes Marco Iacobelli, owner of Tempo Perso
Having grown up surrounded by food and cooking, it was perhaps inevitable that I would open a own restaurant one day. Originally from Lazio, my earliest memories centre on the food my Nonna cooked – hearty, traditional dishes, bringing together simple ingredients cooked with care to create something truly delicious. My family ran a cheese stall in the local market, so an appreciation for good food and a respect for ingredients was ingrained in me from birth. This built until 2003 when, together with my mum, my brother Matteo and I opened a restaurant in our home town of Casalvieri – the original ‘Osteria del Tempo Perso’.
Once this was established and thriving, I began to think about my next move. I’d travelled to Scotland frequently, had fallen in love with the country and felt that something similar could work here. Good, authentic Italian food and wine, with great service and a really welcoming atmosphere. I wanted it to be a restaurant at the heart of the community, where everyone from the youngest babies to grandparents would feel at home. We opened Tempo Perso in Bruntsfield six years ago and haven’t looked back – despite the huge challenges of the past year.
I’ve loved getting to know the local community, our customers, fellow independent business owners and suppliers. The produce we can get locally is fantastic – wonderful Scottish beef and seafood in particular – and combined with the pasta, tomatoes, cheeses and olive oil we import from Italy, we can recreate the same authentic dishes we grew up with. Our travel options may be limited for some time to come but we can enjoy the taste of home wherever we are.
Tempo Perso, 208 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, is offering takeaway and delivery of food and wine across Edinburgh while restrictions on hospitality remain, mytempoperso.com
Ragù bolognese
This is the recipe we use at Tempo Perso – no tricky techniques or obscure ingredients, the secret is in using great quality steak mince and in cooking the ragù very slowly. Serves four as a main course or six as a first course
500g steak mince
1 large carrot
1 stick of celery
1 small onion aromatic herbs – a sprig each of rosemary, sage and thyme
200ml red wine
15g salt
400ml tomato passata
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Peel the vegetables and chop very finely.
2 Add the oil to a heavy-based pan and warm over a medium heat. Tie the herbs together with a piece of string and add to pan. Add the onions, celery and carrot and cook gently until the onions are transparent – this will take at least 15 minutes.
3 Now add the mince – break up with a wooden spoon and cook until browned on all sides.
4 Add the red wine and bubble for a few minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Then add passata and salt. Cover and cook very slowly on a low heat for 3-4 hours. Remove the herbs then serve the ragu with pasta and plenty of freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Squazzettone (Venetian seafood stew)
A recipe from head chef Alessandro Mestriner that’s typical of his home town, Venice. Use whatever fish and shellfish are available and in season – our friends at Eddie’s Seafood Market supply us with some fabulous Scottish seafood which is just perfect for this dish.
Serves four
500g clams
300g squid, cut into rings
300g monkfish 500g mussels
300g raw king prawns, peeled and de-veined
200g cod
200g hake
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500ml fish stock
500ml tomato passata 100ml white wine
1 Scrub the clams and mussels, discarding any that remain open when you give them a sharp tap on the edge of the bowl. Pull away any ‘beards’ from the mussels and set aside. Remove skin from the fish and check for small bones. Cut into large chunks, roughly the same size to ensure they will cook evenly.
2 Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan. Add the prawns and squid, toss to cook lightly for a couple of minutes, remove and set aside.
3 Add the garlic and thyme, cook for a minute until the garlic starts to turn golden, add the wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Add passata and fish stock, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
4 Add the monkfish, hake and cod, spooning a little sauce over the fish to allow it to cook gently. After about 5 minutes, add the squid, prawns, clams and mussels and simmer for a few minutes until the flavours have combined, the shellfish are open and the fish is just cooked. Check for seasoning.
5 Sprinkle over some chopped parsley and serve immediately – with plenty of good bread to soak up every last bit of the delicious sauce!
Tiramisu
Simple and beautiful – a real favourite. Even when we think we don’t want a dessert, there’s always a little space for a spoonful or two of tiramisu.
Serves four
4 medium egg yolks
500g mascarpone
200ml double cream
100g caster sugar
200g Savoiardi biscuits or sponge fingers
500ml strong black coffee, cooled cocoa powder to finish
1 Put 70g of sugar and the egg yolks in a large bowl, beat well with a whisk or hand blender until the mixture is light, pale and creamy. Beat in the mascarpone at set aside. 2 In another bowl, whip the double cream with the rest of the sugar until the cream forms soft peaks – take care not to over-beat.
3 Now add the cream and sugar mixture to large bowl and fold very gently until combined with the mascarpone, egg and sugar mix.
4 Spread a little of the cream mixture into the bottom of your serving dish, then pour the coffee into a different, shallow dish.
5 Take half of the biscuits and quickly dip each into the coffee then layer in the serving dish before spreading over half of the remaining creamy mixture.
6 Repeat with the rest of the biscuits and spread the rest of the cream over the top. Cover and chill for a few hours overnight, then dust with cocoa on the top before serving.