Amalfi coast Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Do you know who Mamma Agata is? Just in case you don’t, let me introduce her to you. Mamma Agata is a legend on the Amalfi Coast and Ravello. At a very young age her cooking talents were being noticed and shortly after, her name became famous among American movie stars and politicians.
Mamma Agata has cooked for Humphrey Bogart, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Fred Astaire, and Jacqueline Kennedy just to name a few.Today you’ll find her still in the kitchen along with her daughter Chiara and son-in- law Gennaro right beside her, conducting classes in their cooking and wine school that is actually their private home. Their beautiful home sits on a clifftop, 1000 feet above sea level with a spectacular view of the Amalfi coastline.
This has been on my “bucket list” for years!

You can imagine my excitement when I received an email from Chiara asking me if I’d like to review their cookbook, pasta and olive oil. I couldn’t wait to open up the package the day it arrived. The cookbook was hand signed by all in the family and there were two different pastas, pappardelle and spaghetti, a bottle of their newly launched olive oil and a beautiful handwritten note from Chiara.

I was dreaming about the Amalfi for days! This is the actual view from their terrace! Wouldn’t you love to gaze out at this every day?
I can see why her school is called, ” The Hidden Treasure”.

Mamma Agata, “Simple and Genuine” was a labor of love written by Chiara Lima, Mamma Agata’s daughter. She wrote the book to “save” her mothers treasures for generations to come, her experiences, recipes, secrets and techniques.
Their first cookbook, which was self published, has been honored with the” Gourmand Best in the World 2010 Award” coming in second in the category ” Best Easy Recipes”. This book is filled with mouth watering recipes, there are so many I want to make like her Lemon Chicken that has a wine and herb infusion prepared four days before the dish and her Lemon Cake which she is so well known for.
You can only order the book on her website, they ship all over the world, and each and every copy will be personally signed!

I couldn’t wait to try the pappardelle, so I decided to make the Sausage and Red Pepper Pasta from the book, following the instructions to cut the peppers not to thin and not to thick.

After sauteing the peppers ahead of time I added sliced onion and cooked until golden brown. Mamma Agata likes to cook the sausage whole in a ring, then pierce with a fork, it allows the juices to flow in the pan and will enhance the flavor of the sauce.

The pasta is hearty, toothy, made with the highest quality durum wheat produced exclusively in Italy. The surface is slightly rough, perfect for absorbing your sauce!

After your sausage is seared you add in cherry tomatoes, fresh torn basil and a cup of fresh tomato sauce, I had some homemade marinara that I added to mine. Remove the sausage, cut into slices and toss it all with your slightly under cooked pappardelle and allow it to cook a couple of minutes more in the sauce. The end result is amazing!

Before we devoured the main course we sampled the olive oil, very fresh tasting with a nice peppery bite!
If you’d like to have a taste of Mamma Agata’s kitchen you can order the pasta and olive oil . Remember, they ship all over the world!