Italian: Episode 9

This episode of Italian Food Safari celebrates the tradition of preserving the best in season. Maeve meets the effervescent Italian Australian GP Pietro Demaio whose self-published book “Preserving the Italian Way” has been a bestseller and inspired thousands – after a taste of home cured tuna, Maeve is a convert. On the outskirts of Adelaide, Pat D’Onofrio and Lina Verrilli grow and cure their own olives to sell in local markets and Maeve is introduced to the women’s olive cracking tradition. Guy spends a few cold winter days with the Momesso family making their own salami, as many Italian families do during winter. Melbourne chef Riccardo Momesso explains why its so important to keep the old traditions going – and how delicious the results are. Maeve joins Sydney restaurateur Lucio Galletto at home as his picks basil from his garden to make a regional favourite from his home region of Liguria – a classic pesto. In Adelaide, one of the “Cibo boys”, Claudio Ferraro who is a partner in the city’s Italian café chain Cibo, shows how intricate and delicious the pastry sfogliatelle are to make – they’re shaped like a lobster tail with fine layers of pastry and filled with creamy lemony ricotta.