latcui 3.44 – Lilia’s, Homerton, Wed @ 8pm

on October 31, 2011

latcui 3.44 – longitude 306

Last week

We feasted on death and dinner at the Dia De Los Muertos dinner in Shoreditch followed by an excellent Mexican infused Day of the Dead party at The New Empowering Church.

We dressed for dinner in skull makeup and scary clothes; the table was dressed as an altar to the dead; we feasted on Uruguryan Torta Pascualina and Mexican bean tacos to start.

Alex and Anthony had a fish-off comparing their Brazilian Moqueca de Peixes. Alex went for salmon, Anthony a more longitudinal correct white fish. Both were fantastic. Plantians and Candy Pumpkin from Lucy and Baz finished us off.

Dessert was a weirdly spooky banana cake from Jen and Imogen’s grandmother’s ginger wine trifle, bang on the longitude line as we travelled through the British owned Falkland islands.

Alex’s pics are here.

This week

This Wednesday, the lovely Italian Lilia hosts for 8 in her mews in Homerton. She discovers Italian roots in south American and writes:

“It will not be a surprise for a food traveller to discover that the typical Argentine cuisine has been strongly influenced by Italian cuisine. Millions of immigrants from Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Abbruzzo, Puglia, entered the country between 1869 and 1971 with their cardboard luggage -possibly full of food. Today it is estimated that up to 25 million Argentines (which is 60% of the total population) have some degree of Italian descent and it’s not hard to confuse an Argentine with an Italian, for that special attitude and manner of speaking.

Italian mouths travelled the ocean and took words and tastes. And voila: the Argentinian verb for eating is ‘manyar’ from the Italian ‘mangiare’. The dialect of Buenos Aires, the ‘Lunfardo’ has in fact many Italian words (‘parlar’ –to speak- from the Italian ‘parlare’, ‘mina’ –female- from ‘femmina’, ‘laburar’ –to work- from ‘lavorare’ and of course ‘fiaca’ from ‘fiacca’ which means a sort of laziness). Today, 1.500.000 people in Argentina speak Italian –the second language of the country.

All (almost) made in italy, the vegetarian alternative to the local meat delights comes from the Mediterranean cuisine. ‘Gnocchi’ are common in many restaurants, as much as pasta, either simple unadorned pasta with butter or oil, or accompanied by tomato or bechamel-based sauce. Among them are ‘tallarines’ (fettuccine), ‘ravioles’ (ravioli), and ‘canelones’ (cannelloni). They are usually cooked, served, and consumed in Argentine fashion, called “all’uso nostro”, a phrase of Italian origin which means something like ‘our way’.

Pizza (locally pronounced ‘pisa’ or ‘pitsa’), and ‘calzones’ (sort of stuffed pizza) derive directly from Neapolitan cuisine and they are properly made like the Italian ancestor. During the 20th century, people in pizzerias in Buenos Aires, Rosario or Córdoba have commonly ordered a “combo” (a big glass) of moscato, with pizza and ‘fainá’ (from ‘farinata’ or ‘cecina’), a type of thin bread made with chickpea flour originated in Genova and then diffused in Tuscany and Nice.

Sorrentinos are also a local dish with a misleading name (they do not come from Sorrento, but were invented in Mar del Plata). They look like big round ravioles stuffed with (guess what) mozzarella, cottage cheese and basil in tomato sauce! Polenta comes from Northern Italy and is very common throughout Argentina. And, just like ‘polenta concia’ in Italy, this cornmeal is eaten as a main dish, with sauce and melted cheese.

Other dishes are milanesas (Its name derive from the original ‘cotoletta alla milanese’ from Milan, Italy), or breaded meats. A common dish of this variety is the ‘milanesa napolitana ‘ (the name comes from a restaurant that used to be in Buenos Aires, “El Napolitano”), consisting of breaded meat with cheese, tomatoes and in some special cases, ham on top of the meat.

Among dessert Pasta Frola (Pasta Frolla in Italy) and of course plenty of delicious gelato, one of the most famous product of the big Italian diaspora.

Buon appetito!

This week:

Date: Wednesday, 2 November

Time: 8pm

Venue : Lilia’s, Homerton

Number of Guests: 8

Theme: Longitude 306

RSVP: linfasonora@googlemail.com

Date: Wednesday 2nd November:

Latitudinal Geneva:

meet at Tara’s, Malagnou

RSVP katedonald@gmail.com

more at http://on.fb.me/q3JqUS

Travel Documents:

Calendar: http://bit.ly/bRKe5W

Map of events: http://bit.ly/latcui3-33

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/9FiQFA

The future:

-Tuesday 8th November

Alica’s in Dalston hosts a Lord Lucan supper

RSVP: parkholmesupperclub@hotmail.co.uk

-Monday, 12th December

Camille + Lee’s, Surbiton

RSVP: camille@swampgirl67.net

latcui 3.44 – Lilia’s, Homerton, Wed @ 8pm