Saffron & bacon pasta: a week-end of kilts and bagpipes

 

Confession n. 2: the thing I love most of this blog is that it let me mix together so many different things like an Italian symbol (pasta), an exotic spice (saffron) and…kilts & bagpipes??!! You probably think I’m crazy but the story is not so complicated. As you know I left my hometown in Italy and now I live in Switzerland. Basel it’s really a lovely town but I suppose it’s normal that we miss a lot our families and friends and it’s normal too that when they come to visit our hearts fill with joy. That is exactly what happened few weeks ago when my beloved friend Lucia came here. It was a special week-end for almost 2 reason:

1) I’m the food blogger and she’s the beauty and make-up blogger… guess who cooked? Just a suggestion: not me!

2) It was the Basel Tattoo week-end. It’s not of course as famous as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo but it’s a nice show with military band coming from all over the world, fireworks and a free parade in the heart of the city. The strangest thing is that, even if I’m certainly not a military fanatic, I’m moved every time I see something similar and, watching a band after another, my comment always was: “Ok, my favourite are always that with the skirt!” meaning of course that my favourite are always the Scottish. I think there’s something touching in the way they are so proud of their history, their kilts and bagpipes.

One curious thing is that, even if bagpipes are worldwide considered a Scotland symbol, this musical instrument has its origins in the Middle East and reached Scotland only in the XV century, where became very important and had also a military use. The bagpipers were important member of their community (their ability guaranteed them lands) and this precious art was handed down from father to son until the foundation of piping colleges.

And what about kilt? Even if watching Mel Gibson‘s “Braveheart” we may think that it has on old tradition, kilt as we know it today was invented only during the XVIII century by an English Quaker(and that is of course the worst thing for a Scottish!).

Leaving this folk corner and going back to the recipe, this penne with saffron and bacon are the dish that my friend Lucia cooked for me! I loved them so much that I have already cooked them again and again and again.. hope you will enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

– 400 g of pasta

– 250 g of bacon cut in small cube

– 2 shallots

– 2 sachets of saffron

– 1 glass of cooking water

– 4 teaspoons of potato flour

– olive oil & salt

– parmesan cheese

Start cooking pasta in boiling salted water. Then lightly fry the bacon in a pan till crispy, remove and store in a warm place. In the same pan add few spoons of olive oil and fry lightly the shallots finely chopped. Melt the saffron in a glass of cooking water then add the potato flour mixing well. When your pasta is ready, drain it and pour it in the pan with the shallots. Add bacon and the saffron mixture tossing well. If necessary add more cooking water. Serve with parmesan cheese. Buon appetito!