Recently Carla and Christina Pallotta, the owners of Nebo restaurant on North Washington, came by on a tour of the neighborhood. They come in often to stock up for home and their restaurant. But this Saturday, a Boston Globe travel reporter and photographer accompanied them. Carla and Christina grew up in the North End, and remember coming in to shop with their mother. That day, they had fun reminiscing with Erminio Martignetti, our founder, and tasting delicious cheeses and cured meats. 

And one result -- besides the fun of seeing old friends -- was a fantastic story in the Boston Globe Sunday Travel section Dec. 11 with Salumeria Italiana and Erminio at the top of the story.

Chef Raymond created this light cream sauce for a recent pasta-making class. It goes beautifully with handcut pappardelle or Spinose Pappardelle.

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Olio Carli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup dried Asiago Food Dried Porcinis, soaked in 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup Panna da Cucina or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped 
• 2 tablespoon Delitia Parmigiano-Reggiano Butter
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon Italian flat parsley, chopped
• 1/2 recipe Fresh Pasta cut in Pappardelle, or 1 package (8 ounces) Spinosi Pappardelle
• 1/2 cup aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• 1 tablespoon Black Truffle Oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a sauté pan. Drain porcinis, reserving liquid. Strain through cheesecloth if necessary. Chop porcinis.  Heat a sauté pan, add olive oil and then porcinis, turning to coat. Add white wine, and chopped sage and let wine cook down slightly. Slowly add cream, keeping temperature low so that cream doesn’t boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add  butter,  hazelnuts and turn to coat, simmer 5 more minutes.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, add pasta. When fresh pasta rises to surface remove with a slotted spoon. Toss immediately in the sauce, adding a little pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.  Sprinkle with parsley and cheese, and drizzle each serving with a few drops of Black Truffle Oil if desired.

CityWine Tours brings a group through the North End every Saturday. After a few stops tasting wines, they're ready for something to eat and to pair with wines. Salumeria Italiana offers them tastes of cheeses, cured meats, and olive oils to add to the oenophile education. After all, one does not live by wine alone. Here's what two participants, who write a blog, said about the store and about Chef Raymond who told them all about cheeses, meats and EVOO. 

We love these tours and all of the visitors who come through -- Simmons College nutrition and nursing students who want to know about extra virgin olive oil and how to tell the good stuff, a tour from California curious about the store's history and its links to Italy, and the regulars at Saturday tastings who drop in to see what cheeses are especially wonderful that week. 

Almost everyone gets a taste of Rubio Aged Balsamic Vinegar before they go -- a delicious way to remember Salumeria Italiana.

Calling Salumeria Italiana one of his favorite stores in the world, Andrew Zimmern, star of Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods, swept through the store recently, accompanied by cameramen, light and audio technicians, producers, and a few curious fans. The congenial Zimmern who travels the world seeking out the unusual, the authentic, and the molto delicioso in foods sampled Coppa di Testa, or head cheese, pointing out its piggy parts and how our version was especially delicate. He tried Cinghiale, or wild boar, Cacciatorini. He marveled over Moliterno al Tartufo, the wonderfully aged Sardinian truffle cheese. And he smacked his lips at the Octopus Salad. With owner Gaetano Martignetti, (pictured above, Gaetano on left) he discussed regional Italian specialities, where to source the best cheeses, and all the little producers the two had discovered in remote towns in Italy.

Zimmern confessed he has been coming to the store since forever and remembers all the remodeling over the years. He could identify the olive oils, said he and his son love Rubio, and filled his arms with Setaro, Alce Nero, and other pastas to be sent to his home in Minnesota. After stopping for a photo with Gaetano, Zimmern made sure to have two packages of Bottarga di Mugine (mullet roe) wrapped in a cool pack to take on the plane with him. 

The segment featuring Salumeria Italiana as part of a tour of the North End is slated for February 2012. Stay tuned for an exact date and watch for the Salumeria staff on air.!!!

A recent New York Times Dining blog talks about San Marzano DOP tomatoes and how to tell the real from those that merely bear the name.  La Valle San Marzano DOP meet all the criteria proving their authenticity: The label reads Pomodoro San Marzano dell'agro Sarnese Nocerino DOP. The DOP and Cosorzio stamps are affixed as well as the number assigned by the Cosorzio. And these tomatoes are whole; chopped, pureed, or diced tomatoes are not given DOP status. 

Our customers can be sure that La Valle's wonderful San Marzano DOP tomatoes will consistently be among the best on the market!!!