Food blogger Camilla Rossi talks about her passion for food (and other things)

2017-09-04 Food and wine cool hunter Camilla Rossi is crazy about a lot of things. Food, of course; she created the blog A casa Camilla to talk about cooking in the kitchen, and she makes perfect fresh pasta in true Ferrara style, producing fresh and filled pasta for her parents’ deli “Da crudo a cotto”.
She particularly loves sautéed clams, quiche and cupcakes, scrambled eggs with lots of pepper, and pink gnocchi with gorgonzola. She’s crazy about smoked salmon and the combination of cured ham with cheese, egg pasta and raw vegetables dipped in olive oil and salt.
But as Camilla admits in her blog, she also loves lots of other things. She likes bright red lipstick and mascara, she enjoys spending time with true friends and getting out of the city on the weekend. She dots her I’s with little hearts and believes in being objective while using your imagination. She prefers smiles to laughter, believes in tormented love and, like a true blogger, her favourite colour is black. She is a great fan of her mother, she loves Formentera and she never hesitates to put herself on the line.
What is your favourite dish, and why?
“Spaghetti with clam sauce! I have just made a change to the recipe, because of an allergy to olives: I now make it with rice oil. My father, who is not particularly affectionate by nature, always pampered me with this dish when I was a child. I am very traditional: I believe the family is everything. At our house, food has always been an important part of both work and home life. And food is still an excuse for us to get together today: we make broth or pasta with meat sauce every Sunday. After a while you get tired of alternative cooking, and you no longer have any alternative… You need to go back to tradition to innovate.”
What about wine?
“It may seem obvious, but I really love Barolo, a classic red wine from Piedmont. It’s full-bodied and has a long history behind it. A lot of tradition goes into that: fragrances, flavours… You can never get bored of Barolo!”
What makes the cooking of Emilia different from that of other regions?
“Emilia Romagna is my favourite region: we have a great variety of food products and traditional recipes, the envy of all the other regions of Italy, if I may be allowed to say so. From the tortellini of Bologna to Comacchio eel, from Parma ham to Parmigiano Reggiano cheese: nobody can compete with us in the kitchen.”
What is the top in the kitchen?
“When I fully satisfy the people dining with me. When they are happy.”
What does food mean to you?
“Food is family, affection, getting together; it’s work, it is a necessity, it’s everyday life.”
How can food be ethical?
“By fitting in with the season and the place. When it is sustainable and doesn’t waste raw materials. And when it has social significance: just think of all the events that are being held ethically! I was recently at a dinner where prison inmates were learning to cook. In this case, it was ethical food because it was all about being inclusive rather than exclusive.”

Mariagrazia Villa

Photos: © A casa Camilla