Christmas Playlist

Looking for inspiration for music to play during the Christmas period?

Check out Pizzeria Oregano's favourite Christmas hits!

Bing Crosby – White Christmas
Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song
Ella Fitzgerald – Frosty the Snow Man
Frank Sinatra – Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Judy Garland – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Louis Armstrong – Cool Yule
Doris Day – Here Comes Santa Claus
Perry Como – I'll Be Home for Christmas
Dean Martin – Baby It's Cold Outside
Bing Crosby – It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas
Billie Holiday – I've Got My Love to Keep You Warm
Frank Sinatra – Winter Wonderland
Eartha Kitt – Santa Baby
Sammy Davis Jr. – Christmas Time All Over the World
The Beverley Sisters – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Ella Fitzgerald – Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Bing Crosby – Silver Bells
Brook Benton – When a Child Is Born
Harry Belafonte – Mary's Boy Child
Ella Fitzgerald – Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer

An Italian Inspired Turkey Recipe

Try something a little different this festive season with an Italian inspired turkey recipe!

Serves 6

2-2½ kg/4lb 8oz-5lb 8oz turkey crown
olive oil
about 10 thin slices streaky bacon or pancetta
small rosemary sprigs
1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
For the stuffing
4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
50g pine nuts
85g grated parmesan
6-8 slices pancetta, chopped
1 small loaf ciabatta, to give 280g/10oz breadcrumbs
4 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
zest 1 lemon, finely grated
2 eggs, beaten
For the garlic
3 whole bulbs garlic, halved horizontally
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
For the gravy
4 tsp plain flour
175ml medium-sweet marsala
850ml turkey or chicken stock

1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Rinse the turkey then pat dry with kitchen paper. Weigh it to calculate the cooking time, allowing 20 mins per kg, plus 70 mins (or 90 mins when roasting a crown over 4kg). Sit the turkey on a board, very lightly rub all over with olive oil and season with pepper. 

2. Lay the pancetta or streaky bacon over the top of the turkey, slightly overlapping to cover it. Tuck the slices under the bird to secure at the bottom. Insert small rosemary sprigs haphazardly between the slices. Season with pepper. Tie the crown across in 2-3 places with butcher’s string, to hold the shape together. Put the onion wedges in the middle of a large roasting tin and sit the crown on top. Cover the turkey with a loose tent of foil, then roast following your calculated time.

3. Make the stuffing. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan. Tip in the onions and garlic, and fry for 5-8 mins until softened and starting to turn golden. Push the onions to one side of the pan, then add the pine nuts and continue to fry for 1 min more, stirring the nuts until golden. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Stir in the remaining oil, all but a small handful of the Parmesan and the remaining stuffing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Loosely spoon stuffing mixture (don’t pack it down) into an oiled ovenproof dish, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, then lay a sheet of baking parchment on top. Set aside. Can be made 1 day ahead and chilled.

4. Thirty mins before the end of the cooking time, remove the turkey and increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. If you are roasting potatoes put them in now. Roast the garlic. Remove the foil, place the garlic halves and lemon wedges around the turkey, then baste them and the turkey with the cooking juices. Return the tin to the oven and continue to roast for the final 30 mins. To test if cooked, pierce the fattest part of the crown with a skewer – the juices should run clear, not pink. If they are pink, continue to roast, checking at 10 min intervals.

5. Remove the turkey, garlic and lemon from the oven, transfer to a warm serving platter and rest, covered loosely with foil, for 30 mins before carving. Meanwhile, increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the stuffing in the oven and bake for 20 mins, then remove the paper and bake for a further 5 mins until the stuffing is golden.

6. Make the gravy. Pour off any excess fat from the roasting tin but leave the juices and onions. Stir all the sticky bits from the bottom of the tin into the juices. Set tin over a medium heat, add the flour and cook, stirring continuously, for 2 mins. Pour in the Marsala and simmer for 2 mins. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 5-10 mins or until reduced to your liking. Season with pepper if needed. Strain the gravy into a pan, warm through, then pour into a jug. Serve the turkey garnished with rosemary sprigs, surrounded with the roasted garlic and lemon, and accompanied by the gravy and stuffing.

The Blogging Event

This week's blog post is on the Yelp event we held at Pizzeria Oregano last week!

If you're new to the world of Yelp Events, let us explain in greater detail.

A yelper is someone who leaves a review on yelp - nothing more nothing less. You can become a yelper by creating a profile on yelp and leaving reviews on everything and anything. Once you've done that, you're eligible to sign up to yelp event. Restaurants hold Yelp events to encourage people in to see what they have to offer.

At Pizzeria Oregano, we decided to do just that and last Sunday we invited 50 yelpers in for an evening of the best Italian fare this side of Italy.

Our hungry bloggers turned up promptly 7pm and hungrily devoured all that was placed in front of them:

Delicious calamari orechiette.

Mediterranaean vegetable penne

Fresh pesto gnocci and wild mushroom tortellini

And Pippo cooked up a storm at the pizza oven with a huge variety of pizzas.

Fancy a sample of some of the delicious in the pictures above, simply book a table at Pizzeria Oregano! 

Tricolore Salad

Many people think, wrongly, that Italian cuisine is just pizza and pasta. Although we serve world class pizza and pasta, we also serve an array of other delicious Italian delights.

This includes our wonderful tricolore salad which was one of last week's specials. Exceptionally delicious, it's also incredibly easy to make. But shush, don't share our secret and tell anyone else! 

This salad is really just an assembly job, you just need to make sure that you buy the best quality, perfectly ripe ingredients.

Serve 2 

1 ball of buffalo mozarella, sliced

3 medium vine ripened tomatoes, sliced

best quality extra virgin olive oil

dried oregano

ciabatta

1 garlic clove, sliced in half

1 perfectly ripe avocado, sliced

50g parmesan, sliced using a potato peeler

Fresh pesto (see how to make it in our previous post) 

1. Cut 2 thick slices of ciabatta. Get your griddle or frying pan really hot and place the ciabatta slices on. Griddle for a couple of minutes on both sides. 

2. Drizzle the slices with olive oil and rub both sides with the garlic. Sprinkle with crushed sea salt.

3. Arrange the avocado, mozarella, and tomato on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with dried oregano. If you're feeling fancy, add a drizzle of freshly made pesto which we showed you how to make in last week's post.

Serve as starter or a light main course. 

Fresh Pesto

Don't buy the jarred stuff - it's terrible! Fresh pesto is the way to go - ridiculously easy to make and very fresh and fragrant. Use it as a topping for fish and chicken dishes or simply stirred into pasta.

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Large bunch of fresh basil
50g pine nuts
50g parmesan
150ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for storing
2 garlic cloves, peeled

1. Firstly, dry roast the pine nuts. Simply add them to a frying pan over a medium heat and toss for  few minutes. Make sure you don't burn them.
2. Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until they form a paste.
3. Store in a container. Make sure you add a small drizzle of olive oil to the top to help it preserve for longer. Will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.

Quick Monday Night Dinner - Spicy Sausage Pasta

Cooking every night can be tricky, with so many things needing attention, sometimes meals go straight out the window.

Everyone needs a go to pasta dish for rustling up in next to no time and we thought we'd share our favourite, spicy sausage pasta!

Serves 4

500g pasta
6 good quality sausages, sausage meat discarded and skins thrown away
1 jar of good quality passata
Chilli flakes
1 tsp fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
A little olive oil

Preheat the grill

1. Boil the pasta in a large saucepan of salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and leave to one side in a little cooking water to stop the pasta sticking together.
2. In a little vegetable oil, fry the sausage meat until brown. Make sure it's well broken up with the back of a spoon. Add a sprinkle of chilli flakes and the fennel seeds.
3. Heat up the passata in a saucepan. Stir in the sausages.
4. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix together. Grate over the cheese of your choice.
5. Place under a medium grill until the cheese is beautifully golden and bubbly.

Oregano's Specials

Italian cuisine sometimes gets a bit of a hard press. Although we're applauded for our authenticity and traditional dishes, there's a common consensus that we can get 'stuck in our ways' and not be open to trying new flavour combinations.

At Pizzeria Oregano, this could not be more wrong! As well as serving our traditional favourites, head chef Mario is always innovating and creating brand new specials each week which are sure to tickle your taste buds.

Check out these bad boys!

Sea bream with dill sauce, roasted potatoes and carrot puree.

Grilled Calves Liver

Sea bass served with mashed potatoes, mange tout and fresh herbs

Tagliatelle murgesi - mixed mushrooms, sirlion steak, cherry tomatoes, garlic, extra virgin olive and a touch of truffle oil.

Involtino di merluzzo - Parma ham, fresh fennel and herb sauce

Grilled king prawns served with lemon risotto 

Baby chicken valsugana served in a bed of fresh polenta

linguine al granchio - garlic king prawns, crab meat and fresh spinach.

Don't worry - we haven't forgotten desserts either!

A delicious sweet pancake encases homemade hazelnut ice cream sprinkled with crushed and roasted hazelnuts and honey.

crepes al arancia served with homemade vanilla ice cream.

Don't be shy, come visit and see what Islington's best Italian has to offer! Keep up to date with our latest specials by following us on Instagram! 

Truffles

The mysterious, enigmatic truffle. Sorted by many, found by few.

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There are two main types: black and white. There are hundreds of varieties of truffle with the most expensive, Tuber magnatum, (a white variety) selling for a record £165,000 for 1.5kg (to a Macau business man!) This makes them one of the most expensive food stuffs ever! 

Although attempts have been made to cultivate truffles, the majority are still found growing wild around the roots of Oak, Hazel and Lime trees. Truffles are commonly sniffed out by pigs and dogs which have been trained to recognise their distinct smell. With regards to truffles and Italy, Truffles are found primarily in Piedmont, Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche. During October and November there are many white truffle fairs held in these regions.

Yes, truffles are expensive but for special occasions, they are the perfect, extravagant flourish to add to any meal. Try adding truffle shavings to risottos, pasta dishes and scrambled eggs to make an ordinary meal extraordinary! Cheaper but still containing the distinctive truffle flavours is truffle oil and truffle honey which can be drizzled over dishes or used in salad dressing. 

If you do decide to take the plunge and buy fresh truffles, make sure you store them properly! Keep them in an air tight container in the fridge with a few pieces of kitchen roll to absorb excess moisture as this will cause premature rotting. Add a couple of eggs for sumptuous truffle eggs as egg shells are porous and will readily absorb the heady flavour.

Meet our owner, Stef

Introducing Stefano: The Man Behind Pizzeria Oregano

Stef originates from Puglia, one of Italy's most beautiful regions, and heel of Italy's famous boot. Stef is keen to tell me about the region. Stef says that Puglia is scorching hot in the Summer with mild winters. As the heel of the Italy, Puglia is surrounded by sea on all sides; the Ionian and Adriatic. Therefore, as you would expect, the area is famous for its seafood; as well as its olives, figs, almonds and prickly pears.

Background

In 1971, as a small boy, Stefano's parents emigrated to England, specifically London. Stef's love of food stemmed from his father; a head chef who once worked at the Royal Festival Hall! Aged 82, Stef's father can still be found in Stef's kitchen today, helping out. With a chef as a father, and coming from a traditional Italian family, meant that Stef was always surrounded by food.

Stef gained a degree in marketing before earning a Post-Graduate diploma from the City of London University. His first job brought him ever closer to food, selling food stuffs to local Italian restaurants including his beloved olives and olive oil. In the meantime, Stef married a lovely Italian lady from Parma. Although Stef originates from the south of Italy, his wife's family originate from the North. This opened up a plethora of new tastes including porcini and polenta.

After a stint of selling food stuffs, in 1994 Stef went to work for his Father-in-law at his sandwich bar just around the corner in Poland Street. In 1996, he started a new sandwich bar with his wife and soon they were selling English breakfasts and pizza and pasta. All was going swimmingly for over a decade, until the lease came up in 2006 and he was given 6 month's notice to leave.

Pizzeria Oregano

As the owner of a thriving restaurant, you'd think that Stef might take it easy and let his staff do all the hard work. Not so! Stef works 6 days a week, and often 13 hours a day! Stef is passionate about what he does and he has a real eye for detail which is second to none. All of Stef's staff are Italian which he thinks is necessary to add that all important authenticity.

Stef and his family still return to their beloved Italy every year to visit relatives of course, but also to pick up new tricks and tips. This means that Stef's menu is innovative and up to date. As Stef puts it himself, Pizzeria Oregano is full of ‘old favourites with modern flair’. So why don't you see what all the fuss is about for yourself and visit Pizzeria Oregano today!

Spaghetti Meatballs Recipe

A few weeks ago, we shared head chef Mario's patented recipe for the perfect tomato pasta sauce and, I think it's about time, we shared a pasta dish which uses his fantastic sauce.



Today, we're sharing our recipe for spaghetti meatballs. This is an excellent dish for so many reasons. Firstly, children universally seem to adore it. Secondly, cost - using a mixture of pork and beef mince really lowers the price. Thirdly, this recipe can be halved, doubled, tripled, quadrupled...super easily. Together with the low price ingredients, you can feed hungry hoards relatively inexpensively.

Firstly, you'll need to whip up a batch of Mario's tomato sauce. This stuff is sublime - cooking for such a long time ensures tomato perfection. But we know you're busy people, and time is often of the essence, so if you can't be bothered to make the tomato sauce, just buy bottled passata, just don't tell us!

To make enough spaghetti meatballs to feed 10 hungry people, you'll need the following:

1Kg pork mince
1Kg beef mince
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
3 small eggs or 2 large ones
100g bread crumbs
1Kg spaghetti
Olive oil
Parmesan and fresh parsley to serve
salt and pepper

The Miracle Herb

At Pizzeria Oregano, it's obvious our favourite herb is oregano but did you know that oregano has fantastic medicinal properties too?

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Oregano oil is extracted by steam extraction, from you guessed it, the oregano herb.

Oregano oil can help treat an absolute plethora of diseases. It has been proven to give relief to:

Pippo at Work - Pizza Dough Spinning!

It's always fun to mix things up when it comes to blog posts, right? Today we thought it would be fun to share a video of our very talented Pippo doing what he does best, pizza dough spinning!

Limoncello in 4 easy steps and just 4 ingredients!

Limoncello is an Italian liquer mainly produced in Souther Italy including our beloved Puglia! Traditionally, it is made from zest of Femminello St. Teresa lemons, also known as Sorrento lemons or Sfusato lemons.

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Limoncello is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestivo and it typically has an alcohol content of around 28%. Many variations of Limoncello are also available. These include Pitstachiocello (as you would expect, flavoured with pistachio nuts), Meloncello (flavoured with cantaloupe), and Frangocello (flavoured with strawberry).

The recipe below is for traditional Limoncello which you can make at home with 4 easy steps and just 4 ingredients!

All you need is:
5 unwaxed lemons
1L vodka
750g caster sugar
700ml boiling water

1. Zest the lemons and put in a large clean jar.
2. Pour over the vodka. Cover with a tightly fitting lid and leave for a week, shaking the jar each day.
3. Put the sugar in a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Add the vodka and zest and leave for a further week, shaking the jar regularly.

Give it a go tonight; it's sure to brighten up any Thursday night!

Turning the spot light on...Mario

Today, I interviewed our head chef, Mario.

Mario is a busy man; he is both the manager and head chef at Pizzeria Oregano,

Originally from Portugal, he moved to London 24 years ago! Mario is a self taught man. He started from the very bottom (as a kitchen porter) to his lofty position as a head chef here at Pizzeria Oregano.

Pizzeria Oregano's patented tomato sauce recipe...Shhhhhh, don't tell anyone!

At Pizzeria Oregano we use only the highest quality ingredients. All our sauces are prepared to an authentic family recipe handed down through the generations. The result?  Our food is just like nonna would make it.

Today, head chef Mario shares his recipe for the ultimate tomato sauce. And the secret? It's all in the timings. No tomato sauce worth its salt should take less than 2 hours from start to finish.

Mini Post: Summertime(ish) Play List

I don't know about you, but I'm loving this amazing, never ending Summer.

These songs have been the sound track to my Summer.

Prayer in C - Lily Wood, Robin Schulz
Walking with Elephants - Ten Walls
Waves - Mr Probz
Riptide - Vance Joy
Aventine - Agnes Obel
Without a doubt - Isbells
Cucurucu - Nick Mulvey
Hold on - SBTRKT
Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey
Let me down easy - Paolo Nutini
Sonnentanz ft. Will Heard - Klangkarussell
Changing - Paloma Faith

What have you been listening to?

Summer Cocktail Recipe

Amaretto is such an Italian flavour and in this post you saw how it was an integral part of the Affogato recipe I shared.

And with this Indian Summer we're currently experiencing, I thought it was about time I shared my favourite Summer Cocktail recipe containing, you guessed it, Amaretto.

A sweet and sour combo is one of the most refreshing combinations out there, so make this in haste, before the long Summer days are over and we're all firmly hugging mulled wines and ciders.

Sunday Dinner – Stefano Style

One thing the English do really well is Sunday dinner. 

Here I am not just talking about the meal itself, (although I have had some roast potatoes I would sell my grandmother for), but also the entire ritual – the gathering, the sharing of time, catching up with loved ones over a home prepared hearty meal.

So in deference to this English tradition, here is my take on an English Sunday dinner.

TOAST MAGAZINE'S REVIEW OF BY ALI MILLINGTON - 'SIMPLE, AUTHENTIC ITALIAN AT PIZZERIA OREGANO'

Pizzeria Oregano

18-19 St Albans Place, London, N1 0NX

Tel: 020 7288 1123

Transport: Angel (Underground)

Hidden down a quiet road off Islington’s Upper Street lies an authentic Italian restaurant with simple décor but strong accents, indicating that local Italians give it the seal of approval.

Gelato - More Than Just Ice Cream

 

Even when the sun isn’t shining, and people aren’t rushing out of work to catch the evening rays who doesn’t want to finish an Italian dinner with a palate cleansing, refreshing gelato?

Now, gelato isn’t just an Italian word for ice cream, it is something else entirely – if you’ve tried it you will know what I mean.

Fancy some heat this Summer?

Make like the sun and enjoy some heat with our new Spicy Pizzas for the summer!

Why not try out Calabria tomato and mozzarella with spicy salami? 

Let's Combine Pizzas and Football for a Winning Combination

At Oregano' we love the football... Albeit a little less since Italy was kicked out.

However it only happens once every 4 years, so we may as well embrace it - after all, why pass an opportunity to see friends, eat good food, and relax mid week with a drink?

When you're with the boys (or girls) and the football is on, spicy food and cider is such a winning combination! Don't let spicy food constrain you to curries however!

A few years ago friends of mine joined my wife and me on holiday to visit relatives in Abruzzo, where we ate the regional specialties, which to their surprise included a number of spicy dishes! Often people think of Mediterranean warmth, sweet sun ripens tomatoes and refreshing peppers when considering flavors of Italy. But go a little deeper, a little more local, eat as the locals do and you will find more than a flash of Italian flame in the sauces of the Abruzzese region!

English people are often surprised at the level of spice which can be found across the regions of Italy which is odd considering spice has been part of regional cuisine since Columbus brought back peperoncio from the new world in the 16th century!  As with all Italian cuisine spice is something we handle very well and is balanced with our fresh herbs and rich sauces in a way that allows spice to become a more complex accent of a dish, rather than creating what can sometimes me an unpleasant physical sensation.

So as the world cup hots up (pardon the pun) join in with our July special spicy pizzas!

A Snapshot of Pizzeria Oregano!

Check out our talented chefs at work at Pizzeria Oregano! 

June Musings...

June eh? It has come and gone, and already we are rolling into July. Rolling along with thunder, rain and another lost summer.  It is a curious English trait I have developed much to my disappointment. End of may comes and the young people come out, the children play and people leave work happy. Well, that's the dream. Then the dream is dashed and we are left wet, miserable and feeling worse than after drinking my cousins home made spumante - less than ideal.

So, let us leave the hope of heatwaves and embrace what we do have. Good food and good drink and I like to think good company. Close out the rain and have a glass of pure sunshine sidro monato , forget the chilly air and warm up with Mediterranean spices. And if you still need something to bring a little, calore italiano in your life wash it away with some limencello- (the very thing for stripping away British summer blues).