How many ways can you eat an artichoke? Why are ramps only around for a few weeks? What’s your new favourite spring pasta?
Get to the root of the season with our new spring-infused menus, farm-fresh ingredients, and storewide festivals. Word to the wise? Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.
Check out our top nine ways to dig deeper into spring at Eataly!
1. RELEASE YOUR INNER CHEF.
Our chefs have been waking up even earlier than usual to be the first to find the newest spring arrivals at the farmers’ markets. Bursting with fresh new produce, our fresh new menus offer the tastes of spring around Toronto.
Discover what’s new in at Eataly Toronto, then let your inner chef loose in our produce department to recreate our spring recipes.
2. GO BEYOND BASIL.
While pesto is often considered to be green, the sauce goes far beyond basil. The word comes from the Italian verb pestare, or “to grind.” Using a mortar and pestle, pesto is traditionally made by grinding fresh ingredients with olive oil, garlic, and other seasonings. The result: a rainbow of pesto possibilities.
Take the pesto challenge this spring, and find inspiration in all the fresh spring herbs in our marketplace. Take your pick of mint, spring onions, tarragon, chives — you get the idea — and grind your favourite to brighten any plate this season!
3. THINK: SALT, AIR, AND TIME.
The simplest processes can also be the most delicious. To make Prosciutto di Parma, the highest quality pork legs are salted and left to age for a minimum of one year in the Mediterranean breeze. A cousin to its crudo counterpart, prosciutto cotto is seasoned by hand with salt and herbs then slowly steamed cooked until perfectly moist. Crudo or cotto, we think they both add an intensely sweet and salty flavour to just about any spring meal!
4. SIZZLE AND DRIZZLE.
To create our extra virgin olive oil, the best regional Italian olives are hand-picked and cold-pressed. The resulting culinary gold is your best friend in the kitchen. Get to know the versatile product from grove to table.
Overwhelmed by the hundreds of bottles you see on our shelves? Relax. We offer only the best boutique bottles from across Italy’s 20 regions, so you can’t go wrong. All you have to do is find an olive oil that you enjoy, be it grassy, mild, peppery, or sweet, then get ready to sizzle and drizzle in the kitchen. Get our guide to enjoying it like an Italian!
5. DRINK TO TRADITION.
Made with organically-grown grapes without any additional additives or sulfites, natural wines remind us of the way our ancestors traditionally made wine more than a thousand years ago. Since they are often made with little to no intervention from the winemakers, vini naturali tend to be fresh tasting and have naturally-occurring sediment inside.
Discover them for yourself at your local Eataly wine shop!
6. DRESS FOR SPRING.
After a long winter, pasta is ready for light new sauces. Transport your table to sunny Gragnano, the hilltop town in the southern Italian region of Campania, where dry pasta was first bronze-extruded and slow-dried.
Cook your favorite shape until al dente, then pair with a complementary spring sauce.
7. MAKE DINNER IN NO THYME.
When the ingredients are fresh, stick to quality over quantity. Take our oven-ready branzino, which our fishmongers carefully source, clean, and stuff with lemon slices, rosemary, and thyme sprigs. All you have to do is pop it in the oven, and enjoy. It’s that simple.
Since we did the work, can we come over for dinner?
8. THINK GREEN.
With Earth Day around the corner, what better time to start living your best zero-waste life? Help tackle the problem of food waste in your own kitchen, then support our sustainable producers from Italy and Canada.
9. GET IN THE SPRING SPIRIT.
Fresh herbs are the answer to your cocktail dreams. Add flavour and depth when you muddle, infuse, or snip your favourite bunch.
Swing by Eataly for an herbal cocktail.
