Pasta alla Giardino

Ciao Foodies! I’m cooking homemade Creste de Gallo (cockscomb-shaped pasta) in the Helsinki Secret blogger residence. Yes, I found an  Italian-inspired shop called Taverna Vaelsa. What a pleasant surprise!  It is a quaint place that offers artisan pizzas, homemade pastas, an outdoor café and a second floor restaurant (with nice harbor views). There is also a boutique food shop where you can purchase a variety of imported Italian food products, and most importantly Taverna Vaelsa’s homemade pastas.  I couldn’t resist the freshly-made pastas.  

I was glad to have found a place like Taverna Vaelsa since it is only steps away from the produce vendors in the Harbor Market. The day I made this video, I bought some very nice fresh vegetables while walking around the harbor shortly after purchasing the pasta.  Inspired by the moment, I decided to make a Pasta alla Giardino.  It is a perfect summertime pasta dish with it’s great marriage of pasta and vegetables.

So, it was back to the blogger residence to do some cooking. The apartment is super cool, it’s decked out in fabulous Finlayson textiles and it’s centrally located in the city. The efficiency kitchen contains all that you would need to cook a decent meal and serve it up with style.  It was important to me, as a chef, to have a well functioning kitchen. And this kitchen works just fine as I’ll show you in ther video below.

If  you also like visiting different countries and exploring their local food markets, you will really appreciate a place like the Helsinki Secret residence, which is walking distance to many interesting food markets such as Hakaniemi Market Hall, Old Market Hall, and the Harbor Market Square.  At the end of each day’s adventure, I looked forward to passing by one of these markets to purchase some local ingredients, and make a beeline straight back to the residence and cook a delicious meal.

Now let’s cook our Creste de Gallo alla Giardino!