"Homemade" marinated olives

To make a great quick to go with wine or drinks, take some good quality olives and mix them together with extra virgin olive oil, a split chilli pepper, a sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary, a smashed garlic clove, lemon and orange rind a bay leaf.

Leave to marinade in the fridge overnight and serve in a bowl.

These keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks, but make sure that the olives and flavourings are all covered in olive oil.


Cantinetta wine & pasta

Cantinetta, a relatively undiscovered Italian jewel, is situated on the de Clercqstraat in Amsterdam oud-west. American-born Deborah and the Dutch Claudia decided to bundle their passion for Italian food and opened the restaurant 2 years ago. Deborah’s love of Italian food comes from her great-grandmother and mother, with whom she spent many hours in kitchen. This is evident when you taste the freshly made dishes as they come out the kitchen. Locally sourced ingredients are used as much as possible and everything is made from scratch; from pasta, pizza bases and the delicious chocolate olive oil cake.

The restaurant has an industrial feel with a relaxed atmosphere, perfect for an evening of wining and dining with friends. The relatively small menu is inspired by Roman cuisine with quality dishes. The choice for antipasti also includes four homemade brick oven pizzas. The base is prepared from a yeast dough made from red berries which give the pizza’s an incredibly light and crispy texture and beautiful flavour. The toppings vary from basic – oil and sea salt (the sublime tasting base doesn’t really need anything else!), to a pomodori sauce with velvety soft mozzarella from Twente. The fresh salads served include our favourite, the Misticanza, made from an array of fresh herbs like mint, thyme, red berries and rocket. All pasta’s featured on the menu are prepared in house and fresh each day. If you love pasta Carbonara then you must order it here: the black pepper and clove-cured pork cheek in combination with the homemade pasta and farm-fresh eggs results in a perfect rendition of this classic dish. And there’s more than enough on offer for the sweet tooth among you – chocolate sea salt shortbread, lemon rhubarb cheesecake and Roman fried espresso doughnuts with Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate. All dishes can be paired with beautiful matching Italian wines.

All in all, Cantinetta is a wonderful place. Delicious dishes in combination with extremely attentive service and a relaxed atmosphere make this a place you want to come back to. The opening times are plus too - from Tuesday to Thursday till 23:00 and Friday and Saturday till 24:00.

For more information please visit Cantinetta.