This Italian gift basket features eight pantry essentials. Each comes from a family house with generations of expertise. It includes bronze-cut pasta from a Tuscan mill. You get Sicilian cherry tomatoes, Genovese DOP basil pesto, and Taggiasca olive spread. It also has balsamic from Modena and two Sicilian olive oils.
Everything in the box is plant-based, shelf-stable, and ready to become dinner tonight. Here is how to cook your way through it.
What's in this Italian gift basket?
Eight products, all vegan, all made in Italy.
- Organic Artisanal Busiate Pasta by Morelli — 17.6 oz. A Sicilian spiral. The twist grips pesto and oil that would slide off a smooth shape.
- Organic Artisanal Bucatini Pasta by Morelli — 17.6 oz. Long and hollow, so sauce travels inside the strand as well as around it.
- Sicilian Tomato Sauce by Campo d'Oro — 24 oz. Sicilian tomatoes cooked down on a traditional family recipe. Sweet, not sharp.
- Basil Pesto with Basil Genovese DOP by ROI — 6.4 oz. Protected-origin Ligurian basil and ROI's own olive oil. No cheese, so it stays vegan.
- Taggiasca Olive Spread by ROI — 6.4 oz. Small, sweet Ligurian olives worked into a smooth, buttery spread.
- Balsamic Vinegar of Modena by Giusti — 8.45 fl oz. From the oldest balsamic house in Modena, founded in 1605.
- Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Frantoi Cutrera — 3.4 fl oz. Green-gold, grassy, peppery at the finish. Use it raw.
- Lemon-Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Frantoi Cutrera — 3.4 fl oz. Pressed with whole Sicilian lemons rather than flavored after the fact.
Antipasti
Italian grazing board crostini
Two small bowls, a stack of toasted bread, a thread of Sicilian oil over both. The olive spread is buttery and mild rather than briny, so it works next to the pesto without fighting it. No cooking at all.
For an extra special touch, add your favourite cheeses and cured meats, along with some fresh fruit such as pears, peaches, or grapes.
15 minutes · no cook
From your box: Taggiasca Olive Spread, Basil Pesto, Sicilian EVOO
Bruschetta with grilled cheese and a balsamic drizzle
The balsamic goes on at the very end, off the heat. This keeps it glossy and sharp. Use melted cheese if you eat dairy. Keep it plant-based with blistered tomatoes and olive spread.
15 minutes · vegetarian
From your box: Balsamic Vinegar by Giusti, Sicilian EVOO
Pesto Focaccia Sandwich with Caprese Filling & Grilled Zucchini
Assemble this delicious sandwich. Cut it into small, bite-sized portions. Put a skewer in each sandwich to make it appetizer-friendly.
15 minutes
From your box: Balsamic Vinegar by Giusti, Sicilian EVOO, basil pesto
Primi
One box, two genuinely different dinner options.
Bucatini all’Amatriciana
20 minutes
This is Rome's other great bucatini dish. It uses two items from the box at once. Render guanciale until the fat runs. Cook the Sicilian tomato sauce into it. Grate pecorino over the top. No cream, garlic, or onion is used. Restraint is the whole point. Hollow bucatini catches the sauce perfectly.
From your box: Bucatini, Sicilian Tomato Sauce, Sicilian EVOO
Busiate al pomodoro with Herb-Garlic Gremolata
Warm the tomato sauce, toss the busiate through it, then finish with lemon oil and toasted breadcrumbs for crunch. The sauce is almost entirely tomato, so it tastes like the fruit rather than the jar.
20 minutes · vegan
From your box: Busiate, Tomato Sauce, Sicilian EVOO, Lemon EVOO
Use the same sauce with a different shape. Tear burrata over the top at the table. This lets it melt into the pasta. Finish with basil oil over everything.
Bucatini OR Busiate with tomato and creamy burrata
25 minutes · vegetarian
From your box: Bucatini, Tomato Sauce, Sicilian EVOO
Olive Tapenade Bucatini
15 minutes
From your box: Bucatini, Sicilian EVOO, Taggiasca Olives Spread
Pasta al pesto
Loosen the pesto with a spoonful of starchy pasta water, off the heat, and toss. Heat dulls DOP basil, so the pan never touches it. Cherry tomatoes and toasted almonds if you want more on the plate.
15 minutes · vegan
- Notice this recipe calls for Paccheri pasta however busiate is equally good choice of pasta for this recipe.
From your box: Busiate, Basil Pesto, Sicilian EVOO
More for these two shapes: bucatini carbonara, busiate with sausage ragù, and busiate alla puttanesca, Olive Tapenade Bucatini.
Dessert
Meringues, Gelato, Berries and Balsamic
Four ways to run the menu
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Sunday supper for four 1. Olive and pesto crostini 2. Busiate with burrata 3. Green salad, balsamic and Sicilian oil |
Dinner for two 1. Balsamic bruschetta 2. Bucatini alla carbonara 3. Strawberries with balsamic |
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Fully plant-based 1. Olive and pesto crostini 2. Busiate al pomodoro 3. Roasted vegetables, lemon oil |
Feeding a crowd 1. All three antipasti 2. Both pastas, side by side 3. One bottle of Nero d'Avola, one of Vermentino |
Questions we get
What can I cook with The Ultimate Italian Experience Gift Basket?
Enjoy a full Italian dinner. Start with crostini or bruschetta. For the main, pick a pasta shape. Dress a salad with balsamic and olive oil. Only bread and vegetables are needed.
Is everything in the basket vegan?
Yes. Every item is plant-based. The pesto is made without cheese. Nothing in the box contains dairy, eggs, or animal products.
How do I pair the two pastas?
Bucatini is hollow, so it carries tomato sauce inside the strand as well as around it. Busiate is a Sicilian spiral whose twist grips pesto and olive oil, which would slide straight off a smooth shape.
How much pasta per person?
About 100g, roughly 3½ ounces. A 17.6 oz pack of Morelli serves four to five.
What wine goes with the tomato sauce?
A medium-bodied Italian red with enough acidity to meet the tomatoes. Nero d'Avola or Etna Rosso keeps it Sicilian; Chianti Classico is the safe answer anywhere.
Does anything need refrigerating?
Not until it is opened — everything is shelf-stable and unopened will hold for months. Once open, the pesto, olive spread and tomato sauce go in the fridge and are best within a week. Keep the oils and the balsamic in a cool cupboard, away from light.
What is the difference between the two olive oils?
The Selezione is a Sicilian extra virgin oil. It is grassy and peppery. Use it for finishing pasta and bread. The lemon oil is pressed with whole lemons. It is brighter and suits vegetables and salads.
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