Hosting 101: Ready for drop-in visits

It's the end of the day and you're sitting comfortably on the sofa, perhaps reading a book or watching an episode of your favourite series. Suddenly the doorbell rings, and you open to find friends who were just in the area and spontaneously decided to drop by. We show you which foods you should always stock at home and what dishes you can conjure up from them.

Ingredients for the surprise visit

The most important thing is good wine. For one thing, you can serve it to your guests while you prepare the food, and for another, it rounds out the meal perfectly. So offer your guests a glass of Senza Parole Vino Frizzante d’Italia to start, or a glass of Vino Frizzante d’Italia Rosato in summer. In the meantime, you can start getting the ingredients together.

All Italian dishes usually consist of 4-8 ingredients, which makes them quick to prepare. These recipes are enough for 4 servings. You can simply adjust them if you have more or fewer people.

Il primo: the starter

We’re starting with a classic from Italy that never fails: white bread with olive cream and a glass of Senza Parole Vino Bianco d’Italia to go with it. The ratio of green to black olives is not set in stone. You can adjust this depending on your preference.

You’ll need:

White bread
100 g green olives (pitted)
50 g black olives (pitted)
1 chilli pepper
Basil
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

The recipe:

Puree the olives, chilli pepper and basil. Refine with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cut the white bread into even slices and toast. Then spread with olive cream and serve. A glass of Senza Parole Vino Bianco d’Italia rounds the whole lot out perfectly.

Il protagonista: the main course

Our star of the show is quick to prepare, but still delicious: Spaghetti with burrata and tomatoes combined with a glass of Senza Parole Primitivo Puglia IGP. If you don't happen to have burrata at home, the whole thing works with mozzarella too. In this case, simply use double the amount.

You'll need:

500 g spaghetti or other pasta
2 burrata
4 medium-sized tomatoes
Olive oil
Basil
Salt and pepper

The recipe:

Prepare the spaghetti or other pasta. While it is cooking, finely dice the burrata and tomatoes and mix. Chop the basil and add to the mix. Then season with salt and pepper. Mix the finished pasta with the sauce in a large bowl, season to taste generously with olive oil, garnish with basil and serve with a glass of Senza Parole Primitivo Puglia IGP .

Il grande finale: whipping up the dessert

The grand finale is coming up: mascarpone espresso cream. In just a few steps you can conjure up the crowning glory of the meal.

The recipe:

Prepare the espresso and leave to cool. Mix the mascarpone, quark, half of the espresso and sugar until smooth. Whip the cream with 2 tbsp. sugar until stiff and then fold into the mascarpone quark cream. Pour into four glasses and stir in the remaining espresso with a fork, taking care not to stir too much so that a pretty swirl pattern is created.

Then serve and enjoy.