I #choosetocook because it lets me explore new foods, traditions and ways of eating. I love seeing how other cultures consume food, the rituals around certain meals and how food can provide individuals with a sense of community, home, family and even purpose.

I have been fascinated by the meal structure of Italian food since chatting with @missfluffy. It was truly eye-opening as the idea of 'primo' and 'secondo' (first and second separate dishes for one meal) is a truly foreign concept to me.
I have never eaten food this way and, let many, just assumed that Italians eat one big dish of pasta and meat combined (like we do in the UK) - the power of years of packaging and marketing a whole country's cuisine as large plates of spaghetti bolognese and lasagna I suppose.

The more and more I thought about it, the more I thought this way of eating smaller portions separated as two distinct dishes was something I could introduce to my own mealtimes. I loved the concept of preserving the variety, integrity and flavour of singular foods in this way.

Last night I gave it a go I made this gnocchi for my primi meal and served a meat dish as my second along with a side dish of raw vegetables for my 'Contorno piatto'

I'm not convinced that my particular choices for the two dishes worked well side by side but for the first try of this meal structure....it was definitely a WINER for our family.