Continuing all things Italian, our focus today is on Italian dining. Unlike formal, structured evenings that we are more familiar with here in the UK, we simply adore the relaxed and informal, family focus that the Italians offer.

Food and mealtimes are valued so highly, and treated in such a way that simply surrounding yourself with that vibe effortlessly sinks you into a state of relax and unwind. With summer just around the corner, we set about finding the savviest way to truly bring Italy to our own homes. And, because you should be able to enjoy the party as much as everyone else, we’ve found quick wins to ensure the prep is kept to a minimum and you can simply focus on making it look beautiful before guests arrive – so there’ll still be plenty of time to glam up yourself too!

We cooked up a couple of bowls of pasta and some meatballs in a tomato sauce. Everything else was simply sliced and presented, mixing together colours, textures and flavours.

Here are our top tips for quick-win, savvy Italian dining:

• A crisp, white table cloth sets the foundation and offers a base for colour to bounce off
• Choose brightly-coloured food to add vibrancy and contrast to the table. Both red and yellow tomatoes work brilliantly for this.
• Food with texture is much more exciting than too much regularity, so look out for knobbly lemons, odd shaped chillies – if they still have leaves on, even better!
• Cut up chillies and place in separate bowls to allow people to go as little or large as they desire on the hot spices!
• Cut lemons to give off that gorgeous Italian scent and add texture to bowls of fruit. For scent you could also consider scented candles – especially those that detract insects.
• Fresh flowers are a must and add height to your display. Make sure these don’t interrupt eye-line, so display these on the corner of the table.
• Small bowls for sides, such as olives and chunks of feta make sharing food much easier than lots of large plates as they can be passed around with ease.
• Drizzle oil over fresh salads to give them a glossy shine, but only do this once at the table to avoid wilting leaves.
• Don’t feel the need to overload plates – small portions of pasta look great on large, white dishes alongside a large, cold glass of white wine.

Then get everyone sitting down and tuck in. Salute!

 

Get the Italian al fresco look

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