5 Questions for... Malte Bruins

At Mammas Simple Food, you can enjoy authentic Italian cuisine, as managing director Malte Bruins tells us. The owner family around Fortunato Tassone has been running Italian restaurants for 40 years. The concept for the three restaurants in Dinslaken, Kamp-Lintfort, and Bocholt is as simple as it is good: simple Italian food with high-quality ingredients, of course, baked in a Valoriani wood-fired oven. In all restaurants, baking is done in a Valoriani Igloo 140cm and the dough is made by a Bernardi dough kneading machine.

And here, Mr. Bruins tells us what makes the ovens special in his view - and of course, his favorite recipe:

1. What dish do you like to prepare in your oven and why?
Pizza and homemade country bread. The dough, together with carefully selected ingredients, develops an incomparable aroma in the beechwood-fired oven.

2. What makes your oven special for you?
Being able to practice real Neapolitan pizza craftsmanship, traditionally in an oven that is only fired with beechwood. High temperatures ensure a short baking time, and the ingredients stay fresh and crunchy. The taste is not lost.

3. What is your tip for amateur cooks who have a wood-fired oven?
Don't skimp on wood. Collect little flour under the dough. Work with high temperatures.

4. Where or for whom would you like to cook?
The Italian and German national football teams. Anywhere...?

5. Could you share your favorite recipe that we can publish on our blog?

Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Pepperoncino:
To prepare, crush or finely chop garlic cloves and heat or lightly fry them in plenty of virgin or extra virgin olive oil; the latter gives the dish a strong spicy note. The flavored oil is seasoned with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and then mixed with al dente cooked spaghetti. In the spicy version (Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino), fresh or dried red chili peppers are added to the oil with the garlic, plus chopped flat-leaf parsley, either raw or briefly fried in the oil. Simple, yet with good ingredients and fresh pasta, incredibly delicious.

We say thank you for this delightful recipe and recommend a visit to Mammas Simple Food!