Any one that follows my social media will know that I am a little bit of a pasta fiend.

From about the age of 12, I would cook up pasta and experiment with different sauces, and I loved how versatile this simple carb was.

Later on in life I became more exposed to really good pasta, especially with my time abroad and eating everything freshly cooked and homemade.

Italian food became one of my most cooked at home foods and I started to read a few more books on Italian Cookery. It was then that I came across Carmela Sereno Hayes.

Known more widely for her Second Book – Passion For Pasta, Carmela produces easy to follow pasta recipes and teaches you to make simple yet stunning pasta at home yourself.

Passion For Pasta is an amazing book for anyone that likes to cook and enjoys eating fresh pasta and is available from Amazon here.

For anyone that already has this book though, it may well be worth taking a look at her first book ‘Southern Italian Family Cooking’, which looks at some stunning recipes that come from the Italian heart and ooze flavour.

This book contains pure Italian passion on every page, from cooking stock, homemade sauces and some common pasta and meat dishes. This is an ‘Old School’ paperback, with simple to follow recipes which will have you cooking like an Italian in no time.

Now I find that one of the best way to eat pasta, either made yourself or shop bought, is with very simple additions, and nothing beats drizzling a beautiful Italian Olive Oil all over the freshly made pasta, however not all Olive Oil is produced equal.

Frantoio Muraglia is a producer of some stunning Olive Oil produced from the Coratina Olive.

Hand picked olives in the uplands of Murgia are then cold pressed in an ancient stone press, producing only the finest and flavoursome Olive Oil, perfect for drizzling to add a fresh and luxurious edge to your dish.

This oil is also amazing for dipping – again as a real treat. I baked some simple flatbreads that were perfect for soaking up this gorgeous Oil.

I recently reviewed Forest Gin, who like to sell their premium Gin in a premium bottle, and this oil is no different.

Using stunning ceramics from Puglia, each jar is hand moulded and decorated, with some stunning designs having been produced over the years.

Not only would a bottle of this oil be a great gift for a foodie, it is also a collectable piece of design.

If you know someone that would just love to receive one of these for a gift, you can obtain them from the UK Importer The Red Beetle

So if you have a lover of all things Italian, why not treat them to one of Carmela’s Books and a bottle of this unique and stunningly tasty Olive Oil – What a match!!!