Vegetables, Herbs and Flowers
Add a gourmet touch to all your meals with the best vegetables from Italy and the unique herbs from South-Tyrol. Our selection is rich in ideal ingredients to decorate your dishes, such as edible flowers.
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Fresh Vegetables from Italy
All the best vegetables can arrive in the comfort of your home in Hong Kong thanks to Longino & Cardenal's online shop. Longino & Cardenal, for years a leading distributor for gourmet restaurants, opens the doors of its online shop to individuals as well. Among the many products you can find, there is a selection of vegetables that are exactly like those used by top chefs for their gourmet preparations.
All our vegetables are seasonal, we respect the cycle of nature and we want to spread awareness around Sicilian delicacies such as eggplants, Vesuvian tomatoes and date tomatoes. These vegetables are very versatile, you can think about a recipe for pasta alla norma, a typical Sicilian pasta, made of fried eggplant and smoked ricotta or parmesan on top. For a gourmet pasta alla norma we recommend our eggplant because they come straight from Sicily. Italians love eggplants, this is the reason behind so many recipes such as eggplant in oil or eggplant rolls.
The scent of nature in a dish
All of our products are fresh and grown according to the highest quality standards with full respect for nature. Longino & Cardenal promotes the rich biodeversity of Italy by offering products coming from the beautiful island of Sicily, but also coming from the amazing mountains of Trentino.
Flowers, sprouts and aromatic herbs are the example of what nature gives us. The beauty of a dish also lies in the small details that complete it. This is why many of Italians top chefs have chosen to rely on Longino & Cardenal for their flowers, sprouts and herbs. All edible flowers come from Trentino Alto-Adige, thanks to the expertise of Alpin Herbs, which has managed to cultivate large varieties of flowers and herbs.
One of the most sought-after products coming from the Italian mountains is the mixed wild leaves which is a delicious salad. Every leaf and every flower is carefully selected by hand to offer not only a decoration for your dish, but above all a tasty meal.
Aromatic Herbs for the Mediterranean Diet
Aromatic plants can be considered fundamental in Italian cuisine. They are perfect with both white and red meat and fish main courses. Aromatic herbs are present in many recipes, and are highly valued for their intense aromas. Not just complex recipes, herbs can make a simple dish like caprese salad very special!
There is an endless variety of herbs, watercresses and flowers in nature. If you're wondering on how to choose the perfect mix for your kitchen, simply rely on Longino & Cardenal because we offer a huge assortment of edible flower or herbs. You just need to choose your favorite or the one herb you need for your dish.
Our products are natural and are grown according to very high quality standards, even higher than those required by organic rules. In addition to the more classic products, Longino & Cardenal has some real specialties that nature has to offer. For example, calendula, chamomile and mallow, these are beautiful dried flowers that can give a boost to every dish, to put your kitchen on the same level of a starred restaurant kitchen.
When thinking about herbs, we need to consider that dried leaves are great for making infusions. That's why we came up with the idea of a ready-to-use kit with different herbs depending on the season.
Some tips for getting the best out of our selection of vegetables and herbs
Using vegetables when cooking is part of every food culture around the world, it's a very basic skill. But when using the best ingredients, all the cooking process will benefit. There is no need of cooking elaborated dishes, you can get an amazing result also by preparing a common pasta salad. Simply cut our special tomatoes, grill some delicious eggplant, add some wild leaves and olive oil: a perfect summer salad is ready to be served.
Something that is very useful in the kitchen is the vegetable foil, an idea borrowed from the street food, for making edible cones or containers of different shapes. It consists of chopped vegetables rolled out into very thin sheets and dried. An idea as simple as it is versatile. If fried they become crunchy multicolored snacks, if moistened they are moldable like a regular pasta lasagna (to make ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti...), au naturel they lend themselves to hold food or make artistic creations.
How to use the vegetable foils:
Sushi - Cut the sheet in half lengthwise and place with the glossy side upwards. The sheet moistens when it comes into contact with rice. Wet the end of the sheet to seal and close the roll.
Vegetable pasta - Spray the surface of the sheet with water so that it becomes sticky and wait a few moments before separating it. Attach two sheets together on the glossy side to obtain a thicker sheet. Cut the attached sheets to give them the desired vegetable pasta shape (spaghetti, tagliolini, lasagna, etc.) IMPORTANT: do not cook the “pasta”.
Filled pasta - Spray the surface of the sheet with water so that it becomes sticky and wait a few moments before separating it. It is recommended to use fillings that are not too humid. The heat and humidity of the sauces used will ensure the desired consistency. IMPORTANT: do not cook the “pasta”.
Fried - Drop the sheets in a fryer at 170 °C for 5 to 10 seconds, dry them quickly using absorbent kitchen paper and shape them immediately into the desired shape then wait for them to cool down.
Oven-baked - Spray the sheets with oil, place them in the oven at 105-150 °C for 5 to 10 seconds, shape the sheets as soon as you have taken them out of the oven into the desired shape then wait for them to cool down.