italy on my mind
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  • About me
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • antipasti
    • primi – pasta, rice, gnocchi, soups
    • verdure e salse – vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces
    • carni, pesce e pollame – meat, fish and poultry
    • dolci – sweets
    • food and travel
  • Classes, tours & workshops
    • Cooking classes in Melbourne and online
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Giardiniera – preserving Italian style

By italyonmymind | Blog, recipes, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces | 2 Comments

Christmas at my sister’s beach…

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An upside down apricot cake to welcome 2021

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets | 2 Comments

I spent Christmas with my…

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Biscotti di San Martino – simple wine biscuits with fennel seeds

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets

Even though we are but…

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Goats cheese and tomato tart with a pecorino crust – my summer terrace garden

By italyonmymind | Blog, recipes, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces

Summer is almost here after…

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Mamma

By italyonmymind | Blog

I used to hear my…

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Cavatelli with sausages, peas and cinnamon

By italyonmymind | Blog, carni, pesce e pollame - meat, fish and poultry, primi - pasta, rice, gnocchi, soups

Winter has arrived in Melbourne…

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Crostata di ricotta – sweet ricotta pie

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

The month of April has…

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Savoury Easter Pie – Torta Pasqualina

By italyonmymind | Blog, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces

This Easter will be very…

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Polenta shortcake in the time of a pandemic

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets

Back in January when Mark…

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oven roasted tomato pesto

By italyonmymind | Blog, primi - pasta, rice, gnocchi, soups, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces

Happy (very belated) 2020. This…

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Tiella cozze e riso – rice and mussel bake – a Pugliese classic

By italyonmymind | carni, pesce e pollame - meat, fish and poultry, Italy - the south, primi - pasta, rice, gnocchi, soups

It is already November, in…

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Intorchiate – lemon and almond twists

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, food and travel

Puglia seems to be the…

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Chicken Cacciatora

By italyonmymind | Blog, carni, pesce e pollame - meat, fish and poultry

We didn’t eat a lot…

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Crema della nonna in Bassano del Grappa

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets

Have you ever been to…

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Crostata di crema di Viviana

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets

There are several certainties when…

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Mandarin, almond and chocolate cake

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets

Things are looking up. I…

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Italy – North by Northwest

By italyonmymind | Blog, food and travel

Planning a trip to Italy…

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On tour in Southern Puglia

By italyonmymind | Blog, food and travel

The last week of April…

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Adriatico in Gourmet Traveller

By italyonmymind | Blog, primi - pasta, rice, gnocchi, soups, recipes

If you follow me on…

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Onion and olive pie

By italyonmymind | Blog, recipes, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces

I love olive oil pastry….

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Pasta with zucchini

By italyonmymind | Blog, primi - pasta, rice, gnocchi, soups, recipes, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces

I remember my papa growing…

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Green ricotta hand pies

By italyonmymind | Blog, recipes, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces

We are in the middle…

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Cherry chocolate cake and cherry ripple ice cream

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

Summer is in full swing…

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Fusilli al ferro con salsa alla Norma (handmade fusilli with eggplant, basil and tomato sauce)

By italyonmymind | Blog, primi - pasta, rice, gnocchi, soups, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces

One of my favourite things…

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Fig and almond raviole – just in time for Christmas

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

This week I have been…

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Memories of seasons – apricot and almond cake

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

I love the way the…

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Roasted almond tart with ricotta and blueberries

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

Blueberries have been on sale…

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ADRIATICO book launch at the Recreation Hotel

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

And what a magnificent event…

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We were in Trieste for a food tour

By italyonmymind | Blog, food and travel

“Trieste mia” a popular song…

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The Italian tradition of home made liqueurs

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

We always had wine at…

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Recent posts

  • Giardiniera – preserving Italian style
  • An upside down apricot cake to welcome 2021
  • Biscotti di San Martino – simple wine biscuits with fennel seeds
  • Goats cheese and tomato tart with a pecorino crust – my summer terrace garden
  • Mamma

Instagram

An apricot upside down cake - introduced to me by An apricot upside down cake - introduced to me by my sister @bad543 over Christmas. Simple to make and frankly delicious! I have written up the recipe in a blog post. Link in my profile. If you bake it, please tag me 🧡
Happy to say farewell to 2020, a most difficult y Happy to say farewell to 2020, a  most difficult year. Hoping that 2021 will be that little bit better for everyone
Summertime - a favourite corner at my sister’s b Summertime - a favourite corner at my sister’s beach house
Boxing Day looked like this: cicchetti, paella and Boxing Day looked like this: cicchetti, paella and beach time
The day before Christmas is always so busy. Up and The day before Christmas is always so busy. Up and early with my roller skates on to get everything done. But before that, coffee and panettone. And thanks to my friends at @barillaaus for this lovely Christmas gift
‘Tis the season to make crostoli - store them fr ‘Tis the season to make crostoli - store them free of icing sugar and dust just before serving - my mamma’s recipe (which is in Italian Street Food)
About last night - I only managed to get photos of About last night - I only managed to get photos of the antipasto, then I got too busy and the light got too dark. A fun night celebrating Christmas and my mother in law’s birthday with dinner at home and a game of ultimate charades boys v girls. Such a long time since I’d had prosciutto & melone; also made tigelle, basil pesto, roasted capsicum, grilled marinated zucchini and smoked scamorza rolls, insalata caprese
CHRISTMAS BAKING - I love making biscuits (cookies CHRISTMAS BAKING - I love making biscuits (cookies) at Christmas! Apart from panforte and crostoli, I usually make these: mostaccioli Pugliesi. I am sharing the recipe of these with you which you will also find in my cookbook Adriatico. And they happen to be vegan! 

 makes 35-40
 
 60 g roasted almonds, coarsely ground 
 peel of 1 small orange, zested 
 250 g plain flour, 
 90 g caster sugar
 1 tsp baking powder
 pinch of salt
 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
 ¼ tsp ground cloves
 ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
 30 g dark bitter cocoa powder
 40 g dark chocolate , finely chopped
½ tsp vanilla essence
100 ml vincotto 
½ tsp balsamic vinegar
2 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp warm water, plus extra if needed
Icing: 100-200 g dark chocolate 
 
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, spices and cocoa in a large bowl and give it a good whisk to remove any lumps. Stir in the ground almonds, orange peel and chocolate, then pour in the vanilla essence, vincotto and balsamic vinegar (if using), then the olive oil in a stream, stirring as you go, until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add half the water and stir, then start to bring the mixture together with your hands. Add enough of the remaining water to form a cohesive but still fairly dry dough. Don't add all the water if it isn't needed (or add a bit more if required to reach the right consistency). 
 
Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Cut the dough in half and roll out each portion between two sheets of baking paper to 3–4 mm thick. Using a diamond-shaped cookie cutter with 5 cm sides to cut out your biscuits. Place on the trays, leaving a little space for spreading, and bake in batches for 12–14 mins or until they feel firm but are still soft. Allow to cool completely on the trays. 

To make the icing, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering 
water, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water, and let it melt, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the pan. Working in batches, dip half the biscuit in the chocolate (or you could dip the whole biscuit). Place on a sheet of baking paper until the chocolate sets.
Travel Tuesday and one of my favourite places to v Travel Tuesday and one of my favourite places to visit in Venice - the elegant seafood market hall at Rialto

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