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
    • Trieste tour
    • Southern Puglia Tour
  • Cookbooks & Italian Travel
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The house I grew up in has been sold

By italyonmymind | Blog

The other week my sister…

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Green orecchiette with fennel, ricotta and walnuts

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

Orecchiette are hard to make…

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Blood orange crostata

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

I adore blood oranges; it…

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A week in Puglia

By italyonmymind | antipasti, Blog, food and travel, Italy - the south, verdure e salse - vegetarian dishes, salads, sauces

My day-long journey to Puglia…

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Apple and walnut layer cake

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

It took a long time,…

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Culurgiones with broccolini – filled pasta from Sardinia

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

Have you heard of the…

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Radicchio tart

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

My grandmother – nonna Carolina…

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Titole – Easter bread from Trieste

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

On some days in Melbourne…

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Figs, curds and backyard orchards

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

Some friends bought a house…

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Walnut cake with orange and brandy

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

I read the book French…

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Tomato and parmesan hand pastries

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

I miss the tomatoes my…

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Friday night dinner with Belinda and Frank

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

February is a lazy month…

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My father’s peaches

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

My father was extraordinarily proud…

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Morning tea with Jamie

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

I only own one book…

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Lunch with Domenica and Tessa

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

I love my shelves of…

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Taralli for a Christmas aperitivo

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

So it is nearly Christmas,…

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An autumn workshop in Sicily

By italyonmymind | Blog, carni, pesce e pollame - meat, fish and poultry, food and travel, Italy - the south, recipes

Last week I arrived back…

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Cherry and almond cake – gluten free

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

I have a memory of…

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The Puglia encounter

By italyonmymind | Blog, food and travel

I met Emiko Davies and…

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Latteria Studio – Market to table

By italyonmymind | Blog, food and travel

I met Alice Adams almost…

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Gluten free sweet pastry – blueberry rustic crostata

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets

For many years gluten-free flour…

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Crescionda – a cake from Spoleto

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

Verdi is such a good…

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Winter warmers with Mutti pomodoro

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

Melbourne has had such a…

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A weekend in July – salumi-making

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

Every July, a bunch of…

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Romenesco broccoli or Roman cauliflower with pasta

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

The sculptural and slightly other-worldly…

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Torte per colazione – gluten free apple, date and walnut cake

By italyonmymind | Blog, dolci - sweets, recipes

I am a firm believer…

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Spaghetti al limone – simple food Italian style

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

We landed back in Australia…

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Two weeks in Puglia – part 2, the Gargano

By italyonmymind | Blog, food and travel

There are parts of the…

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Two weeks in Puglia – part 1, the Salento

By italyonmymind | Blog, food and travel

We arrived in Puglia on…

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A weekend in Pola, Istria – and Baka’s Hungarian Cake

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

We caught the bus from…

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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

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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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