italy on my mind

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- Press
Recipes
Classes, tours & workshops
Cookbooks & Italian Travel
- Travel in Italy
- My cookbooks
Blog
Contact me

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Recent posts

Mamma
Cavatelli with sausages, peas and cinnamon
Crostata di ricotta – sweet ricotta pie
Savoury Easter Pie – Torta Pasqualina
Polenta shortcake in the time of a pandemic

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Lockdown travel dream #12 - Torino 2019 - such a r

Lockdown travel dream #12 - Torino 2019 - such a regal elegant city. We actually stayed in this building, in a small apartment on the attic level (5 floors up).

I hardly ever eat chicken but this is a terrific d

I hardly ever eat chicken but this is a terrific dish, get in with the fennel and oranges while you can as they are almost finished. It is based on a recipe by Alistair Little (Pollo alla Orvietana) and is great for a celebratory lunch. Maybe a post lockdown celebration? It has lots of olives and lots of garlic. Take it to a park and share it with your friends!

1 organic chicken 1.6kg
1/4 cup-plus, EVOO
2 oranges
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
1⁄2 fennel bulb, chopped into 1 cm dice
1 bunch fennel fronds, coarsely chopped
30 pitted kalamata olives
20 garlic cloves in their skins
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
1 cup good quality chicken stock

Make the stuffing in advance. Fry the chopped fennel and potatoes in the oil and gently cook until tender. Add fennel fronds, half the olives, 1⁄2 of an orange (peeled, pith and pips removed and cut into small pieces), the juice of the other half of the orange, season well and set aside to completely cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Spoon as much of the stuffing as will fit into the cavity of the chicken without overfilling; place the rest – tossed in a bit of EVOO – in a deep oven-proof dish. Rub the chicken all over with a little more EVOO and generously season. Place in the dish, on its side, and put in the oven to roast for 20 min. Turn onto its other side and roast for another 20 mins. Finally, turn the right way up and add the garlic cloves. Turn the oven down to 180C, put in the dish of extra stuffing and continue cooking for a further 40-50 minutes, adding the remaining olives for the last 10 minutes.

Place chicken on chopping board, cover in foil and rest. Place the olives and garlic in an oven proof dish and place in the turned off oven to keep warm.

Place the juices in the roasting dish in a saucepan, add the wine and bring to boil, reducing until almost evaporated. Pour in the chicken stock and the juice of half an orange and reduce it by half.

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces and arrange on a serving dish surrounded by the extra stuffing. Scatter with olives, garlic cloves, extra fennel fronds and slices of orange.

Halfway between fettuccine and pappardelle in widt

Halfway between fettuccine and pappardelle in width, with basil pesto. Testing out my new heavy brass tagliapasta - it cuts so cleanly

Lockdown travel dreaming #11 (and continuing the V

Lockdown travel dreaming #11 (and continuing the Veneto theme) - the canals of Treviso, July 2012

A Taste of Italy - virtual pasta tour - with @iama

A Taste of Italy - virtual pasta tour - with @iamalessandralauria - and we are going to VENETO the region my mother was born in - we will be talking food and I hope you can drop in and have a listen to us chat - LIVE today Sunday 11 October at 7pm Melbourne time - 9am London time

Spaghetti Carbonara for lunch today - this is seri

Spaghetti Carbonara for lunch today - this is seriously a ten minute meal with fresh spaghetti from @honesteggsco and an almost traditional Carbonara with pancetta, reggiano cheese from @meatsmith_melb and a whole egg plus a yolk - lots of freshly ground black pepper and extra cheese on top. I have been buying @honesteggsco eggs for a few months (I always look at, among other things, the no.hens per hectare when deciding which to buy - they have 30) so I was happy to hear they have started making fresh pasta too. I make pasta myself almost every day but it was great to not make it for once. Loved the dish, creamy, salty and delicious. Thanks so much for the delicious pack of goodies #gifted

Lockdown travel dream #10 - aperitivo in Piazza Ba

Lockdown travel dream #10 - aperitivo in Piazza Barbacan, Trieste - September 2018

RECIPE - Tinned cling peaches in a light syrup - I

RECIPE - Tinned cling peaches in a light syrup - I love them! They sit in the pantry waiting for those “in between” seasons, when new season fruit (like apricots) are not yet available or very expensive and not that flavoursome. This simple hand mixed cake is made with thick Greek yoghurt and olive oil with chunks of peaches throughout. Putting my new (old) @villeroyboch original (1967) Acapulco cake plates (EBay purchase) plus my “new wave” Acapulco coffee cups that I bought about 10 years ago to good use.

Tinned peach, yoghurt and olive oil breakfast cake

250g flour
2 tsps baking powder
140g sugar
120ml EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
200g Greek yoghurt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup light syrup (from the peaches)
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g tinned peaches, chopped
30g slivered almonds

Grease & line 23cm springform cake tin. Preheat oven 180C conventional.

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar & a good pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Place the yoghurt in a second bowl, hand whisk to remove any lumps, then add the olive oil, whisk to combine. Add one egg at a time, whisking between each addition. Finally add the peach syrup and vanilla.

Combine dry and wet ingredients, then fold in the peaches. Place in your prepared tin, scatter on the almonds and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and cooked through.

RECIPE: a fabulous warm spring salad to make, that

RECIPE: a fabulous warm spring salad to make, that is satisfying and light at the same time. Based on one of my favourite recipes in Guy Grossi’s 2013 cookbook LOVE ITALY. It serves 2-4 people, depending on whether it is an entree or a main. Happy Monday!

Scallop, cannellini bean and asparagus salad

300g scallops, washed and patted dry
10 thin asparagus spears, trimmed
3 Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and cut into small dice
1 tin cannellini beans, washed and drained
1 small clove garlic, peeled and halved
Fresh parsley and thyme
1 small lemon, zest only
freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Prepare the asparagus by steaming in a covered ceramic container in the microwave with a splash of water for 1-2 minutes until cooked through but still firm. Plunge in icy water to stop the cooking process and then slice each spear lengthways with a sharp knife in 2 or 3 long slices (depending on size of spears). Set aside.

Heat 1 tblsp olive oil in a medium sized non-stick frypan on medium-high and add the garlic. Cook for a minute until fragrant then add the beans and the thyme, heating for a few minutes until warmed through. Add the tomatoes and cook for a minute until they soften. Add the asparagus slices and toss through. Remove from the heat and discard the garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste and arrange on serving plates.

Wipe the frypan clean and heat a dash of olive oil and turn the heat up high. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and sear them in the hot pan for about a minute on each size (they will lose their translucency in the centre when cooked) until browned, in batches if needed. Remove with a slotted spoon and divide evenly between the serving plates.

Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and scatter with parsley, fresh thyme and lemon zest

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