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
    • Travel in Italy
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Primi – pasta, rice, gnocchi, soups

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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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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Adriatico in Gourmet Traveller

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

If you follow me on…

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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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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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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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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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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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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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Gluten free focaccia

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

My first part time job…

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Spinach and rice soup – minestra di spinaci e riso

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

I have been writing the…

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Michael’s sourdough – and a funny thing happened to me in Palermo

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

A funny thing happened to…

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Chestnut ricotta gnocchi with blue cheese and honey

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

Nights when the air is crisp…

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Lasagne – a family tale  

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

There was lasagne rivalry in…

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Nettle ravioli with goats cheese – and a visit to Tolpuddle Cheese

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

When my work colleague Donovan…

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Mushroom and potato soup with cipolline onion focaccia – zuppa di funghi e patate con focaccia alle cipolline

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

There is a wild mushroom…

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Ravioli con pera e Gorgonzola – pear and blue cheese ravioli

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

It felt like autumn today….

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Capers, Ricotta, Pantelleria and “A Bigger Splash”

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

I love going to the…

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Stinging nettle pasta – Spring at the Collingwood Children’s Farm Farmers Market 

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

The monthly Collingwood Children’s Farm…

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Gnocchi di ricotta di Fabrizia con piselli, fave e menta (Fabrizia’s ricotta gnocchi with peas, broad beans and mint)

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

This last week it has…

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Pesto di finocchio (fennel frond pesto) – join me for a workshop in Sicily September 2016

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

One of the best things…

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Gnocchi con aglio nero (gnocchi with fermented black garlic)

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

Although it is still cold…

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Gnocchi alla Romana 

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

 Gnocco (plural is gnocchi) is…

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Zuppa di funghi (mushroom soup)

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

Mushrooms haven’t made much of…

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Seasonal cooking in Daylesford – pumpkin gnocchi with a sage butter – and more gnocchi cooking classes

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

I love autumn – the…

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Pesto con salvia e noci (Sage and walnut pesto) – and a gnocchi cooking class

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

A recipe for sage and walnut pesto (just perfect for gnocchi) – and the launch of 2015 italy on my mind cooking classes! First class is gnocchi-making!

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Fettuccine with pippies – plans for 2015 and a visit to see family in Italy

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

Sharing my plans for 2015, including a trip to Italy, cooking classes and a seafood pasta classic.

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Cooking asparagus risotto with mamma

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

My weekly visits to see…

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Caper, mint and almond pesto

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

I am an Instagram fiend….

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Next Entries »

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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