italy on my mind

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

Contact me

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Recent posts

Mini crescent rolls with jam – baking from Carpathia
A week of lockdown lunches
Torta di nonna Tilde with orange custard
Walnut and orange cake
Nello turns 100 – a seafood family feast with sarde in savor

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ILLY COFFEE and sunshine - did you know that Illy

ILLY COFFEE and sunshine - did you know that Illy is not only Italian but also from Trieste? Mamma always had a canister of Illy coffee beans in her pantry and would get it out when guests came over (it was always a special occasion coffee). She would grind the beans in her old Bialetti grinder and then brew the coffee in the moka on the stovetop at low heat. When we heard that low gurgle from the moka, we knew the coffee was ready. We would have a couple of biscotti - often chifel - and enjoy the smooth taste of the Illy coffee. We always had the Classico but I have recently come to love the Intenso. My friends at @illyinaustralia have given me a discount code Paola20 to get 20% off their products via their website (which I intend to use very soon, but you can too) #LIVEHAPPilly #illypartner #sp

Really looking forward to seeing 12 lovely people

Really looking forward to seeing 12 lovely people at today’s online apple strudel class - and also because tomorrow’s breakfast will look like this

Italian Istrians: I have been thinking of my papà

Italian Istrians: I have been thinking of my papà a lot lately - my handsome papà - not because of any particular anniversary like his birthday, or the day he passed away, but because I have so much I would like to talk to him about. Not only about what is happening in the world today (he loved discussing current affairs into his 90s) but also all the things I never asked him: more about his life in Pola/Pula (Istria) when he was born there, his home in via Petilia (now Motikina ulica), about his time in Rome studying at the Farnesina, and what it was like returning to this house - which his family no longer owned, the one they left in a hurry in March 1947 - (he stood outside it many times during the 1970s when we lived in Italy and finally in 1990) once it had become another nation

How do you roast your potatoes? I make mine by pee

How do you roast your potatoes? I make mine by peeling them (usually Desiree), cutting them into 6-8 pieces (depending on how big they are), and putting them in a saucepan of cold water so they are just covered. In the meantime I put a roasting pan in the oven with a good amount of extra virgin olive oil (enough to generously cover the base) in a 200C fan forced oven. Once the water comes to the boil, I add a big pinch of salt to the water and let the potatoes cook for a couple of minutes. Drain them and carefully pop them in the roasting pan (the oil is nicely heated by now, and they will sizzle as they are a bit wet). Then I roast them for about 8-10 minutes, turn them over, roast for another 8-10 minutes, and turn them once more and another 8-10 minutes or until they are golden and cooked through. If they are not yet ready, just keep repeating this until they are. Sprinkle with plenty of salt flakes before serving

Cannoli for breakfast - now that would be a good t

Cannoli for breakfast - now that would be a good thing (though maybe only on Sundays).

These cannoli are from Agostino in Carlton. They come in a box with the shells, piping bag filled with orange scented sweet ricotta, pistachio crumbs to decorate the ends and icing sugar to scatter on top. Seriously good! We had them yesterday afternoon but I wish I had kept one for this morning.

@agostino_wine @kingandgodfree @karladawespressoffice #gift

ONLINE STRUDEL CLASSES - as in-person classes are

ONLINE STRUDEL CLASSES - as in-person classes are currently not possible in Melbourne, I have decided to run not one but two online strudel classes, for ONE SPECIAL WEEKEND ONLY. I usually only run the class in person. We will be making super thin pastry that is stretched by hand on a large cloth, the one my mamma Livia taught me - classes will be on Saturday 28 August for APPLE STRUDEL [ SOLD OUT ] and Sunday 29 August for SAVOURY STRUDEL (leafy greens, potatoes, cheese) [ SOLD OUT ] - both classes start at 1.30pm AEST - the classes are limited to 12 participants - there are three strudel recipes in my new cookbook “Istria” so the class will put you in good stead to make the recipes from the book - and the pastry method is identical no matter what filling you use - thanks to everyone who booked xxx

Oil and garlic - two of my favourite things and th

Oil and garlic - two of my favourite things and the base of many pasta sauces. I like to infuse my cooking oil with garlic at the start of the cooking process for making the sauce. Turn the heat up to medium and add enough Monini Classico Extra Virgin Olive Oil so that a thin layer covers the base of the frypan. Once it has started to warm, add thickly sliced garlic and tip the pan so that the extra virgin olive oil is along one border and the garlic slices start bubbling and frying in a deeper pool of olive oil than if you kept the pan flat. When the slices start to turn golden, remove with a slotted spoon and discard. Now continue to make your sauce in the garlicky extra virgin olive oil. @moniniaustralia

Who misses travel? And who misses Sicily? Some ima

Who misses travel? And who misses Sicily? Some images from Palermo, the 4 Canti and a palazzo in disrepair that I visited in 2017. Love to all wherever you are but especially to all my fellow Australians in lockdown

Mini crescent rolls with jam - cooking from the be

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