It has become a tradition now to kick off the new year with a bread-dedicated post. After all, I am a self-confessed avid baker (read “bread-baking addict”) and very little else elevates my culinary spirit to blissful excitement more than kneading, beating and shaping a starchy good. I have spent the last couple of weeks…
Category: flour
Home-made Panettone with Figs and White Wine
For us Italians, very little speaks of Christmas as loudly as this dome-shaped famous bread. In fairness, to call it “bread” is a little far-fetched… May this be because of the generous presence of butter, eggs, sugar and dried fruits….yes, let’s be frank here, it’s a cake, and a very rich one! At Christmas though,…
Frittelle, Italian savoury donuts
No matter how loudly nutritionists will speak against deep-fried food, I do allow myself and my children the occasional indulgence. I fiercely stand by my credo that “once in a while” will do you no harm, and, quite frankly, if it makes you happy when you eat it, than it’s got to be good for…
Ciabatta Bread
As much as it is true that one should not judge a book by its cover, you can safely go about life judging a good Ciabatta by the holes in its crumb! And this is one particular instance when size does matter: the bigger the holes, the better the loaf…The secret to a perfect Ciabatta is…
Potato Croquettes (Crocchette di Patate)
I was driving around Sydney a few weeks ago, distractedly listening to the local Italian radio station, when a very animated conversation caught my attention. The radio host and an elderly Southern Italian lady on the phone were engaged in a feisty discussion about one of everybody’s favorite Italian side dish, crocchette di palate,…
1-egg, Moist Apple and Mascarpone Cake
How many of you ever suffered a sudden Sunday craving for home-made apple cake, went to the fridge to fetch the ingredients and looked in dismay at the sorrowful sight of 1 lonely egg left on the shelf? How can you possibly make a lovely, fluffy rich cake with just one egg? My all-time favorite…
Home-made Calzone with Ricotta, Cherry Tomatoes and other lovelies!
Just when you think Italians could not possibly top their most famous export, pizza, enters a magnificent parcel of folded, slow risen dough, filled with oozy ricotta, oven-roasted cherry tomatoes and freshly picked basil leaves, coated with a shiny drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. As you cut the bronzed crust open, watch the filling slowly…
Pane all’Olio (Italian Olive Oil Bread)
Silvia is back in her Cucina! After two and a half months away in Melbourne threading the boards at the Malthouse theatre, playing the role of a dilemma-stricken bride who runs off with her ex-boyfriend on her wedding day, I feel an utter sense of well-being walking around in my kitchen, re-familiarizing with my tools, pots…
Gnocchi all’Aglione (home-made gnocchi with Tuscan garlic tomato sauce)
The day started with a bang. And I mean a proper bang, on the head to be precise. My darling 5 year-old had decided to prop his favourite book on the shelf right above my side of the bed the night before “for you to read it to me in the morning” he then confessed…
Italian Cream Puffs (Bigne’ alla Crema)
I have developed a very new, and somewhat scary, compulsion for choux pastry lately… I have spent more time that I wish to confess in the search for the perfect puff, the kind that is light as a feather and hollow inside, to accommodate gooey, slurpy fillings… I have tried countless proportions of eggs to…
Silvia Colloca 