Panforte is as traditional Italian as it can get. Legend has it, and some historical accounts may prove this too, that crusaders themselves used to carry, on the way to their quest, slabs of what was described as a durable confection made with honey and sugar syrup, spices, nuts and dried fruits: Panforte, that is….
Category: vegetarian food
Spiced Angel Cookies
150 gr (1 and 1/3 cup) sifted flour 50 gr (1/4 a cup) almond meal 1 egg yolk 95 gr (3/4 cup) of icing sugar 100 gr (a little less than 1/2 cup) of soft butter 2 tablespoons of milk 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract or scraped seeds. 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon…
Stuffed Zucchini Flowers
As I post this recipe, I cannot help but feeling aware of the fact the other half of the globe is enduring the autumnal cold weather knowing there will be another 5 months before they can come near anything like this… But, on the other hand, I must not forget my fellow antipodean dwellers and…
Egg-free Oat and Chocolate cookies
As I start typing this post, I need to stop, reach into the cookie tin and help myself to my third one… They are that good! Make sure you have a nice Cappuccino or Earl Gray tea to dunk them in… This recipe is so easy and the absence of eggs is not, by any…
Risotto with Porcini Mushroom
Richard and I spent the best part of yesterday afternoon perched up on a builders plank, unsafely plonked onto our window sill and the top of the staircase, in the attempt to hang seven, beautiful, paintings made by Richard himself over the course of the last two weeks. A gargantuan task, if you add the demands…
Roasted Pumpkin, Spinach and Pecorino Salad
October is that time of the year when northern and southern hemisphere seem to share seasonal similarities. The temperature is still quite cool and crisp in Sydney, and although the fruit and vegetable stalls are starting to show the first crops of spring peas, fava beans and mangoes, the wintry sturdiness of spinach and pumpkin is…
Italian Apple and Cinammon cake
My two months in Italy already seem so far away in the past. It has only been two weeks since I’ve been back, but, as it always is, all the things you put on hold and stop worrying about when you are on holiday, come back to haunt you and to kick you in the rear…
Spaghetti cooked Risotto-Style
A few nights ago, I had dinner at my cousin Elena’s house in Milan. She is the sweetest, most gorgeous girl, but, notoriously, she can’t cook to save her life! Lucky for all the guests, she also invited her bother Giorgio along, who was born with the cooking gene. Giorgio has always been a flamboyant wine connoisseur…
Panzanella (A Tuscan Bread Salad)
Panzanella is another great example of how well Italians do it the kitchen when fridge and pantry look desolate and empty. This has so much value in the Italian culinary tradition of Cucina Povera. It is very easy to create a good meal out of sophisticated and extravagant ingredients. It requires a lot more skill…
Sausage and Peas Risotto
Combine the creaminess of Carnaroli short grain rice with the perfume of red wine and the savoury deliciuosness of pork and fennel sausages, with stewed sweet leeks and a generous amount of butter and Parmigiano and you have got yourself joy on a plate. Risotto is the ultimate comfort food and it is really quite straight…
Silvia Colloca 