Home-made Dried Chili Oil

Home-growing is an occupation that I leave entirely to my green-thumbed husband. It’s not that I don’t see the appeal of gardening and I’m not attracted to such rewarding labour, but I must admit I was born with a black thumb. I don’t seem to have inherited my mum’s natural flare for all things green and I…

Cannelloni with Ricotta and Spinach

Home-made pasta is the ultimate Sunday Lunch treat in Italy. Forget about a roast beast with all the trimmings, we need our share of starchy goodness, home-made, of course. From scratch, goes without saying! Naturally you can use store-bough dried cannelloni, but the flavor and texture won’t be as luxurious. And, after all, this is…

Crushed Peas, Mint and Pecorino Bruschetta

This post is dedicated to all of you in the northern hemisphere, you lucky duckies about to savour and immerse yourselves in the long-awaited spring season. And the vast array of green goodness it brings. Think sweet baby broad beans, prickly but juicy artichokes, pointy and proud asparagus and the vivid green of plump, fresh…

Basil-Infused EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

This may well be the easiest recipe ever. Grab some good quality EVOO, a generous handful of fresh basil, and there’s your green-hued bottle of goodness ready for you. To be  just a tad more specific: In a large pot, bring 500 ml (1 pint, 2 cups) of EVOO and 1 cup of loosely packed…

Panini alle Olive (Olive and Rosemary bread rolls, made in a food processor)

Happy 2012 to all! Given my self-confessed obsession for yeasted baked goods, it only makes sense that the first post of the year is -yet another- bread recipe. I have been experimenting with doughs and flours and I really wanted to offer you an alternative to hand or machine kneading, and it turns out that some breads can be mixed in…

Rigatoni with Ocean Trout, Broad beans and Mint

Whoever said that pasta is fattening ought to look at this and think again… This dish could not be healthier if it tried… concentrated onto one plate you have the goodness of vibrant green broad beans, the Omega 3 provided by a flaky, succulent ocean trout fillet, the zing of lemon zest, the fragrance of…

An Italian Roast Dinner!

Here’s the ingredients: Fine meat, great wine, fun friends! To be just a little more specific, here is the core ingredient: * WARNING*: the following image is rated EXMO (Extreme Meat-lovers Only) and it’s not suitable for Vegans and Vegetarians alike… When it comes to roast dinners, Italians favor simplicity. What could be better than…

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…

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…