As you know, I am currently on vacation for a few days and I have decided to ask a few of my favourite foodie friends to write some guest posts for Manu’s Menu while I am away. I am so excited to introduce the second guest of this series! She is one of the most…
BEEF RENDANG
When I saw this recipe at Not Quite Nigella’s website I knew I HAD to make it. It looked too good not to try it! So I made it and then I made it again, and again and… you got it… again! It is now officially a recurrent dish in my house and one of…
CHICKEN SHAWARMA – COOK AROUND THE GLOBE
I often associate memories with food (or food with memories?) and eating kebab always reminds me of Paris. Strange, eh? Well, not so much. As I have already mentioned in my post on Fried Rice, foreign food restaurants and eateries were not so common while I was growing up in Italy. And that too in…
PORK ROAST WITH APPLES AND PRUNES
This is another one of the dishes I have learnt from my mom. She used to make it often on Sundays and it is a fantastic and juicy roast. I guess apples and pork are a classic combination, but it is one that I never get tired of. The sweetness of the apples goes very…
SWEET AND SPICY CHICKEN WINGS
Chicken wings are a delicacy that I have started to appreciate only recently. Growing up I would always eat chicken breast… no thighs, no wings. I know, thighs are supposed to be tastier and juicier, but I never really liked them. Since moving here I have eaten chicken wings made in different ways and found…
ORANGE CHICKEN
I am a big fan of tangy and savory dishes and a couple of weeks ago I felt like eating Chinese food. So I thought… why not put the 2 things together? I had some oranges on my kitchen benchtop, so I did some research on the internet and came across a very interesting recipe…
BAKED ANELLETTI – ANELLETTI CA CARNE CAPULIATA
Today is Father’s Day here in Australia… so happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! On such a special occasion, I usually ask my husband what he would like to eat and his answer is always the same: anelletti! This is definitely his (and my father’s) favourite dish. It is the most popular…
TAGLIATELLE ALLA BOLOGNESE
This is one of my grandmother Bice’s recipes: she used to make the best ever Bolognese sauce. This is not the Bolognese you are used to. It is a version that requires less tomatoes than what we would normally put in ragu’. Ragu’ can be either made with mince (which is what is commonly known…
BEEF FILLET ROAST STUFFED WITH PURÉED CHESTNUTS
I have always loved meat (much more than any seafood) and beef above all. And what’s better than beef fillet? Nothing! I have to say that Australian beef is among the best in the world, so I consider myself very lucky to able to enjoy it whenever I feel like it. Back in Italy, beef…
FOODBUZZ 24×24: CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Since I moved to Australia from Italy 5 years ago I haven’t gotten used to the “reversed” seasons yet. For someone who has spent the majority of her life in the Northern hemisphere where it is summer in July and winter in December, I have to live with the seasons reversed and believe me, it…
MOUSSAKA
This is definitely not an Italian recipe. As everyone knows moussaka is a traditional Greek dish. I still remember the first time I ate it. I was in Paris with my parents and we went out for dinner in the area of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, an area filled with little French and foreign restaurants. I was a…
BEEF AND VEGETABLE PATTIES
Do you have fussy eaters at home? I sure do… my preschooler just refuses to eat any vegetables at all. So, like many moms out there with the same problem, I have to think of ways to make her eat her veggies. I often “hide” them in foods that she enjoys eating and these patties…
MARINATED LAMB CUTLETS
This is a very simple lamb dish that I came up with since moving to Australia. Lamb in Italy are much smaller than they are here and it is not easy to find some cuts of meat. I don’t remember seing this kind of cutlets at the supermarkets in Italy… but I haven’t been back…
SAMOSAS
Samosas are one of my favourite Indian snacks. You can find them all around the world and it would be hard to find someone who has never eaten one. They are best eaten warm and crispy… I like them so much that I had to learn how to make them at home, as I believe…
POLPETTONE – STUFFED MEATLOAF AND A BUNCH OF AWARDS
Everyone has his/her signature dish… and this is definitely my mother’s. She is a very good cook and I have learnt a lot from her. I have always liked watching her preparing food in our kitchen back in Italy and I would help her any time I had the time. She can prepare all sorts…
LAMB KORMA
Lamb Korma is one of my husband’s favourite curries. It is a delicious, creamy and mild curry. When cooked well the lamb is so soft that it should melt in your mouth. I have been looking for years for the perfect recipe for lamb korma and, as it often happens, I found it by chance. …
POACHED CHICKEN BREASTS IN A MINT SAUCE
This is a very fresh recipe, perfect for a summer lunch. In fact, the first time I ate it I was in Sicily and it was indeed summer. My aunt Daniela made it and I was really impressed both by the vivid green color and by the fresh yet delicate mint flavour. If you have…
CHICKEN COTOLETTE WITH CHEESE AND A SHOWER OF AWARDS
This is the chicken version of my cotolette recipe with a couple of differences. In this case I coat the chicken with flour before putting it in the egg wash and crumbing it. And, above all, I add cheese to it. It is a very easy dish that your kids and you will love. This…
LAMB STEAKS WITH SUN DRIED TOMATOES, FETA AND BAKED POTATO
Being that Easter will be here in 2 days, I thought of making a lamb dish for Easter. In Italy we traditionally eat lamb for Easter. I have to admit that while growing up I did not like lamb. I thought it tasted too strong… I changed my mind when I met my husband and…
“AGGLASSATO” CHICKEN – POLLO “AGGLASSATO”
This is a family recipe for cooking chicken that my dad brought with him from Palermo. The Sicilian term “agglassato” (in Italian “glassato”) means glazed and it refers to the glazed look that the onion sauce gives to the chicken. The onions give the chicken a sweet taste that is balanced by the slightly tangy…
COTOLETTE ALLA MILANESE
Cotolette is a typical dish from Milan. The original recipe is slightly different than mine as I do not usually fry mine in butter, but I use vegetable oil. This is the version that my mom and my grandma have always made and it is the one that I make regularly at home. The traditional…
CRUMBED PORK INVOLTINI PALERMO STYLE – INVOLTINI DI MAIALE ALLA PALERMITANA
This is a dish that I learnt from my dad. He is from Palermo and all the dishes of Palermo that I know to cook, I have learnt from him. He has in turn learnt them from his mother and grandmother, so they are all family recipes, handed down from generation to generation. One of…
