When I was 18 I went on holiday to Portugal with my parents. It was one of the best trips I took as a child and one I will never forget. We flew to Lisbon, rented a car and drove around the country… in spring. The sun was shining and the sky was so blue! …
HONEY CHICKEN
I must admit I had never eaten honey chicken before moving to Australia. I do not recall seeing it on the menu of any Chinese restaurants in Milano and I am not even sure whether it is an original Chinese dish. All I know is that I was hooked to it from the first time…
PORK MEATBALLS WITH PEANUT SAUCE
Thai is one of my favourite Asian cuisines. Believe it or not, there were no Thai restaurants in Milan, at least up until 6 years ago! Some Chinese restaurants would serve some Thai dishes, but they obviously did not have a lot of variety. That’s why, the moment I saw it, I bought this little…
PUMPKIN AND FONTINA CROQUETTES
I found this recipe while browsing the Internet and it was love at first sight! I must admit I had only ever made croquettes out of potatoes, so the idea of being able to use pumpkin instead opened up a whole new world of possibilities! It is a delicious recipe that can be served either…
LEMON CHICKEN
Lemon chicken is one of the dishes I like to order when we have Chinese take-away. I love all sweet and sour dishes and whenever we order Chinese food, I always find myself ordering at least one! I have already posted about how to make your own Orange Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork, so…
PUMPKIN DOUGHNUTS
It is time again for the “Secret recipe club” reveal! I am sure you all know what the club is about, but for the few of you who still don’t know about it, here goes a brief explanation. Each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and in turn…
JALEBI – जलेबी
Tomorrow marks the beginning of Diwali (दिवाली), the “festival of lights”, a 5-day Indian festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Light is the symbol of the celebrations, so much so that many candles and oil lanterns are lit during the 5 days of the festival. Another very important…
SEV
I always talk about our favourite Indian restaurant in Sydney (Abhi’s), but there is another place that we love to go to. It is called Billu’s Indian Eatery and we like to go there on weekends when they serve some of the food we enjoy the most: Indian street food. They have some of the best…
SOPAIPILLAS CON PEBRE Y PASADAS
It is time again for the “Secret recipe club” reveal! I am sure you all know what the club is about, but for the few of you who still don’t know about it, here goes a brief explanation. It is a great concept… each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a…
CAPONATA
After sharing with you the recipe for cabbuci, today I am back with the second part of my Italian Regional dish series. We are back in Sicily and I am going to show you how to make one of the most popular dishes of the island: caponata. It could be described as a cooked salad…
SFINCIUNI DI SAN GIUSEPPE
March 19th is St. Joseph’s Day. It is also Father’s Day in many Catholic countries (Italy included) as St. Jospeh was Jesus’ father and it is considered a symbol of fatherhood. It is also a very important day in Sicily and it is widely celebrated as St. Jospeh is one of the island’s patron saints. …
TORTELLI DI CARNEVALE
This is a very special time of the year for all Italian children: it is “Carnevale”, the time to wear costumes and parade in the streets playing tricks on other kids and throwing coriandoli (round shaped paper confettis) and stelle filanti (similar to paper streamers) everywhere. It is like Halloween but it lasts longer (about…
RÖSTI – ROESTI
The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present Patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness! We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties! When I read this month’s announcement I was…
FALAFEL
The first time I ate falafel I was in Paris… as it often happened with Middle Eastern food that was almost unknown in Italy. I am talking about 20+ years ago! I still remember the shop I bought them from. It was near Place des Vosges, in my favourite area of town: the Marais, which…
SPIEDINI – SPITINA
My dad often tells me about his grandmother making Spiedini and Crostini when he was a child. She would spend the whole afternoon making these in the kitchen, having to feed them to her many grandchildren. My dad would sit next to her and watch. And that’s how he learnt how to make them. As…
CROSTINI
Picture this: slices of bread, covered with a thick meat sauce, topped with cheese, breaded and fried. Imagine eating one of these treats… with the slightly melted cheese stretching out into the rich sauce and the crunchy slice of fried bread. Is your mouth watering already? These are crostini and I made them as a…
RASCATURE
This dish was not originally included in my proposal to Foodbuzz for my 24×24 event on Sicilian Street Food New Year’s Eve Party: it was a spur of the moment decision. As they turned out great, I am sharing the recipe with you as well! It is really not a recipe per se, but it…
PANELLE
Panelle are, together with cazzilli and arancine, the most famous Sicilian street food, and that is why I immediately knew I had to feature them on the menu of the Sicilian Street Food New Year’s Eve Party I organised for this month’s Foodbuzz 24×24 event! They are delicious on their own when eaten hot, but…
CAZZILLI – CROCCHÈ DI PATATE
I love all potato croquettes! My mum used to make them often, even though she makes them differently (I will share her recipe too as soon as possible). These, instead, are exactly like the ones you can buy on the streets of Palermo and they were on the top of my list for the Sicilian…
SUPPLÌ AL TELEFONO
Today’s recipe takes us to the Italian region of Lazio. Lazio is a coastal region in Central Italy and it includes Rome, the capital of Italy. Many of the most popular Italian dishes come from this area. They include carbonara, amatriciana, abbacchio, carciofi alla giudia and many more. So stay tuned for more recipes from…
SWEET AND SOUR PORK FRITTERS
Sweet and sour pork has always been my favourite Chinese take-out food. I am sure I have already said this, but I am a big fan of anything sweet and sour. It must be my Sicilian genes (it is a common cooking style over there) or my love for vinegar… whatever the case I never…
OLIVE ALL’ASCOLANA
This has always been one of my favourite antipasti, perfect along a good glass of chilled white wine while waiting to serve dinner. I have never seen it here in Sydney and I was looking for the perfect occasion to try and make it at home. And what better occasion than my series on Regional…
