Chicken is definitely the kind of meat we eat the most. My children like it more than any other meat and even though I have always preferred beef, I now enjoy it too. Being that we eat chicken often, I am always looking for different ways to serve it, so it doesn’t get too boring. …
Home-made Verzini
As you may know, I was born and brought up in Milan. Foodwise, Milan is famous for risotto (especially Risotto alla Milanese, made with saffron), ossobuco, cotoletta, panettone and cassoeula. As you can see, I have already shared the recipes for the most famous Milanese food… all, but one: Cassoeula. The reason why it took…
Pomegranate Risotto
As you know, autumn has come to the Southern hemisphere. I can’t lie… I don’t mind it. I welcome the fresher air and the leaves changing colour on the trees. It is a beautiful season. And I LOVE autumn food: mushrooms, chestnuts, quince… pomegranates. In fact, pomegranates always put a smile on my face: I…
Radicchio and Taleggio Lasagne
This, together with my Pesto Lasagne, has to be one of my all time favourite vegetarian lasagne! It is very easy to make and it only requires a few ingredients. Yet, the end result tastes amazing. I think Taleggio and Radicchio were created to be eaten together as their flavours complement each other perfectly. These…
IMPEPATA DI COZZE – PEPPERED MUSSELS
Today I am back with a recipe for my Regional Italian dish series! I am taking you all to Campania and Naples with a delicious and very easy to make dish: Peppered Mussels. All you need, besides mussels, are garlic, good quality extra virgin olive oil, parsley and… pepper. The more pepper the better. This…
CABBAGE ROLLS
November’s Daring Cooks’ Challenge had us on a roll! Olga from Effortless Lessly challenged us to make stuffed cabbage rolls using her Ukrainian heritage to inspire us. Filled with meat, fish or vegetables, flexibility and creativity were the name of the game to get us rolling! This was the first Daring Cooks challenge I took…
LASAGNE WITH ZUCCHINI PESTO, SPECK AND SMOKED SCAMORZA
Mmmm Lasagne! My favourite dish ever. Growing up my parents and I would make Lasagne for big occasions, like Christmas or birthdays. And they would always be the classic meat version (you can find my recipe here). Well, lately I have been making all sorts of Lasagne. Remember my Pesto Lasagne (my all time favourite!), or…
HOME-MADE COTECHINO
A few months ago, I took part in a Daring Cooks challenge about salumi. At that time, I chose to make Salame Cotto, and it was a great success. That, and the fact that I regularly make my own Pork Sausage, encouraged me to try my hands at making another popular Italian meat product: Cotechino….
SPAGHETTI WITH MUSSELS
Today’s recipe is yet another classic of Italian cuisine. It is originally from the South, where fresh mussels are very common, but it is one of those dishes that is now widely eaten throughout the country. It is a very simple recipe, which doesn’t require many ingredients and, like all simple recipes, needs to be…
CAPSICUM AND MUSHROOM BEEF STEW
Today I want to share with you a recipe that I used to cook while growing up in Milan. Yes, you read that right. I used to cook this for the family. It is quite an easy recipe all things considered. I used to cook it on the stove, but I have recently changed over…
HOME-MADE SICILIAN PORK SAUSAGE WITH FENNEL
I am very excited about today’s post: Home-made Sicilian Pork Sausage with Fennel It is one of those recipes that I have been making for a long time and that I have been very keen on sharing. The only reason why I hadn’t done it yet was the lack of reasonably good pictures. But finally,…
SPAGHETTI WITH VONGOLE
Today’s recipe is one of my favourite pasta dishes! Back in Italy, I would make it regularly as I could easily find fresh vongole at the market. Finding them here in Sydney instead is not easy at all. And even when I find them, they are often frozen… So when I saw these at the…
PRAWN AND ZUCCHINI SPAGHETTI
I must admit I am not a huge fan of prawns… but I am the only one in my family. My mum would make this pasta often during our holidays in Sicily as we were able to get amazingly fresh prawns over there. It is a very easy recipe and the sauce takes just a…
PUMPKIN RISOTTO
Today’s recipe is from Lombardia, the region of Italy I grew up in and it is a very simple risotto made with pumpkin cream. As you know, it is autumn down here in the southern hemisphere… so what’s better than some pumpkin risotto to warm us up? Don’t you just love that orange colour? I…
AUNT FRANCA’S RABBIT
Today I want to share with you another one of my family recipes. This is my favourite way to cook and eat rabbit and when I was a child I would choose this dish over chicken any time! I know that rabbit is an unusual meat in many countries around the world, but it is…
FRIED CALAMARI
I know I haven’t posted enough seafood recipes!! So today I will try and remedy that. Have you ever eaten fried calamari rings at your local Fish and Chips eatery? Well, forget about it as today I will show you how easy and quick it is to make them at home. Besides, when buying your…
HYDERABADI CHICKEN BIRYANI
Today’s recipe is definitely a special one. It is one of my favourite Indian dishes. Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani, like all the food of the area, is greatly influenced by the Mughals, Arabic, Turkish and Iranian food that use plenty of rice, wheat and spices.
BUSIATI WITH EGGPLANT AND GARLIC & THYME BREADCRUMBS
Today’s dish is a recipe I came up with a little while ago. Do you ever have a day when you want to use up ingredients that are taking too much place in your pantry or fridge? It happens quite often to me and when it does, I take them all out, put them on…
PASTA CON LE SARDE ALLA PALERMITANA
I am quite sure I have said this already, but just in case you have missed that specific post, I will repeat myself… 😉 I like fish, but I am not a HUGE fish lover. If I had to choose only one thing to have off a menu, fish would always be at the bottom…
LAMB TAJINE WITH QUINCES
When I feel like having some comfort food, I often make stews. Just the aroma of a stew cooking on the stove (or in the oven) has a somewhat relaxing and almost therapeutic effect. When I make a stew on a rainy day, even the bad weather seems more bearable and from annoying, it becomes captivating and…
SAUSAGE AND FENNEL RISOTTO
I don’t think I have said this before, but when I was expecting my eldest daughter, I used to have very strong savoury cravings and risotto was always on the top of my list! The great thing about risotto is that it is like a white canvas that you can paint with any flavour you…
BEEF SCHIACCIATINA
This is one of my “go to” recipes for a quick, yet delicious mid week meal. Schiacciatina means “something small that has been pressed”, and it is basically a very flat burger made with only ground beef, Parmigiano Reggiano, salt and pepper. My mum used to make this often for me as a child. I…
PINEAPPLE & COCONUT GLAZED PORK SPARE RIBS
Today’s post is a “fight-against-waste” recipe! I had a nice rack of pork spare ribs in the freezer, so I gathered all the left overs I had in my fridge and built up a recipe from there. I also did some research on the web and saw I could make something yummy out of these…
PASTEIS DE BACALHAU
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…
COCONUT CHICKEN TENDERS WITH APRICOT SAUCE
If you like sweet and sour dishes like me, this one will make you drool. I like chicken, but it can get a bit boring and bland… especially chicken breasts or tenders. What I like about this recipe is that it is actually very quick to make and it uses a few ingredients that I…
CHICKEN INVOLTINI WITH SPECK, SPINACH AND STRACCHINO
Today’s recipe is another spur of the moment creation. I had some Italian Speck and stracchino cheese in the fridge that needed to be used. I also had some baby spinach (I often do, as it is one of my favourite items for salads!) and decided to use all of these ingredients to jazz up…
