Today I am going to share with you the recipe for Tuna Ricotta Balls. They are crunchy savoury bites the whole family will love. These croquettes are baked and not fried, so they are also quite healthy and they make the perfect appetiser or snack idea. I love anything with tuna (remember my Italian Tuna…
Ricotta Pancakes with Honey Butter
Autumn holidays are now over here in Sydney, but we had some fun in the past couple of weeks! One of the days, we decided to have brunch at home. My kids love pancakes. My eldest daughter calls herself the “pancake monster”, so you get the point. Truth is, I rarely make pancakes at home,…
Prosciutto, Goat’s Milk Ricotta and Rockmelon Skewers
As I promised, today I am back with an idea on how to use the home-made Goat’s Milk Ricotta from my latest post. Today’s recipe is the perfect summer appetiser, but it also works well as a palate cleanser any time of the year. It looks very elegant, but it is actually very easy to make. If…
Goat’s Milk Ricotta
I really enjoy making my own ricotta and mascarpone at home. You see, in Italy these ingredients are a staple and you find excellent quality products at the supermarket. Here in Australia things are different. As the local Italian community is quite big, these cheeses are indeed sold at the stores, but their quality varies. While…
Sicilian Ricotta Crêpes
Today I will share with you a recipe that I have recently come up with while trying to finish off a few leftovers. If you follow Manu’s Menu, you already know that quite a few of my recipes come to life in this way. I hate wasting food… so I always try to be creative…
Ravioli di Magro #SundaySupper
This week’s #SundaySupper theme is “Retro Food”. Ah, how fun is that? The thing is, being Italian, I have no idea what people in other countries used to cook and eat in the past… so, I had to resort to an Italian recipe. And I went for a classic. I must admit that this dish is…
Migliaccio
Today is Mardis Gras… and in Italy it is the last day of Carnevale. Carnevale is one of the festivities I miss the most. As a child, I loved going around the streets in my town all dressed up, playing pranks and throwning coloured confetti at my friends. The best time of all was the…
Beetroot and Ricotta Gnocchi with Gorgonzola
I have always love beetroot, a taste I share with my dad. I remember often buying it at the store whenever it was available. We would buy it cooked, ready to be sliced and eaten. My favourite way to eat beets was to make them into a simple salad with extra virgin olive oil and…
Spinach and Ricotta Pie
Today’s recipe is perfect for potlucks and picnics. It is one of my favourite savoury pies and I make it often. What I love the most about quiches and savoury pies is that you can prepare them in advance and eat them at room temperature, so you don’t have to spend too much time in…
RICOTTA FILLED GRAFFE
Today’s recipe comes from the Sicilian town of Trapani, where my mother was born. These are similar, but not the same as the more famous Neapolitan graffe, the dough of which includes potatoes. Graffe in Trapani are like doughnuts, fried and then filled with the same sweet ricotta filling used for Cannoli, Sfinciuni di San…
PESCHE DOLCI ALLA SICILIANA
I am very excited about today’s recipe. I am taking you all back to Sicily for this Regional Italian dish… a very special one. These are among my favourite Sicilian pastries. They are not as famous as cannoli, but they are just as delicious. The filling is in fact the same sweet ricotta filling of…
RICOTTA CROSTATA
After showing you how easy it is to make “ricotta” at home, I thought I would also show you an additional way to cook with it. I love ricotta, both in sweet and savoury dishes. Sicilians are famous for their ricotta desserts and I must admit I love sweet ricotta. It is lighter (also in…
HOME-MADE RICOTTA
A few months ago, my friend Sawsan from Chef in Disguise challenged the Daring Cooks to make our own cheese. She gave us a few recipes for cheese and at that time I chose to try my hands at making Chèvre. On the side though, I tried to make ricotta as well and I was…
CASSATELLE TRAPANESI – CASSATEDDI TRAPANISI
Today’s recipe is another one of my Sicilian recipes. Cassatelle (or cassateddi in Sicilian) are sweets typical of the town of Trapani, where my mum was born. They are usually eaten in winter and spring, which is when the fresh local ricotta cheese is at its best. They are traditionally made with sheep milk ricotta,…
CASSATA SICILIANA
Happy Easter everyone!!! Today I want to share with you my family’s recipe for the most iconic Sicilian cake: Cassata! It is a delicious dessert made with sponge cake, filled with sweet ricotta and chocolate and decorated with candied fruits and royal icing. Even though nowadays you can buy a cassata throughout the year, it…
RICOTTA, PEAR AND HAZELNUT VERRINES
I came across this recipe while looking for a new way to finish off some pears I had left over on my kitchen counter. I love all kinds of mousses and little servings… they are not completely “guilt-free”, but they surely are better than a huge slice of cake (not that there’s anything wrong with…
RICOTTA AND LEMON MUFFINS
There are some flavours that I think are a perfect match and ricotta and lemon are definitely on the top of the list. It is a very common combination in Italian pâtisserie and when you try it out, you will understand why. Ricotta is a very mild cheese that is often used in Italian sweets…
GREEN TAGLIATELLE WITH TUNA AND RICOTTA
Today I want to share with you a dish that is very dear to my heart. It is a very simple recipe, but if made with home made pasta it can be a little bit more labour intensive (but so much worth it!). The reason why I love it so much is because it reminds…
CANNELLONI WITH RICOTTA, HAM AND FONTINA
After sharing my Cannelloni di magro and Cannelloni di carne recipes, today I am back to share with all of you my recipes from the challenge I hosted at the Daring Cooks’! This is a recipe I found while browsing the web and it is the only one that was not a “family recipe”. I…
CANNELLONI DI MAGRO
If you have read yesterday’s post, you will know that I am hosting this month’s challenge at the Daring Cooks! I chose to challenge my fellow daring cooks to make Italian Cannelloni from scratch, including fresh pasta and sauces! I also shared 4 different recipes with them and I am also going to share them…
PASTIERA NAPOLETANA
Today I want to share with you the recipe for one of the most classic Italian Easter sweets: pastiera napoletana. As the name suggests, it is a typical cake from the city of Naples and it is a very ancient dish, as it appears to have originated before the Christian era, when it was eaten…
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. …
