Happy anniversary!
When I started my blog 6 years ago today, my main focus was to make public all the recipes I shared in my leisure classes, family clubs and after school clubs for more than 10 years. My classes at Perth College were so popular that it needed to be booked months in advance to secure a space, and I was very sad when I had to give up all my classes to pursue my career and secondary teacher. After 6 years lots has changed in my life and my family and my full-time job led me to abandon my wee blog from time to time, but I hope this will…
Sunshine on a plate
Spring in Scotland is a mix bag of weather and, consequently, moods. One second seems autumn with fine rain that goes on for hours, then when the sun comes out is fairly warm, sometimes to the point that seems like summer. And the mood change constantly with the weather, at least mine mood! The recipe is quite simple but require a little bit of stirring, this will make sure that all the starch in the rice is extracted. The final part of the recipe, the “mantecatura”, is very important to make sure that the risotto is creamy and “all’onda” (when you stir it it should make small waves like the…
Celebrating 15 years!
Fifteen years ago we booked five no return tickets to Scotland, and for my family and me, this was the best decision ever.When I moved in this country the first thing that struck me was the wind, a constant companion that keeps the air clean, makes the weather extremely changeable and most of all bring you smells from far away.For the past 15 years, I lived in Perth and Kinross, and the wind used to smell of mountain, woodlands and, sometimes, snow. It reminded me of my childhood in the dolomites that I spent skiing and hiking with my family and friends. Now that I moved to Midlothian, the wind…
Focaccia di Recco
A few days ago I received a text from my local deli shop, Provender Brown, announcing that my special order has been delivered … the crescenza. This fresh and creamy cheese is known in Italy as crescenza or stracchino and has a flavour and consistency like no other. Now that I’m on holiday I have more time to cook and bake so I decided to use some of this very precious cheese, precious as it’s usually quite difficult to find, to make a focaccia. This recipe is a traditional focaccia from the Ligurian town of Recco, although it’s made with few ingredients, the distinguished flavour of the crescenza and the…
La Sagra Italiana in Glasgow
Yesterday I spent my afternoon at the Sagra Italian in George Square in Glasgow. A Sagra is a festival that often happens during the summer in every Italian village to showcase their culture, tradition and culinary specialities. And La Sagra Italiana 2019 is a perfect example of what a Sagra should be, it was an amazing experience full of cultural events, music and lots and lots of delicious food. Many food trucks gathered on the square serving gelato, aperitivi, arancini, panzerotti, pizza, zeppole and more. I was invited to deliver a cookery demonstration and I decided to do two different kinds of pasta, one from the north of Italy and…
Italy on a plate
In the last few days, I started to declutter and spring cleaning the house and amongst magazines and recipe books, I found an award I wan in 2009 at a cookery exibition and competition in Glasgow. I don’t take enough credit for all my accomplishments as I often look forward and plan for the future, but sometimes it’s nice to remind myself of all the big and little achievements, from being published in Italian magazines to an award-winning chef, and to be very proud of. Many years ago I competed at ScotHot with a pasta dish, the whole experience was amazing, exciting and terrifying at the same time. This was…
My ultimate passion … bread!
I love making bread, taking few simple ingredients like flour, yeast, salt and water and create magic! Bread is at the base of every community. In Italy, as in many other countries, the mill and the wood oven used to be shared by many family to mill their grains and then bake their goods. Bread used to be the most consumed food in UK centuries ago and now is relegated to a small piece of bread at the beginning of the meal. I have to say that I miss the big bread basket that is forever present on the Italians tables and that in restaurants is removed only when the…
Upside-down cannelloni
Many years ago I visited a beautiful village in the north of Italy called Valeggio Sul Mincio. Valeggio is not only renown for its beauty and historical importance, but it’s also a gastronomical hotspot for fresh pasta and tortellini. One of the last time I went there I bought a tray of filled tubes of pasta, like cannelloni, with various filling each and topped with a light bechamel sauce. Since then my cannelloni are always upside-down. This version has a simple ricotta and spinach filling, I usually add some nutmeg but nor this time as in the white sauce, the besciamella, I added the smoked garlic Arran cheese I bought…
WOW 2018 and the recipes for Homesickness
Last weekend was great, it started very well when I received this lovely book about the less renown history of many Scottish women. The authour will be at the Blairgowrie book festival this weekend but unfortunately, I will not be able to go so I’m enjoying the book instead. It’s a very interesting reading and it showcases the women contribution to forging the Scotland we know today. Then this inspiring weekend continued as I was in the panel of the event “Motherhood conversation cafe”, one of the many events of the WOW festival Perth. We have been very lucky to have the WOW festival in Perth for 2 years in a row especially as it’s the…
Coral runner beans
Do you remember the pasta recipe with courgette and courgette’s flower I posted I while ago? Well today I went back to my friends Federica for a coffee and a chat and as last time, I came home with more amazing ingredients to cook. This time runner beans, I often just like them simply steamed and served in salad with hard boil eggs but Federica suggested to cook them as they do in Rome. While she was picking the runner beans I was eating raspberries and plums directly from the plant. Isn’t she the best friend ever? She also gave me apples and plums of different varieties, and I’m already thinking…
