Comfort food for the winter months … Gnudi
It’s been too long since my last post and I know I keep you posted on Instagram but it’s nice to post here on my blog where I can also add recipes. This recipe is for Gnudi a traditional Tuscan recipe that literally means naked. The name comes from the fact that this kind of gnocchi have all the ingredients of the spinach and ricotta ravioli without the pasta. As the pasta cover the filling in the ravioli and in this recipe is missing this gnocchi made from the filling are served … naked! I cooked this recipe with my mum as she’s been staying with us over the holidays.…
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…
How to celebrate your BIG birthday in style
In the past 2 weeks, Scotland was on holiday, and these are called “tatties holidays” as in the past pupils did not attend school to go in the fields to harvest potatoes. The school decided to have two weeks holiday to allow them to work and help the farmers with the harvest. It is quite strange for an Italian to get used to the idea that in Scotland the school start close or on one of the most important Italian holiday: Ferragosto and then we are on holiday in a period when in Italy school and work has practically just started after the long summer. I don’t actually mind, and I like 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…
Pesto salmon and veggies parcel
Another amazing meal with Scottish ingredients and Italian flavours to celebrate the Sottish Food and Drink Fortnight. For this recipe, I used my pesto recipe (that you can find it here). I found this recipe on this amazing blog www.cookingclassy.com, and I changed it very very slightly. The picture is not the best, but I couldn’t wait to taste it, and everyone was sitting at the table just waiting for me, including a nice glass of white wine (chilled Soave was just the perfect accompaniment with this dish). So please try this recipe as I’m sure you will love it 🙂 And to finish the meal we tried the newest flavours’ ice cream from our…
Strawberry Tiramisu’
First of September and it’s the start of the Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight (http://fooddrinkfort.scot/), to celebrate it I decided to use the last of the Scottish strawberries to create this light and fresh tiramisu’. The Scottish berries and soft fruit are the best I ever tasted, my favourite is raspberries, sweet and perfumed when is the season I feast on it as much as I can! Out of season, I don’t buy fresh berries but I tend to use frozen one instead. For the next 2 weeks, I will post more recipes that use the amazing Scottish products. We are very lucky to have amazing ingredients to use and every time…
