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…
Dauphinoise potatoes … my family must have dish for every occasion
I finally have some head-space to post in my favourite place … my blog. The past few months have been emotionally and physically very intense and demanding. Although in the past months I cooked and tasted amazing food, I posted more on my Instagram account than here. But a few weeks ago I promised that I would post at least a recipe each month but January is all about to get me thin and fit and I wanted to post one of the most indulgent side dishes I ever prepared. So I decided to wait for the beginning of February and some of the coldest days of this winter. And this…
Shakshuka
First wintery weather call for emergency measure! While beautiful wintery sceneries are popping up in my social media feeds more and more often in the last few days. Like this picture of Balmoral Castle with a light dust of snow on the grounds. I crave summer food and the beach. Last week I had to scrape the ice off the car for the first time and from this weekend the nights will get darker. I like autumn and winter; I love the cosy night and the hearty food, the problem is that I don’t think I’m ready yet. I still crave the warm sun that stays high in the sky…
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 and Trenette alla Genovese
For many years I ran cookery classes at the local college. The first course I organised proved to be very popular and has been sold out for many many times. I think the secret of the success was because it included food from nearly every Italian region. This gave a great variety of recipes, flavours and options to the student who participated. (If you come to one of my Taste of Italy cookery classes at Perth College, let me know which one is your favourite recipe so I can add it to the blog.) That’s one of the reasons why Italian food is so popular, we don’t have a national cuisine, but every…
Mozzarella & basil Stromboli
Moving abroad had open my horizons and I discovered Italian recipes that don’t exist in Italy. Since then I tasted garlic bread, spaghetti and meatballs, pasta alfredo and many more dishes that are the results of Italian emigrants adapting their recipes to the customs of the country the moved to. As my neighbour give me a bowl full of amazing homegrown tomatoes, I decided to make this amazing bread to accompany a simple tomato salad and some baked feta. To bake the feta it’s very easy, just cut it in cubes, drizzle with olive oil and oregano and bake at 220C until golden brown on the top. This bread quickly becomes a…
