Pettole finished dish

From Puglia. Pettole are sweet or savoury doughnuts. In the region of Campania , and I believe the US, they are known as zeppole. Here in Puglia, zeppole refers to a cake traditionally eaten on St Joseph’s day. They are called pettole here in Puglia and some regions of Basilicata. They are traditionally eaten on St Martin’s day in Lecce (Nov 11), St Cecilia’s day in Taranto (Nov 22),  Around the immaculate conception on the 7th and 8th of December in Brindisi, and Christmas Eve in Foggia. They are generally eaten during the Christmas period throughout the region. They can be prepared in two ways, sweet or savoury. The savoury version can be plain, or contain other ingredients, such as olives, cooked cauliflower, salt cod , sundried tomatoes and anchovies. The sweet versions are dredged in sugar and/or dipped in vincotto a sweet, concentrated grape juice produced in Puglia. Honey or jam are also common if you can’t find vincotto.

• 375 ml warm water
• 500 g oo flour
• Half a block of fresh yeast or 3½ g dried
• 2 tsp of salt
• Oil for deep frying
• For the savoury version:- 10 olives, stoned and sliced into rings. Use black or green or a mixture of both.
• For the sweet version:- Granulated sugar, vincotto or honey.

Pettole ingredient

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Mix together the water and flour. Add the salt at the end of mixing. You should have a very wet dough. If you are making the savoury version, stir in the olives.

Pettole mixed dough

Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours.

Pettole ready to cook

Wet your hands and scoop up about a tablespoon of dough and deep fry until it is lightly brown. You will need to turn them halfway through cooking. Drain on kitchen paper.

Pettole frying

If you are making the sweet version, dredge each pettole in sugar and serve with a dish of vincotto or honey to dip them in.

Pettole sweet version

Swiss chard frittata finished dish

Frittata di bietole. This is one of the myriad of  recipes for frittate or Italian style omelettes. If you can’t find swiss chard, fresh spinach would be a good substitute.

Swiss chard frittata ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1 kg of swiss chard, only the green leaves, use the stalks for something else.
• 1 clove  of garlic
• 1 small onion
• A handful of fresh marjoram leaves or about a teaspoon of dried (optional)
• 100g of grated parmesan
• Salt and pepper

Swiss chard frittata prepared

Fry the whole clove of garlic and the finely chopped onion gently in a little olive oil. After a few minutes, when the clove is lightly brown, remove it and discard. Add the chard and marjoram if used. Season with salt and pepper. Cook gently for a few minutes until the chard is completely wilted. You don’t have to add any water, the water left clinging to the leaves after washing should be enough.

Swiss chard frittata wilting chard

Allow to cool and squeeze out as much water as possible. Mix together the lightly beaten eggs, the chard and the cheese.

Swiss chard frittata ready to cook

Heat a large frying pan to a medium. Add a couple of table spoons of oil an add the egg mixture. Fry until the top has started to set.

Swiss chard frittata ready to turn

Flip the frittata by placing a large plate on top. Turn out onto the plate and then slide back into the pan. Finish off for a couple of minutes. Can be eaten hot or cold.

Swiss chard frittata finished dish

Mixed fritters finished dish

Pasta cresciuta. From Naples. My local pizzaria here in Bari is Neapolitan and cooks what the locals regard as “thick” pizzas. The Barese go there when they want some foreign food They also cook a few specialities from Naples, such as arancini and this dish. Pasta cresciuta means “grown dough”, because the batter contains yeast. You can cook them without a filling, or with some of the more  traditional ones such as courgette flowers or anchovies. Alternatively experiment with what you have to hand. The batter will make about 60-80 pieces.

Mixed fritters ingredients

• Sun-dried tomato halves, soaked to soften
• Courgette (Zucchini) flowers picked over to make sure they don’t contain any insects etc.
• Large sage leaves
• Anchovy fillets
• Oil for deep frying (traditionally olive oil, but sunflower oil is acceptable)

For the batter

• 1 cube of fresh yeast
• 320ml lukewarm water
• 300g oo flour
• A pinch of salt

First make the batter. Dissolve the yeast in the water. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the salt. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture. Beat it with a whisk until smooth. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 – 2 hours to rise. It should about double in size.

Mixed fritters batter

Heat a pan full of oil to a medium heat, about 180°c. If the oil is too hot the fritters will be raw on the inside and burnt on the the outside. If the temperature is too low they will be soggy. A litte experimentation may be needed to get it right.

Mixed fritters cooking

To make plain fritters, drop tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil. Cook until they are lightly browned, turning once. You are aiming to keep a reasonably soft texture. Think savory doughnuts. Drain on kitchen paper. Dip the various fillings into the batter and continue as before.

They are best eaten hot, but may also be eaten cold.

Potato pizza finished dish

Pizza di patate e prosciutto. From Bari. This is a more complicated version of the traditional potato “pizza”.  They call it a pizza here, but that name is quite confusing as it does not contain any bread or flour. To confuse matters further it is also known as Torta di patate or Gateau di patate in various regions. It is basically a potato pie filled with ham and spinach. The ham can easily be left out to make it vegetarian (if you are careful about what cheese you use of course). It can be eaten warm or cold and will keep in the fridge for 3 or 4 days. It also freezes well. Serves about 8 as a main course.

Potato pizza ingredients

• 1.2 kg floury potatoes.
• 250g scamorza, provola or mozzarella, grated or thinly sliced.
• 500g fresh spinach
• 150g cooked ham
• 2 egg yolks
• 70g grated parmesan
• Dry bread crumbs
• Butter
• Olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• Nutmeg 

Cook the potatoes in their skins in lightly salted water. Drain and peel when cool enough to handle.

Potato pizza cooking potatoes

Mash the potatoes and mix with the egg yolks and parmesan.

Potato pizza mixed with cheese

Fry the whole garlic clove for a few minutes in a little olive oil. Remove and add the spinach. There should be enough water clinging to the leaves after washing. Add a little salt and couple of grates of nutmeg. Cook over a medium heat until the spinach has completely wilted. Leave to cool and squeeze out as much water as possible.

Potato pizza cooking spinach

Grease a 24cm cake tin and dust with bread crumbs. Use 2/3 of the potato to make the base of the pizza. Build up the sides a little to contain the filling. Add the spinach.

Potato pizza with spinach

Add the ham

Potato pizza with ham

Cover with the cheese

Potato pizza with cheese

Close the pizza with the remaining 1/3 of the potato. Cover the top with bread crumbs and dot liberally with knobs of butter.

Potato pizza ready for the oven

Bake in an oven preheated to 200°c for 50 minutes.

Torta pasqualina finished dish

Torta Pasqualina or Easter Monday pie is a very popular dish to have today that has its origins in Liguria. Easter Monday is traditionally a day for picnics and this is often one of the things taken along. This is a slightly simplified version as it uses pre prepared puff pastry. It’s good to know that doctors no longer say eating cholesterol is bad for you as it includes at least 10 eggs. Serves at least 6.

• 500g puff pastry
• 500g swiss chard or spinach, stalks removed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 80g of parmesan or pecorino romano (or a mixture of both)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram or parsley
• 10  eggs
• 300g ricotta, passed through a sieve to remove lumps
• 1 tbsp of single cream
•  Olive oil

Torta pasqualina ingredients

Put the swiss chard, the onion and 2 tbsp of oil into a saucepan. Season with salt and people and cook over a medium heat until the chard is completely wilted. Allow to cool and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Torta pasqualina wilting chard

Chop finely and transfer to a bowl. Add an egg, 50g of cheese and the marjoram or parsley and mix well.

Torta pasqualina filling

In another bowl mix together the ricotta, the cream, 2 eggs and 30g of cheese.

Torta pasqualina assembling pie

Roll out 2/3 of the pastry and use it to line an oiled cake tin. Make a layer with the chard. Cover with the ricotta. Crack 6 eggs, regularly spaced onto the surface.

Torta pasqualina ready for the oven

Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the pastry and use it to close the pie. Trim off the excess pastry and fold over and crimp the edges to seal. Brush with olive oil and bake at 180 °c for 45 minutes.

Torta pasqualina after baking

Eggs mimosa finished dish

Hard boiled eggs are of course an important symbol of Easter in Italy. They are often eaten as part of an Easter antipasto. This is one of the simplest, and in my opinion best recipes.

• 6 hardboiled eggs
• 6 anchovy fillets or 2 tablespoons anchovy paste
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• chopped parsley or chives
• pepper

Eggs mimosa ingredients

Halve the eggs and put the yolks in a bowl along with the anchovies and pepper to taste. Blend with a blender, adding the olive oil little by little, until you have a smooth paste. Fill the empty halves of the eggs with the mixture, sprinkle with parsley or chives and serve.

Eggs mimosa blending stuffing

Pecorino with broad beans

Fave con pecorino. This is not so much a recipe as a serving suggestion. People tend to forget that broad beans (known as fava beans in the US) can be eaten raw. So, for that matter, can peas. Also there is a bit of a misunderstanding about what exactly is pecorino. Any sheep’s milk cheese is a pecorino, from pecora, which means sheep in Italian. The only pecorino commonly available outside of Italy is Pecorino Romano and is usually used grated as a seasoning, in a similar way to parmesan. This recipe calls for a younger, less salty cheese. Of course, you can break with tradition and use a cow’s milk cheese.  When broad beans come into season, this is one of the most popular way to eat them. Some people serve them shelled and the cheese cut into little squares, but most people provide a pile of beans and a lump of cheese and let their guests get on with it. Eat each bean with a small piece of cheese. They are served as an antipasto or at the end of the meal, before the dessert.

Stuffed cabbage finished dish

Involtini di verza. This is a good winter dish. There are many versions, but I prefer this one because the stuffing is not so heavy as it contains rice and chopped cabbage rather than all meat. It can be served as an antipasto or a second course, but it is quite substantial, so it is probably better as a second course. Serves 6

• 1l vegetable stock
• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 head of savoy cabbage
• 1 small onion
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 80g grated parmesan
• 280g risotto rice
• 350g sausages, skinned
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 carrot
• 200ml white wine

To cook

• 50g butter
• 2 tbsp parmesan

Remove the tough central rib from 12 cabbage leaves.

stuffed cabbage removing stalk

Blanch the leaves in abundant boiling water. Take 150g of the more tender centre of the cabbage and chop finely.

stuffed cabbage cooking filling

Melt the butter in a pan and fry the carrot, celery and onion gently for about 15 minutes. Be careful that they do not brown. Increase the heat and add the rice and “toast” for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the white wine, the sausage and the chopped cabbage. Stirring constantly wait until the liquid has been absorbed. Add a ladle of the hot stock and wait for the liquid to be absorbed. Continue using the standard risotto method until the rice is cooked. Mix in the parmesan.

stuffed cabbage filling rolls

Take a cabbage leaf and place a couple of tablespoons of the mixture on each one.

stuffed cabbage filled roll

Roll the leaf up to make a compact parcel. Hide the open seam underneath.

stuffed cabbage ready for the oven

Cover the base of a casserole with little olive oil and half a ladle stock. Arrange the cabbage rolls in the dish. Cover the dish with melted butter and parmesan.

Stuffed cabbage finished dish

Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes, finish off under the grill for 5 minutes. Let the rolls rest for 10 minutes and the serve.

Bagna caoda fished dish

Bagna caôda.From Piemonte. The rough translation of title is “hot bath” , which in my opinion is always preferable to a cold one This dish is well known outside of Italy, but as is often the case it often is very different from the original. It is basically a warm anchovy and garlic dip for raw vegetables. These are two of my favourite things, so it’s one of my favourite antipasti. A lot of versions include milk or cream, but these are not found in the original Piemonte version

Bagna caoda ingredients

• About 6 anchovy fillets per person. Salted are best, but tinned in oil will do. Soak them in a little white wine.
• Garlic (from 2 or 3 cloves per person up to a whole head)
• Olive oil, the best you can find, about 1/2 a wine glass per person. Only olive oil will do.
• About 20 g of unsalted butter per person.
• 1 egg per person(optional)

To serve, dip vegetables into the mixture. The recipe I have is very prescriptive and says you can only use vegetables that are in season and grow in Piedmont. I think this is going a bit far though. Some suggestions on what to serve with the Bagna Cauda (raw unless otherwise stated):-

• Fresh bread
• potatoes cooked in their skins and then peeled
• Peppers roasted and peeled or raw
• Onions boiled or baked
• Sliced apples
• Savoy cabbage
• Jerusalem artichokes (raw or cooked))
• Fennel
• Cauliflower (raw or cooked)
• Endive
• Celery
• Courgettes
• Small globe artichoke
• Cardoons
• Cucumber
• Radicchio
• Asparagus
• Carrot sticks
• Cherry tomatoes
• Spring onions
• Small whole mushrooms

Bagna caoda vegetables

Slice the garlic very thinly and soak it in cold water for a couple of hours. Some recipes call for it to be boiled in milk, but I think this is unnecessary.

Add all the ingredients to an earthenware pot along with a small ladle of oil and cook very slowly for about half an hour. Don’t let the garlic brown. Stir it constantly with a wooden spoon. When the anchovies and garlic have dissolved into the sauce, add the rest of the oil.

Bring the pot to the table and keep it warm with some kind heat source.  You can buy special pots for this purpose, but fondue sets work well. Serve it with your selection of vegetables.

When you have had your fill of vegetables you can add a beaten egg to what’s left in the pot.

Plum Cake

Plum Cake. You see this cake all over Italy. It is a type of sponge cake, baked in a loaf tin, similar to what is known as a loaf cake in the UK. In my opinion Italy does most things to do with food extremely well. One possible exception is breakfast. It is usually just coffee and some variety of cake.  The coffee is very good though This is a very common breakfast cake. I haven’t translated the name. It always appears in English, although the pronunciation is more ploomcake. It never, however, contains plums, or indeed any other kind of fruit. I have asked around, but nobody has any idea how it got its name. If anybody knows, please let me know.

• 200g icing sugar
• 4 eggs, seperated
• 200g unsalted butter
• 200g 00 flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A few drops of vanilla essence
• A pinch of salt

Plum Cake ingredients

Beat the butter together with the sugar using a wooden spoon.

Plum Cake butter and sugar

When they are combined, add the egg yolks and continue beating until you get a smooth mixture.

Plum Cake egg yolks

Whip the egg white, together with a pinch of salt, with an electric whisk until you get stiff peaks.

Plum Cake egg whites

Gently fold in the egg whites, into the egg yolk mixture.

Plum Cake flour

Gently fold in the flour, baking powder and the vanilla essence.

Plum Cake ready for the oven

Grease a large loaf tin with butter and dust with flour. Pour in the mixture.

Plum Cake finished dish

Bake at 170°c for 40-45 minutes. When a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, it is ready.

Grissini finished dish

From Piemonte. In my experience the bread you can buy from a good baker is usually a superior product to home-made, unless you have a  great deal of time to invest and a very good oven. Here in Italy very few people make bread at home. Focaccia and other bread like products are another thing though. It is quite easy to make grissini, or breadsticks,  at home and they will usually be much better than the shop bought variety, especially outside of Italy. The original recipe is from a baker, so has been scaled down drastically, by a factor of about 10. The quantities and proving time are not extremely sensitive, so you have a bit of leeway.

Grissini ingredients

• 500g 00 flour or similar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp malt (or sugar)
• 1 cube of fresh yeast or the equilvalent amount of dried
• 1 tsp of lard (replace with oil if you want a vegetarian version)
• Up to 300ml of tepid water
• A little semolina for dusting

Grissini mixing the dough

Mix together the flour, salt, malt, yeast and lard. Add water, little by little, until you get a soft pliable dough. Make sure you knead it well.

Grissini kneading the dough

Form into a rectangle about 15cm long by 3cm deep. Cover with a clean towel and leave to prove for about 2 hours.

Grissini proving the dough

Cut the dough into 2cm strips and stretch to make the grissini shapes. I prefer them quite chunky, but remember that they will about double in size in the oven.

Grissini cutting strips

 Bake them at 200°C until golden brown (about 18-20 minutes).

Grissini ready for the oven

Filed under: 00 Flour, Antipasto, Bread, Lard, Piedmonte, Recipe, Yeast Tagged: Bread, Italian recipe, piedmont ]]> http://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/grissini-authentic-recipe/feed/ 2 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 djkrysa Grissini finished dish Piedmont-flag Grissini ingredients Grissini mixing the dough Grissini kneading the dough Grissini proving the dough Grissini cutting strips Grissini ready for the oven http://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/pasta-with-beans-and-mussels/ http://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/pasta-with-beans-and-mussels/#comments Sun, 13 Jan 2013 18:48:29 +0000 djkrysa http://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com/?p=2581 Continue reading →]]>

Pasta with beans and mussels finished dish

Pasta con fagioli e cozze.  From Naples. This is a variation on the classic Neapolitan dish of pasta and beans. The pasta is cooked in the sauce which makes it very tasty. Serves 4.

• 700g mussels, cleaned
• 1 clove of garlic
• 50 ml white wine
• 450g cooked cannellini beans (You can use canned if you like)
• 200g chopped tomatoes
• 200g short pasta such as ditali, gnochetti sardi etc
• 100ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• Red chilli to taste, fresh or dried

Pasta with beans and mussels ingredients

Soften the garlic in a little olive oil. Add the mussels and the wine, cover and cook over a high heat until the mussels have opened. About 5 minutes

Pasta with beans and mussels opening the mussels

Remove the mussels from their shells and strain and reserve the cooking liquid.

Pasta with beans and mussels cooking the pasta

Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the beans. Stir in the tomatoes, the reserved cooking liquid and the stock and bring to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until it is done (refer to the packet for cooking times).

Remove from the heat, stir in the mussels and sprinkle with the chopped parsley and chilli

Chicken cacciatore finished dish

Pollo alla cacciatora.  It is very common to find versions of this dish outside of Italy, especially in the United States, however they often bear little resemblance to dishes found here. Even the spelling has been changed, possibly reflecting a dialect spelling originally used by Italian immigrants to the States. The name translates as hunter’s style chicken. I am a bit unsure why as I am unaware of anybody hunting chickens You can also prepare rabbit in this way so maybe that was the original recipe. There are many versions in Italy, but the common factor is the chicken is cooked with white wine and tomatoes. This version is from Liguria. As always, if you can find a really good free range, or at least corn fed chicken it will improve the dish no end. Serves 4-6.

• 1 chicken cut into cut into 6 or 8 pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion, chopped
• Half a celery stalk, chopped
• A sprig of rosemary
• 2 fresh sage leaves
• A bay leaf
• A glass of white wine
• 6 fresh tomatoes, peeled and deseeded (or an equivalent amount of tinned)

Chicken cacciatore ingredients

Brown the onions, the celery and the garlic in a large pan.

Chicken cacciatore browning the onions

Add the chicken pieces, rosemary, sage and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes over a reasonably high flame.

Chicken cacciatore browning the chicken

Lower the flame and add the wine and cook until it has almost evaporated. Add the tomatoes, stir and cook until the chicken is done. About 45 minutes. Serve directly from the pan.

Variations

1. Some people like to add a little chopped parsley at the end
2. You can also add sliced fresh or reconstituted dried porcini mushrooms along with the chicken.

Rice croquettes finished dish

From Puglia. This is a puglian version of the more well known Sicilian dish arancini. It is very simple to make however. There are versions that use other chesses and cured meats, but this one uses the easily available (abroad I mean) salami, ham and mozzarella. Serves at least 6 as an antipasto.

• 400g risotto rice
• 100g sliced salami (Milanese or similar)
• 100g sliced cooked ham
• 200g mozzarella cut into small cubes
• 40g grated parmesan
• 2 eggs
• 40g buttter
• 1 tsp salt
• A pinch of pepper
• Bread crumbs
• Oil for frying

Rice croquettes ingredients

Boil the rice in plenty of salted water until done, about 10 minutes. Drain and add the butter. You could substitute vegetable stock for the water if you prefer. Allow to cool completely. You can prepare it the day before if you like.

Roughly chop the salami and ham. Combine with the rice, the mozzarella, the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and finally add the eggs and mix well.

Rice croquettes formed

Form the mixture into cigar shapes, about 50g each. I find it easiest to use my hands.

Rice croquettes ready to fry

Coat them in breadcrumbs and deep fry them in hot oil until golden.

Spaghetti with green beans finished dish

From Puglia. This is another very simple recipe that I cook a lot when green beans are in season. The pictures have been sitting on my computer for a while, so they are no longer in season, but should be fairly easy to get. The recipe uses ricotta marzottica or dura, which is hard to get outside Italy. The best substitute is grana or parmesan. Don’t use regular ricotta, it’s a different thing completely. The beans are cooked for quite a long time and you might consider them to be overcooked, but it works well with the pasta. If you prefer, you could add the beans along with the spaghetti.Serves 4.

• 500g green beans
• 360g spaghetti
• 1 quantity tomato sauce or pasatta
•  Ricotta marzotica or grana

Spaghetti with green beans ingredients

1. Top and tail the beans
2. Boil the beans in plenty of boiling water for 10 minutes.
3. Add the spaghetti to the water and continue cooking until the pasta is al dente.
4. Drain the beans and pasta and mix with the warmed tomato sauce.
5. Serve topped with ricotta marzotica or grana.

Ossobucco finished dish

Ossibuchi con il risotto. From Milan. Veal has gone out of fashion in the UK at the moment. It never did in the Italy because they don’t use the “crate” method. Italians are more practical when it comes to food. The aversion to “white” veal has nothing to do with ethics, it doesn’t taste as nice. This is one of the most famous Italian veal dishes. In my opinion the best bit of the dish is the marrow, which I always save until the end. Serves 4.

Ossobucco finished dish

• 4 slices of veal shank with the bone in the centre (ossibuchi)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• optional: 1 small stick of celery
• 30g butter
• 1 clove of garlic
• Plain flour for dusting
• Parsley
• The zest of half a lemon
• Dry white wine
• A little beef stock.

For the risotto

• 320g risotto rice
• 1 small glass of dry white wine
• 50g butter
• 1 small onion
• 1.5 litres of beef stock
• 1 sachet of saphron
• 4 tablespoons of grana padano

1. Fry the onion (and the celery if used) and the whole garlic clove, over a low heat, for a few minutes in the butter until softened.  Remove the garlic before serving( if you want a stronger garlic flavour, chop the clove and fry it along with the onion).
2. Lightly flour the veal slices and add them to the onions. Fry them on both sides until they are lightly browned. Be careful not to disturb the marrow in the centre of the bone.
3. Turn up the heat and add the glass of wine. Let it almost completely evaporate.
4. Add a ladle of hot stock, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 35-40 minutes until tender.
5. Cook the risotto using the usual method, adding the saffron along with the last ladle of stock.
6. When the veal is cooked add the chopped lemon zest, half a clove of chopped garlic(optional) and chopped parsley (gremolata) and serve on top of the risotto.

Lumpfish mousse finished dish

Mousse con uova di lompo. This dish doesn’t in fact use real caviar, but red lumpfish roe. Lumpfish mousse doesn’t quite have the same ring to it though If you can only find black roe, feel free to use that, the taste is exactly the same. This is a very easy antipasto, especially if you use tinned beans, but looks quite impressive. The original recipe used smoked trout, but I found it impossible to find both here and in the UK, so I got very good results when I used smoked salmon. It is worth spending a little extra on the smoked salmon though, as the cheaper varieties tend to be very salty. Be careful when seasoning the beans for this reason. Serves 4.

• 140g smoked salmon
• 600g plain yoghurt
• 400g boiled cannellini beans, canned are fine
• Red lumpfish roe, enough to make a thin layer, 1 jar will probably be enough
• Lemon juice
• A sprig of rosemary
• Olive oil

Lumpfish mousse ingredients

1. Blend the smoked salmon, the yoghurt and a tablespoon of lemon juice in a liquidiser. Keep a little of the smoked salmon aside to use as a garnish.
2. Blend the drained cannellini beans,  the leaves from the rosemary sprig and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Assemble the mousse in 4 wine glasses, a layer of  cannellini beans, a thin layer of lumpfish roe and a layer of the smoked salmon and yoghurt mixture.
4. Garnish with a little chopped smoked salmon.
5. Serve with toast or bread sticks (grissini).

figs and ham rose

Roselline di prosciutto crudo su fichi. Melon and raw ham is just about ubiquitous in Italian restaurants outside of Italy, and it’s pretty common here too.  When they are in season it is very common in Bari to pair ham with figs. In my opinion it is an even better match than melon. There are two ways to present them.“Little roses” looks very nice and is very easy to do. Cut the figs into four lengthways, but don’t cut all the way through. Take a slice of raw ham and twist it around two fingers to form a nest. Open the nest up and place it in the centre of the fig. The other way is to cut the figs completely into four and wrap each piece in ham. The second way doesn’t look so nice, but is easier to eat. I also use other types of cured meats or salumi , for example I especially like using Mortadella.

A note about prosciutto.

The English language is one of the great borrowers. We have taken words from almost every other language on Earth. They don’t always retain exactly the same meaning as in the original language. One example of this is prosciutto. In Italian it means “ham”. This can be leg of pork, cooked ham or raw ham. In English it has come to mean specifically raw ham, or prosciutto crudo in Italian. So when you see a sign for prosciutto ham you are in fact seeing a sign for ham ham. Another example of this is the panino roll. Shall I go into my local salumeria and ask for some ham ham to put into my roll roll? Oh well, I’m off to do a bit of footing now…

figs and ham wrapped

Baked mussels finished dish

• 2 kg large mussels
• 250 ml bechamel or white sauce
• 50 g grated pecorino romano 
• 2 or 3 tbsp of dry breadcrumbs
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• A clove of garlic
• An egg yolk
• Half a glass of white wine
• Olive oil

Baked mussels ingredients

Clean the mussels well. Place them in a pan along with half the clove of garlic, a sprig of parsley and the wine. Open the mussels by placing the pan over a high heat. Drain the mussels and filter and reserve the cooking liquid. Remove them from their shells.

Baked mussels opened with cooking liquid

Mix the mussel meat with 2 tbsp of olive oil, a chopped sprig of parsley, the rest of the garlic, chopped and a tbsp of the cooking liquid. Season with pepper.

Baked mussels removed from their shells

Place each mussel on a half shell.

Baked mussels on the half shell

Mix together the white sauce, the egg yolk and a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Top each shell with some of the mixture.

Baked mussels with white sauce

Sprinkle breadcrumbs on the top and bake at 190°c for 15 minutes.

As with most things in Italy there is a great debate about the true origin of tiramisu(or tiramesù in the Venetian dialect). Some sources put its origin as Siena in Tuscany however I think that the most credible claim comes from Treviso, in the Veneto near to Venice. Roberto Linguanotto from the Beccherie restaurant claims to have invented it at the end of the 60s and this is his recipe. People have changed the recipe a lot over the years and the original included no cream or alcohol.

The recipe was for a restaurant size portion but I used a third of the quantities to make 6 or 7 big portions.

Tiramisu finished dish

• 4 egg yolks
• 160 g sugar
• 330 g mascarpone
• Up to 20 Savoiardi biscuits  (also known as ladyfingers)
• Enough strong unsweetened espresso coffee (ristretto) to dip the biscuits in, allowed to cool
• Unsweetened cocoa powder to dust the top

Tiramisu ingredients

Whip the egg yolks together with the sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is stiff.

Tiramisu egg yolks and sugar

Fold in the mascarpone.

Tiramisu folding in the marsapone

Dip half of the biscuits into the coffee. Be careful not to make them too wet as they will disintegrate. Arrange them in a single layer in a dish. Roberto recommends a round one.

Tiramisu dipping the biscuits

Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the biscuit.

Tiramisu first layer with cream

Repeat to form a second layer.

Tiramisu second layer without cream

Dust the top liberally with cocoa powder.

Tiramisu dusted with cocoa

Chill the dish in the fridge for several hours, preferably overnight.

Meringues finished dish

• 400 g chocolate ice cream
• 120g caster sugar
• 120g icing sugar
• 120g egg whites (about 4 eggs)
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Meringue ingredients

Beat the egg whites and lemon juice with an electric whisk while gradually adding the caster sugar. When the mixture has risen and is shiny and quite dense, carefully fold in the icing sugar.

Meringue whipped egg white and sugar

Make small meringues by placing  teaspoons of the mixture on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper.

Meringues baked

Bake at 90°C with the oven door propped open to allow the moisture to escape. It should take about an hour and a half.

When the meringues are ready, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely.

Serve them by making a sandwich with two meringues and some ice cream.

These are the most popular posts in the last year. A very predictable list

Spaghetti al cacio e pepe finished dish

• 320 g spaghetti
• 160 g  Pecorino  Romano, grated.
• Lots of freshly cracked black pepper.

Spaghetti al cacio e pepe ingredients

Roughly crack the pepper corns. You can use a pestle and mortar, or as I do a coffee grinder. How much you add is a matter of taste, but it’s very important that it should be freshly ground. Don’t grind it too finely.

Cracked pepper

Cook the pasta until it is al dente  and drain, reserving some of the cooking water.

Spaghetti al cacio e pepe mixing the pasta

Mix the pasta together with some of the cooking water and most of the cheese. You should obtain a creamy sauce that coats the spaghetti well. If the sauce is too wet, add some more cheese. Likewise, if the sauce is too dry, add some more cooking water. Add the pepper and mix again. Serve topped with the rest of the cheese.

Salvia fritta in pastella. From Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Around Italy the styles of eating vary quite considerably for a large meal. The basic form doesn’t change, how could it? The unalterable form is Apperitvi, Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, Dolce, Caffe. What does change from region to region is the emphasis placed on each course. For example in Bergamo the bars compete to have the best apperitivi and you may be presented with a large selection. Here in Bari the antipasto is king. If you order the house antipasto you may be presented with up to twenty small dishes. Luckily you are not always expected to continue to primi, secondi etc. Bring your appetite with you if you go to a wedding though.

Fried sage leaves finished dish

Sage plant

This recipe is from the north however. My sage plant is getting very big and I wanted a way to use it.

Fried sage leaves batter ingredients

• 20 g of large fresh sage leaves
• 125 ml beer. A lager would be best.
• 100 g oo flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• The white of 1 egg
• Oil for frying

Washed sage leaves

Fried sage leaves batter

Put the flour in a bowl and add the chilled beer. Add the oil and a large pinch of salt. Mix it together with a whisk until it is smooth. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

Fried sage leaves egg white

Beat the egg white until you have stiff peaks. Add a pinch of salt and carefully fold it into the batter.

Dip the sage leaves into the batter and fry then in hot oil turning once. When they are golden brown, remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper. Serve immediately.

strawberry granita finished dish

• 800 g strawberries
• 5 heaped tablespoons sugar
• 150 ml water
• juice of 1 lemon

Clean and cut the strawberries into halves or quarters depending on size.

Strawberries with sugar

Sprinkle the strawberries with two tablespoons of the sugar.

Macerated strawberries

Leave them to macerate for an hour or so until they start to release their liquid.

Strawberries ready to freeze

Liquidize the strawberries and add the lemon juice.

Pour into a wide shallow dish and freeze for 1 hour until ice crystals start to form. Remove from the freezer and scrape the frozen bits back into the mixture. Return to the freezer and repeat every 30 minutes or so until the granita is frozen, with a fluffy, crystalline texture. Spoon into dishes and serve straight away.

Watermelon granita finished dish

• 1 kg watermelon flesh
• 50 g sugar
• 100 ml water
• juice of 1 lemon

Watermelon

1. Make a syrup by mixing the water and sugar. Heat it gently until all the sugar dissolves and it boils for a couple of minutes or so. Allow it to cool.
2. Liquidize the watermelon having first made sure that you have removed all of the seeds.
3. Pour into a wide shallow dish and freeze for 1 hour until ice crystals start to form. Remove from the freezer and scrape the frozen bits back into the mixture.
4. Return to the freezer and repeat every 30 minutes or so until the granita is frozen, with a fluffy, crystalline texture. Spoon into dishes and serve straight away.

Chocolate salami finished dish

• 300 g plain biscuits
• 150 g unsalted butter
• 200 g plain chocolate
• 100 g hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons of brandy or rum
• 2 eggs
• 100 g sugar

Chocolate salami ingredients

Break the biscuits into small pieces. I used a type called Saiwa Oro which are readily available here, but you can see from the picture what type to aim for.

Chocolate salami biscuits

Lightly roast the hazelnuts and rub them together to try and remove as much of the skin as possible. Put them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Chocolate salami hazlenuts

Make sure the butter is at room temperature and whisk it lightly by hand. Add the eggs and whisk it some more. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie. When the chocolate is smooth, add it to the butter and egg mixture. Make sure it is not too hot or the eggs will curdle. Add the brandy or rum. If you want to make an alcohol free version, use rum essence. Add the hazelnuts and mix well. Add the biscuits and mix again. When the biscuits are well covered by the chocolate, turn the mixture out onto a large square of greaseproof paper. Form it into a rough salami shape.

Chocolate salami mix on greaseproof paper

Bring the greaseproof paper up at the sides to make a sausage shape. Twist the paper together at the ends so you get a compact salami shape.

Chocolate salami ready for the fridge

Cover the roll in aluminium foil and put in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Chocolate salami with icing sugar

Unwrap and slice the roll reasonably thinly to serve. Lightly dust the plate with icing sugar if you like.

Limoncello granita finished dish

• 500 ml water
• 125 g sugar (white or brown)
• 50 ml fresh lemon juice
• 125 ml limoncello

Linoncello granita ingredients

Put the sugar in a pan with the cold water. Bring to the boil, stirring a couple of times until the sugar has dissolved then leave to boil for 5 minutes.

Limoncello granita syrup

Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Stir in the lemon juice and limoncello.

Limoncello granita ready to freeze

Pour into a wide shallow dish and freeze for 1 hour until ice crystals start to form. Remove from the freezer and scrape the frozen bits back into the mixture.

Limoncello granita starting to freeze

Return to the freezer and repeat every 30 minutes or so until the granita is frozen, with a fluffy, crystalline texture. Spoon into dishes and serve straight away.

Casoncelli finished dish

For the pasta:-

• 400 g 00 flour
• 100 g durum wheat flour
• 2 eggs

Casoncelli filling ingredients

For the filling:-

• 125 g dry breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 70 g grated grana
• 150 g sausage meat or minced pork
• 100 g cooked roast beef
• 1 amaretti biscuit
• 10 g sultanas
• 1/2 medium pear
• Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Casoncelli pasta

Casoncelli pasta with filling

Casoncelli folded pasta

Casoncelli half moons

Casoncelli shaped

Casoncelli dressing

To dress the pasta:-

• 80 g butter
• 100 g cubed pancetta
• 100 g grated grana
• A few sage leaves

Orecchiette con cime di rape finished dish

• 400 g orecchiette
• 800 g cime di rape
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 1 tablespoon or more olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 1 dried chilli (optional)

Orecchiette con cime di rape ingredients

Wash the cime di rape well. I prefer to discard the larger stalks, but some people leave them in.

Washed cime di rape

Boil the rape in plenty of salted water until it is cooked to your liking. I find 3 or 4 minutes is enough. Drain them saving the water.

Cooked cime di rape

Cook the orecchiette  until they are al dente in the water you used to cook the cima di rape. Meanwhile fry the anchovies, whole garlic clove and chilli in the olive oil. Stir until the anchovies dissolve. Cook for a few minutes over a medium heat.

Frying the anchovies and chilli

Remove the garlic clove and add the cime di rape. Mix well. Finally add the oriecchette and serve.

Panzerotti ingredients

For the pastry

• 500 g 00 flour
• 100 ml tepid milk
• 1 cube of fresh yeast
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 10 g salt

Dissolve the yeast in the milk. Add the milk to the flour, oil and salt along with enough tepid water to make a smooth dough.

Oil the dough, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for up to 2 hours.

Separate the dough into 12 portions and roll into small balls. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for a further half an hour.

Panzerotti balls of dough

Take one ball of dough and roll it into a large disc. Place a large tablespoon of filling in the middle of each one. Fold the dough over to form a half moon shape. Press down well and try to exclude as much air as possible. Either fold over and crimp the edges or cut off the excess pastry with a pasty wheel and seal the edges with a fork.

Panzerotti ready to cook

Deep fry the panzerotti until they are lightly golden. Some people use extra virgin olive oil and some people use regular vegetable oil. You can also bake them in an oven at 200 °C for 15 minutes, but the result is quite different.

Panzerotti finished dish

Fillings

• 200 g mozzarella
• 300 g cherry tomatoes
• Oregano
• Chop and drain the tomatoes. Cube the mozzarella.  Mix together with a generous amount of mozzarella.

• 50 g ricotta forte
• 100 g cherry tomatoes
• 50 g onions
• An anchovy
• Salt and pepper.
• Fry the onion in some oil, bone and chop anchovy. Spread each disc of dough with ricotta forte. Add a piece of tomato, some onion and a piece of anchovy. Salt and pepper to taste.

• 100 g ricotta forte
• 20 g grated pecorino romano
• 2 cherry tomatoes for each panzerotto
• 1 egg yolk (optional)
• Mix together the ricotta forte and the pecorino. Some people like to add an egg yolk to the mixture. Place a tablespoon of the filling and 2 chopped tomatoes in each panzerotto.

• Radicchio and gorgonzola.

• Fried minced pork mixed with parmsan and mozzarella. This is traditional on shrove Tuesday.

And of course the very untraditional but popular with children young and old:-

• Nutella

Peppina at the party

Onion pizza ingredients

For the dough

• 500 g 00 flour
• 60 ml olive oil
• 200 ml white wine or water
• salt

For the filling.

• 1 kg white onions, chopped
• 5-6 tomatoes, chopped
• 50 g stoned olives
• 8 anchovy fillets
• 50 g parmesan, grated
• Olive oil
• Salt

Lightly seson and fry the onions in a little oil until they are soft. Add the tomatoes, olives and anchovies and cook for a further few minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan.

Mix together the ingredients for the dough with enough water or wine to make it smooth. Leave to rest for about half an hour.

Grease a pizza tin  with olive oil and dust with a little flour.

Onion pizza ready to be filled

Roll out half of the dough so it fits the tin.

Onion pizza with filling

Fill the tin with the onion mix.

Onion pizza ready to cook

Roll out the other half to make the top of the pie. Place on top and trim the edges. Cover the top with a little olive oil and pierce with a fork to allow the steam to escape.

Bake at 200 °C for 30 minutes.

Onion pizza finished dish

Aubergine parmigiana

• 1.5 kg aubergines
• 700 g tomato pulp or passata
• 3 eggs
• 100 g grated parmesan
• 400 g mozzarella cut into small cubes
• Flour
• Basil, about 10 leaves torn into pieces
• 1 clove of garlic, whole
• Olive oil

1. Wash and dry the aubergines. Slice into 5 mm rounds. Dust with flour. Dip in the eggs and fry for a minutes in olive oil. Drain on kitchen paper.
2. Fry the clove of garlic in 4 table spoons of olive oil until it is brown. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the garlic.
3. Cover the bottom of an oven proof dish with tomato sauce. Add a layer aubergines. Add a layer of mozzarella and then parmesan. Repeat until all the aubergine is used up. Finish with a layer of aubergines covered with tomato sauce and parmesan.
4. Bake for 1 hour at 200°c. If the top starts to get too brown, cover it with aluminium foil.

Aubergine parmigiana finished dish

Meatloaf ingredients

• 800 g minced veal
• 2 stale bread rolls
• 3 eggs
• 100 g grated parmesan or pecorino
• Milk
• Olive oil

1. Break the bread rolls into small pieces and moisten with some milk.
2. Mix together all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.
3. Form into a loaf and bake for 30 minutes at 200°C.
4. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a few minutes before slicing.

Meatloaf finished dish

Coffee granita ingredients

• 150 g sugar
• 500 ml water
• 4 cups espresso coffee

1. Make a syrup by heating the water and sugar until it starts to boil.
2. Remove from the heat and add the coffee. Allow to cool.
3. Put into a freezer proof container and place in the freezer.
4. Take it out of the freezer every hour or so and whisk it to break up the larger ice crystals.
5. When it is fully frozen it is ready.

Coffee granita finished dish

Lemon granita ingredients

• 4 large lemons
• 150 g sugar
• 1 l water

1. Cut the zest from the lemons. Juice the lemons
2. Make a syrup by heating the water and sugar until it starts to boil.
3. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and zest. Leave to steep for about half an hour.
4. Strain into a freezer proof container and place in the freezer. Take it out of the freezer every hour or so and whisk it to break up the larger ice crystals.
5. When it is fully frozen it is ready.
   

   Lemon granita finished dish

Update: Mrs C Looked at the recipe and said it is slightly different than the one she uses. She adds 100 g of salami or 100g of mixed mortadella and ham cut into small cubes. She uses nutmeg instead of pepper and gives the dough 1 hour to rise. Finally, she doesn’t drizzle olive oil on the top. Many thanks.

Ricotta pizza ingredients

Pastry for stuffed pizzas

• 500 g 00 flour
• 1/2 cube of fresh yeast (or 1 packet of dried)
• 50 cc olive oil
• 200 ml milk
• 1 tsp salt

1. Dissolve the yeast in the tepid milk
2. Mix together the flour, olive oil, salt and enough of the milk to form a smooth dough.
3. Knead for about 10 minutes.
4. The dough doesn’t require much rising. Just leave it to rest for half an hour.

• 500 g ricotta
• 200 g mozzarella cut into small cubes
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp grated parmesan
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Make the filling by beating the ricotta until it is smooth then mix in the mozzarella, eggs and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Roll out half the dough so that it is a little bigger than the pizza tin. Oil the tin and put the base of the pizza into it. Push the dough down with your fingers to exclude as much air as possible.
3. Spread the filling inside the tin. Roll out the rest of the dough until it is a little bigger than the tin. Cover the pie with the base. Pinch together and then fold over and crimp the edges.
4. Drizzle a little olive oil over the surface and make some air holes with a fork.
5. Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for 40 minutes.

Ricotta pizza finished dish

pasta with ricotta ingredients

• 500 g pasta (any type)
• 500 g ricotta – the best you can find, preferably sheep’s milk.
• Optional ingredients:-
• Add parmesan for a stronger cheese taste.
• Add paprika to make the dish a little bit spicy.
• Add fresh basil and mint for an aromatic version.
• There is even a sweet version which includes a good pinch of cinnamon and a tablespoon of sugar

1. Cook the pasta until it is al dente.
2. Add a little of the pasta cooking water to the ricotta and beat well until it is smooth.
3. Dress the pasta with the ricotta and serve immediately.

pasta with ricotta finished dish

Gnocchi ingredients

• 1 kg potatoes
• 1 egg
• 300 g 00 flour
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

1. Put the unpeeled potatoes into cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for about 20 minutes until tender.
2. Peel using a kitchen towel to protect your hands from the hot potatoes.
3. Mash the potatoes preferably using a potato ricer or vegetable mill.
4. Add the egg and mix quickly to avoid it cooking from the residual heat in the potato.
5. Add the flour and knead until you get a smooth dough. This shouldn’t take too long.
6. Break off a fist sized piece of dough and roll out a sausage about 3cm wide. Cut into 2cm pieces.
7. To cook, tip the gnocchi into boiling salted water. They are ready when they have all floated to the surface.
8. Drain the gnocchi and toss with a little olive oil to stop them sticking together.

Serve the gnocchi with a simple tomato sauce or maybe plain with a little parmesan.

Gnocchi finished dish

Focaccia alla barese ingredients

Focaccia alla barese. I have never really had much success with bread in my cooking career, so I decided to give it one more go. It actually came out really well. The main differences between Bari focaccia and regular focaccia is the use of coarse hard flour (semola rimacinata di grano duro) and the inclusion of potatoes in the dough. There is also no olive oil included within the dough, only in the tin and poured over the top. I just caught it before it burnt, so it looks a little dark. See the recipe for some advice on how to avoid this.

• 500g coarse hard flour (semola rimacinata di grano duro) Use strong white bread flour if you can’t get it.
• Cherry tomatoes
• 150g mashed potatoes
• 1 cube of fresh yeast (or 1 sachet of dried)
• Olive oil
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 tsp of fine table salt
• Rock salt

1. Disolve the yeast in 300ml of tepid water to which the teaspoon of sugar has been added.
2. Make a fairly wet dough from the flour, mashed potatoes, table salt and yeast and water mix.
3. Knead the dough well for at least 10 minutes. You should get a smooth, elastic dough after a while.
4. Leave the dough to rise until it has doubled in size – 1 to 2 hours.
5. This recipe is for a rectangular baking tray 30cm by 40cm. Grease the tray well with olive oil. Knock the dough back and pull it by hand to fit the tray.
6. Push halved cherry tomatoes into the focaccia at regular interval. Sprinkle with a little rock salt and drizzle with plenty of olive oil.
7. Allow to rise again – 1/2 to 1 hour.
8. Bake in an oven preheated to 250°c for 15 to 25 minutes. The focaccia is ready when the underside is brown. If the top starts to become too brown before it is cooked, cover the top with foil and continue cooking.

Focaccia alla barese finished dish

Spaghetti with olives ingredients

• 400g passata
• 1 tablespoon of capers
• 100g olives in brine, chopped, stones removed
• 1 onion, chopped
• Oregano
• Olive oil
• 320g spaghetti

1. Fry the onion in some olive oil.
2. Add the passata, the olives and the capers. Season with salt and pepper and add a good pinch of oregano.
3. Cook over a low heat for half an hour.
4. Mix with the cooked pasta and serve.

Spaghetti with olives finished dish

Spaghetti with mussels ingredients

Spaghetti con le cozze. This is a recipe that I cook a lot, but have never got round to posting. I, like the Barese, love mussels.  They are always cheap and are available all year. Here the size changes with the season, but you can make this dish with big or small mussels, it doesn’t matter. They say that the smaller ones have a better flavour. Some people open the mussels raw for this dish. To be honest the flavour is probably marginally better, but I am not very good at opening them so I never have time. If you are adept at opening mussels, feel free to remove the shells before adding them, but don’t forget to include any water that comes out. Some people also remove the shells after they have opened. Again, it depends on my mood, but I usually don’t.You can also use fresh or tinned tomatoes.

• 1kg Mussels weighed with the shells
• 1 clove of garlic
• 500g peeled tomatoes
• Olive oil
• A few sprigs of chopped parsley
• Chilli (optional to taste, can be fresh or dried)
• 320g Spaghetti

1. Sauté the garlic for a few minutes so that it softens, but doesn’t brown.
2. Add the chilli (if fresh, if you are using dry, add it after the tomatoes)
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the mussels and cook uncovered over a medium heat until they are all open
5. Add the parsley and stir
6. Mix with the cooked spaghetti and serve.

Spaghetti with mussels finished dish

Potato pizza ingredients

• 800 g  potatoes
• 150 g scamorza or mozzarella
• 2 eggs
• About 50 g Grana padano or Parmesan
• Butter
• Dry breadcrumbs

1. Boil and mash the potatoes. I prefer to boil them whole and unpeeled, allow them to cool for a few minutes and then peel.
2. Add the eggs and Grana to the potatoes and mix well.
3. Well grease a pizza tin or spring form cake tin with butter. Dust the tin with breadcrumbs.
4. Spread half of the potato mix over the base. Cover with the grated scamorza or mozzarella. Finally add the rest of the potato to form a layer over the cheese.
5. Sprinke the top of the pizza with some more dry breadcrumbs and dot with small knobs of butter.
6. Bake at 200°C for about 30 minutes. The pizza is ready when the top is nicely brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the tin.
7. Can be eaten hot, warm or even cold.

Potato pizza finished dish

Pesto Genovese Ingredients

• 50g of basil leaves (from Genoa of course)
• Extra virgin olive oil (from Liguria)
• 6 Tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
• 2 Tbsp Pecorino (romano, toscano, sardo or siciliano)
• 2 cloves of garlic (can be omitted)
• 1 Tbsp pine kernels (from the Mediterranean area)
• 1 tbsp chopped walnuts can be substituted for the pine kernels (must be European from the species “Juglans regia”)
• Coarse sea salt

1. The traditional method uses a wooden pestle(where the dish gets its name from in a round about way) and a marble mortar. Start by pounding the garlic and salt until you get a smooth paste.
2. Add the basil, a handful at a time, and keep grinding using a circular motion until each batch of the leaves is incorporated. To preserve the essential oils in the basil, you shouldn’t be too rough with it.
3. Add the pine kernel and grind some more.
4. Add the cheese and mix well.
5. Add the oil, little by little, until the pesto has the right consistency – a matter of taste.
6. Serve with pasta or added to minestrone. The recommended pastas are troffie, trofiette or trenette, but it goes with just about any pasta. I usually serve it with spaghetti or linguine.

Pesto Genovese finished dish

Mackerel in tomato sauce ingredients

• 1 kg Mackerel – cleaned.
• 3 onions – sliced
• 3 carrots – finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
• 6 tbsp passata
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 glass of olive oil

1. In a pan big enough to accommodate the fish (a fish kettle would be ideal), soften the onions in half the olive.
2. Add the carrots, garlic and parsley and fry for a further couple of minutes.
3. Add the rest of the oil, 2 glasses of water and the passata. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Bring to a simmer and add the fish. If the fish isn’t covered by the liquid, add a little more hot water.
5. Cover and cook until the mackerel are done, about 10 minutes.
6. Allow to cool before serving. This dish is best served warm or cold.
7. Alternative method: Add the fish. When the liquid returns to the boil, remove from the heat, cover and allow the fish to cool in the liquid.

Mackerel in tomato sauce finished dish

Baked anchovies ingredients

• 800g fresh anchovies
• 60g pecorino – grated
• 80g dry bread crumbs
• 2 ripe tomatoes – sliced
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 clove of garlic – chopped
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• Dry white wine
• Olive oil

1. Clean and prepare the anchovies as above.
2. Mix together the pecorino, breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano and parsley
3. Grease an oven dish with a little  oil. I used 4 individual dishes.
4. Line the dish with a little of the breadcrumb mix. Add a layer of anchovies and cover with the breadcrumb mix. Repeat until all the anchovies are used up, finishing with a layer of breadcrumbs.
5. Top with the tomato slices and a little more of the breadcrumb mix.
6. Splash some wine and drizzle olive oil on top.
7. Bake at 180C until golden brown and sizzling.

Baked anchovies finished dish

• 320g bavette
• 800g clams
• 1 shallot – finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic – peeled, whole
• 1 chilli (fresh or dried) or to taste
• 300g courgettes – cut into match sticks
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 100ml dry white wine
• 200g tomatoes – peeled and diced

Bavette with clams and courgettes ingredients

1. Open the clams by  putting them in a dry pan over a high heat for about 5 minutes. Reserve any liquid that is produced.
2. Remove the clams from their shells and put aside.
3. Heat some oil in a pan and cook the shallot, chilli and garlic clove until softened.
4. Remove and discard the garlic.
5. Add the clams, courgettes and parsley and cook for a few minutes.
6. Add the wine and the liquid from the clams and allow to reduce for a while.
7. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and cook  until the sauce thickens – about 20-30 minutes.
8. Cook the bavette until al dente, drain and add to the pan with the sauce and mix well.

Bavette with clams and courgettes finished dish

Bass in acqua pazza ingredients

• 4 sea bass – filleted
• 400g cherry tomatoes – halved or left whole according to preference
• A few sprigs of parsley – chopped
• A clove of garlic – chopped
• 1 chilli – fresh or dried (optional)
• Dry white wine
• Olive oil

1. Fry the garlic and chilli in olive oil until the garlic has started to colour. Use a pan big enough to take all the fish in a single layer.
2. Add the tomatoes, parsley and a generous slug of white wine.
3. Add the fish in a single layer. Add water to bring the level of liquid up to about halfway up the fillets.
4. Cover and simmer until the fish is done. About 10 minutes for medium sized fillets.

Bass in acqua pazza finished dish

Sun dried tomato struzzichini ingredients

• Sun dried tomatoes – soaked for an hour in a mixture of water and vinegar
• Olives – stoned and cut into slivers
• Capers – soaked for a few minutes and drained
• Fresh basil leaves
• Anchovy fillets
• Olive oil

Assembling the struzzichini

1. Drain the tomatoes and dress with olive oil.
2. On top of each tomato place 2 capers, a piece of anchovy, a sliver of olive and basil leaf.
3. Roll up and secure with a tooth pick.

Sun dried tomato struzzichini finished dish

Sea bass on a bed of lemons ingredients

• 4 small sea bass – prepared as above
• 100g cherry tomatoes – chopped
• 8 whole cherry tomatoes
• 2 or 3 lemons thinly sliced
• A few needles of fresh rosemary
• 1 clove of garlic – finely chopped
• 1 or 2 sprigs of parsley – finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

1. Mix together the chopped tomatoes, rosemary, garlic,  parsley and a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity of the fish with this mixture.
2. Add two slices of lemon to each fish, one on each side of the cavity. They should look something like the leaves of an open book.
3. Add two whole cherry tomatoes to each fish and drizzle with a little more oil.
4. Crumple a sheet of aluminium and use this to support the fish and keep them upright while cooking.
5. Bake for ten minutes at 180C
6. Cover a serving plate with the rest of the lemon slices arrange the cooked fish on top.

Sea bass on a bed of lemons finished dish