​When my kids were little I made cupcakes all the time. I kind of stayed away from muffins as I never liked store bought ones, I found them boring and dry. I also never liked big muffins, I preferred smaller ones. Over the years I have bought many, many, many cupcake and muffin cases, but I stopped making cupcakes as my kids got older. So now I have told my kids, who are 15, 20 and 21, that they are about to get many new cupcake and muffins to try as I need to use up all the cases I bought. 

Now I say I don't like muffins, however I have found a few recipes that I love over the years, usually there is fresh fruit or chocolate involved. This is a new one, I saw them and I had to make them. They are really easy to make and taste really good.

The original recipe makes 12, I made them a little smaller and got 18 out of the mix. The baking time did not vary with my oven.

Now I also love this recipe as if you prepare and have the ingredients home, these are ready in about 30 minutes. No kidding they are so easy and quick to make. 

They are not too sweet which suits me, as I really don't enjoy crazy sweet desserts.

Muffins are always best eaten the day you make them. But we can't eat 18 muffins in one day. But don't worry next day muffins just need 15 seconds in the microwave to reheat and they taste great again.

Supposedly adding a little butter is great to a cooked muffin just like some do to banana bread. 

The secret to a a great muffin is to not overmix the batter, overmixing results in tough muffins. So don't overmix them.

I love buttermilk, I love cakes that have buttermilk in them, they just taste better. But if you don't have buttermilk at home, just combine 1 cup room temperature whole (not skim) milk + 1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes until curdled, then use per recipe. If milk is fridge cold, microwave for 30 seconds. 

​So if you want to try making muffins this is great recipe to start with.

​Recipe adapted from www.recipetineats.com/

Makes 12-18

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 cup caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
60g unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly whisked
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

300g dark chocolate chips
​

Preheat oven to 200°C/180C fan forced. Line a 12 (plus 6 ) hole muffin tin with paper patties.

Whisk the dry ingredients: whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a bowl.

Whisk the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, melted butter, oil, eggs and vanilla.

Combine the wet and the dry: make a well in the flour bowl, pour in egg mixture. Mix until just combine - try not to stir more than 8 times. Some flour lumps in the batter is fine.

Stir through most of the chocolate chips - reserve some for topping.

Divide batter between paper cases. Top with remaining chocolate chips.

Bake for 5 minutes, then turn oven down to 180°C/160°C fan forced.

Bake for a further 13-15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the muffin comes out clean. You can just gently press them if soft keep baking.

Cool. Remove muffins from the muffin tin immediately onto a cooling rack.

​Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Every Tuesday is Croatian Tuesday in my house. As I love to cook food from all over the world I sometimes forget to cook food that I grew up eating. So to keep my own traditions going and to make sure my kids are exposed to Croatian food, I decided to cook Croatian at least once a week. (Since starting this we as a family have decided it needs to be at least twice a week, it can be more, but the minimum is twice a week).

On Croatian Tuesday I try to cook something old (something I've made before) as well as something new (something I have never tried before). My something old this week was my families favourite Musaka. My something new was this Apple Slice. 

Growing up one of my aunties on her trips to Croatia would always bring my mother back a cookbook. This recipe comes from one of those books, we've had the book for over 30 years now. I have since got it from my mum and have added it to the many cookbooks I've purchased over the years on my travels there. 

This Apple Slice is really, really easy to make, it doesn't take long to put together. The dough is easy to work with and the filling is crazy easy to make.

My family loved this. They could not stop eating it. The pastry as it cools, goes crisp and the filling is so generous, there is so much apple. I added cinnamon to the original recipe as I think cinnamon and apple are a match made in heaven, you can leave it out if you want to. (As I'm typing this I just got hit with the smell of a new recipe for Garlic bread I'm working on, it smells amazing). Speaking of smells when this comes out of the oven, the aromas are amazing.

Now, a lot of older Croatian recipes I have use margarine. I assume if you have a problem with margarine you could use butter, I haven't tried it. As I don't use margarine often I don't personally have an issue with it if used sometimes. If I used butter, I would use the spreadable one here.

I don't add sultanas, as I don't like them. But I might add them in future to a third of the slice, as my husband loves them.

So if you want to try something new, this is a great recipe to try. ​

Recipe adapted from Ambrozic, Mihelcic and Mudric's cookbook Knjiga Kolaca

Serves 15-20 slices

Dough:
500g plain flour
250g margarine
100g caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons sour cream
Grated zest from 1 lemon
pinch salt

Filling:
1.2kg green apples, peeled, coarsely grated
1 x 10g packet vanilla sugar
120g caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, to taste
a handful of Sultanas, optional 

​Icing sugar, to serve


Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan forced. Grease and line with baking paper a 23cm x 33cm baking tin.
​
Make the dough. On a work bench place your flour, add on the margarine in chunks. Add the caster sugar, make a well in the centre, add the egg, egg yolk, sour cream, lemon zest and salt. Break up the eggs a bit, then start mixing the dough together, when it is combined, knead for 2-3 minutes to make sure it is mixed well together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough in half. Place one half of the pastry between two large sheets of baking paper. Roll out the pastry into a rectangle shape slightly larger than the size of the base of your baking tin. You can cut and paste this dough, to get the shape you need. I also like to take the baking paper off and place it back on and flip the dough and remove the baking paper and place it back on every now and then. It makes for easier rolling of the dough. The pastry needs to cover the entire base with a little going up the side. Remove the top sheet of baking paper and place the pastry into the greased pie pan, pastry side down. Remove the other sheet of baking paper. Press the pastry into the base and a little up the sides of the baking tin.

Repeat with the second half of the dough. Roll it slightly larger than the size of your baking dish. Set aside until needed.
​
Coarsely grate the peeled apples just before you need them, discard core. Mix together the vanilla sugar and the caster sugar. Evenly spread out the apples over the pastry base. Sprinkle with the combined sugars. Sprinkle over the ground cinnamon, to taste. Scatter over sultanas, if using.
​
Now place the second dough carefully over the filling. Using a fork or pointy knife, poke holes in the dough, to allow the steam from the apples to escape.

Bake for around 50 minutes.

​Cut into slices while hot, as once it cools the pastry crumbles when you try to cut it.

Dust with icing sugar. Serve warm or room temperature.

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​This is delicious. I don't really need to say anything else. I just love this pasta salad.

This pasta salad has so much flavour, I like to make a large bowl of this and pop it in the refrigerator. Then when we want something for lunch, we open the refrigerator and it's there, we get to enjoy it for as long as it lasts, which isn't long in my house.

I love this pasta salad on its own, that's it, this is a great lunch for me, it doesn't need anything else. But if you need it as part of a gathering where you need to feed many, it is also great served as a side with a barbecue.

Any short pasta will work with this recipe including penne, farfalle, fusilli or elbow pasta. My favourite one is the curls pictured above, but use whatever short pasta you love.

If I can't find small mozzarella balls, I just halve or quarter larger ones.

You can make this salad up to 24 hours in advance. Just taste before serving you may need to add a splash of white balsamic vinegar right before serving and toss again. 

This is one of my favourite pasta salads. I love this, hope you do to.

​Recipe adapted from www.smalltownwoman.com/ 

Serves 8-10

500g short pasta like curls, penne, or fusilli
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
2 clove garlic, crushed
450g mozzarella balls (or baby bocconcini)
4 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
½ cup basil, sliced in ribbons


Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to the package directions and drain. Rinse with a little cold water to stop the cooking process and drain well. Add the pasta to a large serving bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.   Let it cool to room temperature.

In a small jar with a tight fitting lid add the remaining extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic.  Shake well to combine.

Add the mozzarella balls, tomatoes and basil to the bowl with the cooled pasta. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat.

If not serving right away, cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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​This is a classic dish, is it cooking, no, but it deserves to be here as it's just perfect.

I love it as a light lunch as it is quick and easy to prepare. But it would be great with an antipasto platter to.

For this your ingredients must be fresh. Thick slices of ripe tomatoes (I always have tomatoes sitting on my kitchen counter ripening, as stores never sell them ripe enough), fresh, soft, burrata, fragrant basil leaves preferably home grown, but store bought is okay, and your best bottle of extra-virgin olive oil.

I never put vinegar on it, as I feel it takes away from the flavour of the tomatoes and the cheese. 

You can use mozzarella or bocconcini if you can't find burrata.

This is the perfect light summer dish, but I eat all year round if I'm being honest.

​4-5 large vine ripened tomatoes, sliced 1/2cm thick
1 ball fresh burrata
¼ cup packed fresh basil, washed well and spun dry
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
​

On a large serving platter arrange tomato slices, tear over the burrata slices and basil leaves.
Drizzle with the oil. Season salad with salt and pepper.
​Serve with crusty Italian bread.

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​Recipe adapted from www.recipetineats.com/

Makes 12-18

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 cup caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
60g unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly whisked
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

250g fresh blueberries
​
Preheat oven to 200°C/180C fan forced. Line a 12 (plus 6 ) hole muffin tin with paper patties.

Whisk the dry ingredients: whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a bowl.

Whisk the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, melted butter, oil, eggs and vanilla.

Combine the wet and the dry: make a well in the flour bowl, pour in egg mixture. Mix until just combine - try not to stir more than 8 times. Some flour lumps in the batter is fine.

Stir through most of the blueberries - reserve some for topping.

Divide batter between paper cases. Top with remaining blueberries.

Bake for 5 minutes, then turn oven down to 180°C/160°C fan forced.

Bake for a further 13-15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the muffin comes out clean. You can just gently press them if soft keep baking.

Cool. Remove muffins from the muffin tin immediately onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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​Zelena Manestra is a hearty Croatian soup that I made as I am making an extra effort to cook more Croatian food to keep that tradition going with my family. I'm constantly trying new things and sometimes I forget to cook Croatian, food that I grew up on. So we decided as a family to cook Croatian once a week at least (my kids changed that to at least twice a week, as they are loving the food).

So out come all my Croatian cookbooks that I collected over the last 22 years, since my first holiday to Croatia, it's time to cook more Croatian food.

Soups are important to Croatians, nearly every house makes them, every dinner, all year long, summer, autumn, winter and spring. It can be forty degrees outside, we are having soup.

This soup has the perfect combination of ham hock which we love and cavalo nero and cabbage, which we also love. It is a really easy soup to make and the end result is delicious. This is a hearty soup, so this to me is a meal, nothing else needed. However, my family get hungry a few hours later, so on nights like this a dessert would happen, as dinner was not heavy.

Instead of a ham hock you could use smoked ribs, but you will need to add them to a pot of cold water and bring them to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes. Discard all of the water and then start with the recipe as written below. Smoked ribs can be salty, I find ham hocks generally are not.

So if you are like me and you want to try something traditional or you are newbie to Croatian food, here is a great way to start.

​Recipe adapted from Hrvatska za Stolom-Mirisi i Okusi Hrvatske by Ivanka Bilus, Bozica Brkan, Lidija Coric and Cirila Rode

Serves 6-8

1 ham hock
150g piece pancetta
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon vegeta, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 large potatoes, peeled, cut into bite sized cubes
1kg cavalo nero
750g savoy cabbage, cut into bite sized chunks
​
Place the ham hock and the pancetta in large pot, fill the pot with water until at least 2/3 full and the hock is fully covered. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil. While it is coming to the boil add in the garlic and vegeta and season with pepper. Once it has come to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for about two hours, or until the meat falls off the bone.
​

Remove the stalks from the cavalo nero and shred the leaves. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the cavalo nero and simmer for about 5 minutes. Drain, discard this water. This first water can overpower the soup, that is why it is discarded and you are left with a nicer lighter flavoured soup.
​
Once the hock is cooked, remove from the hock and the pancetta from the pot. Add in the potato, bring to the boil and simmer about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove bones from the hock and dice up the meat (you can add the skin also to the soup, some people like it, some don't) and slice up the pancetta.

​Add the cavalo nero and cabbage to the soup.  Add more water if needed, taste for seasoning, add more vegeta if you like, and simmer until the potatoes and cabbage are cooked.  Add the hock meat and pancetta. Bring back to the boil. Serve hot.

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​I watched a video of Marion making this and immediately knew it was something I wanted to try. It looked so easy to make, with so few ingredients, yet it's supposed to be a flavour explosion. I'm so glad I did, it is delicious.

She calls it emergency pasta-an emergency being when you need to make dinner, you don't want to go to the shop, you have to cook with what is in your pantry.
​
This recipe I have made three times to get it how my family loves it. So I have nicknamed it 'The Three Bears' pasta. First time I made it, the flavour was too intense, it had potential, we liked it, but it had too much flavour. The second time I added too much pasta to fix the too intense problem and now it did not have enough flavour. The third time it was just right. You can see the colour difference in the photos, it really does  represent the amount of flavour.

​Now if your on a diet, this is not for you. My son calls this the fat, salt and carb pasta. But it's sometimes food, and sometimes it's okay. We laugh that the spring onions make it healthy.

​You can substitute spaghetti for linguine.

Usually my emergency dinner is Spaghetti Puttanesca, now I have a new one to spice things up a bit.

​Recipe adapted from www.marionskitchen.com/

​Serves 3-4

375g linguine
75g unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2½ tablespoons soy sauce
2½ tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely sliced spring onions

Garlic oil:
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, finely sliced


To make the garlic oil, place the oil and the garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the garlic is sizzling, cook for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is just starting to turn golden at the edges. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and set aside for later (the garlic will continue cooking and turn evenly golden in the bowl).

Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat. When boiling rapidly, add the pasta and cook until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, add the butter, garlic and chilli flakes into a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook stirring until the butter is just melted (you want the garlic to soften but not colour), then add the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Simmer for a minute and then take off the heat until the pasta is cooked.

When the pasta is al dente, reserve a cup of pasta cooking liquid in case you need it later. Place the butter sauce back on the heat and add the pasta straight into the pan. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed by the pasta and everything is looking super glossy and thick. Toss through the parmesan cheese (add a little pasta cooking water here if necessary).

Divide among serving plates. Top with a drizzle of garlic oil and some garlic chips. Sprinkle with spring onion.

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​This one looks amazing and tastes great to.

Use champagne, prosecco or sparkling wine.

Great for Halloween.

​Recipe adapted from the Family Circle 'Cocktails and Party Drinks' Cookbook

Makes 1 large drink

Crushed Ice
30ml Malibu
30ml Midori
15ml blue curacao
90ml pineapple juice
dash lemon juice
Champagne
Dash grenadine
​

Fill a large goblet with ice. 

Pour over the Malibu, Midori, blue curaca and pineapple and lemon juices.

Top with champagne and a dash of grenadine.

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The food I have tried has been delicious and my family have loved our visit to San Marino.

A very important part of any trip around the world for me is discovering new foods and people, and getting a glimpse of local traditions. My family discuss the country, what they eat, how they eat. Who their neighbours are, where is the country, what continent. It's a great way to discover the world, even though we don't really go there.

As San Marino is situated in Italy, surrounded by the regions Emilia Romagna and Marche, the food is very similar to Italian food of those regions. 
​
This is what I made:
Erbazzone
​Piadina or Piada
Stracciatella
Bolognese Ragu
Nidi di Rondine
Passatelli
Fagioli con le cotiche-Bean and Pork Rind Soup
Pasta e ceci-A Chickpea and Noodle Soup
Pasta and Bean Soup
Apple and Fig Polenta Torta-Bustrengo
Ciambella
Torta tre Monti
Zuppa di Ciliegie

If the recipe is not below, just click on the name of the recipe that you want and it will take you to the recipe page.

Erbazzone Reggiano:  This is delicious, a silverbeet pie filling surrounded by a beautifully light, thin pastry. I add cheese to it, not traditional, but I love it. This I love to make when I have silverbeet growing in my garden.

Piadina or Piada: Oh how excited I am to bring you this recipe, this is the reason I love this eating around the world adventure. This bread is so easy to make and is the softest most delicious flat bread I have ever made. My family have gone nuts about this bread, it is their favourite, and I have made it so many times recently because it really is that good. The bread once cooked is steaming hot and soft and fluffy and absolutely fabulous. The fillings can be anything you love to eat.

Stracciatella: This one we do in Croatia also. This is also know as an Egg Drop Soup, as the 'noodles' in the soup is just beaten eggs (and cheese). We loved this. It is great when you don't have noodles in the house, easy substitution.

​Here is how I made it:

1 litre chicken soup
4 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups baby spinach

Bring chicken stock to a simmer in a medium-size saucepan.

Whisk together the eggs, Parmesan, parsley, and salt. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the stock while stirring. Continue to stir until the eggs are set, about 1 minute. Add baby spinach and stir to wilt. Serve immediately.

Bolognese Ragu: I am yet to find a bolognese that is quick to cook that has a great flavour to me. The slow cooking process of a bolognese is absolutely needed if you want it to be great. This one is lovely, my family loved it, would definitely make it again.
​
Here is how I made it:

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoon olive oil
100g butter
2 medium onions, finely diced
2 large carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
200g pancetta, diced
500g beef mince
500g pork mince
400ml red wine
4 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme

TO SERVE
500g tagliatelle
parmesan cheese, grated

Heat olive oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and pancetta. Cook for around 10 minutes until the onions start to look translucent.

Add the minced meats and brown all over, ensure the meat is fully broken up and no large chunks remain.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Increase the heat, add the wine, and allow to evaporate for around 2-3 minutes.

In a large jug, dilute the tomato puree into the chicken stock and add to the pan, stir well. Add the rosemary, oregano and thyme.

Reduce to a low heat, then cover and simmer for 2 hours. Check from time to time to ensure the sauce is not drying out. If this occurs, add a small amount of stock.

Cook desired pasta and toss in the bolognese. Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

Nidi di Rondine:  which translates to Swallows Nests, is a traditional dish in San Marino. It is home made pasta filled with ham, cheese and mushrooms and cooked with a Bechamel Sauce. The flavours were lovely, my pasta needed to be a little thinner though. This was a labour intensive recipe, but one we really enjoyed.

Recipe with a video can be found here: ricette.giallozafferano.it/Nidi-di-rondine.html the video is in Italian, but it's great to watch it. 

Here is the recipe:

Makes 20 nests

​For the pasta:
200g 00 flour
2 eggs, at room temperature

For the Bechamel:
550g full cream milk
40g 00 flour
50g butter
pinch of salt, to taste
pinch of grated nutmeg, to taste

For the filling:
150g button mushrooms
140g sliced ham
140g emmentaler cheese
50g grated parmesan cheese

Make the pasta: In a bowl or on your bench, add the flour, keep some of the flour aside as you may not need it all. Add the eggs. Start by mixing with a fork, then continue with your hands, when a dough is starting to form, continue to knead well until the dough is smooth and homogeneous, add the flour you set aside as needed. Wrap the ball in cling film and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, make the bechamel: In a saucepan, heat 500g of milk and grate in the nutmeg. In another saucepan, melt the butter and when it is melted add the flour and mix with a whisk, cooking for a couple of minutes, you will get the thickening base called roux. Add in the hot milk and whisk until the sauce has reached a boil and has thickened. Transfer everything to a clean bowl and cover with cling film, the cling film needs to touch the surface of the bechamel, and let it cool to room temperature. 

Prepare your filling: start by cleaning mushrooms. First remove the stem, then with a brush scrape all the soil present, and finally slice ​​thinly. 

Back the dough: roll it out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured bench, you will have to obtain a rectangle of 50cm x 30cm with a thickness of about 1-2mm, trim edges, if needed. Transfer the dough to a sheet of baking paper.

On the pasta sheet, distribute 2-3 generous spoonfuls of béchamel spreading it carefully over the entire surface and leaving a couple of centimetres from the edges. Then start filling, arrange the slices of ham, mushrooms and sprinkle with grated Parmesan (keeping a little aside) together with a pinch of salt. Finally, lay the sliced ​​Emmentaler. Wet the edges with a little water, so as to make them sticky and finally roll the dough with the help of baking paper.

Wrap the roll in the paper and place it on a tray, placing everything in the freezer for about 20 minutes. This procedure is essential to keep the shape perfectly when cut. 

Meanwhile, pour a few more spoonfuls of béchamel into a 30cm x 20cm oven proof dish and carefully distribute over the entire surface.
​
Now dilute the remaining béchamel with the remaining 50g of milk, so as to make it much softer and keep it aside: it will be used to later. Once the dough is form, take the roll back and slice it obtaining 20 scrolls, each about 2cm thick. Then arrange the scrolls in the dish, by laying them one on top of the other, slightly overlapping and tilted.

Sprinkle the surface with the diluted béchamel, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/160°C for about 40 minutes. Your swallow's nests are ready to be served and enjoyed.

Passatelli: This was an interesting one, making pasta from fine breadcrumbs. I had never known this was even possible, but it is. This is why I love this eating around the world adventure. How many times I've made soup, but I've forgotten to buy soup noodles. This was a great substitute. I loved it.

In the picture you can see noodles, I added them as I had more soup than suggested in the recipe.

Here is how I made it:

100g parmesan cheese, grated
100g dried breadcrumbs
3 eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 litres chicken or beef soup

Place the bread crumbs, parmesan and the lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and carefully mix together with your hands until it forms a soft dough-like consistency. The mixture should be like a wet dough, barely holding together.
If it seems too stiff, add 1 tablespoon water or stock. If it’s too soft, add more breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
Allow the dough to rest for approximately 20 minutes in a cool place.

Once ready, put the dough in a ricer. Press to create short noodles (like little worms).
Bring the soup to a boil and add the pasta. Once the passatelli have risen to the surface, they are ready to eat.
Serve immediately.

​Fagioli con le cotiche-Bean and Pork Rind Soup: This soup makes me laugh. When I served it it was nice, a bit light in flavour, but nice, I quite liked it, simple, but tasty. I told my kids it was simple 'peasant' food, what poorer people would eat, a little meat with beans as the filler. My youngest looks up at me and says, 'but we are not poor, add more meat next time', obviously he felt it lacked flavour. I won't make this recipe again, but I like the idea of the recipe. The link to the recipe is here, it is in Italian, just use translate to English option.

Pasta e Ceci: I love this, it is a cross between a soup and a pasta. The first bowl you have is a thick delicious hearty soup, when you go back for more it has thickened into a delicious pasta. This is a simple dish, but it is delicious.

Pasta and Bean Soup: This is a cross between a soup and a pasta, just like the pasta e ceci. This is hearty, comforting and delicious. 

​Here is how I made it:

(500g) dried borlotti beans
1 potato, peeled
2 bay leaves
75-100g pancetta or speck
2 cloves garlic, peeled
salt flakes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 celery stick, diced
1-2 sprigs rosemary
1 small piece parmigiano or pecorino rind
2 x 400g tins crushed tomatoes
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
chilli oil or freshly ground black pepper
200g broken up dried egg pappardelle

freshly grated parmesan, to serve

Soak the dried borlotti beans in water overnight, changing the water once or twice. Drain.
Place the beans, potato, bay leaves, pancetta and 1 clove garlic in a large saucepan of water, bring to a simmer and cook for 1–1½ hours or until the beans are tender and cooked through. Season with salt.
Transfer the potato, garlic, one-third of the beans and a few tablespoons of the stewing liquid to a food processor and blend until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to the pan.
​Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the celery and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and remaining garlic clove and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the cheese rind and crushed tomatoes and simmer over low–medium heat for 20 minutes or until reduced slightly. Season with salt.
Add the tomato sauce to the bean mixture, then add the stock and more salt if needed. Bring to the boil. Drop the pasta straight into the soup and boil until cooked. The starch in the pasta will make the soup deliciously thick.
Serve piping hot, finished with a drizzle of chilli oil or a grinding of pepper, and a handful of grated parmesan.

Note: taste the pancetta, if you like it after it's cooked, dice it up and add it back into the sauce with the tomato sauce.

​Apple and Fig Polenta Torta-Bustrengo: Let me start with saying, I really don't love dried fruit cakes, so making this was more about my husband than me, as he loves dried fruit. Having said that, I actually didn't mind the flavour of this cake. Would I make it again soon, not really, but will I make it again one day, yes, as it was quite pleasant and my husband did enjoy it. The original recipe can be found here.

​Here is how I made it:

Serves 12

150g yellow polenta
150g plain flour
150g dried breadcrumbs
100g caster sugar
15g salt
7g ground cinnamon
3 large eggs beaten
60ml olive oil
60ml honey
500ml whole milk
225g dried figs woody stems removed and chopped,reserve a few for topping
115g raisins, reserve a few for topping
2 large apples peeled, cored, and diced
zest of 2 oranges
zest of 2 lemons

Grease and dust with flour a 25cm springform pan and set aside. Chop apples and figs and set them aside.

Preheat the oven to 175C/155C fan forced.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients (polenta, flour, breadcrumbs, sugar, salt, and cinnamon).

In a separate bowl, mix the milk, eggs, oil, and honey. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir to form a smooth batter. The batter is quite prone to create lumps, so keep stirring with a whisk until you have a smooth mixture.

Finally, stir in the sliced figs, raisins (reserving a small amount of figs and raisins for topping), chopped apples, orange and lemon zests. Combine well. Pour into prepared pan, and then top with fig reserved slices, being careful not to push them into the batter. Sprinkle with reserved raisins.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until browned and set. Let cool for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and loosen. Remove cake to a serving platter and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar right before serving.​

Ciambella: This is a simple, yet delicious lemon cake. I love making it and just having it in the house. I served this to my dad, and although he is from Croatia, his island was under Italian rule in the past and this cake made it's way there, he actually said it reminded him of his childhood. I love how food can do that.

Torta Tre Monti: a layered wafer cake, with the edge covered with chocolate. Okay so this one was very difficult to get hold of a recipe for, but it is traditional to San Marino and I really wanted to make it. After much reading, it sounded very similar to a slice my mum makes, just without the chocolate and using hazelnuts instead of walnuts. So I made it and although we loved it. I would prefer to serve it like my mum does, as a slice, with maybe, just a little chocolate on the edge.

Here is how I made it:

3 x 395g tins sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 teaspoons Croatian Rum
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
600g ground hazelnuts 
200g dark chocolate, melted Old Gold brand
5 large rectangle wafers (round wafers if making it traditional to San Marino)
plus extra melted chocolate for the sides

In a bowl add the sweetened condensed milk, rum, vanilla, hazelnuts and melted chocolate, mix to combine well.

Now working quickly, evenly distribute this mix onto 4 of the wafers. Spread it out quickly and evenly, place one of the chocolate coated wafers onto a board, and place the other chocolate coated wafers one on top of the other, finishing with the 5th wafer that does not have any chocolate mix on it. Press down. Place another board on top and add some weights onto it, like tins of tomatoes. This will help the layers all stick together. Refrigerate for 3-4 days. Now in San Marino you would cover the rim of the cake with the extra melted dark chocolate, but I prefer to slice it up into 'biscuits'. You could still dip one edge if you like in the melted dark chocolate.

Zuppa di Ciliegie: cherries stewed in sweetened red wine, a cherry compote, delicious served over vanilla ice cream.

Here is the recipe:

Serves 4

800g fresh cherries, pitted
100g caster sugar
60g unsalted butter
375ml red wine
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon cherry liqueur, I used a Croatian one
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, to taste

Melt the butter in a large frying pan, over low-medium heat, add the cherries and sugar. Stir for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized saucepan, over a low heat, add the wine and cinnamon.

Put the cherries and any sauce from the pan into the saucepan with the wine. Simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove the cherries from the liquid, and place in a serving dish. In a small bowl whisk together the cornflour and cherry liqueur, add it to the cherry sauce, whisk for 3 minutes or until your sauce has thickened. Pour over your cherries.

​Serve warm or at room temperature over vanilla ice cream. 

​​Now to add another sticker to my world map.

Next Stop: Poland

​This is delicious, a silverbeet filling surrounded by a beautifully light, thin pastry.

I love making pastry, I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I'm happy to try. This pastry has been so easy to make every single time I have made this. 

As we grow silverbeet in our garden, I always try and find new ways to cook it. This filling is delicious.

The addition of ricotta cheese is my doing as I like it, and I add it when I have it at home, as it lightens the intensity of it just being a silverbeet flavour. Sometimes I add crumbled feta also.

Now the original recipe says to start the recipe a day ahead, I never do and it turns out perfect. But if you want to make the dough the day before, you can. 

Here is something I love to make on the weekend, hope you give it a try.

​Recipe adapted from www.gourmettraveller.com.au/

Serves 6-8

250g silverbeet leaves (from about 2 bunches silverbeet)
150g finely grated parmesan
1½ tablespoons finely chopped oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 golden shallots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g ricotta cheese, optional

For brushing: eggwash
To serve: lemon wedges

Olive oil pastry
​400g (2⅔ cups) plain flour
60g butter, coarsely chopped
60ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil 
​
​For olive oil pastry, process flour and a large pinch of salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and process to combine. Add oil and 110ml cold water (or enough to just bring dough together), process until dough just comes together, turn onto a work surface and knead until smooth. Halve dough, wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight to rest.

​Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced. Blanch silverbeet until tender (3-5 minutes). Drain, refresh, then squeeze out as much water as possible in a sieve. Wrap silverbeet in a tea towel and squeeze out all remaining water, then finely chop, transfer to a bowl, add parmesan and oregano and refrigerate until required.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small frying pan over high heat, add shallot and garlic and stir occasionally until tender (5-10 minutes). Add to silverbeet mixture, stir to combine, season to taste and set aside to cool. Stir through the ricotta, if using.

​Working quickly with one half of pastry (and keeping remainder refrigerated), roll to a 33cm round. Place on an oiled 30cm pizza tray, letting sides overhang. Spread silverbeet mixture over pastry and set aside. Roll remaining pastry to a 33cm round, brush edges of base pastry with eggwash, then place rolled pastry on top and curl up sides, pinching edges to seal. Score the top to allow steam to escape. 

​Brush top with eggwash, then bake until golden and cooked through (20-30 minutes).

​​Slice and serve with lemon wedges.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to ​www.whatscookingella.com/erbazzone-reggiano.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060714204869/

​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella