​What to do with the left over oats from baking ANZAC day biscuits, that is the dilemma I have every year. I don't eat porridge, I generally don't bake with it, well I do add it to my crumble toppings. But I need something more. Well now I have a brand new favourite sweet treat, that takes only a few minutes to make. You don't bake anything, you just melt and mix it.

These are delicious. They are chewy and chocolatey.

After my daughter finished the last of the slice yesterday, she came up to me and told me we have a huge problem in the house, I asked what was wrong, and she replied we have no more of the chocolate slice in the refrigerator. This was not good, imagine life without this, you will understand once you've tried it. But as the great mum that I am, I whipped up a batch the very next day. Crisis over, there was calm in the house again.

This is so easy to make, only has a few ingredients and tastes so good. You need to try this, especially now that you have oats in the house.

​Recipe adapted from kristinakuzmic.com/

Makes about 20 slices

170g unsalted butter
½ cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
​
Grease an 20cm square baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter. Add sugar and mix until the sugar is well incorporated. Add vanilla, oats, and milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Press half of the mixture in the prepared pan.

In a small saucepan or in the microwave, melt together the chocolate chips and peanut butter, stirring frequently until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture on top of the oat layer and spread with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture on top, lightly pressing into the chocolate.
​
Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Cut into bars or small slices.

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/chocolate-oatmeal-slice.html 
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​​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

​Our Eating Around the World Adventure has taken us to Greenland. Now I know very little about food from Greenland, I have done some research, though finding recipes can be challenging, but I have found a few traditional recipes that I want to try, and this is one of them.

This is a recipe where at first I wasn't sure it was from Greenland, it had more of a French vibe for me with the roasted vegetables and pan fried fish with a butter sauce.  The original author states it came from the official tourism site of Greenland (I could not find it there), but I trust it is from Greenland, why would they say it was, if it wasn't, and either way the flavour combination was something I wanted to try.

This was delicious, I truly loved this, my family loved this.

The fish was perfectly cooked, now in Greenland they would use halibut, but as I could not find that, I went with ling fillets. Ling fillets are very forgiving in that you can rarely overcook them, they don't go dry like other fish. They are mild in flavour so perfect for people that don't want fish to taste too fishy. By adding flour, which wasn't in the original recipe, you get a crisp coating to the fish when fried. It is hard to tell you how long to fry it for, as it depends on the thickness of the fillet, but with ling I use the fork test, get two forks, try and seperate the thickest part of the fish, it should give way or flake easily, if it is holding on for dear life and won't flake, keep cooking it.

The vegetables are amazing, just make sure you cook them through, tough eggplant is unpleasant, it needs to be soft. Now seasoning is the most important thing here, season a little before baking, them taste before serving and season again, if needed. Once it came out of the oven I added extra virgin olive oil, to taste, I thought it needed it.

And the sauce, on it's own, although tasty, it is a little acidic from the lemon and wine, I did add a pinch of sugar, not to make a sweet sauce, but to balance it out a little. Once you add the sauce on the fish and it drizzles onto the vegetables, it all balances out and it is delicious. With my family, I suggested to try a little sauce, just in case they didn't like it, but after one bite, they all went back and added more.

So to recap, the changes I made to the original recipe: I added extra virgin olive oil to the vegetables, the Croatian in me needed to add it, it made it taste better. I also dusted the fish with flour before frying, as it gives the fish a lovely coating. I did not add the salami to the vegetables, I didn't think it needed it, but I did add some red onion, and I substituted silverbeet instead of spinach. I doubled the sauce recipe, which was a good idea as I cooked more fish than stated, as there is more than 4 people I need to feed. The vegetables feed around 6 people, there was plenty to go with the extra fish. And I also added the tomatoes to the vegetables in the oven for 5 minutes to heat up, rather then just add them in cold. So with my changes it may not be purely Greenlandic, but the changes are minor and the outcome was a delicious dinner.

So after I made this my family said they would love this to be cooked at least once a month, now that won't happen as I keep trying new things, but it will definitely be something I will be cooking for years to come.

​Recipe adapted from ourfamilyfoodadventures.com/

Serves 4
​
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
1 yellow capsicum, roughly chopped
1 small eggplant, chopped
1 cup baby spinach or silverbeet, chop up the silverbeet if using
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup salami, chopped, I did not add this 
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
4 white fish fillets, I used ling fillets
1/3 cup plain flour
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil

​For the sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, diced
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons white wine
​pinch of caster sugar, if needed
1/4 cup thickened cream
Salt and pepper to taste


​Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan forced.

Place the zucchini, red and yellow capsicum, eggplant and silverbeet or spinach in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to give it a good mix.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper, and place the vegetables in one layer on the tray.

 Roast the vegetables in the oven for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by adding the butter to a heated frying pan. Next toss in the shallot, seasoning with salt, and cook over medium heat until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Next add the juice from 1/2 a lemon and the white wine. Simmer for five minutes. Finally, toss in the cream and heat for a final few minutes before seasoning with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes to the roasted vegetables, 5 minutes before they are done cooking, just to heat up. After the vegetables have roasted, add the salami, if using, drizzle on extra virgin olive oil, to taste, and set aside, keeping warm. 

Finally, season the fish with salt and pepper, dust with the flour, just to coat. Next heat a frying pan over high heat, melt enough butter and oil to lightly coat the frying pan, and add the fish presentation side down, cooking for about one to two minutes, depends on the thickness of your fillet, or until golden brown. Flip the fish and cook on the other side for another one to two minutes. Cook until the fish flakes easily and both sides the flour browns nicely and becomes crisp on the edges.

To serve spoon out roasted vegetables onto your plate, top with the fish then drizzle the sauce over the top. Garnish with fresh lemon slices. I also served a green salad on the side.

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/pan-fried-white-fish-with-roasted-vegetables.html 
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​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

Sometimes I find this part of recipe blogging the hardest, sometimes I don't have much to say. But with this recipe, because it is a family recipe, the words come out easily.

This recipe comes from my grandmother, Baba Ika. She would make them for my cousins when they visited her on holidays in Croatia. My grandparents lived in a village called Vrsi in Zadar. Now I never got to experience a holiday with my grandparents, but I go there now with my family, and I feel like I am home. I stay in my grandparents house, I walk the streets my mother walked as a child, visit the places she visited, and the feeling I get while there, is special. You walk to the local shops and the old men and women from the village sit around talking, you say good morning, and they now who you are, because they knew your grandparents and your mother. You're part of a family there. You go down to the cemetary to place flowers or a candle on your grandparents grave and you see names of your family relatives. There is no place like it for me. It is home, even though I wasn't born there or live there. ​

​​Back to the recipe, there is something special about making something your grandmother used to make. Now I never got to try my grandmothers, but one of my aunties who was taught how to make them by my grandmother, kindly shared the recipe with me, on how to make them. Now as per normal no one measures anything in Croatia when cooking, it is all done by feel, so my aunts recipe was "from 1kg flour, add enough water and milk, about 500ml, 2 packets of dried yeast and a little oil,  you need the consistency of a soft bread dough, then let it rest, then shape and fry".

With this recipe and my own no knead bread recipe as a guide, the next morning I attempted to make peci paje. Now as I was trying it for the first time, I figured i'd start with 500g flour, then I scattered over the dried yeast. I added 1/2 cup warm milk and 1/2 cup warm water and about a tablespoon of canola oil. Gave it a mix with a spoon, it was too dry, so I added a teaspoon of salt, then looked at my own bread recipe, saw the liquid quantity of that recipe, then added and extra 100mls of warm water. Gave it a stir, it felt right. I started to knead it for a few minutes in the bowl, it was sticky, but not too wet. I let it rest, covered, for an hour, then fried a few testers, they were perfect. I shaped some as squares, some sausage shaped. I could roll the dough, it was sticky, but you could work with it. Then as my kids were sleeping I let it rest for a further hour and fried them all. They puffed up beautifully. My grandmother served them sprinkled with sugar, so I did to, they were delicious. One of my kids liked them without sugar, to eat it like bread. It has a bread/doughnut vibe to it. 

So here I share a family recipe to you that I got passed down to me, by sharing this recipe, I am making sure this recipe continues to be cooked for generations to come.

​Makes about 16 peci paje

500g plain flour
175ml warm water
175ml warm milk
1 x 7g packet dried yeast
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
​Caster Sugar, for sprinkling
​

In a bowl mix the flour, water, milk, oil and yeast together with a wooden spoon until combined.

Add salt and mix again. Now knead for a few minutes, until the dough ingredients are well combined.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it prove for 1-2 hours.

When it's ready , I pinch off about a golf ball size piece of dough, then you can either roll them on your bench into a sausage shape, or just use your hands to shape them into circles or squares, they just need to no more than 1/2-1cm thick before frying.

Heat your oil over a medium heat, you will need about 1cm of oil in a frying and fry until golden brown on one side, then flip over and fry until golden brown. Place on a paper towel to remove excess oil, sprinkle with caster sugar while hot as it sticks better. If your oil is too hot, it will burn on the outside before the centre is cooked, so keep the temperature on medium.

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/peci-paje.html 
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​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

The 12th country in our Eating Around the World Adventure is Italy.

Now Part One was all about the Italian food I had already been cooking. This post, Part Two, here I am introducing all the new Italian food we have tried during our food adventure into Italy. 

Now I love buying cookbooks, but even I couldn't  believe just how many Italian cookbooks I own. So when I started flicking through the pages picking all the food I wanted to try, there was a lot of food. So Italy definitely needed more than a week, so it has gone into two to three months of Italian cooking.

Italian food is all about the quality of the ingredients rather than on elaborate preparation. It's simple food, done well. The food varies from region to region and each region has it's own special dishes.

I find Italian food crowd pleasing, I love seeing families crowded around the table sharing food, and Italian's have mastered this. 

Here is what I made, some things are Italian, some may be Italian style, but we love them all.

Asparagus Milanese
Figs with Prosciutto, Gorgonzola and Rocket
Panino Alla Margherita
Roasted Capsicums
​No Knead Bread
​Cannellini Beans with Rosemary
​Caprese Salad
Grilled Vegetables
Salad of Figs, Prosciutto, Leaves and Toasted Bread
​Pizza Scima
​Salami, Provolone and Mascarpone Schiacciata
​Polenta Chips
​Polenta Chips with Mushrooms
Crab Risotto
​Crab Arancini
​Pavese Soup
Chicken Soup with Mini Meatballs
​Fregola with Clams
Semolina Dumplings-Chnefflene-Spaetzle
Fregola with Mussels, Vongole and Prawns
Chicken Cacciatore
Graciella's Chicken
Chicken Bastardo
Roast Spatchcock
Grilled Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Lemon
​Mushroom Risotto
​Spicy Baked Macaroni
​Fresh Egg Pasta
Basil Pesto
Super Quick Fresh Pasta
Calabrian Lasagna
Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil and Chilli
Penne with Chilli Sauce
Mum's Spaghetti with Anchovies
​Potato Gnocchi
​Beef Cheek Ragu
​Lasagne with Crepes
​Simple Neapolitan Sauce
​Stracotto
Corteccia or Cavatelli
Penne with Pork Ragu
Semolina Gnocchi Alla Romana
Spaghetti Alla Carbonara
Venetian Mac n Cheese
​Vegetable Lasagna
Spaghetti with Crab
Tagliatelle and Duck Ragu
​Penne with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Orecchiette with Broccoli and Anchovies
​Italian Sausage Pasta Bake
​Spaghetti Alla Carbonara
Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta
Lamb Pie with Potato Crust
Polenta
Porcini and Potato Bake
​Homemade Breadcrumbs
Tuscan Fries
Foccacia with Tomatoes
Apple Fritole
​Ciambella-Lemon and Ricotta Ring Cake
Ciambella
Cannoli
Italian Breakfast Banana Bread
Nutella Filled Puff Pastry with Cinnamon
Nutella Ice Cream
Lemon Sorbet
Affogato
​Orangecello Cocktail
​Aperol Spritz
Orangecello
​Spritzer Slushy
Scroppino with Strawberry Puree
​

Asparagus Milanese: Asparagus and eggs, this is truly a delicious combination. I have tried many different recipes and this one is my favourite. It's simple but it's delicious.

Figs with Prosciutto, Gorgonzola and Rocket: There is something about this flavour combination that I absolutely find irresistible. When I see fresh figs in the stores or even better when I get gifted fresh figs from family, from their trees, I have to make this. I love the addition of gorgonzola, but if you don't, you can leave it out or substitute with goats cheese or another soft cheese, that melts. This is one of my favourite things to eat for lunch.

Here is how I made it: 

Serves 2-4

4 fresh figs
50g gorgonzola (dolce)
4 slices prosciutto
4 cups rocket
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
cracked pepper

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan forced.
Make a small cut at the top of the fig and push in a little piece of gorgonzola. Wrap each fig in a slice of prosciutto.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. The cheese will melt and the prosciutto will be crisp.
Serve immediately on rocket leaves dressed in olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and salt, finish with a little finely cracked pepper.
Enjoy!
​

Panino Alla Margherita: I love a toasted sandwich, I think the sandwich press is my kids favourite kitchen appliance, it's used all of the time. This toastie is simple and quick to make and tastes really good. If you don't have a sandwich press just use a frying pan or a griddle pan.

Here is how I made it:

Serves 1

1 slice fresh mozzarella cheese, about 1.5cm thick
2 slices rustic white bread
salt and pepper, to taste
6 medium sized fresh basil leaves
2 slices tomato
About 2 teaspoons olive oil

Place the mozzarella cheese atop 1 slice of bread, season with a little salt and pepper. Top with basil leaves, then the tomato slices. Season a little with salt and pepper, and top with the second slice of bread. Brush both sides of the sandwich with the oil.
Preheat a griddle pan or sandwich press. Grill the sandwich until the bread is golden brown and the cheese melts, pressing down with a metal spatula (if using a griddle pan), about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the sandwich to a plate and serve.
Enjoy!
​

Roasted Capsicums: Roasted capsicums are amazing, they are so full of flavour and need to be served with any antipasto platter.
This to me is not only food for entertaining, I am quite happy to top a slice of bruschetta bread and eat them as a snack or as a light lunch.

No Knead Bread: This is the easiest bread recipe you will ever find. It produces, with little effort, a rustic looking bread that looks and tastes great. The only thing this bread needs is time. Time to prove, 10-14 hours, this time is what allows the bread to develop the air bubbles, to produce a delicious loaf with a light crumb full of airy holes.

Cannellini Beans with Rosemary: When I first made this I had it as a side to a barbecued t-bone steak for dinner, it was delicious, pictured below left. Pictured below right, I turned leftovers into a lunch the next day by adding some tinned tuna to it and making a bruschetta out of it, also delicious. This is one of the easiest things you will ever make, and if love beans, you will enjoy this. You could choose any beans you love instead of cannellini beans.

Here is how I made it:

Serves 2-4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
Zest & juice of 1 lemon
1 small clove garlic, peeled, finely chopped 
2 x 400g cannellini beans drained and rinsed
​Salt and pepper to taste
Approx 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, optional

In a non-stick frying pan placed over a medium to low heat, warm the oil, then add the rosemary and lemon zest and let them sizzle, as you stir, for about 30 seconds.

Add in the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds, making sure that the garlic doesn’t colour.

Put in the beans with some rinsing water still clinging to them, stirring gently but thoroughly enough to coat the beans in the fragrant oil.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are hot, this shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. Taste for seasoning.

Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Enjoy!
​

Caprese Salad: This is one of the easiest salads you will ever make. Pictured, I have used cherry tomatoes and baby boconccini, but you could also slice large fresh ripe tomatoes and use buffalo mozzarella that you tear or slice large bocconcini. The tomatoes need to be ripe and the cheese creamy and soft. I like to serve it as antipasto, as a side to a deli platter. I love it seasoned only with salt and pepper and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Sometimes I add a splash of balsamic vinegar. And tear the basil, don't shred it.

Here is how I make it:

If making it with cherry tomatoes:
1-2 punnets cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tub (220g) baby boconccini, drained, left whole or halved
Fresh basil leaves, torn, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling, to taste
Balsamic vinegar, to taste, optional

Scatter the cherry tomatoes and baby boconccini in a serving bowl, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and vinegar (if using). Top with basil leaves.

If making it with larger tomatoes:
3 large (450g) Roma tomatoes, sliced
5 (280g) boconccini, sliced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh basil leaves, torn, to taste
Balsamic vinegar, to taste, optional

Overlap the tomatoes and boconccini on a serving platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and vinegar (if using). Top with basil leaves.
Enjoy!
​

Grilled Vegetables: This is one of my absolute favourite things to eat. My husband is in charge of the cooking of this dish. I just dress it after it is done. 
This always looks amazing at the dinner table and tastes as good as it looks.
You can use some or all of the vegetables, this recipe is really more of a guide than a real recipe.

Fig, Prosciutto and Rocket Salad: This will be one of the last things I ever eat while I am alive. I absolutely love this flavour combination. Sometimes I make it with just rocket, sometimes, mixed salad leaves, including rocket. 

Pizza Scima: Pizza scima basically is an unleavened bread. It literally means “silly pizza”, as it lacks yeast, but there is nothing silly about it.

The end result is a flaky, pastry like bread. It is best eaten on the day it is made and is perfect with an antipasto platter, with salami, cheese and olives. I honestly also can just eat it on it's own.

Salami, Provolone and Mascarpone Schiacciata: Schiacciata is a cross between foccacia and pizza. It's a free form thin bread. One of the advantages of making a free-form bread is you can use whatever baking tray you have handy. For this one, the ideal thickness of the base before proving is about 1cm. Apart from that, the size and shape are up to you. The dough is easy to make, the topping delicious.

Polenta Chips: These are delicious. I'm going to say they are better than potato chips. This is a great way to serve leftover polenta. They are great as a snack, as an appetiser with drinks at a party or a simple dinner idea. You really need to try these.

Polenta Chips with Mushrooms: ​These are delicious. Now I love plain polenta chips, but when I saw this version with mushrooms in it, I had to try it, and I am so glad I did, they are delicious. They are great as a snack, as an appetiser with drinks at a party or a simple dinner idea. You really need to try these.

Crab Risotto: The first time I made this I made it to make the arancini balls below, but my husband complained that he would have liked to have eaten the risotto as is. So the next time I made the risotto, I made it to eat as a risotto. My family loved this, there was nothing left. It's quite easy to make, the flavours are lovely, you taste the crab and lemon, it's creamy, it was lovely.

Here is how I made it: 

For the risotto:
​2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped 
1 small red chilli, finely sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste 
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice 
1 1/2 cups white wine 
3-4 cups chicken stock 
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons mascarpone, at room temperature 
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
2 cups (packed) lump crabmeat, picked through for shells 
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 

Heat a cast iron pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add the shallots, garlic and chilli; cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables are soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the salt and the rice; stir to coat with the flavors of the pan. Cook for 1 minute, then deglaze with the white wine. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, until the wine is almost fully absorbed. Add the stock one cup at a time and stir to combine; cook, stirring often, adding more stock as the rice absorbs the previous stock, until the rice is tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes (you can add more water or stock if needed, if rice isn't perfectly cooked after all the stock is used). Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone, lemon zest, crab and chives. Taste for seasoning.

Now if eating as a risotto, that's it, serve immediately with a green salad.
Enjoy!​
​
If making Arancini, the recipe continues below.
​

Arancini: Now I always make arancini with any leftover risotto that I have. But with the recipe for crab risotto above there is never any leftover, so if I want to make these crab arancini, I have to make the risotto just for the arancini. You make the arancini in the morning, allow to cool, then, in the evening, you make the arancini. These are really tasty, they are crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside.

Here is how I made it: 

For the Arancici:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
1-2 cups panko breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying

Simple Tomato Sauce: 
1 x 400g cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Continued from recipe above:

Spread the crab risotto out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold, about 2 hours.

Simple Tomato Sauce: Place the oil and garlic in a medium saucepan and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and sugar. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the sauce is thick. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Blitz if you want a smooth sauce.

Prepare a breading station using three shallow bowls: Place the flour and salt in one bowl, the eggs in another, and the panko in yet another. Scoop out one tablespoon of risotto into the palm of your hand and form it into a ball. Roll the ball in the flour, then the egg, and then the panko; make sure the entire ball is well coated. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and repeat with the remaining risotto.​

Add enough oil to a medium saucepan to come 5cm up the side of the pan. Heat over medium-high until the oil reaches 175C on a deep-fry thermometer. Using a spider or slotted spoon, lower 5 or 6 rice balls into the oil, or as many as the pan will allow without crowding. Fry until deep golden brown and heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Continue with the rest of the rice balls. Serve warm, with a tomato pasta sauce alongside for dipping, if desired.
​Enjoy!​
​

Pavese Soup: Zuppa Pavese is a soup made with stock, bread, cheese and eggs. Legend has it that French king Francis I, fleeing from defeat in a nearby battle, found himself in a peasant farmhouse where the lady of the house improvised a meal for her royal guest from what she had on hand: bread fried in butter, topped with an egg and some grated cheese, over which she poured boiling broth. Whether the legend is true or false, it doesn’t matter, this soup made with simple ingredients is considered a delicacy.

Here is how I made it.

Serves 6:
Chicken Soup:
4 x chicken bones (carcasses)
4 x chicken feet (optional)
1 stick celery
2 large carrots, peeled
1 onion, skin removed
1 clove garlic, skin removed
1/2 red capsicum, seeded
1 tomato
6 parsley stalks
1/2 tablespoon vegeta
Salt
10 black peppercorns
Freshly chopped parsley, to serve

6 slices Ciabatta bread
100g grated gruyere cheese
100g freshly grated parmesan cheese
6 eggs, room temperature
black pepper, to taste

In a large stock pot add the chicken, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, capsicum, tomato and parsley stalks. Top up the pot with cold water. Bring to the boil. When it has nearly come to the boil, you will need to skim the surface and remove the foam from the top of the soup.
Once boiling, add the vegeta, season with a little salt and add the peppercorns. Cover the soup, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1.5-2 hours
When the soup is cooked, strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve into a smaller pot.
​
Put 6 wide soup bowls in a gentle oven to heat them up (so the soup will stay piping hot).
Bring your soup to the boil, taste for seasoning. Grill or toast your ciabatta slices.
Put each slice of bread into a hot bowl. Combine the cheeses and sprinkle them over the bread. Pour the hot soup into the bowls and carefully break an egg on top of each slice of bread.
Sprinkle some parsley and grind some pepper over the eggs. The heat of the soup should just cook the whites of the eggs, leaving the yolks deliciously runny.

Any soup not used, can be stored in the refrigerator or frozen for another day. 
Enjoy!​​
​

Chicken Soup with Mini Meatballs: We loved this soup, it was delicious. The meatballs, my kids were picking out to see who got more and my husband loved the soup to. A simple new family favourite soup.

Fregola with Clams: This dish is like a light, but clam rich, tomato spiced soup. This is so easy to make, it takes about 15 minutes to make, you have no excuse not to try it.

Semolina Dumplings-Chnefflene-Spaetzle: So here is a pasta that to me is like spaetzle, for me this is a quick and easy dinner idea, you can serve it simply with fried onion and bacon, or you can serve it with a stew, it is versatile, cheap and easy to make. 

Fregola with Mussels, Vongole and Prawns: Think pasta cooked risotto style. This dish can be made in about 20 minutes, including preparation time. It's so quick and easy to make. This is amazing, every bite absolutely delicious. When I make this, there are no leftovers.

Chicken Cacciatore: This is Italy's version of Coq au Vin, sometimes it's called Hunters Hotpot as this is something that was cooked by farmers or huntsmen using ingredients they had readily available on their farms. 
This was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I served it over soft polenta, which was so good. I have also served it over mashed potato, equally delicious. 

Graciella's Chicken: This is simple food done well. This dish is something my family loves. Ideally it should be cooked in a terracotta pot placed in a woodfire oven in a sandwich of glowing coals, but it is also excellent cooked slowly in a conventional oven at home.

Here is how I made it: 

2kg chicken marylands
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
5 bay leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
2 glasses dry white wine
1 glass extra virgin olive oil
 1kg potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 190C/170C fan forced.

Mix all the ingredients together in a terracotta pot, cover with a lid and leave to marinate for 1 hour.

Place in the oven and cook for at least 1 1/2 hours, or until everything is tender and succulent.
​​Enjoy!​
​

Chicken Bastardo: I just could not resist making this recipe, the name alone made me want to cook it. Simple, clean flavours, the chillies add warmth, rather than crazy spice. This was a nice dish my family really enjoyed.

Roast Spatchcock: I never roast a large chicken, I much prefer the smaller spatchcock's. This was a simple roast dinner, I served it with a green salad. I doubled the recipe for my family.

This is how I made it:

Serves 2

1 spatchcock (500-600g)
1-2 cloves garlic
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, stems discarded. leaves roughly chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
60g unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan forced. Rub the birds inside and out with some of the garlic and rosemary, and with salt and pepper. Leave some of the garlic and rosemary for making a sauce.
Heat the oil and 25g of the butter in a frying pan. When the foam from the butter subsides, brown the birds until they are nicely coloured on all sides.
Put the birds in an oven dish and bake for about 30-45 minutes, basting from time to time with the juices from the pan and with an extra 10g of melted butter.
Remove the birds from the oven and let them rest for a few minutes. Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan and add the leftover garlic and rosemary. Cook for a few minutes, being careful that the garlic doesn't brown. Pour the sauce over the birds and serve.
​Enjoy!​​
​

Grilled Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Lemon: I wasn't sure if I was going to include this one, but as I loved the lamb so much I had to. This is a dish where the marinade does not over power the lamb, the lamb remains the star. But with every bite you get a subtle background flavour of the lemon, garlic and rosemary. This is the way I will be cooking my lamb on the barbecue from now on.

Here is how I made it:

Serves 6-8

8 lamb forequarter chops
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place all the ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands to thorougly mix, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

Preheat a char-grill pan or barbecue to hot. Grill the lamb for a couple of minutes each side, then remove and allow to rest before serving, though quite often I just serve it straight away while hot off the barbecue.
Enjoy!

Mushroom Risotto: Now I love mushrooms, so a mushroom risotto was always going to happen. This was delicious, it was creamy and it definitely had enough mushroom flavour. As I quite enjoy having a meat free dinner at least once a week, this risotto was perfect for it.

Spicy Baked Macaroni: Okay so this more Italian style than Italian, but after I made, and enjoyed it, I thought it should be added in here. This is like an Italian mac and cheese, it has loads of flavour and was enjoyable to eat. You can make it the day before and reheat it when needed, if you like.

Here is how I made it:

Fresh Egg Pasta: This was easier than I thought, and very much worth the effort. Fresh pasta is absolutely delicious, far better than store bought.

Basil Pesto: I will never stop making pesto, I absolutely love it. It is so fresh tasting, it's just delicious, and except for cooking the pasta, it's not even cooking, it's just mixing, and even then, the food processor does it for you (you can use a mortar and pestle if you prefer). This is one of my favourite things to eat.

Super Quick Fresh Pasta using only flour and water: This is one of the easiest pasta recipes I have ever tried. It takes minutes to make, and produces tasty pasta. Just shape it how you like, thinner for fettuccine or thicker like tagliatelle, then serve it with your favourite sauce and dinner is done.

Calabrian Lasagna: The lasagne we know best is the version from Emilia-Romagna, with bechamel and bolognese, and that is a lasagne that I make often and I love.  The Calabrians make their lasagna (in the south of Italy lasagna ends with an ‘a’ not an ‘e’, for ages I couldn't figure out which was the right spelling, now I know both are) with layers of mozzarella instead of bechamel, and include layers of chopped boiled egg and ham or mortadella as well as mince. My family love this version and I have recently made it at a few parties and it was very popular.

Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil and Chilli: This dish is a classic, I love the Italian name Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino. It is known all over Italy. It can be eaten any time of the day, when you're hungry but you want something quick and easy to make. I add anchovies to the pasta as they add a delicious salty element to the dish, but if you don't like them, leave them out. Some say this is an aphrodisiac, just saying.

Here is how I made it:

Serves 4

​450g spaghetti
60ml olive oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 fresh hot red chilli, chopped
4 anchovy fillets in oil, roughly chopped 
​Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling, optional

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, follow packet instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the garlic, chilli and anchovies. Fry gently but don't allow the garlic to brown. The sauce doesn't take more than 5 minutes to make. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Lift the cooked pasta from the water, using tongs, and mix directly with the sauce. Taste for seasoning, Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top if you desire.
​​Enjoy!​
​

Penne with Chilli Sauce: or in Italian it is known as Penne all' arrabbiata. I love meals like this, meals that can be made in the time it takes to cook pasta. This is another simple dish, one I love, especially during the week when you are busy.

Here is how I made it:

Serves 4

​6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 small red chillies, finely chopped
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
375g penne pasta
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
75g freshly grated parmesan or percorino cheese

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, follow packet instructions.
Meanwhile, while the pasta water is coming to the boil, heat the oil in a large frying pan and briefly fry the garlic and chillies. Add the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste. 
Drain the pasta, once cooked, add the pasta to the sauce, sprinkle with parsley and mix together with the parmesan (or pecorino) cheese.
​Enjoy!​
​

Mum's Spaghetti with Anchovies: My mum's a great cook and this is one of her recipes she wrote down for me. This is a quick simple dinner idea my family loves. 

Here is how I made it:

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red capsicum, thinly sliced
5 anchovy fillet, roughly chopped
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup white wine
400g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 teaspoon vegeta
salt and pepper, to taste
Freshly chopped parsley, to taste
400g spaghetti
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, to taste

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, follow packet instructions.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan over medium heat add oil, onion, capsicum, anchovies and chilli. Saute, about 3-4 minutes until the onion and capsicum begin to soften. Add garlic, saute a further minute. 
Add wine, stir, add cherry tomatoes and vegeta, stir, simmer until the wine has nearly evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.
Lift the cooked pasta from the water, using tongs, and mix directly with the sauce. You can add a little pasta water into the sauce if it needs it, to loosen the sauce. Taste for seasoning, Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top if you desire.​
​Enjoy!​
​

Potato Gnocchi: My family love gnocchi, and these were perfect. They are easy to make, they are soft and fluffy and taste amazing. I have served them with a simple napolitana sauce and a rich beef cheek ragu and dinner was a huge success, my family loved them.

Beef Cheek Ragu: This is my kind of food, crowd pleasing, rustic meals, you can share with family and friends. This ragu was delicious. The meat was so soft and unbelievable to eat, the sauce rich and amazing. I served it chunky shredded with gnocchi, but a whole beef cheek on mashed potato or polenta would be amazing.

Lasagne with Crepes: My family love lasagne and they love crepes, so why not add them together. This was delicious. The crepes are far lighter than lasagne sheets. The bolognese was lovely (but in all honesty you could use your own bolognese recipe, just make sure it thickens properly as the crepes unlike pasta sheets don't need to be cooked, so you need it thick, not liquidy). The bechamel is well, bechamel, most of them taste the same.

Simple Neapolitan Sauce: Here is classic recipe that is loved by my family, hopefully it will also be loved by yours. I served it with both spaghetti and homemade gnocchi, both were lovely.

Stracotto: Here is a Tuscan family favourite, think bolognese, but better. You use chuck steak and then allow slow cooking to do it's thing. The meat shreds so easily and the sauce is absolutely delicious.
To serve, it’s traditional to enjoy the rich sauce with freshly cooked tagliatelle as a entree, serving the rest of the sauce with the meat as a main, teamed with steamed greens, oozy polenta, mash or whatever you fancy. I just served it with tagliatelle, not bothering with the slicing part, I just shredded the meat with two forks into large chunks. Then I added the sauce to the tagliatelle and let it sit for 5 minutes, so the sauce absorbs into the tagliatelle a little.

Corteccia or Cavatelli: Corteccia (meaning tree bark) is also known as cavatelli (little hollows).​ This is a pasta that my family love, very similar to pljukanci that I already make, just the shape changes. This is fun to make with the family.

Penne with Pork Ragu: Most of the time I make a ragu with beef. This pork version gives you a lighter sauce than when you make a beef ragu, the flavours are delicate and worth trying. The pork shoulder gets soft and tender and falls apart with little resistance. So if you are looking to try something new, something light, give this sauce a go.

Semolina Gnocchi Alla Romana: This was delicious, this is comfort food, it was far better than I thought it would be. I loved it as is, but I also served it with a tomato sauce for those that wanted to add the sauce. 

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara: Carbonara, one of my absolute favourite pasta sauces. This is something my family love to eat. It is quick to make and is something I make when I don't feel like cooking.

Venetian Mac and Cheese: This dish although did taste lovely, there was far too much liquid in it, it probably just needed a bit more flour and a bit more pasta, to thicken the cream. I have left the picture here with no recipe, for now, as I want a reminder to try this again, with the modifications I think the recipe needs.

Vegetable Lasagna: This is more Italian style than traditional Italian, but I thought I'd add it here, as it is delicious and also because it is a great vegetarian alternative to the traditional meat lasagna.

Spaghetti with Crab: Here is another quick and easy spaghetti dish my family love. My family love tomato based pastas, they also love crabs, now when the two come together, you get one special dinner.

Tagliatelle and Duck Ragu: My kids have had a great time on this adventure, they all love pasta and this one was delicious. The recipe uses duck legs, I have also used 2 duck marylands, as I do love a maryland. This is a great sunday afternoon dish, where you do a little work initially, but then as it simmers slowly for hours, you get to rest until it's done.

Here is how I made it: 

Serves 4-6
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ducks legs, trimmed of excess fat & skin (about 900g)
Salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 cup plain flour, for dredging
1 x 400g can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled & chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups beef stock
1 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large, heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat​. Season the duck legs with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour. Sear the duck legs until browned, about 4 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second.

Combine the tomatoes, onion, carrot, parsley and garlic in a food processor and blend until pureed. Carefully pour the mixture into the pot with the duck legs. Stir in the stock, wine, thyme and oregano, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stir, and simmer uncovered for another 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the duck legs from the pot and allow them to cool a bit. Shred the meat and return it to the sauce; discard the bones and skin. Season the ragu with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, following packet time instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid and add the pasta directly to the pot with the duck ragu. Mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce. Add as much of the pasta cooking liquid as needed to moisten the pasta and ragu mixture. Spoon into individual bowls and top with parmesan cheese.
​​Enjoy!​
​

Penne with Spicy Tomato Sauce: I love my fast and quick spaghetti puttanesca recipe that I already have on my site here, it is great on those nights when you need a quick and easy dinner. But here I have a different pasta sauce, one that is like a puttanesca, but with the addition of lots of vegetables and one that cooks long and slow. This another great meat free dinner idea where you won't miss the meat.

Orecchiette with Broccoli and Anchovies: A simple light dinner idea that I loved. If you love broccoli and pasta this is the dish for you.  

Italian Sausage Pasta Bake: So this is a version of my frankfurt bake that I already have on my blog. I had Italian sausages in my refrigerator so I thought I'd bake this. My kids love baked pasta dishes, so this was a hit when I made this.

Here is how I made it:

Serves 4-6

2-3 tablespoons oil
1 onion, sliced
3 bacon rashers, chopped
5-6 italian sausages, sliced
4 cups cooked tube pasta, or any pasta you love
3/4 cup grated tasty cheese
1 1/2 cups bottled tomato pasta sauce
1/2 cup grated tasty cheese, extra

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced.
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, bacon and sausage, saute for 3-4 minutes or until onion is soft. Stir in pasta and cheese.
Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish. Flatten slightly.
Spread sauce evenly over the top of the pasta mixture. Sprinkle with extra cheese.
Place a sheet of baking paper over the pasta (this stops the cheese from sticking to the foil), then cover with aluminium foil.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until heated through, uncover for a further 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is golden.
Enjoy!
​

Spaghetti Carbonara: This version was really, really cheesy, to the extent that it was too cheesy for me, very overpowering. But I wanted to show you that I try many, many recipes before I settle on one that I post here. So if you scroll up you will see  a carbonara recipe that I love, and the recipe is attached. But if you do love a lot of cheese, just add more to the recipe I posted above.

Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta: I found this pasta sauce when my husband came in from our garden with a lot of freshly picked cherry tomatoes. I loved that it was a quick and easy pasta dish to prepare. It looked fresh and perfect for dinner on a warm summers night. If you don't have cherry tomatoes, this can be made with large tomatoes, just cut them to up to the size of cherry tomatoes. We loved it, hope you do to.

Here is how I made it: 

Serves 4

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1kg cherry tomatoes (about 4 punnets)
¾ teaspoon crushed red chilli flakes
2 large sprigs basil, plus 1 cup basil leaves, torn if large
1½ teaspoons kosher salt, to taste
Pinch of sugar (optional)
340g campanelle or other tube pasta
30g finely grated Parmesan (about ⅓ cup), plus more for serving

Heat 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil in a large heavy pot over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium and add tomatoes, red chilli flakes, basil sprigs, and 1½ teaspoons of salt. Cook, stirring to coat, until tomatoes begin to burst, about 4 minutes. Smash some but not all of the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to help create a sauce, then continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until a chunky, thickened sauce comes together and about half the tomatoes are completely broken down and half remain in tact, 10–12 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding sugar if sauce seems tart. Remove and discard basil sprigs.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, add to pot with sauce, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until coated, 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 30g grated Parmesan.Divide pasta among bowls. Top with more Parmesan and scatter over the extra 1 cup basil leaves. Drizzle with oil.
Enjoy!
​

Lamb Pie with Potato Crust: I didn't love this recipe, so I won't give the recipe here. However, I loved the idea of it. So it was a lamb stew filling with a gnocchi like crust. The filling can be any meat pie filling you love, and I did love mine. However, the crust was good, but I feel can be improved. So this recipe will eventually get here, just let me work on it first.

Polenta: This is something I grew up on and absolutely love. It's a labour of love, I get my kids to help with the mixing, as it does take some time. I love it with so many dishes, especially stews. And I love to make extra so the next day I can make polenta chips with leftovers.

Porcini and Potato Bake: This was good, but it could be better, so I will hold off posting this recipe while I continue making this recipe better.

Homemade Breadcrumbs: Homemade breadcrumbs are easy to prepare and are a much better option than the store-bought version, which usually lack flavor and texture. After I have a party I always have leftover bread and this is what I do with it. I have never thrown out bread since I started making breadcrumbs.

Here is how I made it: 

Cut or tear bread into 2-3cm cubes.
Spread cubes on baking tray in a single layer.
Bake in a 175C/155C fan forced oven for 10 minutes.
Check and stir-if not sufficiently dry, continue baking and check every 5-10 minutes until most cubes are hard and crunchy, but avoid burning
Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor
Process bread cubes into breadcrumbs along with any seasonings, if desired

If you prefer to make them by hand, place dry bread in a sealed bag. Smash with a rolling pin to break into crumbs.
​Place in a resealable bag, and store in the refrigerator for up to one month or in the freezer for up to three months. If you have an airtight container, you can store them in your pantry, just make sure the bread was dried well in the oven.
​Enjoy!​
​

Tuscan Fries: We loved these fries. They were easy to make, and the addition of the herbs was amazing. Just make sure the you cook them on the hottest burner as the oil needs to heat quickly and stay hot, or you could end up with a bit of a potato mess.

Foccacia with tomatoes: When I first made this, my kids were hesitant to try it as they love my other foccacia. But after one bite, they loved it. I love making breads, I find it relaxing. The size of your baking pan will determine the thickness, mine was large, so I got a thin, crisp foccacia, a smaller pan obviously gives you a thicker foccacia. This is worth trying especially when tomatoes are in season.

Here is how I made it: 

Makes 1 large focaccia

1 tablespoon of dried yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon of honey
320g (2-2/3 cups) 00 or plain flour
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt
For the glaze : 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of water.
Mixed vine and cherry tomatoes

In a large bowl dissolve yeast with water, add flour, oil and honey. Knead for 5 minutes, then add the salt. Knead vigorously until it looks smooth and elastic (feel free to use an electric mixer with a dough hook). Shape into a ball and rest for 20 minutes in a bowl, covered with a tea towel.
Stretch it with your hand to form a rectangle and fold into 3 or 4. This step will give strength and texture to your dough and is essential in order to obtain a soft, airy and chewy focaccia.
Place the folded dough in an oiled oven tray, cover it with a tea-towel and let it prove for around 90 minutes or until it doubles in size.
Once the dough has risen, stretch it out to cover the tray and sprinkle the surface with sea salt.
Let it rest for another 30 minutes, then, using your fingertips, press the dough down onto the tray to create lots of little holes.
Drizzle the holes with the glaze and sprinkle with some more salt. Top with vine and cherry tomatoes, season with salt.
Let it rest for another 20 minutes then bake at 200C/180C fan forced for 20-25 minutes or until golden and irresistible.
Enjoy!
​

Apple Fritole: We loved these fritole, they were absolutely delicious, they were soft and fluffy and everything fritole should be. What I loved the most, is that it was a really quick recipe, I can make these in under 15 minutes. Normally fritole are made with yeast which needs time to prove, but these are not traditionally made as the recipe uses baking powder instead of yeast. And another thing I loved, it is made with ingredients I always have in my house.

Ciambella-Lemon and Ricotta Ring Cake:  Every year on my birthday I make a simple cake, it's just after Christmas and the New Year so I cannot eat anymore, but it's my birthday, so I need a cake, and this year it was this Ciambella. This is a simple tea cake, a cross between a sponge and a madeira cake. It was a perfect cake to have with coffee on my birthday.

​Here is how you make it:

3 eggs
200g caster sugar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
170g fresh full-cream ricotta, well drained
210g self raising flour, sifted
70g almond meal
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract (or half a freshly scraped vanilla bean)
1 tablespoon amaretto (optional)
icing sugar, for dusting
mascarpone or honeyed ricotta, to serve (optional)

​Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced). Butter and flour a Bundt tin.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until pale and creamy. Add the olive oil and ricotta and mix until smooth. Gently fold in the flour and almond meal, then add the lemon zest and juice, vanilla and amaretto (if using).
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 35–40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the tin before turning out onto a plate. Dust with icing sugar and serve as it is or with a dollop of mascarpone or honeyed ricotta.
Note: Give the amaretto a miss for an alcohol-free option.
​​Enjoy!​
​

Ciambella: A Classic Italian Sponge Cake. I had to try another version of this cake. This is even easier to make than the one above. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be this one, but I will be making both in the future as this simple tea cake is something I love to eat.

Cannoli: Okay so this one is a cheats one. I bought the cannoli shells and just filled them with a vanilla pudding that I made using a packet vanilla powder mix. I only added it here as it is a great dessert when you have unexpected guests come over. Feel free to make chocolate ones also.

Here is how I made it:

1 packet mini cannoli shells
1 x 100g packet Cottee's Instant Vanilla Pudding
300ml cartons thickened cream
3/4 cups milk

In a large bowl combine the vanilla pudding mix,the cream and the milk, beat with an electric mixer for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is thick. Place in a piping bag, squeeze into your cannoli shells. Dessert is done.
Enjoy!​​
​

Italian Breakfast Banana Bread: This is more Italian style than authentic Italian. But it is delicious so I had to include it here. The addition of the espresso powder makes this one of my all time favourite banana bread recipes.

Nutella Filled Puff Pastry with Cinnamon: Recipe coming soon.

Nutella Ice Cream: This recipe coming soon. This was amazing.

Lemon Sorbet: Recipe coming soon.

Affogato: This has got to be the easiest dessert you can ever make. Three ingredients, made in minutes. I love to finish a meal with this, it's just divine. I use baileys, but you could use frangelico if you prefer.

Here is how I made it: 

Serves 1

2 scoops vanilla ice cream
1 shot espresso
1 tablespoon baileys liqueur

Brew an espresso (one per person).
Scoop 1-2 scoops of vanilla ice cream into a wide glass or bowl and pour over a shot of espresso.
Pour 1 tablespoon of Baileys or your liqueur of choice over the ice cream. Serve immediately.
​Enjoy!​
​

Orangecello Cocktail: We really enjoyed this, so much so I made a few bottles of it, so I can sip on it on my deck in the afternoon sun. It has got a lovely orange flavour. This version uses the zest and the juice of oranges.
If you use 'normal' oranges you will get an orange colour to your cocktail, as pictured. If using blood oranges, you get a beautiful red coloured cocktail.

Aperol Spritz: In the south of Italy from Capri to Amalfi, the Aperol Spritz is the drink of summer, a lightly alcoholic cocktail made with bitter orange liqueur and prosecco. This is a great drink to sip on while sitting on your deck enjoying the afternoon sun.

Orangecello: We really enjoyed this, so much so I made a few bottles of it, so I can sip on it all year long. It has got a lovely orange flavour. I will never throw away orange peels away again, especially when I know the oranges have no wax on them.

Spritzer Slushy: ​I've always loved the Aperol Spritz, this just makes it even better.
This is the perfect summer party drink as you can prepare the Aperol slushy in advance, then just serve when needed.

Scroppino with Strawberry Puree: This traditional frozen Venetian drink is one of my favourite things to drink, it's like an Italian slushie. Here I've used sorbet instead of gelato but, either way, it's delicious; just be sure to serve it with long spoons or straws, if served in tall glasses.

Here is how I made it:

Serves 6

Strawberry puree:185g strawberries, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons (30ml) elderflower cordial
Scroppino:2 tablespoons (40ml) vodka, chilled
1 1/2 cups (375ml)  prosecco, chilled
1.5L (6 cups) lemon sorbet

Place six glasses in the freezer to chill. Meanwhile, to make strawberry puree, blend or process chopped strawberries and cordial until smooth. Transfer to a jug; refrigerate until needed.
To make the scroppino, place the vodka in a blender; slowly pour in the wine, then add the sorbet. Blend, in bursts, until combined.
Pour 1 tablespoon strawberry puree into the base of chilled glass, top with scroppino. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!

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

Next stop Benin.

Recipe adapted from the Chiappa Sisters cookbook 'Simply Italian'

Serves 1-2

100g Tipo 00 flour, plus extra, if needed
1 medium egg
fine salt
1 teaspoon olive oil, if needed


Place the flour on a board or on your kitchen bench and make a well in the centre.

Crack the egg into the well, add a pinch of salt then with a fork, mix the egg into the flour as much as possible so it’s not sticky. Don’t worry if there are lumps in the dough. Keep mixing and then when crumbs form put it on a flat surface and knead together. You can also speed this up by mixing your ingredients in a food processor until they bind.

Once it is all combined, knead until you have a silky, smooth, elastic dough. You are aiming to achieve a playdough texture. If your dough is crumbly (too dry) add a teaspoon of olive oil. If the dough sticks to your hands (too wet) add a little extra flour.

Cover with cling film and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
​
When using a pasta roller, take a tennis ball-sized amount of dough, squash it flat with your fingers (remember to keep the rest of your dough covered with the cling film so it doesn’t go dry and crusty) push it through the pasta roller on the widest setting. Fold into thirds, then repeat 3 times. Once you have a rough square shape, start working it through the machine, taking it down one setting at a time, until the thinnest setting. If your pasta is too sticky, it won’t go through smoothly, so add a little flour to each side before you put it through the roller. Try to avoid too much flour – the less you use, the better otherwise your pasta can start to feel heavy and claggy when cooked. 

You can also roll the dough by hand using a rolling pin, but make sure you get it as thin as possible.

You will end up with long rectangular sheets of pasta approximately 8-10cm wide and about the thickness of two playing cards. Lightly dust a flat surface with polenta or semolina and lay out the pasta sheets.

From these sheets you can create different shapes of pasta: lasagne, linguine, tagliatelle, pappardelle, ravioli, tortellini, farfalle...
​

LINGUINE: Sprinkle a little flour over both sides of the pasta sheet and fold it into thirds (short edges together). using a sharp knife, cut into 3mm- wide strips, lengthways. When you unfold the pasta you will have long linguine.

TAGLIATELLE: Sprinkle a little flour over both sides of the pasta sheet and fold it into thirds (short edges together). using a sharp knife, cut into 1cm- wide strips, lengthways. When you unfold the pasta you will have long tagliatelle.

PAPPARDELLE: Sprinkle a little flour over both sides of the pasta sheet and fold it into thirds (short edges together). Trim the long edges straight with a sharp knife, and cut into 2.5cm-wide strips, lengthways. When you unfold the pasta you will have long pappardelle.

FARFALLE: Place your sheet of pasta on a floured surface. Use a pasta cutting wheel or sharp knife to cut your pasta into strips roughly 3-4 cm wide then cut across to create little rectangles. Take each rectangle and with lightly floured fingers, pinch in the middle to create your butterfly shaped pasta. If your pasta is too dry, wet your fingertips with some water.  Lightly dust a few trays with polenta or semolina to prevent the farfalle from sticking together. Place the farfalle onto the trays and repeat the process until you have used all the remaining dough. Leave to dry for 20 minutes so they hold their shape when cooking.

To cook it: Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water. Fresh pasta takes considerably less time to cook than dried, usually 1 to 3 minutes, so watch it carefully. To test, remove a noodle with tongs or a long-handled fork and take a bite.

​Serve with your favourite sauce.

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So while on Eating Around the World Adventure-Italy, I try cooking things I have not cooked before, and fresh pasta was on the list.

This pasta dough uses only flour and water and is so easy to make.

Now after I made this I called my mother, we talk everyday, numerous times, and I told her what I made for dinner. She told me this was how her mother used to make pasta when she was little, in Croatia, just using flour and water and my grandmother would roll it and slice it up and where Italians call it tagliatelle, my grandmother called it lazanje. Now I never grew up with my grandmother, so I get a little emotional when I make something like my grandmother used to make. I love my family, so something like this, just cooking like my grandmother, is important to me. My mum said they even made farfalle pasta as kids with this dough.

I like to take my dough to just being sticky. Then I add just enough flour so that the dough is not sticky, and then I know the dough is right. Also, rather than doubling the batches to serve more, I quite like to make small batches, and just make more batches. With less flour the dough was easy to work with, perfect rolling portion, and it's fast and easy, but if you want to double it, do so.

As for the flour, I like to use 00 pasta flour, but as my mother said, in the village in Croatia, they didn't have choices of flour, there was one flour and they used it for everything. So if you don't have 00 flour, use bread flour or plain flour, it will still work.

Slice it thin like fettuccine or thicker for tagliatelle, it is your choice. Serve it with a tomato sauce or a creamy mushroom sauce, whatever sauce you love really, that suits the thickness of the pasta.

​I'll share the video of Jamie Oliver making it here, as it is really as easy as the video.

This is a super quick and easy pasta recipe, I will never stop making this, as it is delicious. ​

​Serves 1-2

Recipe adapted from www.jamieoliver.com/

1 cup plain flour , plus extra for dusting
100ml warm water
​
Put the flour in a bowl, then gradually mix in just enough water to bring it together into a ball of dough (if it’s sticky, add a little extra flour).

Knead for just a couple of minutes, or until smooth and shiny.

On a flour-dusted surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the pasta to about 2mm thick.

Dust it well with flour, then loosely roll it up, lightly dust each time you flip. Use a sharp knife to slice it ½cm thick, then toss it with your hands to separate the strands.

Cook in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then drain and toss with your chosen sauce.

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​As per normal I wake up each day and think about what I will cook for the day. Now this pork neck was defrosting two days in the refrigerator and I had to figure out what to do with it.

Flicking through a cookbook I found this recipe, I had marked it as very good, meaning we loved it. Now I don't even remember when I cooked it last, but by the notes I left in the book, I know we loved it. So today was the day we made it again.

And yes, we still love it. The meat was so juicy and perfectly cooked. The flavour was delicious. I team it with a saucy Asian green, and then serve it with steamed rice to make a compete meal.

The marinade if using food colouring will make the meat a crazy red colour, but with baking that goes away and you are left with the meat looking as pictured. The colouring is not essential, I use it, but you don't have to.

This is easy to make and really, really nice. We love it, hope you do to.

​Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly cookbook 'Roast' Classic and Contemporary

Serves 6-8

2kg piece pork neck
1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon red food colouring (optional)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
​
Halve pork lengthways. In a large snaplock bag (that can fit the pork) add the soy sauce, dry sherry, brown sugar, honey, red food colouring, garlic and five spice powder. Mix it together in the bag. Add the two pork halves. Seal the bag, mix the marinade around the pork. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Turn the pork over every now and then for even distribution of the marinade.
​

Take the pork out of the fridge one hour prior to baking.

Preheat oven to 220C/200C fan forced.
​
Remove the pork from the bag; reserve the marinade. Place pork on oiled wire rack in baking dish; roast, uncovered, 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 180C/160C fan forced; roast, uncovered, further 1 hour or until pork is browned and cooked through, brushing occasionally with reserved marinade. Stand pork, covered, 10 minutes before slicing.

Serve with Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce and Steamed Rice

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​This one is a funny one for me, not the recipe, but how my family feel about me roasting a chicken. I think I'm a pretty good cook, but my nemisis in the kitchen has always been roast chicken. Every time I roast a chicken, it is perfectly edible, nice even, yet my family are completely unimpressed, until now.

My daughter said I have now redeemed myself, I can now roast a chicken. 

This chicken is delicious, the simple flavour combination of lemon, thyme and rosemary is amazing. Spatchcocking the chicken means it can cook far quicker than leaving the chicken whole. It also means all of the skin will be crispy, and tasty and did I say delicious.

The chicken is delicious even without the sauce, but if you love an intense lemon sauce, use it as per recipe, it's easy to do and already there.

The recipe uses a whole chicken, however you could use chicken marylands instead. 

So if you are looking for something new and easy to try, this roast chicken is something you should try.

​Recipe adapted from www.foodnetwork.com/

4 teaspoons lemon zest, from 3 large lemons
3 lemons, sliced 8mm thick, use the zested lemons
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves 
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves 
2 1/2 teaspoons salt 
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
3 lemons, sliced 8mm thick, use the zested lemons
1 x 1.6kg chicken, back bone removed 


Preheat the oven to 230C/210C fan forced.

In a small bowl combine the lemon zest, thyme, rosemary and salt.

​Butterfly the chicken: ​Turn the chicken over so the breasts are down and you're looking at the back. See the backbone in the middle, cut along both sides of that backbone to remove it. Flip it over so that the breasts are now facing up. Use the palm of your hand and press firmly down on the breast meat, right over the breastbone. You should hear a little bit of crunching. The goal here is to flatten this area so that the breasts and the thighs are basically at the same level.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Lay the lemon slices in the olive oil down the middle of the tray as a "rack" for the chicken. Sprinkle one-third of the salt rub on the underside of the chicken. Turn the chicken over and rub the remaining salt mixture over and the skin of the whole chicken. Lay the chicken, skin side up, on the bed of lemons and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Roast, until golden brown and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

(Optional) while the chicken is resting, using a fork, mash the lemon pulp into the juices on the baking sheet, discarding the rind. Mix the pulp into the drippings and use this mixture to spoon over the chicken just before serving. 

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​This is the easiest bread recipe you will ever find. It produces, with little effort, a rustic looking bread that looks and tastes great. The only thing this bread needs is time. Time to prove, 10-14 hours, this time is what allows the bread to develop the air bubbles, to produce a delicious loaf with a light crumb full of airy holes.

In Italy this bread used to go by the name of Pane Cafone, or rough bread.

Because of the long proving required, I would suggest you make the mixture at night before you go to bed and bake the next day. You will need a cast iron pot or dutch oven for this recipe, but in all honesty you should buy one anyway, they are so good, I use mine all the time. Just wait for it to go on sale.

You may need to adjust cooking times to suit your oven, I for instance bake mine for 15 minutes after I take the lid off, where the recipe specified 10-15 minutes.

I use bread flour, but you can use plain flour.

When talking scant teaspoons, 1 scant teaspoon means not quite a whole teaspoon but a little less. In cooking, scant refers to an amount that just barely reaching or not packed.

When moving the dough to the pot, I use a cake lifter, like the one pictured. I love it. It makes it so much easier. If you don't have one, just use a knife to loosen any stuck bits, if any and gently transfer the dough into the pot.

​Since learning about this recipe I have not gone to the shops daily to buy bread. I am quite happy to spend 5 minutes after dinner, mixing this recipe, so that I can bake it for the next day. The bread is long lasting also, it keeps well. And toasted it's delicious, just make sure you toast it crispy.

​So with little or no effort, here is a bread recipe my family loves, hope yours does to.​

​Recipe adapted from silviascucina.net/ 

Makes 1 loaf

​450g plain or bread flour
350ml water, at room temperature
1/2 scant teaspoon dry yeast
2 teaspoons of salt

Fine semolina, for dusting


In a bowl mix the flour, water and yeast together with a wooden spoon until combined.

Add salt and mix again. Now using one hand in four to five kneads, mix your dough, to combine the ingredients. I know I say no knead, but four or five turns of the dough doesn't count in my opinion as kneading. Your mixture will look and feel quite sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it prove for 10-14 hours, or until it’s grown three times bigger and looks bubbly.

Now it's time to shape your loaf. The dough will be sticky, I like to use damp hands here. Place the bowl in front of you, think of the bowl like a clock, now using both hands lift the dough at the 12 o'clock position and pull it over 2/3 of the way down towards the 6 o'clock position. Now dampen hands with water and lift the dough from the 6 o'clock position and pull it over the dough you just pulled down towards the 12 o'clock position. Now rotate the bowl so that what was the 9 o'clock position becomes the 12 o'clock position. Repeat the pulling and folding (using damp hands) process again. The dough should now have tightened into a more ball like shape.

Cut out a piece of baking paper, longer than your ball width, by about 12-14cm, you need the extra length to use as handles to pick up the dough when you need to put it in your hot pot. Dust the centre of the baking paper with fine semolina or flour.

Now flip the dough gently out of the bowl onto the centre of your baking paper. The smooth side of the dough should now be on top. Now I use damp hands again, you can use floured hands, reshape the dough, if needed, into a roundish shape. Don't stress if not perfect.  Dust the top of the dough generously with semolina flour. Let it rest for 1 and 1/2 hours, covered loosely in a tea towel.

Turn the oven to 220C/200C fan forced. Put in a cast iron pot or a Dutch oven, with the lid, to heat up  for about 40 minutes.

Use the baking paper, place dough into pre-heated pot, cover with the lid and bake for 25 minutes. 

Take the lid off and bake for another 25 minutes or until it looks crusty and browned. 

​Take the pot out of the oven and let the bread come to room temperature before you slice it, about 30 minutes.

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On our Eating Around the World Adventure I have realised that food has crossed many borders and spaetzle definitely has. I first came across it when we were eating food from Switzerland, but while doing my research there, I realised that the origin could be German, Austrian, Hungarian or even Italian. The actual origin I do not know, what I do know is that is popular in many countries, and popular in my house.

Currently we are in Italy on our food adventure and we are loving it. This version is super easy to make, they don't call it spaetzle in Italy, they call it Chnefflene or in English, Semolina Dumplings.

What is Spaetzle, essentially it’s batter that drips into boiling water to cook into tender dumplings ready to be tossed with whatever sauce you like.

The first time though, I followed the recipe and when I made the mix and put it through my potato ricer, it poured out too easily, no resistance, like water, where I ended up with a gloppy mess, the spaetzle stuck together. So this time I have added more flour and semolina to get the right consistency to make the spaeztle. It needs to be thick enough that you have to push it through the holes, rather than it pours out. And when it hits the water it separates into individual spaetzle, not clumps of dough.

Now I have used a potato ricer to make mine, but recently I purchased two different spaetzle makers, the stainless steel one that sits over the pot pictured below, and the one that looks like a cheese grater. Jamie Oliver in his book, the Italian grandma used a colander, which she runs under cold water before using to help prevent the dough sticking to it. So there are many ways you can try this. ​

​Back to the sauce, here I am going to show you a super simple bacon and onion version, to this you could add wine or cream, I'm keeping it very simple though. You could do a cheese sauce, you could serve it as you would any other pasta with a pasta sauce or stew. ​

Spaetzle are delicate, delicious, cheap and quick to put together. Now that I know how to make them, I'll be making them for years to come.

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's cookbook 'Jamie Cooks Italy'

Serves 4-5

Spaetzle:
3 large eggs
300ml full cream milk
220-250g Tipo 00 flour
220-250g fine semolina flour
Whole nutmeg, for grating, optional

Bacon and Onion Sauce:
2 large red onions, chopped
4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, sliced 1cm thick
​Olive oil, for frying, if needed
1 small sprig of fresh rosemary
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese , for grating
​
​​Whisk the eggs and milk together in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the Tipo 00 flour, followed by the semolina flour, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, and a good few crude scrapings of nutmeg, if using, to form a fairly thick but still totally pliable and gloopy batter. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.
​
Make the sauce: Place the bacon in a cold frying pan. Put on a medium heat so the fat renders out. This will take about 2-3 minutes. Add olive olive if you feel there is not enough bacon fat in the pan, add the onion, and saute until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Place in a small sprig rosemary. Cook and stir for 5 minutes, until the bacon is crisp, the onions have started to just colour. Remove the rosemary.
​
​Half-fill a large pan with salted water and bring up to a fast rolling boil. Now using a spaetzle maker as pictured above or a potato ricer or a metal colander with ½cm holes, you can start making your spaetzle. If the batter seems too thick, add a little extra milk, if needed, if the batter is too thin, add more flour, do a small test run with a little batter, then proceed with the rest.
​
​Working quickly, pour half the batter into the colander and use a clean hand or a large metal whisk to swirl, or spatula, push the batter around, encouraging it to fall through the holes of the colander, straight into the water. The teardrop dumplings will cook in just 2 or 3 minutes, so once done, sieve out into your bacon sauce, and cook the second batch.

Toss with the dumplings and a splash of their cooking water to loosen. Finish with a little extra virgin olive oil and a fine grating of Parmesan cheese.

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