This simple pasta recipe of Italian sausage with broccoli is a classic combination, but I must confess that when I was a child broccoli wasn’t my favourite. In fact it was my ‘spew food’. Did you have one of those? Just the thought of it literally made me want to throw up. Mum’s way of…
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Barbecued Fish Spiedini with Salmoriglio Sauce
Some people are a little nervous about cooking fish. I blame cooking shows. There’s all that talk about being careful, don’t overcook it or it’ll taste like rubber, but don’t undercook it either – you don’t want to serve raw fish, you want it to just flake away. Jeesh! That makes it sound like if…
Croquette di Patate (Potato Croquettes)
These crispy deep fried little bundles are a common antipasti, or street food, found all over Italy. There are many versions, but the main theme is a creamy, tasty interior made with mashed potato. This recipe comes from my mother’s kitchen, passed down to me (aren’t all the best recipes?). Rather than a super soft…
Upside Down Pear Cake
This pear cake was born out of necessity. As a mother of two, I have spent the past 20 plus years trying to coax my boys into eating fruit. Up until quite recently, the only fruit they would eat were apples. Only apples. And they HAVE to be Pink Ladies. Now, I have nothing against…
Cannoli with Ricotta Cream, Chocolate and Pistachio
I love that part in the Godfather movie when Clemenza leaves home to go out on a ‘hit’. His wife (who has no idea he is going out to murder someone) asks him to bring home some cannoli. After he and his accomplice finish the murder he says: “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.” Cannoli…
Plum and Berry Slice
Today I’m sharing the recipe for this Plum and Berry Slice – simply because it needs to be shouted from the rooftops and made in every kitchen, everywhere. Seriously, it’s THAT good. The best thing is that this recipe is the result of using up skanky (over ripe) plums I had sitting in the fruit…
Pantry Pickings – Seville Orange Marmalade and Almond Tart
I have a confession to make: I’m guilty of buying food I don’t need. Not every day food, I’m talking gourmet, baby – you know, the stuff no-one really needs? When I visit a gourmet store, I’m like a kid in a candy shop. I want to buy everything. It’s just too tempting, especially when…
Orvieto – Full of Surprises
We stumbled across the fascinating town, Orvieto, on a trip to Italy a few years ago and it remains one of my favourite finds; not only because it is a gorgeous example of a medieval Italian town, but because of the many unexpected things we found there – from quirky wooden puppets, to a real-life…
Apple and Almond Rose Tart – and the missing ingredient
I am sharing the recipe for this Apple and Rose Tart from my new book The Sweet Life, not just because it’s a beautiful tart that I love to make, and hope you make too, but because somehow after checking and editing my manuscript a million times, the recipe in my book is missing an…
Vernazza – Worth The Hike through the Cinque Terre
Every day I sit at my desk and there she is. Staring at me with her beauty, on my screen, and I begin dreaming of seeing her again. Vernazza. Don’t know her? I bet you do. If you’ve ever seen a picture of a pastel coloured village nestled into a rocky seaside outcrop, surrounded by…
