This pie is a take on the Greek spinach pie, spanakopita, but with an Italian twist. Silverbeet doesn’t get the attention it deserves. It’s often in the shadows behind spinach or the very trendy kale. I use it a lot in my cooking, it’s very robust and doesn’t wilt down as much as spinach so…
Pizza/Pies/Bread/Savouries
Piadine
Piadine are Italian flat bread sandwiches. You can buy them all over Italy, filled with cold meats, cheese, grilled vegetables, and even sweet versions with Nutella. I love this simple, traditional version with prosciutto, rocket and cheese. You can use any cheese here, Stracchino is a very soft Italian cows-milk cheese that has a beautiful…
Artichoke, Pesto and Provolone in Carozza
The term ‘in carozza’ literally means ‘in a carriage’ and refers to something that is contained inside. The famous Italian fried cheese sandwich, originally created at Harry’s Bar in Venice, ‘Mozzarella in Carozza’, is filled to the brim with oozing mozzarella. It’s a cheese sandwich nirvana, but this is even better. I love the combination…
Roast Vegetable Crostata
A crostata is a rustic free-form pie that is normally associated with dessert, filled with jam or fresh fruit, but it works really well as a savoury dish using roasted vegetables. If you already have leftovers from the night before all you need to do is make the pastry. It’s a delicious pastry, flavoured with…
Schiacciata with Grapes, Fennel and Rosemary
Schiacciata basically means ‘squashed’ and refers to bread that is flat. There are many versions of it all over Italy, with its signature dimples from the baker’s fingers as he presses the dough into the baking tray. Basic schiacciata with a sprinkle of sea salt, some dried herbs and good olive oil is beautiful on…
Stromboli
Think of all the flavours of a pizza, rolled up into a savoury roll. Named after the Aeolian Island just off Sicily, Stromboli, this isn’t really a classic Italian recipe. Rather, it was invented by Italian-American migrants in the 1950s who set up restaurants and pizza shops to make a living and were coming up…
Pork, Fennel and Chilli Pizza
This spicy pizza pays homage to my Calabrian roots. Pork with fennel, chilli and red capsicum is a classic Southern Italian combination. This pizza is packed with punchy flavour – add extra chilli if you like. Fresh dough is always best – use my Basic Pizza Dough recipe for the base. It really is easy!…
Sicilian Pizza
Sicily is one of my favourite regions of Italy. Full of history, baroque little towns, amazing coastline, vineyards, not to mention an active volcano. But the best thing about Sicily is the food. Such an eclectic mix of flavours due to the influences from so many different cultures that invaded it over the years. What…
Spaghetti Frittata with Tomatoes and Feta
If there is something I do well, it’s cook waayyy too much food. I know it’s a classic Italian stero-type, the Italian Mama that likes to over-feed you, but in my case it’s definitely true. Maybe not so much the over-feeding bit, but definitely guilty of the ‘cooking too much’ bit. I do like to…
Pizza Rustica
Just like Dean Martin sings ” When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie that’s amore… ” you will fall in love with this delicious rustic Italian pie. As the name suggests it’s rustic, so no perfectionism required, and even though I’ve weighed out all the ingredients I’ve used to make the…
