Meascia
Meascia, a type of bread cake, was a staple of cucina povera – an inexpensive way to make dessert using whatever was in the store cupboard. Mario Matassa shows us how to make it I’ve used apples from the nearby Valtellina in this version of meascia, but it can also be made with pears and you can substitute the sultanas with whatever dried fruit More...
Trout fillets with green olive and caper pesto
Mario Matassa brings us this trout dish, known in Italian as filetti di trota con pesto di olive e capperi – make it tonight! Lake fish, like trout, naturally features strongly in the cuisine around the More...
Gnocchi alla comasca
This gnocchi dish originates from the Como area, and uses a local taleggio cheese, which combines with the tomato and pancetta to make a flavourful sauce, says Mario Matassa There is a long tradition around More...
Bresaola salad
Bresaola is air-cured beef fillet, which works well in a salad because the olive oil moistens the cured beef. Mario Matassa shares his recipe here… Bresaola comes from the Valtellina and the Valchiavenna in More...
Paradise cake with hot zabaglione
Mario Matassa shares his paradise cake recipe – a cake that miraculously improves with age and is better if made one or two days in advance… The name ‘paradise cake’ comes from the fact that More...
Stuffed guinea fowl
For a festive centrepiece Italian-style you can’t go wrong with roast guinea fowl (faraona ripiena). Mario Matassa gives us the low-down… There are a number of ways to cook guinea fowl, but at Christmas More...
Crespelle ripiene (filled crêpes)
This dish originates from Emilia-Romagna and is served in restaurants throughout the area. Mario Matassa brings us a recipe for these tasty crêpes These crespelle – crêpes – make a satisfying dish. The More...
Pancetta-wrapped prawns on crostini
This delicious appetiser is perfect in its simplicity and requires minimal preparation time. Mario Matassa shares the recipe with us… For this crostini dish it is important to find plump prawns and to make More...
Struffoli
These golden balls of deep-fried dough smothered in honey and decorated with candied peel make a wonderful centrepiece for the festive table, says Mario Matassa Struffoli, from Naples, are prepared and eaten More...
Insalata di rinforzo
Full of the strong flavours that are typical of the region, this Campanian dish will evoke memories for anyone who has ever visited Naples – Here’s Mario Matassa’s take on ‘reinforcing salad’: Insalata More...