Focaccia with cherry tomatoes and herbs

Join resident chef Mario Matassa as he shows us how to make perfect focaccia with step by step instructions!   To say that Italians take their focaccia very seriously would be a simple understatement. Once, a dentist friend asked me if I’d like to take a quick drive with him as he had a hankering […]

Bruschetta with Tenderstem®, garlic mushrooms and feta

One of the ‘Tenderstem® in Ten’ recipes – ten recipes ready in less than ten minutes – this bruschetta would make a speedy and delicious lunch or supper snack. Image and recipe © Tenderstem® For more recipes, please visit www.tenderstem.co.uk Serves: 4 Prep and cook time: under 10 minutes For the bruschetta: 1 ciabatta loaf […]

Cook Italia!: Mushroom tart recipe

Mushroom tart

Torta salata con funghi MAKES: One 24cm tart PREPARATION: 10 minutes COOKING: 1 hour Ingredients: • 300g chestnut or button mushrooms • 30g dried porcini mushrooms • a few tbsp of olive oil • knob of unsalted butter • 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed • 2 free-range eggs • small bunch of fresh parsley, […]

Pappardelle with duck ragù

Pappardelle con ragù di anatra. Discover this dish from Pappardelle, the classic fresh egg pasta of the region. This is often served with a rich, slow-cooked sauce – often made from wild duck, hare or boar, reflecting the Tuscan passion for game. SERVES 6 PREPARATION 20 minutes COOKING 2 hours INGREDIENTS • 1 onion, peeled, […]

Speedy pasta supper

Creamy Tuscan Cannellini Bean Pasta with Tenderstem® broccoli Super-quick and easy to make, this vegan pasta dish is a great store cupboard supper, using mashed cannellini beans to create a creamy sauce to coat the delicious pasta. Topped with walnuts, chilli flakes and perfectly cooked Tenderstem® broccoli, this recipe is packed with the flavours of […]

The Perfect Italian Pandemic Pick-Me-Up

Julia Kolbert tells the little-known story of Tiramisù: The Perfect Italian Pandemic Pick-Me-Up   For all the extolling of their Mediterranean diet, the Italians do have a decidedly sweet tooth, especially at breakfast time. All those buttery brioches filled with jam, and their predilection for cake, Nutella and sugar-laden coffee are too much for this […]

Meascia

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 […]

Trout fillets with green olive and caper pesto

trout

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 lakes. It was once a staple but overfishing was such that, for a time, other sources of fresh fish […]

Gnocchi alla comasca

gnocchi

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 the Italian lakes of making homemade gnocchi – this dish is an easy way to recreate the flavours of the […]

Bresaola salad

bresaola - taste of the lakes

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 Lombardy. This is an easy and delicious recipe to try, but be sure to serve your bresaola salad soon after it […]