Pasta Vongole

Pasta Vongole

Serve this classic Italian seafood pasta in hot bowls and finish with a sprinkling of chopped herbs – a perfect midweek meal for any time of year Serves 4 Preparation time 15 mins Cooking time 10 mins Ingredients: 800g fresh clams (discard any open ones) 12 whole shallots, finely chopped 75g butter 2 cloves of […]

Italian Shallot, Gorgonzola and Rocket Risotto

shallot, gorgonzola and rocket risotto

In this flavoursome Italian dish the sweetness of the shallots is beautifully complemented by the robust taste of the blue cheese. It’s a great recipe for dinner parties, or makes a hearty but simple weekend dinner   Serves 4 Ingredients 12 shallots, peeled and roughly diced 320g risotto rice 40g butter 2 tbsp olive oil […]

Seducing my husband without salt: part 2

Rachael Martin continues her story of what living in Italy has taught her about food, moving on from pasta and risotto to polenta… The days get colder, wild mushrooms are picked and chestnuts roasted. Pumpkins have made their way into shops and risottos. Then autumn is about to give way to winter and Christmas is […]

Mussels with chickpeas

Mussels

These cozze e ceci make a delicious starter dish to share with the whole family. Serve with crusty bread to get every bit of flavour from the juices! Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 small red onion, peeled, finely sliced 1 garlic clove, peeled, crushed 150ml dry white wine 1kg mussels in their shells 450g cooked chickpeas 1 tbsp chopped […]

Seducing my husband without salt: Part 1

Rachael Martin on what living in Italy has taught her about food: from pasta to risotto and beyond… The first time I made my Italian boyfriend a dish of pasta, he took one mouthful and looked at me. Horrified. Pasta without salt, way up the list of the seven deadly culinary sins as any Italian […]

Apple cake

This apple cake or torta di mele is absolutely divine and a good way to use up those leftover apples!  Apple cake/ Torta di mele Ingredients: 4 large apples (1kg) juice of ½ a lemon 2 medium free-range eggs 150g brown sugar 100g wholewheat flour, sifted 100g plain flour, sifted 150ml milk 2 tsp baking powder 3 tbsp […]

Linguine with spicy prawns

This linguine with spicy prawns or linguine con gambrel picanti is a fantastic dish for a midweek meal.  Make this for your family this week – you can make it as hot or as mild as you like! Linguine with spicy prawns Ingredients: 320g linguine pasta 400g fresh prawns, shells removed, deveined 2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed […]

Cut and dried… The story of Baccalà

From shipwrecked sailors in Norway to the tables of Vicenza, Julie Carbonara tells the extraordinary tale of baccalà all vicentina. My mother was a good, plain home cook but fish was not her strong point, which is why Fridays were not my favourite days. You see, in the deeply religious, Catholic Italy of my youth, you were […]

Filled pasta

Simple and satisfying, there is an amazing array of flavoursome filled pasta to be found on the market these days – we taste seven leading brands to find our favourite. While there is nothing to rival a melting mouthful of freshly made filled pasta, these delicious shop-bought parcels and their precious cargo are a welcome […]