Robert Armstrong’s commitment to his land and olive groves, in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range (near Crookwell, NSW) has led to ALTO Olives becoming Australia’s most awarded extra virgin olive oil. His agrodolce (bitter-sweet) vinegars are the best Australian vinegars I’ve found too.
Mustard-crusted Roast Lamb Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Australian cooking class inspired by Matt Moran! What’s more Australian than roast lamb? Mum’s Sunday roast is one of my favourite childhood memories. It was a large leg of lamb surrounded by a heap of roast root vegies, with boiled peas, beans, cauliflower and broccoli […]
Vegetarian Antipasto Join my food & wine tour to Southern Italy to discover more Italian regional specialties! Remember food doesn’t have to be complicated to be delicious and impressive. Inspired by travels around the Mediterranean, when I entertain I keep things super simple with platters of food down the centre of a long table. To […]
Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino Join my food & wine tour to Rome & Southern Italy to discover more Italian regional specialties! The simplest recipes are often the favourites, the ones with the most views on this website are croque monsieur (a.k.a. toasted ham & cheese sandwich) and affogato (ice cream ‘drowned’ in coffee and […]
Lamb Cutlets with Romesco Sauce Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Spanish cooking class! Romesco is a Spanish sauce from the region of Catalonia, where a variation called salvitxada is served as a dip for calçots, local spring onions traditionally charred over open fires. Thick green onions or baby leeks make a good alternative […]
Ratatouille Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class featuring the food of Provence! This versatile Provençal dish is delicious hot or cold, as a standalone vegetarian meal, or an accompaniment to grilled meat, poultry or seafood. There aren’t any hard and fast rules, it’s a quick, one-pot combination of eggplant, capsicum, onion, […]
Harissa-rubbed Quail Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Middle Eastern cooking class inspired by Michael Rantissi! For a long time, I thought quail would be too fiddly to cook. Then when I finally tackled them I was surprised at how simple they are, especially the larger meaty Juraasic quail from Brisbane Valley. Brining is […]
Italian Stuffed Artichokes Join my food & wine tour to Italy to discover more Italian regional specialties! I love artichokes, one of the first spring vegetables to appear in greengrocers. I love them finely shaved raw in a salad, deep-fried Roman-style (carciofi alla Giudia), and preserved on an antipasto platter. But most of all I […]
Eggplant Parmigiana Eat Eggplant Parmigiana with me in Parma on a Small Group Food & Wine Tour While the name suggests a connection with the northern Italian city of Parma – and eggplant Parmigiana appears on almost every restaurant menu there – southern Italy also claims Parmigiana di Melanzane (as they call it). Parmigiana is […]
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina Join my food & wine tour to Southern Italy & Rome and dine with me at Ristorante da Ciccio! This deliciously simple dish is so easy even a child can make it (see video below). It’s named for the town of Sorrento on Italy’s Amalfi coast and I first ate it at […]
Tomato Gazpacho Like tomato gazpacho? You’ll love my online Spanish cooking class! Gazpacho is an ancient Spanish bread soup, possibly dating back to Roman times, which was readily adapted to include the New World tomato in the 18th century. Tomato gazpacho makes a delicious, appetite-stimulating start to a summer meal and is great in shot […]