Recipe – Burrata with Tapenade

Burrata with Tapenade I love stretched curd cheeses of every kind – including delicate, creamy burrata, the southern Italian cheese that’s a thin pouch of mozzarella filled with a rich blend of cream and fine strands of stringy fresh curd tied off with a knot. It makes a lovely presentation and, with a touch of […]

Recipe – Radishes with Cultured Butter & Salt

Radishes with Cultured Butter I heard about this way of serving radishes many years ago, but it made no sense. Then one day I was served the most beautiful baby radishes with cultured butter and salt flakes – and it was delicious! So this is one of those recipes that is so basic it isn’t […]

Recipe – Bruschetta Caprese

Bruschetta Caprese It’s good to eat with the seasons, but occasionally I want a touch of summer year-round – that’s when I call on a few of my favourite things and create this delicious bruschetta Caprese. Windy Hills Farm pots of living basil are the perfect way to use this summer herb year-round, Vannella’s small buffalo […]

Recipe – Pan-fried Radicchio

Pan-fried Radicchio Radicchio is a wonderfully versatile vegetable. In Italy it’s popular cooked as well as in salads; the cooking softens the bitterness and brings out a touch of sweetness. I often shred it and toss it through pasta with some garlic and olive oil for a quick meal. This pan-fried radicchio is inspired by […]

Recipe – Mushroom Bruschetta

Mushroom Bruschetta One of the things I loved most about Lucio’s Paddington restaurant was the seasonal bruschetta that always arrived with our aperitivi, a tradition I like to continue at home. In autumn, the crisp air of the Italian hills is filled with the wonderful aroma of mushrooms, inspiring cooks to prepare many dishes (sometimes […]

Recipe – Gnocchi Fritti with Salumi Antipasti

Gnocchi Fritti with Salumi Join my Small Group Food & Wine Tours to Emilia-Romagna, Home of Gnocchi Fritti Gnocchi fritti are crisp puffs of deep-fried dough served with salumi all over Emilia-Romagna, they’re also popular in neighbouring Lombardy where they’re called chisolini. If you (or your guests) don’t eat salumi, they’re excellent with smoked salmon […]

Recipe – Deep-fried Zucchini Flowers

Deep-fried Zucchini Flowers The best deep-fried zucchini flowers I’ve ever tasted were served at Buon Ricordo. They weren’t filled, just coated in a very light yeasted batter, deep-fried in olive oil and well salted! I used to drive chef-patron Armando Percuoco crazy by asking for them out of season. “Yes, Roberta,” he said one night, […]

Recipe – Tapenade

Tapenade I love salt, so a dish made of black olives, capers and anchovies is right up my alley. Tapenade hails from Provence in the sunny south of France and is generally regarded as an olive paste, however the name comes from ‘tapeno’ meaning ‘caper bud’ in the Provençal language, so be sure to use […]

Recipe – Funghi Trifolati

Funghi Trifolati Trifolati is an Italian term for dishes cooked in olive oil with garlic and parsley; mushrooms, zucchini and kidneys are often prepared this way. This was one of my favourite starters in Sydney’s 1980s suburban Italian restaurants, where exotic oyster mushrooms seemed to be the funghi of choice, so use any mushrooms you […]

Recipe – Mozzarella Grilled in Lemon Leaves

Mozzarella Grilled in Lemon Leaves I discovered mozzarella grilled in lemon leaves on the Amalfi coast, where lemons are a way of life. It’s delicious and so very simple to make, especially if you (or a neighbour) have a lemon tree in the backyard. I’ve tried it with fresh fior di latte, but that’s a […]

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