Italian food is good for the soul! Despite great regional diversity, northern Italy and southern Italy are united by passion for fresh produce, pasta and the shared table. I love the simplicity and seasonality of la cucina Italiana. Here are some of my favourite Italian recipes.
Buckwheat Polenta with Mushrooms & Gorgonzola Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Northern Italian cooking class inspired by Alessandro Pavoni! On the first day Franz and I were in Lombardy researching A Lombardian Cookbook, Alessandro took us up to the hunting lodge of his family friends Elsa and Tulio. There in the high mountain […]
Bagna Cauda Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Northern Italian cooking class! From the landlocked region of Piedmont pressed against the Alps in north-western Italy, bagna càuda was originally a peasant dish that made the most of winter’s limited vegetables by dressing them in a rich garlicky sauce. Bagna means ‘bath’ and càuda, ‘hot’, […]
Prawn Salad with Mustard Fruits Like this recipe? Visit Modena with me on my small group food & wine tour of Northern Italy. This is the pescatarian version of a simple, delicious chicken salad I had in Modena. It’s the mustard fruit, pine nuts and balsamic vinegar that make it special. Of course you could […]
Insalata di Radicchio e Crostini Like this recipe? Eat radicchio e bruciatini in Ravenna on my small group food & wine tour of Northern Italy. Insalata di radicchio e bruciatini is a classic salad from Romagna, the eastern half of Emilia-Romagna. The name ‘bruciatini’ means burned and refers to the colour of the cubes of […]
Porcini Risotto with Salmon Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Italian cooking class featuring the food of Emilia-Romagna! While salmon isn’t indigenous to Italian waters – preferring the colder oceans further north – it is very popular in Italy. It’s delicious served with this earthy porcini risotto and the pink flesh contrasts beautifully too. […]
Piadina Romagnola Learn to Make Piadina at Casa Artusi in Romagna on my Small Group Italian Food & Wine Tour Everywhere you go in Romagna, you’re served this flatbread. I was taught to make it by a local lady at Casa Artusi in Forlimpopoli, a cooking school and foundation dedicated to the work of Italy’s […]
Bensone Ripieno Taste Bensone in Modena on my Small Group Italian Food & Wine Tour Bensone is a specialty of Modena, where it’s also called balsone or ciambella Emiliana. Ciambella means donut in Italian and also refers to any ring-shaped cake. Ciambelle appear all over the country with different flavourings and textures, there are even […]
How To Make Garganelli Pasta Join my Small Group Food & Wine Tours to Emilia-Romagna, Home of Garganelli Pasta Emilia-Romagna is the home of rich egg pasta, with 1 egg used for every 100g of flour to create pasta sheets that are then cut into an endless variety of shapes. Garganelli are similar to penne […]
Ocean Trout with Spicy Onion Sauce Cooking fish almost entirely on the skin protects the delicate flesh, keeping it moist and succulent. The skin usually ends up a bit charred and looking slightly the worse for wear, so I usually present the fish flesh side up. The skin still tastes great and, if you like […]
Grilled Prawns with Pear & Walnut Salad Grilled prawns with pear and walnut salad is the perfect dish for entertaining as most of the preparation can be done ahead of time, and cooking the prawns only on the shell side ensures they’ll be the juiciest you’ve ever tasted (see video below). Prawns oxidise quickly once […]
