They may be a support act, but great side dishes can transform a meal. Breads, salads, rice, potatoes and veggies, some can even be transformed into the main attraction with a little inspiration. Here are my favourite side dish recipes.
Spinach with Lemon (Spinaci al Limone) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Traditional Italian cooking class! I love Italian spinaci al limone, a classic side dish of silken green spinach leaves seasoned simply with olive oil, garlic, salt and lemon juice. I love it with pan-fried john dory, but it’s a great accompaniment to […]
Insalata Rossa (Radicchio Salad) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Traditional Italian cooking class! Insalata verde, literally ‘green salad’, is the most common Italian salad description. I like the variation of insalata rossa, or red salad, using my favourite lettuce, radicchio, with red onion and a touch of parsley for contrast. This radicchio salad […]
Sweet Mustard & Dill Sauce Master Kitchen Basics & Explore New Cuisines & Ingredients with My Online Cooking Classes This classic Scandinavian sauce is called hovmästarsås in Swedish. Sweet mustard and dill sauce is traditionally served with gravlax and smoked salmon, and is great with any seafood, as a salad dressing or even a dipping […]
Scarole di Natale Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Southern Italian cooking class! I was introduced to this dish many years ago by the Nonna of a family I stayed with in Campania. They were from the north, but Nonna Filomena had learned to cook this local dish and was keen to share it […]
Rosemary Focaccia Discover more Italian regional specialties on one of my small-group food & wine tours to Italy Authentic focaccia is made with a generous amount of olive oil (see video below). Plenty of oil ensures your focaccia is moist and rich. Once you’ve mastered a basic focaccia recipe you can start having fun with […]
Onion Focaccia Discover more Italian regional specialties on one of my small-group food & wine tours to Italy Ligurian restaurateur Lucio Galletto makes the most delicious focaccia I’ve tasted (see video below), so my recipe is inspired by his and uses plenty of ALTO Olives’ delicate Ligurian-style olive oil. Lucio calls focaccia ‘Liguria’s answer to […]
Olive Focaccia Discover more Italian regional specialties on one of my small-group food & wine tours to Italy My olive focaccia recipe is inspired by Ligurian restaurateur Lucio Galletto, who uses more water and oil in his recipe than most I’ve seen (see video below). Liguria is famous for the tiny, tasty Taggiasche olives that […]
Burghul with Vermicelli Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Middle Eastern cooking class! Rice with vermicelli is a popular Lebanese side dish and I also love this version using burghul that’s packaged with fine vermicelli noodles already through it (Duru brand from Turkey, available at Middle Eastern grocers). You could also toast some vermicelli […]
Lebanese Vermicelli Rice Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Riz bi sh’arieh is one of my favourite rice dishes – so simple and so delicious. The fried vermicelli noodles add another dimension visually and texturally – especially if you toast them until they’re really dark golden – and the butter adds […]
Ginger & Green Onion Sauce Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Malaysian cooking class! This ginger and green onion sauce is what Hainanese chicken rice is all about (see video below). Best of all it’s super easy to make. You’ll need about 8 green onions for this recipe, perhaps 6 if they’re thick or […]