Confit leek and mozzarella is one of my favourite combinations. I have used it in the restaurants in many different interpretations and it has always been a success. The idea of confit’ing anything often puts home cooks off, but with most vegetables it’s a breeze! And the added advantage is that you can make itContinue reading “Confit Leek, Mozzarella & Tomato Vinaigrette”
Category Archives: Italian
Stracciatella – Italian Egg Drop Soup
Here’s a soup that makes me smile. It’s a Sunday morning, I walk into the kitchen of my Italian friend’s mother and the whole place is filled with the smell of simmering stock. It’s not just chicken stock, that much is obvious. The Parmesan rinds that were saved up for this soup are floating inContinue reading “Stracciatella – Italian Egg Drop Soup”
Paccheri with Morels and Porcini Mushrooms
It’s always good to have a few simple, fast and impressive recipes to hand to wow impromptu guests or to feed the family when your shopping was delayed by a glass of wine. Today’s dish looks like you must have slaved for hour over a slow simmering stock but does in fact take just 20Continue reading “Paccheri with Morels and Porcini Mushrooms”
Minestrone Soup
I’ve bemoaned the lack of interest in soup before, but I’ll say it again: A good soup is deeply gratifying to make, heartwarming to eat, soul supporting to digest and furthermore it is an excellent indicator of a cook’s abilities . In a soup, especially a clear one, there is no hiding. All your flaws,Continue reading “Minestrone Soup”
Baked Chicken with Black Olives
This is one of those dishes you can very quickly throw together if you have only an hour to cook. Even if you don’t have readymade tomato sauce, you can cheat and I’ll show you how. Just please don’t go out and buy tomato sauce in a jar. There simply isn’t a good one. SoContinue reading “Baked Chicken with Black Olives”
A Simple Tomato Sauce
There is no such thing as a “real” Italian tomato sauce. Unless you define it as any tomato sauce made in Italy or by Italians, which of course means that I don’t stand a chance in hell. I find all this emphasis on something being “real” mostly a waste of time and space. It isContinue reading “A Simple Tomato Sauce”
Macaroni Cheese
You’ll be laughing and telling me that no one needs a recipe to make macaroni cheese. But this is a special one! Somewhere between a liquid Japanese style one and my good old sliceable Luxembourg one. Oh, and I’m actually lying, it’s not macaroni at all, but penne. Reason being that I had a lotContinue reading “Macaroni Cheese”
Zucchini Gratin
Don’t run screaming from the virtual room, just because I said the word “Gratin” again! this is a very different animal altogether. Serve it with lamb. Or beef. Or chicken tagine, a recipe I promise to post sometime soon. Actually, you can eat it just like that with rice. This just gave me another ideaContinue reading “Zucchini Gratin”
Sorrento Lemon Cake
You may think it impossible to make Sorrento lemon cake without those spindle lemons from Sorrento, but you are mistaken. The lemons have a flavour and a smell we here in Malaysia are very used to. It’s a smell more than a taste and you can smell it as soon as you crush the leaves.Continue reading “Sorrento Lemon Cake”
Risotto is a Soup
There is a basic problem with risotto: It’s a soup! If you’re aiming for a rice dish, you’ll definitely get it wrong. Think of it as a soup and chances are you’ll get it right. Now before all of Italy starts screaming bloody murder, let me explain. I assume we are all agreed that risottoContinue reading “Risotto is a Soup”
Planes, Trains & Anchovies 