Southern Italian potato pie

New potatoes are abundant at this time of year and as well as being great boiled, they also bake very well. This layered potato pie will draw all the family round the table … Serves 2 – Preparation 15 minutes – Cooking 35 minutes Ingredients 450g new potatoes, scrubbed salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 onions, peeled, finely […]

Grissini del Relais san Pietro in Polvano

This wonderful grissini recipe was sent to us by our friends at Relais san Pietro in Polvano, Tuscany… Ingredients For the Grissini 500 g Focaccia mix flour 50 g Brewer’s yeast 40 ml Olive oil 220 ml Water To decorate: Sesame or poppy seeds ——————————————————————————————- Knead all the ingredients together well or mix using a bread […]

Risotto rice pudding with stewed plums

Risotto dolce con susine stufate Risotto can work as a dessert too. Here is a fantastic Risotto rice pudding with stewed plums, using seasonal fruit. ➤ Serves 2 ➤ Preparation 10 minutes ➤ Cooking 15 minutes 350ml milk 25g caster sugar 90g arborio or carnaroli rice 1 vanilla pod 75ml double cream 250g plums 1-2 tbsp water 3 amaretti […]

Pea, mint and mascarpone risotto

Risotto ai piselli, menta e mascarpone The pea, mint and mascarpone risotto is one of the great tastes of summer, and it works very well with this creamy cheese. ➤ Serves 2➤ Preparation 10 minutes ➤Cooking 20 minutes 150g peas, fresh or frozen 10 fresh mint leaves 500ml chicken or vegetable stock 1 tbsp olive oil 3 […]

Amaretto Semifreddo

Semifreddo al amaretto ➤ Serves 4 ➤ Preparation 15 minutes plus 4 hours freezing ➤ Cooking 5 minutes This delicious iced dessert, which is almost an ice cream but not quite (semifreddo literally translates as ‘almost cold’), is very easy to make and truly wonderful, combining both amaretti biscuits and the liqueur to make a very grown-up dolce. The cream […]

Baked mushrooms stuffed with spinach, Brie and walnuts

Funghi al forno ripieno di spinaci, brie e noci  ➤ Serves 4  ➤Preparation 10 minutes   ➤ Cooking 20 minutes 3 tbsp olive oil 4 field or Portobello mushrooms, wiped and stalks removed 225g baby leaf spinach 40g walnuts, chopped 100g Brie (or Blue Stilton), cut into small pieces salt and freshly ground black pepper mixed salad leaves and cherry tomatoes […]

Southern Italian layered potato pie

Patate al forno  New potatoes are abundant at this time of year and as well as being great boiled, they also bake very well – use them in this Southern Italian layered potato pie…. ➤ Serves 2 ➤ Preparation 15 minutes ➤ Cooking 35 minutes 450g new potatoes, scrubbed salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 onions, peeled, finely chopped […]

Gnocchi with spinach, Gorgonzola and pancetta

Gnocchi agli spinaci, Gorgonzola e pancetta You can, if you have time and patience, make your own gnocchi, but it is an ingredient that does not suffer from being pre-prepared by a supermarket. ➤Serves 2➤ Preparation 5 minutes ➤ Cooking 10 minutes 250g good-quality ready-made potato gnocchi 80g cubetti di pancetta 100g mascarpone 70g Gorgonzola cheese, cut […]

Pasta and chickpea soup

Minestra di pasta e ceci If you like a meaty taste to your Pasta and chickpea soup, replace the anchovy fillets with a couple of tablespoons of cubed pancetta. ➤ Serves 2 ➤ Preparation 10 minutes  ➤ Cooking 30 minutes 200g canned chickpeas 1 small sprig fresh rosemary 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 large cloves garlic, peeled, chopped […]