Plum and ricotta cake is a lovely mixture of flavourful spiced plums, and is delicately flavoured with lemon zest and vanilla and topped with the light crunch of flaked almonds. It is light with a slightly more dense texture than other lemon cakes. The blend of the spicy plums is perfect for the moist, rich tasting ricotta cake. I particularly love spiced stewed plums. The … Continue reading Spiced Plum and Ricotta Cake
Chicken thighs, a dark meat, have a richer, more intense flavour than other white chicken cuts. The Maryland fillet is a large boned cut that includes the leg as well as the thigh. It is the perfect cut for making roulades. In this recipe each roulade is filled with the flavours of fresh herbs, of smoked ham, braised garlicky silverbeet and tasty peppery, Italian pork … Continue reading Tender Chicken Roulade
Lasagna is such a versatile food that can be adapted to use whatever you have available as long as you can bring out the best in the flavours of your ingredients. In this case the humble zucchini was the central ingredient. As it is generally such a mild vegetable there was the possibility of it being overwhelmed with the bechamel sauce and cheese. So I … Continue reading Zucchini, Speck and Tomato Lasagna
Soda bread is so delicious. The lovely texture comes about through the reaction between the acidic milk and the baking soda that forms small bubbles of carbon dioxide in the dough. You can hear it when you stir in the kefir or buttermilk. This causes the bread to rise. Soda bread has a lovely hard crust, dense texture and slight sour tang. As we culture … Continue reading Easy, Crusty Soda Bread
Today I am re-posting the recipe for George’s fabulous chilli oil first posted in 2016. Aside from his many other talents George was a fabulous cook and keen gardener, growing all kinds of chillies and making his fabulous chilli oil. He kindly shared his recipe with us. Chilli oil is great to have at hand to give a kick to all kinds of dishes as … Continue reading George’s Fabulous Chilli Oil
Today I was remembering our friend Jackie and having come across one of her favourite recipes for Vegetarian Paella that she had given me, I thought I would make it and share her recipe here. This delicious paella is a variation on the classic paella and chock-full of vegetables. The flavours come together so well that I am sure you will love it. With all … Continue reading Jackie’s Vegetable Paella
Ripe, Roma tomatoes are so delicious when oven roasted. This brings out their sweetness and gives them a deep, rich flavour. All that is needed is a drizzle of Extra Virgin olive oil, crushed garlic and a dusting of Italian herbs and just little Parmesan cheese. These lovely tomato slices form the basis for this easy rustic pizza. The recipe for the Oven baked Roma … Continue reading Rustic Roast Tomato Pizza
This recipe belongs to the ‘cucina povera’ or cooking recipes of the poor, from Italy. It was a way to use a few leftover potatoes and anything you may have in the fridge to create a lovely, tasty dish to feed your family. In this case I had two small chicken breast pieces and two large potatoes and some sage leaves. Individually these are not … Continue reading Creamy Potato, Sage and Chicken Pasta
I love kabana, a long thin sausage made of pork and originating in Poland. It has a characteristic smokey flavour and can be soft or dry like the familiar cabanossi. You can use either in this recipe but I have chosen the soft variety. It takes 150 g of best grade pork to make 100 g of kabana. You also have a choice of ‘hot’ … Continue reading Kabana, Ham and Beans in Tomato Sauce
Our friend Anita brought us a gift of her home baked Italian almond biscuits and we really loved them. She has kindly shared her recipe with us. These lovely biscuits have a crunchy, golden almond coating with a chewy almond center. They are so delicious and easy to make. Just use a quality almond meal and a good smooth apricot jam. The addition of a … Continue reading Anita’s Italian Almond Biscuits
The Grantham Gardener 