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
Ripe, Roma tomatoes are so delicious when baked in the oven. Baking brings out their sweetness and gives them a deep, rich flavour that can be used in so many ways. With a drizzle of Extra Virgin olive oil, garlic and Italian herbs and just little Parmesan cheese, these lovely tomato slices can be used as a topping for the best crunchy sourdough bread, on … Continue reading Oven Baked Roma Tomatoes
These individual chicken, mushroom and leek parcels are perfectly delicious and will be the centre of attention at any meal. The elements of these parcels are prepared separately with care to give the maximum flavour to each of the layers. The chicken is poached slowly with wine and herbs to tenderness and also creating a rich chicken stock that is then used to make the … Continue reading Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Parcels
Veal shanks are so tender when cooked long and slow. A little care at the pre-cooking phase will make them even more melting and tender By salting the shanks with kosher salt ahead of cooking, the moisture is drawn out onto the surface of the meat and dissolves the salt with the resulting brine then reabsorbed into the meat. This breaks down the proteins in … Continue reading Slow Roasted Veal Shanks
Leftover raisin bread will make a delicious pudding, not unlike the traditional bread and butter pudding but with some flavourful additions. For the best results use quality spiced raisin bread that is dense and fruity. The raisin bread, soaked in egg that has been flavoured with orange zest, vanilla extract and brandy, is then topped with a whisper of cinnamon and spiced poached apple slices. … Continue reading Spiced Raisin Bread and Apple pudding
The humble meatloaf is often underestimated but it can make a satisfying and tasty meal eaten hot from the oven or sliced cold. This recipe is for ‘Polpettone’ which in Italian means large meatball and is an Italian meatloaf. It usually uses a number of different minced meats, herbs and spices to give it a great flavour. You can use beef mince, pork and veal … Continue reading Polpettone, an Italian Meatloaf
Mackerel is often overlooked in favour of other canned fish, but it is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids and is richer and is milder in flavour than tuna. So in this recipe we use mackerel to make some lovely potato patties filled with capers, parsley,shallots and tasty Parmesan cheese. When crumbed the patties are baked using a spray of olive oil making them … Continue reading Potato Patties with Mackerel
The Grantham Gardener 