‘Each day had a tranquility a timelessness about it so that you wished it would never end. But then the dark skin of the night would peel off and there would be a fresh day waiting for us glossy and colourful as a child’s transfer and with the same tinge of unreality’ – Gerald Durrell. I…
Category: Pasta, Malfatti and Gnocchi
Greek Trachanas Soup with Tomatoes, Lemon and Olive Oil
‘In these all-white courtyards where the south wind blows whistling through vaulted arcades, tell me, is it the mad pomegranate tree that leaps in the light scattering its fruitful laughter with windy wilfulness and whispering? Tell me, is it the mad pomegranate tree that quivers with foliage newly born at dawn raising high its colours…
Greek Kritharaki with Lemon, Herbs and Pine Kernels
Here’s a beautifully bright pasta dish to brighten up your day whatever the season. There’s something extraordinarily comforting about eating kritharaki (kριθαράκι) or orzo; it’s the luxe softness of it I think as well as its ability to soak up all your favourite flavours be they rich or light. This vibrant lemony herb-packed recipe is…
Piedmont Gnocchi with Charred Purple Sprouting Broccoli and a Creamy Garlicky Sauce
I made ricotta, cavolo nero and lemon malfatti last weekend. By accident. It was gnocchi that I was attempting to make but the mixture was just too soft to shape and cut. No problemo, we love malfatti – an Italian term meaning ‘badly made’, even though it’s made with love and care – and I…
Orecchiette with Pistachios, Hazelnuts, Parmesan and Mint
Sometimes I yearn for a pesto sauce that packs a bit more of a punch that the regular basil and pine nut version especially when the quality of shop bought basil can be patchy – who else has splashed out on a packet recently only to find that the leaves are all pretty much too…
Amalfi Orecchiette Primavera with Peas, Asparagus, Mascarpone and a Parsley and Lemon Sourdough Pangrattato
There’s a beautiful little restaurant high up in Amalfi where the tourists don’t care to venture. This is a good thing. Let them throng by the water’s edge in the packed overpriced ristorantes, trattorias, and osterie. Let them queue for mass produced gelato and garish bottles of limoncello. Let them sit elbow to elbow in…
Pappardelle Lentil Ragù with a Parmesan, Garlic, Parsley and Lemon Sourdough Pangrattato
The sun languished high in the sky as we walked out of Assisi towards the beautiful Umbrian hill town of Spello renowned for its beauty and quietness where the interconnected weathered stone houses gently cling to the beloved side of Saint Francis’ mountain, Monte Subasio. Leaving via the Porta Nuova, past the striking Basilica di Santa Chiara…
Messicane with New Potatoes, Rocket and a Wild Garlic Pesto
This is my interpretation of the classic Italian dish ‘trofie al pesto’ – the lockdown issue. I had half a pack of absolutely delightful messicane pasta in my – now meticulously reorganised – pantry. I also had a jar of foraged wild garlic pesto in my fridge, some leftover boiled new potatoes, some limp wild…
Umbrian Rocket and Walnut Pesto
‘When we first started cooking, dishes like lasagne and cannelloni were treated with suspicion. Few people knew what to expect. Thirty years ago these dishes were virtually unknown to the British population; only a few who had travelled to Italy had tried them. These dishes always had to be described in great detail before people…
Lucca Rigatoni with Roasted Tomatoes and Salsa Verde
This recipe is inspired by an al fresco dinner we recently enjoyed in the beautiful city of Lucca in Tuscany. We were sitting on the outside of the infamous Piazza Anfiteatro when I noticed a long snake of very young children each holding tiny posies of flowers with their very handsome teacher who was nervously whispering instructions to them….
