Pistachio & Cranberry Biscotti Dipped in Dark Chocolate

I've joined a new team in my company, and the best way to a new team's heart is through their tummies! I've already brought in some of my mini mudcakes topped with mocha icing, and this is my second goodie to bring in. 

Pizza with Leek, Mushroom & Prosciutto

 Is a pizza really a recipe? I suppose it is, just a really really simple one! I've shown you how to make my pizza dough before, and my pizza sauce so this is really just a collection of toppings that i enjoy! And i hope you will too.

Penne with Lamb Shank & Swiss Brown Mushroom Ragout

In case you can't tell, i'm really getting into mushrooms lately. There' something in them that you cannot substitute, something in the rich umami flavor that has lately stuck in my mind, drawing me to make more mushroom dishes! And this comes from a guy who, in his younger days, could not stand mushrooms. Years of eating only your standard field mushrooms, always reduced down to a ridiculously strong flavor through grilling, or pizza toppings, made me detest the humble mushroom. Since then my palate has grown but i still never use regular mushrooms in cooking, finding their flavor to be a bit too harsh.

And so in comes the swiss brown. Whilst i normally gravitate towards mushrooms suited to Asian cooking, such as enoki, shiitake (my favorite) and oyster, these mushrooms simply aren't well suited to the Italian richness of a ragu. Swiss browns are a close relative to the standard mushroom but with a more earthy flavor. Their texture is also a touch firmer so they stand well to the rigor i put them through in this dish.

Note that in this dish i take the meat off the shank before i cook; this is simply because i forgot to get them cut to fit in my dish! In an ideal world, put the whole shank in the pot. 

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Okay, so it's not really risotto weather! But when you've got a craving, you've got a craving. This recipe actually comes from Jamie Oliver and it is delicious. I love that the main part of the mushroom flavor is cooked separately from the risotto, so that each bite of the risotto is not the same monotonous strong mushroomy flavor. I was dubious about the 'dressing' of lemon on the mushrooms at first, but having savored this dish i can say it works magnificently. Definitely the most delicious risotto i have made to date.

Panzanella Salad

Second salad for the Spring season and i've gone for one similar to my very favorite salad- caprese! The Panzanella salad is of Italian origin and is primarily composed of bread and tomatoes. The bread soaks up the olive oil and balsamic and adds a delicious crunch and carbohydrate satiety to the dish.

A note on tomatoes: as we get into the hotter months, the time for the best tomatoes (late summer) draws nearer and nearer! Gone are the the hard, tasteless round globes that we must satisfy ourselves with in Autumn and Winter, and in come the delicious, intensely flavored real deal! If you're a supermarket shopper there is a great tomato available at coles now in a package called 'Intense'. They're marketed as being low in the moist innards of your standard tomato and thus as being ideal for sandwiched. But they're also grown in DIRT (a rarity now) and are strongly flavored, ideal for this salad!

Tuscan Tomato Soup

Today was such a beautiful day in Melbourne. The sun was shining but there was a light breeze. The air was fresh and the mood was peaceful on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I have similar dreams of Tuscany, though in truth i know little of the Italian region nor it's climate. But when i read the word 'Tuscan' in a dish's title i am transported to rich tomato sauces and suckling roast pig. What better a day to make a Tuscan tomato soup, rich and satisfying but simultaneously light, redolent with fresh basil and begging to be devoured with a crusty Pana Di Casa and a rich red wine.

Lamb Shank & Pearl Barley Soup

Soup soup soup! Dear god how many soups can i cook? From Wikipedia;


"Soup is a food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth."

enough said. This is my weekly soup recipe! The rich fat from the lamb shanks gives this soup it's delicious mouth feel, and yet it is also nutritious and healthy, abounding with vegetables. Light enough for the beginning of spring, but warming enough for the lagging winter chill.

Frangelico Zuccotto with Chocolate & Vanilla Hazelnut Ricotta

I keep trying to best myself in desserts and sweets, whether it be those that i cook for family or friends. The peak of that mountain to me at the moment is Macaroons, which i am yet to get the hang of. In the meantime, i have stumbled across recipes for Zuccotto, which is a very impressive dish, though deceptively simple to make.

A distinctly Italian dessert with it's origins in Florence, rich, creamy zuccotto, much like say a cheesecake, can be twisted into countless variations for personal taste. Vanilla zuccotto, orange zuccotto, even icecream zuccotto have made their appearances. But how can a hazelnut lover like me possibly go past the irresistable notion of a hazelnut riddled filling, and a cakey outside literally basted in frangelico! I have taken the basic recipe by Emma Knowles and twisted it a bit to my tastes. Fellow hazelnut lovers, enjoy!

Penne with Italian Pork & Fennel Sausage, Brocolli and Parmesan

My boss at work comes from an Italian family, and is occasionally dropping hints at how to make a good pasta. One such recipe he mentioned was spaghetti with brocolli, a pasta simply tossed with olive oil, parmesan and small brocolli florettes. I stumbled across a more extravegant recipe in the Carmine's cookbook (Carmines is a famous old-school Italian restaurant in New York for those who don't know), which added Italian Pork sausages and a few other ingredients. So i thought i'd give it a go!

I was pleasantly surprised to find such a different tasting pasta dish to add to my repertoire. A good quality Italian sausage is key to this dish, so make sure you go to a reputable butcher or delicassen.

Fettucini with Chilli Prawns

A quick and easy Sunday night dinner, fettucini with Chilli prawns. This recipes really only takes as long as it does for the pasta to cook! I think that chilli pairs wonderfully with any seafood.

Italian Country Soup with Pancetta & Cannelini

Back to my weekly soup regime! It's becoming difficult for me to find soups that will keep me interested, that are good for freezing and taking to work! But i managed to find another gem, in this Italian Country Soup. What really makes this recipe shine is the pork flavour of the pancetta which penetrates every mouthful with a delicious salty richness.

Slow Braised Lamb Shanks with Preserved Lemon & Gremolata

I love a good lamb shank, the way the succulent morsels of meat fall of the bone in juicy chunks, covered in a thin film of sticky fat. And a slow cooker is an ideal way of cooking them! This recipe which i've adapted from Three Tastes is a great example, with the lemony richness of the preserved lemon permeating the meat over it's long cooking time. There's something satisfying about throwing a bunch of ingredients in a pot, waking up the next morning, and finding the most delicious, tender meal waiting for you for dinner. As a further effort, i like to remove the shanks from the slow cooker and place them in a very hot oven for a short while, to crisp them up a little on the outside. This add a little extra texture to a soft, melt in your mouth dish. 

Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

I love a simple pasta. Back in the days of highschool holidays, i would get up every day and devour an entire packet of spaghetti, with a simple sauce of olive oil, basil, garlic and fresh chilli, covering it in a snowstorm of parmesan cheese.

Gone are the days of devouring entire packets of pasta, but there is nothing more satisfying than a simple sauce for pasta that can be whipped up in seconds. This roman pasta is perhaps the simplest that i have yet seen, consisting of only 2 ingredients to the sauce. Better still, they are ingredients that i always have hanging around! Bewarned though, that the pepper can pack a bite! If you don't like it so peppery, i can only say that you shouldn't make this dish.

Smoked Ham & Chestnut Soup

For soup recipe number 3, i decided to revisit (and change up) a recipe i made a few years ago, for chestnut soup. This version is similar in it's creation to split pea and ham soup, however the nutty sweetness of the chestnuts really brings this soup into a completely different dimension. The combination of smokey ham and sweet chestnuts is a great match, and creates a complex flavor base, and a great starter for a winter dinner party. For me, it's lunch! 

A note on chestnuts: i don't think i took the easiest route in shelling them. It took, literally, hours to shell 1kg of chestnuts, and would have been longer without the help of a reluctant assistant (thanks mum!). So don't take the way that i shell them as gospel.

Ingredients

• 1 kg fresh chestnuts or 500gm chestnut puree
• 1 smoked ham hock (approx 400gm)
• 2 carrots
• 1 tomato
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1/2 head celery
• 2 cloves
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Shell the chestnuts by cutting a slit into them and peeling off the shell.

Place the chestnuts in a medium saucepan and just cover with water.
Bring the water to the boil and cook until chestnuts are tender throughout
Leave the chestnuts to cook until you are able to handle them, and remove the fibrous outside.

Place the chestnuts in a blender and puree with enough water to create a thick paste.

Coarsely chop all of the vegetables.
In a large stockpot, add the pasley, celery, tomato, cloves, carrots and the ham hock.
Barely cover with water and bring to the boil.

Reduce to a bare simmer and let cook for 2 hours.
Remove the ham hock and when cool enough, flake the meat from the bone, discarding the skin and set aside meat.

Drain the stock from the vegetables, keeping both.
Add some of the vegetables to bulk out the soup and about 1.5 litres of stock.
Puree until smooth.
Mix through the shredded ham, saving some for garnish.
Serve the soup hot, with ham garnish and cracked pepper.

Penne with Salami, Olives, Basil and Capsicum

So this is the second recipe i've cooked in Ringwood, and this time the core reason behind cooking was simple: my mum wrote 'pasta with salami and olives etc' on the fridge whiteboard. So there wasn't much leeway tonight! Nonetheless i've cooked it anyway, to fairly decent familial reviews.

Ingredients (serves 3)

• 4 cups penne pasta
• 1 tomato
• 1 red capsicum
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 handful black olives
• 75gm salami
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Method

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside. 
Dice the tomato flesh, onion and capsicum

Slice the salami into long thin strips

Pitt the olives and cut into small pieces.
Heat a medium saucepan over low-medium heat and then add the olive oil
Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft, careful not to colour the onions

Raise the heat to medium-high
Add the salami and cook for a further 3 minutes. 
Add the tomatoes, olives and capsicum and cook for a further 1 minute.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and season with salt and pepper.
Throw in the basil and toss the pasta through.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan on the side.

Sundried Tomato & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast with Basil Sauce, Kipfler Potatoes and Asparagus

Not really much of a story today unfortunately. The tummy is getting better, and i had some feta that i originally brought for the salad the other day but didn't end up using. Along with a leftover chicken fillet, i thought I'd make a stuffed chicken recipe.

Sunday roast with a twist... Balsamic Roast Duck with Roast Potato Batons and Sauteed Scallions

It's always been a bit daunting to me to cook a roast. Whilst my roasts turn out okay, they're never the amazing things i get in restaurants or at family dinners, which have that ability to make you feel warm inside. Maybe part of it is having the company... this is not as soppy as it might sound! I have heard several chefs say that making a roast for one is pointless... the actual concept of roasting requires a large cut of meat to work effectively. So this Sunday roast is a bit of a cheats one... it will serve 2, and the 'roasting' process only takes 15 minutes. 

A note on balsamic vinegar: I am not a wine nazi. A $10 bottle of red will do me just as fine as a $100 bottle. However, balsamic vinegar, like a good olive oil, is worth the investment. I suggest you keep 2 bottles on hand if you can; go the cheapie for adding to sauces, or for a reduction. But do buy a decent bottle to use sparingly as a salad dressing, or as in this case, when it is the only ingredient in a sauce and you only need a little. You will thank you for it!

Another note: it might seem a lot to use a whole duck for 2 people. But plan ahead, and you will also get about 2/3 a cup of duck fat which is amazing for roast potatoes, and you can also boil the carcas which will have a fair amount of meat still on it to make a delicious duck stock, brilliant for Asian soups. 

Pane Toscano

Pane Toscano is a salt-less bread from Tuscany, Italy. It has a chewy center with a thick, tough crust. It's very hearty, and the reason for the lack of salt is that it's supposed to be smothered in other rich, salty ingredients such as prosciutto, olive oil and the like. I think this bread goes best as a starter / dipping bread.

Gelo di anguria

Lately i've been cooking so many rich and/or heavy desserts, loaded with cream, or fried, or chocolate covered. So i went on a hunt for something of simple tastes, nice and refreshing. And this is as close as i got bar strawberry soup or fruit salads.

I'm going to have a stab at Italian here and guess that gelo di anguria means something along the lines of gel of watermelon. You could replace the watermelon with any other fruit really, though i think citrus juice would be too overpowering.

You can buy rosewater from a good delicatessen though a word of warning: go easy on it. It's potent stuff!!

Spaghetti All'Amatriciana

It's budget time! I'm trying to go lean on the wallet lately so i'm back to ensuring that my meals cost less than $5 per person. And pastas and other carbohydrates tend to be a good way of doing it! I don't mind though because i adore pasta, and this is one of the simplest, cheapest and tastiest to make.

If i could change one thing in every kitchen around the world, i think it would be to destroy all pre-made pasta sauces. They're nasty, overly salted junk! And it's cheaper, and easier, not to mention tastier to make your own tomato bases.