Lebanese mezze

I thoroughly enjoyed my last online cooking lesson with Cinzia in Florence and her recipes for ravioli with zucchini and garlic sauce and tiramisu have been a big hit with my friends and followers (especially the tiramisu which is the ultimate lockdown comfort food!) But the experience of being grounded is starting to take its…

Fritta di acacia

Whilst walking in the Italian countryside this weekend I noticed just how many beautiful, creamy acacia flowers there are hanging in bunches from the trees that line the roadsides. Maybe it was the lockdown and the slower pace of life with which its come to be associated, maybe it was the burst of Spring sunshine…

Wild garlic pesto

Last week the Italian government announced that we would be free to take our exercise in the mountains for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown began on 9th March, which meant a trip this weekend to the foothills of the Italian Alps just a few kilometres from our home. The weather wasn’t great but…

Pizza ortolana con pesto

When my children were young I used to make pizza almost every week. We lived in the Welsh hills and there wasn’t a pizzeria for miles. My son Dylan would take the orders, scribbling down the selected toppings of household members, whilst I kneaded the dough. It became something of a weekly family ritual. Since…

Cinzia’s tiramisu

Last weekend I had an online cookery lesson with Cinzia in Florence booked through Travelling Spoon. Cinzia taught me how to make a delicious ravioli with zucchini and garlic sauce but at the same time she also had me making tiramisu. My kitchen is very small and I struggled at times to find sufficient bowls…

Ravioli with zucchini and garlic sauce

Although I live in Italy and have eaten (and loved) Italian food almost all my adult life, I’ve never actually tried to make my own pasta. Today I put that right with thanks to an online cooking lesson with Cinzia in Florence booked through Travelling Spoon. Together we made ravioli stuffed with ricotta and nutmeg…

Lockdown cauliflower cake

So this week my friend and mentor Jenny shared an old Ottolenghi recipe which means that cauliflower is back on the menu again! This is somewhere between a savory cake and a quiche made with both eggs and flour. I particularly like the fact that this dish can be sliced up and put in the…

Spicy roast cauliflower with pomegranate jewels

I often work quite late on weekdays and like to do some bulk cooking on the weekend so I have delicious home cooked vegetarian food to look forward to. I realise that there has been rather a preponderance of the humble cauliflower in my recent recipe posts but this is such a versatile vegetable that…

Cauliflower, leek and Gorgonzola cheese

Here in Northern Italy we are heading into week four of our COVID-19 lockdown and after a busy work week of project management and video calls it’s nice to be able to spend some time in the kitchen cooking up some veggie comfort food. I made this dish with a Romano cauliflower which is truly…

Chilli sensa carne

In these COVID-19 days with the bars and restaurants of Italy closed and people following government instructions to “iostacasa” (“I stay home”), many of us are doing a lot of cooking and eating. Unlike other places in Europe, there is no manic shopping or stockpiling of food…the supermarkets are open as usual with plenty of…