Lemon Gelato

Rather than the tart sorbet-style lemon gelato you usually buy from the gelateria, this is a soft, creamy gelato with just enough tanginess to balance it out perfectly. It is super easy to make and well worth the effort. I often make this to use up the denuded lemons I have leftover after using the peel for other recipes, Limoncello, for example. So I usually make it without including any zest, but if you have some, it does improve it.

Ingredients

300g Lemon juice (approximately 6 normal-sized lemons)
Zest of 1 Lemon, finely grated (optional)
400g Caster sugar
400ml Cream
500ml Full cream milk

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until the caster sugar is dissolved.

Chill in the fridge for an hour or so, until cold. If everything was well chilled to start with, you can skip this step.

Pour into an icecream maker and churn until frozen. Store in a plastic container. It will probably need some additional time in the freezer to firm up before serving.

Bellini Slushie

This is the beautiful love child of a Bellini and a Sgroppino. Only to be attempted when white peaches are ripe and in season.

As far as I know, store-bought lemon gelato is always a sorbet style, and since this recipe works better with a creamy gelato, I use homemade.

Serves one

Ingredients

1 ripe white peach, peeled and blitzed to a puree

2 tbsp scoops of lemon gelato

1/4 cup prosecco

Mash the peach puree and gelato together until just combined. Add just enough prosecco to loosen the mixture to a slushie consistency.

Pour into a champagne bowl or cocktail glass. Drink quickly before it melts. 

Scaloppine di Montagne

During midsummer, when you are sick of salad but it's still too hot to really get the stove going, scaloppine are a good compromise. The thin slices of veal take only a few mintues to cook, so the dish is prepared before you even have a chance to raise a sweat.

I've based this fresh, summery scaloppine on a recipe I found in Arturo Lengo's wonderful book on the cuisine of Campania, Cucina Napoletana.

Serves two

Ingredients

2 veal escalopes
Plain flour for dredging
2 slices proscuitto
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 tsp capers
3 large mushrooms, finely sliced
Pinch of dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Put a few tablespoons of flour onto a plate and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the veal slices in the flour and shake off any excess.

Heat a lightly oiled frypan and cook the veal. You'll only need a minute or so on each side. Remove the veal to a plate and keep warm.

If needed, add a little more oil to the pan and fry the mushrooms until softened slightly. Add the chopped tomatoes and oregano, then cook until the tomatoes just start to collapse (they don't need to be fully reduced to a sauce). Taste for salt and season if necessary.

Top each slice of veal with proscuitto, then the mushroom and tomato mixture. Finish by scattering over the basil, parsley and capers.

Serve with a simple salad of rocket and tomato dressed with oil, lemon and salt.

Christmas Cookies and Cream Icecream

Icecream is the ultimate reliable Christmas staple, handy as a side dish for pudding, a supplementary dessert, a light weight alternative after a casual supper, or a child-friendly option. I regularly make 'icecream Christmas pudding' and Cassata, which are both about as low-fuss as you can get, but this year's version is even simpler again.

I've written before about my love of speculoos, Belgian spice cookies, and here I've combined them with smashed up brandy snap baskets for a Christmassy take on Cookies and Cream Icecream. I buy Lotus brand speculoos, marketed as 'Biscoff', which are available at my local Foodland. If you can't find them, substitute with a gingerbread biscuit such as Anna's Ginger Thins.

Ingredients

6 brandy snap baskets
10 speculoos buscuits
1 litre good quality vanilla icecream

Method

Take the icecream out of the freezer and allow to soften slightly.

Break up the brandy snap baskets and biscuits into small pieces.

Smoosh the biscuit pieces into the icecream until evenly distributed. Return icecream to the freezer immediately - try to avoid it melting too much.

No-cook Christmas Supper

Years ago, I heard Nigella say that good entertaining doesn't really necessitate cooking at all. Creating a cohesive menu, sourcing good quality ready-made items, adding some finishing touches and presenting it all with care and generosity are all that is needed to impress your guests. But while I ordinarily take this wisdom to heart, for some reason it seems to fly out the window just when I need it most: Christmas. I do love preparing a full-blown traditional Christmas lunch, but it usually ends up being a daunting exercise in elaborate pre-planning, drawn out preparations and military-like timetabling, not to mention the grunt work.

So this menu is my Christmas gift for all you heavenly hosts out there. I've called it my No-Cook Christmas Supper because all the dishes require assembly rather than cooking, and it is particularly well suited to supper because it is light and easy to bring together quickly. When coming up with the concept, I had in mind hosts who had been out to lunch elsewhere all day who had to rush home and whip up a supper for 'round two', and guests who had overindulged at lunch who had to, for politeness' sake, find room for a second Christmas meal. It is designed to feed 8 adults, but the recipes can easily be expanded to cater for more.

Quick and easy though this menu undoubtedly is, I would still recommend some staggering of the preparations, especially if you only have limited time to get it ready on the day. The most obvious thing to prepare on Christmas Eve is the trifle, which should always be given 24 hours to rest in the fridge before serving. On Christmas morning, I would chop some of the salad vegetables and maybe make the dressings.

The menu, in its entirety, consists of:
- Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Canapes
- Smoked Turkey and Cranberry Canapes
- Cold Platters of Ham and Seafood
- Green Salad with Chicken
- Red Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
- Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad
- Christmas Trifle

Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Canapes

When your guests arrive for dinner, it is unlikely that they will be particularly hungry. These canapes are ideal because they are light and tasty, perfect for accompanying a glass of bubbly. The recipe below makes approximately 50.

Ingredients

2 lebanese cucumbers

200g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces

6 tbsp spreadable cream cheese

Zest of 1 lemon

Good squeeze of lemon juice

Few sprigs of dill

Salt 

Method

Slice the cucumber into 5mm thick rounds.

Mix together the cream cheese, lemon zest, juice, and a few pinches of salt.

To assemble the canapes, spread some of the cream cheese onto each cucumber slice, top with smoked salmon, and garnish with a small sprig of dill.

Smoked Turkey Canapes

It just wouldn't be Christmas without turkey, so here is my nod to tradition. You should probably make these just before your guests are due to arrive as the avocado will brown if left hanging about for too long. Makes 24 portions.

Ingredients

Cooked smoked turkey breast, cut into thick slices, enough for 24 pieces (2cm x 2cm  squares) 

6 slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed, cut into quarters

2 ripe avocadoes, mashed and lightly seasoned

Brie

Cranberry sauce

Method

To assemble the canapes, spread some of the avocado thickly onto each slice of bread. top with a slice of brie, then turkey. Garnish with a dab of cranberry sauce.

Cold Platters

Platters of sliced ham  and whole prawns are as good as any roast turkey, especially if you accompany them with some tasty sauces - from a jar of course. I love the Berenburg brand of condiments; for Christmas purposes I recommend the Seafood Sauce, Cranberry Sauce, and Chutney. Feel free to supplement your platters with any other cold meats and seafood. 

Green Salad with Chicken

The addition of chicken makes this a more substantial salad. If your turkey craving hasn't been quite satisfied yet, of if you have leftovers from lunch, you could easily use cold turkey meat as a substitute for the chicken. I've left the quantities vague so you can go by feel. Oh, and by way of a confession, I do realise that blanching the asparagus and beans, and browning the pine nuts technically constitute cooking, but I couldn't leave them out of the salad just to be pedantic.

Ingredients

Baby cos lettuce leaves

Bunch of asparagus, cut into 4cm lengths and blanched

Handful of snow peas

1 Lebanese Cucumber

Handful of Beans, cut in half and blanched

1 roast chicken, skin removed, chopped into bite sized pieces
3 tbsp (or more, to taste) pine nuts
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Squeeze of lemon

Method

Make sure your lettuce leaves are thoroughly washed and free of grit, then combine all the vegetables together.

In a frying pan, briefly cook the pine nuts until just browned, then remove from heat.

Season the salad, and drizzle with olive oil.  Squeeze over lemon juice, a little at a time, tasting, until the flavour balance is right.

Add chicken, toss through gently, then top with pine nuts.

Red Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

This salad is not for the faint hearted, but its slightly bitter leaves and walnuts, sweet cranberries and punchy blue cheese sauce make for a robust, flavoursome addition to the buffet table.

Ingredients

200g red salad leaves (I used a combination of chard, red oak lettuce and radicchio)

100g walnuts

100g dried cranberries

For the dressing:

50g blue cheese (sharp, such as roquefort or mild, such as gorgonzola dolce, according to taste)

50ml milk

Juice of 1 small lemon

2 tbsp greek yoghurt

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp chopped chives

Dash of olive oil

Method

Arrange the salad leaves in a wide, shallow bowl. Top with the walnuts and cranberries.

To make the dressing, smash up the cheese, then add all the other ingredients. Whisk until well combined. Taste for seasoning, then drizzzle the dressing over the salad.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad

Mum would be devastated if ever I substituted an Insalata Caprese (which she loves), with this Goat Cheese version (which she can't stand), but I think tomato and chevre is a perfect, if underrated flavour combination. For additional visual interest, include a variety of tomato colours and shapes.

Ingredients

6-7 tomatoes, cut into chunks or slices, as you prefer

150g goat cheese

Handful of torn basil leaves

Few pinches dried oregano

Salt and Pepper

Olive oil

Method

Arrange the tomato on a plate.  Crumble over the goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper and oregano. Scatter over the basil leaves and top with a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Christmas Trifle

Not only do you not have to cook a thing to make this trifle, it can all be done in about 10 minutes on Christmas Eve. Its impressive looks and decadent choc-cherry flavour are sure to impress. 

Ingredients

600ml cream

500ml double cream (La Casa del Formaggio vanilla double cream)

2 tbsp icing sugar

300g Savoiardi (sponge finger) biscuits

900g Chocolate custard (Paul's 'Double Thick' custard)

680g jar of Morello Cherries

100g dark chocolate, chopped

Dash of Brandy

Handful of pistachios, chopped

Method

Drain the cherries, keeping the juice.  Add a dash of brandy (to taste) to the reserved cherry juice. Check all of the cherries for stray pits (this may seem like a hassle, but there are almost always some pits left in, and the last thing you want is for one of your relatives to break a tooth).

In a separate bowl, combine the creams, add the sugar and whip to soft peaks.

To assemble the trifle, layer the various ingredients.  The amount of layers will depend on the dish or bowl you are using, but mine goes as follows:

• Sponge fingers soaked in cherry liquor
• Cherries and dark chocolate pieces
• Chocolate custard
• Sponge fingers soaked in cherry liquor
• Cherries and dark chocolate pieces
• Cream
• Sponge fingers soaked in cherry liquor
• Cherries and dark chocolate pieces
• Chocolate custard
• Cream

Top your trifle with the chopped pistachio nuts.  Put in the fridge overnight.

Tony Tomatoes

I’d been meaning to visit North Adelaide pizzeria Tony Tomatoes for some time, but when I read that it had won the 2016 SA Savour Australia Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence in the best pizza category, I stopped stalling and made a booking post-haste to see for myself.

Now, I should admit that I went into Tony Tomatoes with fairly strong opinions on what constitutes excellent pizza, and high expectations of Adelaide’s new ‘best in town’. For me, the standard in this city is set by Pizza e Mozzarella Bar (Pirie St) and Antica Pizzeria e Cucina (King William Rd and now Morphett St city), two establishments that offer wonderful Neapolitan-style wood fire pizzas with perfectly executed bases and delicious, fresh, traditional toppings. Honourable mentions also go to the unassuming Cambelltown restaurant Wood Oven Gourmet, and the newer McLaren Vale offering Pizzateca. Further afield, Melbourne’s 400 Gradi, previously awarded the title of the world’s best Margherita, is nothing short of sublime; even after travelling to Naples specifically for a pizza pilgrimage, it remains my single favourite pizza of all time.

So, did my experience at Tony Tomatoes ratify its reputation as Adelaide’s best pizza? In short, no. But I would happily suggest that you go eat there, and here’s why:

Upon entering the restaurant, its most striking feature is its fabulous atmosphere. A large bar commands a central position and is a hub for both diners and drinkers. The crowd is young and fashionable, and on a Saturday night the place is busy and lively. The décor has a stylish retro feel without being an op shop cliché, and the room, while large, avoided feeling like a barn due to subtle room dividers.  I won’t lie: I was intensely disappointed when I realised that there was no wood oven. While it is remotely possible that the commercial-looking ovens in the kitchen were secretly some new-fangled modern wood fire contraption, I could detect no evidence of it.

The staff are friendly and efficient, and we were seated and ordered drinks without delay.  I always drink prosecco with pizza, and I was pleased to find that the one offered here, although a little pricey at $11 a glass, was a good quality, dry prosecco, perfect as a starter drink or with food.  The wine list as a whole provided good balance, with wines from both Italy and South Australia, and catering for a range of price points (from $33 to $80 a bottle).

Contadino (top) and Margherita (below)

For a starter we had the Asparagus Arancini (the small serve was ample for two), which were nice, with good flavouring, but could have used some additional seasoning.  For the main event, we ordered two pizzas: Margherita and Contadino. A Margherita is always the litmus test for any pizzeria, and unfortunately it was here that I was most disappointed. It wasn’t unpleasant by any means, but with such a simple pizza, there really is nowhere to hide, and the minor imperfections immediately disqualified it from being amongst my favourite.  The tomato sauce, while nicely balanced and seasoned, was slightly too reduced for my tastes, a problem exacerbated by the fact that there was simply too much of it on the pizza, meaning that the lovely milky sweetness of the buffalo mozzarella was overshadowed by the intensity of the tomato. More disappointing, however, was the base, which I was expecting to be soft and chewy , Neapolitan-style, but which was rather thin and crispy – overcooked or intentional I could not tell. The Contadino was, in many ways, redemptive. The base was softer than the one on the Margherita, and the topping of mozzarella, mushrooms, truffle paste, prosciutto and basil was rich and delicious.  

Semifreddo

My favourite course of the night, however, was the dessert, a wonderful pistachio and praline Semifreddo with great texture and flavour.

Despite some of my quibbles, I had a great night at Tony Tomatoes. It is one of those restaurants that is perfect for a Saturday night out with friends. It’s casual enough that you can have a laugh and a good time, but understatedly sophisticated enough to make it an occasion. The wine is quality, there is a nice cocktail list, and the food is good. Just maybe leave your pizza snob friend at home.

Frittata

Mushroom, Pea and Potato Frittata

Frittata, like its close relatives omlette and quiche, is a great allrounder, perfect at any time of day for just about any occasion.  This one would serve 4 for a light lunch or supper, or two for a more substantial meal.

This is but one of many combinations of flavours I routinely use.  Just last week I made a delicious one using bacon in place of the potato. I've also been known to include spinach. Sometimes, when I'm impoverished, I simply use potato and rosemary. Nanna made frittata every week using asparagus. The only rule of thumb is to make sure you cook the vegetables before adding the egg, otherwise they'll release water and make the frittata soggy. Please also feel to add a little cream or ricotta to the egg mixture to soften the texture slightly. 

 

Serves 4 

Ingredients

300g mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, finely chopped

1 potato, peeled and sliced thinly

1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped

Parmesan, grated, to taste

Mozzarella, grated, to taste

10 eggs

2 tbsp chives, chopped

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

In a medium sized frying pan, cook the onion in olive oil over a low heat until softened.  Add mushrooms and cook until soft.

Meanwhile, arrange the slices of potato on a plate lined with kitchen paper, sprinkle with rosemary, and season with salt and pepper.  Cover with cling film, and microwave for 2 minutes, or until potato is soft.

In a bowl,  beat the eggs, and mix in the parmesan, mozzarella, chives, parsley and seasoning.

When the mushrooms are ready, pour over the egg mixture and stir to combine.  Lay the potato slices in a single layer, pressing them into the egg until submerged.  Sprinkle the peas over the top.

Cook the frittata on the stovetop until it starts to come away from the sides of the frying pan, indicating that it is cooked on the bottom.  Transfer the frittata to a grill to cook the top.  When the top is browned, and the frittata no longer wobbles, it is done.

Allow to cool slightly before sliding it onto a plate to serve. Serve hot, cold or warm, with a side salad. Alternatively, if you'd like something more substantial, place slices of frittata (with or without a  squirt of tomato sauce) between two slices of buttered bread. 

Spinach and Ricotta Shells

Spinach and ricotta filling is usually associated with either cannelloni or ravioli, and, by extension, the whole process of making fresh pasta, and rolling, stuffing, and carefully cooking without losing all the filling, which, I admit, all sounds a bit much like hard work, especially on a weeknight. Hitherto, the only alternative has been to use the dried cannelloni tubes, which, try as I might, I cannot help but envision as being absolutely impossible to work with.

Here, I give you a workable alternative: stuffed pasta shells.  Simply precook the shells to al dente while you make the filling, then spoon the spinach/ricotta mixture into the shells, line up on a bed of sauce in a casserole dish, top with mozarella, then cook for a short time in the oven.  To make it even easier, you can do many of the steps in advance ( I usually cook the spinach the night before), and feel free to use sauce from a jar. Facile!


Makes 12 Pasta Shells (Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as entree)

Ingredients

For the filling:
1 bunch spinach (central ribs removed and finely chopped)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Olive Oil
Knob of Butter
Pinch of Nutmeg

My mozzarella of choice

Parmesan, grated, to taste
200g Ricotta
Salt and Pepper

For the sauce:
1 tin tomatoes
1 Clove garlic
Olive oil

To assemble:
12 small slices of Mozzarella
15 giant pasta shells ('conchiglie giganti')

 Method:

Cook the pasta shells in salted, boiling water until al dente, then drain and set aside. I have stipulated 15 shells even though you only need 12, so as to give you a couple of spares and a tester.

To make the sauce, squash the garlic with flat side of a knife and heat gently in a small saucepan with a generous glug of olive oil.  Add the tin of tomatoes, and simmer on a low heat while you make the filling. Remember to fish out the garlic before using the sauce.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan or shallow casserole pot, heat up the butter and some olive oil on a low heat. Soften the onion and garlic until it is translucent, but do not brown.

Add the spinach to the pan and cook until wilted and soft. Remove from heat and put into a mixing bowl to cool.

Once the spinach has cooled to tepid, mix in the ricotta, nutmeg,  and grated parmesan, to taste.  Add some pepper and salt if needed.

To assemble, put the sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish.

Fill the shells and arrange them in a single layer.  Top each shell with a slice of mozzarella.

Cook in a preheated 180 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the mozzarella melted.  Serve with crusty bread to mop up any leftover sauce.

Spinach Soup with Ricotta Dumplings

While tomato and mozzarella will always be my favourite cheese and vegetable pairing, spinach and ricotta has to come a close second.  The obvious choice is to use it in pasta - ravioli, cannelloni or lasagne - but this soup is another great way to celebrate the two.

Thinking on it, calling spinach and ricotta a 'pair' is slightly misleading, as it ignores what I believe is a crucial third player, especially in  italian cuisine - parmesan. I'm a huge fan of the stuff, so I generally apply the 'more is more' principle and grate some into the dumpling mixture and the soup itself, but you can leave it out of the soup if you're afraid of it overpowering.

Admittedly, green soup is not very photogenic, but it's super tasty and very healthy.

Ingredients

For the dumplings:

1 heaped cup ricotta
Bread scooped out from the inside of 3 round rolls, broken into small pieces
1 large egg
2-3 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper

For the soup:

1 bunch of spinach, very finely chopped
Knob of butter
1.5 L salt reduced beef stock
Pinch of nutmeg
Grated Parmesan, to taste
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Method

To make the dumplings, put the ricotta into a bowl, and mash with a fork to break it up. Add the egg and stir to combine.  Add the bread a little at a time, stirring to combine.  You'll know when you have enough bread because the mixture will become gluggy and you will be able to scoop up a spoonful and roll it into a ball.  Mix in the parsley, and grated parmesan and seasoning to taste.  Roll spoonfuls (teaspoon for small dumplings, tablespoon for large dumplings) of the mixture into balls and set aside in the fridge.

To make the soup, ensure that you  chop the spinach very finely. This is important as too-large pieces will be difficult to eat with a soup spoon later on.  Melt the butter and a swirl of olive oil together in a large saucepan. Add the spinach and saute until soft.  Add the beef stock and nutmeg, then the parmesan and seasoning to taste. You really do need to use salt-reduced beef stock so that you can control the saltiness that comes out of the butter and the parmesan.

Bring the soup to a simmer and add the dumplings.  Cook, stirring a couple of times, until the dumplings are cooked.

Scatter with some chopped fresh parsley and serve with some nice bread.

Kale: Not just for hipsters and fad dieters

I'm meeting you half way with this one, hipsters. Not only am I about to extol the virtues of kale, I'm going to begin by telling you that I was cooking with it before it was cool.  To be fair, I didn't even know it was kale; I knew it only in its Italian form Cavolo Nero, which is the dark green, flat-leaved variety.  Until a couple of years ago, it was virtually impossible to find here, and I was only introduced to it via my travels and my collection of cookbooks. Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer write about it in their 1999 Tuscan Cookbook (referring to it as "unavailable in Australia"), and Jamie Oliver uses it in a recipe for Ribollita in Jamie's Italy. Whenever some would appear miraculously in a green grocer's, I would get very excited and rush home, bunch in hand to cook up a batch of soup. I suppose I should extend my grudging thanks to the kale bandwagon that has ensured its regular availability on my supermarket shelves.

But, at the risk of being culinarily unfashionable, I need to make one thing absolutely clear: kale is a form of cabbage and should be treated as such. That is, it is a delight in soups, sauteed, and braised, but is fairly unappealing in its other incarnations. I'm going to come right out and say it: raw kale in salad is totally unpalatable and tastes revolting (funnily enough, like eating raw cabbage) and should not be 'a thing'. And, despite the variety of cultivars on the market, I still only use Cavolo Nero, or, as it's sometimes more prosaically marketed, 'Tuscan Kale' or 'Tuscan Cabbage', as it has the tenderest leaves when cooked.

Below are my three favourite kale recipes, and now that the cold weather has well and truly set in, these belly-warming dishes make the most of this seasonal ingredient.

Chicken and Vegetable Zuppa

When I make this soup (stew really; it's quite hearty), and I do so regularly, I can't help but think that this is exactly the kind of good, healthy food that we are supposed to eat.  And although we are infinitely more fortunate in the kind of food available to us than our forebears were, I feel a kind of latent peasant satisfaction making it, especially when I adapt this recipe to use up leftovers or make use of a cheap seasonably available ingredient. I am particularly fond of stretching out any leftover soup by adding a little more chicken stock, then bulking it out with torn up stale bread or leftover pasta. I even keep the vegetable peel and ends in a plastic bag (see picture), and when I have a bagful, I use them with leftover bones or meat pieces to make a stock.  If anything encapsulates my approach to home cooking and healthy eating, it is this.

Serves 3- 4 (depending on the size of the thigh fillets and how much bread you serve with it)

Ingredients

5 chicken thigh fillets, excess fat trimmed, diced                    

1 onion

2 carrots

2 sticks celery

2 small zuccini 
2 small potatoes, peeled

1/2 bunch cavolo nero 

1/2 tin tomatoes (doesn't matter what kind, but I prefer San Marzano tomatoes)

1 litre salt-reduced chicken stock

1 piece of parmesan cheese rind (purely optional, but will add nice flavour)

olive oil, salt, pepper.

Method

In a large pot, brown the chicken in olive oil and season with a little salt.   Do this in batches if necessary.  Remove chicken to a plate.   

Next (or meanwhile, depending on your multitasking skills), dice the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini and potato.  Add more oil to the pot if necessary, then saute the vegetables until softened.  While you're waiting for the vegetables to cook, trim the stalks from the cavolo nero, then slice finely.

Add the tomatoes to the pot and cook for a few minutes until amalgamated with the other vegetables, then add the stock, cavolo nero, parmesan rind and the chicken.  Simmer for at least half an hour, or until the chicken is tender and falling apart. If you have used a parmesan rind, fish it out before serving and eat it yourself.  Cook's privilege.

Serve the soup topped with parmesan cheese, cracked pepper if you like, and with crusty bread.

Strozzapreti with Sausage and Braised Cavolo Nero

Strozzapreti (literally translated as 'priest stranglers') are my favourite kind of pasta - the perfect length between fusilli and macaroni - and the artisan variety keeps a pleasing al dente texture when cooked. Here, I've paired strozzapreti with Italian pork sausages (I prefer the ones with fennel), and cavolo nero braised with tomatoes. You can easily vary this dish by experimenting with the many different types of sausages available at your local butchers.  Chorizo would be magic here too.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 bunch cavolo nero
6 Italian Sausages (of regular thickness. adjust quantity if using the really thick ones)
300g pasta (strozzapreti, or other kind of short pasta like fusilli or penne)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tin tomatoes
Pinch chili flakes (optional)
Olive oil
Salt
Parmesan, grated, to serve.

Method

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente.

Meanwhile, prepare the kale by removing the tough stalks and central rib, then chop finely.

Chop sausages into 1.5 - 2 cm lengths. In a deep frying pan or shallow casserole pan, fry the sausage in some olive oil until cooked, then remove to a plate.

Cook the onion slowly until soft, then add the tomatoes, chili and kale. Cover the pan with a lid or foil and let simmer, When the kale leaves are tender, add the cooked sausage and pasta to the vegetables. Season with salt.  Let simmer for 5 minutes or so, so that the flavours amalgamate, then serve.

Ribollita

Ribollita is essentially a leftovers dish whereby soup, traditionally minestrone, is stretched further by adding torn up stale bread then 'reboiled'.  Giving recipe quantities for the bread component is a bit tricky - a lot depends on the bread you use, and how thick you want your ribollita.   So, I've given the recipe for the soup, then you can gradually add chunks of bread until you have achieved the desired consistency. The bread you use should be chewy, with a dense texture so that it holds up to cooking without disintegrating into a slimy mess.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 L salt reduced chicken stock
1 small bunch cavolo nero, stalks and rib removed, finely sliced.
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin cannellini beans
Stale bread, torn into chunks
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese (plus a piece of rind, if you have it)

Method

In a casserole pan or large saucepan, soften the onion in olive oil, then add the garlic, carrot and celery. When the vegetables have softened, add the tomatoes and cook until broken down.  Add the stock, parmesan rind (if using), and cavolo nero.  Let the soup simmer for about half an hour, then taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Fish out the parmesan rind and add the chunks of bread, a handful at a time. If you accidentally add too much bread, you can easily thin the soup back out by adding more stock or a little water.

Serve with a swirl of olive oil and grated parmesan.

Tomato Day

Although it's technically autumn already, I like to think of Tomato Day as the concluding point of my summer cooking.  I bought a couple of crates of ripe tomatoes and set aside an afternoon for sauciness.

The process of sauce is more or less as follows:

- Core and score tomatoes (to make peeling easier).
- Blanch tomatoes in boiling water.
- Peel and de-seed blanched tomatoes.
- Crush the pulp.
- Put sauce in sterilised bottles or jars.
- Add a basil leaf to each jar.
- Put the lids on, and put the jars in a large stockpot and cover with water.
- Heat and boil for around an hour.
- Let jars cool before storing in the cupboard.

Here's how my day went:

This is about 1/5 of the tomatoes that went into my sauce.  I used a small, sharp knife to remove the tough stalk and fibrous core of the tomatoes.  On the other end, I scored an 'X' to make peeling easier.

I blanched the tomatoes in boiling water in batches for about 3 minutes at a time.

Then I peeled the tomatoes and put the pulp into a large bowl.

I used my hands to crush the pulp.

After sterilising the jars, I filled them with the sauce and put a basil leaf in each one.

The filled jars need to be submerged in boiling water for about an hour to seal them.  Once cool, they're ready to store.

Pappa al Pomodoro

Luckily, for the times I spend the last of my pay on Saturday night's taxi fare, there's cucina povera to head off starvation until I can afford to do a proper food shop. Mid summer, when tomatoes are sweet, ripe and cheap, you can't beat Pappa al Pomodoro - tomato and bread soup.

Good quality bread with a dense texture is best for this recipe, but any loaf will do, really. Just don't try using sliced white bread as it is too soft and has an unpleasant slimy texture when soaked.

Don't be fooled into thinking that you can't eat soup in the warmer months.  The tomatoes and basil make this one redolent of summer, and its fresh lightness makes it perfect for when you don't feel like a heavy meal.  In any case, you'll appreciate the flavours more if you let it cool to tepid before serving.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

5 large, very ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
2-3 thick slices of stale bread, torn into chunks
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup vegetable stock
Scant handful of basil leaves
Olive oil
Salt

Method

Put a generous amount of olive oil in a saucepan and cook the garlic on a gentle heat until softened.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and simmer gently until collapsed.  Add the vegetable stock and a few basil leaves to the pan, and stir until all is amalgamated and bubbling.

To thicken the soup, start by adding about half the bread to the pan and let it soften and swell.  You can then evaluate how much more bread you want to use. Obviously, more bread will result in a thicker soup.  When it comes to bread, I'm a 'more is more' person, but if you do accidentally overdo it and the soup ends up looking like porridge, you can easily correct it by adding more stock.

When the bread is completely soaked and falling apart, give the soup a stir and then turn off the heat.  Test for salt and add more if necessary.  Ladle the soup into bowls and let it cool down.

To serve, top the soup with a nice swirl of olive oil and a few extra basil leaves.

Beef Carpaccio

Another favourite summer dish of mine that requires no cooking is Beef Carpaccio.  The secret to a good carpaccio is to use quality, lean steak, and slice it as thinly as possible.  A good cheat is to pound the slices with a meat mallet until they are lace-thin and tender. Foods that are sour or piquant make good accompaniments for carpaccio. In addition to the ones listed, you could also experiment with pickles, onions, mustard dressing, jalapenos, tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce.

Given that being quick and easy to make is one of carpaccio's most endearing qualities, I don't like to fuss too much with side dishes.  I usually just serve it with some crusty bread, and maybe a simple salad.  If you wanted to go to a bit more effort, I think that some new potatoes tossed in olive oil, lemon juice, spring onions and parsley would go beautifully. 

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 piece of lean fillet steak of a decent thickness
Handful of rocket
2 tsp capers
1/2 a lemon, in two pieces
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Parmesan
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Method

Trim any fat or sinew off the steak, and slice it as thinly as you can.  Place the slices, one at a time, in between two double thickness sheets of cling film and pound with a meat mallet until super thin.  Arrange the slices in a single layer on a plate or platter.

Season the meat with salt and pepper, the juice from 1/4 lemon, and grate over a generous amount of parmesan. Scatter the herbs and the capers. Top with the rocket and drizzle a little balsamic over it.

Serve the carpaccio with extra salt, pepper, lemon, vinegar and olive oil available for you to add to taste as necessary.

An alternative method of serving would be to arrange the meat on the platter and season only with the basics - salt, pepper and olive oil - and let each diner add their own accompaniments as they see fit. The benefit of this is the fun factor; diners can experiment with a variety of flavour combinations and customise their carpaccio.

Watermelon and Coconut Sherbert with Lime, Cinnamon and Mint

I found myself unable to resist buying a whole watermelon, then wondered what the hell I was going to do with it. Not only is 12 kilos a lot of fruit, it turned out to be a pretty average specimen to boot.

So I was trawling the internet for some sorbet recipes, when I came across an American recipe for sherbert, which includes cream to produce a kind of cross between sorbet and icecream.  But why settle for cream when all the hip kids are into coconuts and veganism.  The really cool thing about this recipe, however, is the inclusion of cinnamon and the marriage of the five flavours. The vodka is there purely to help stop it from freezing solid, but if you want to actually taste the alcohol, be my guest and add more. Just because this recipe is vegan, it doesn't mean we can't have a little fun.

The resulting texture of the sherbet is icy and refreshing like sorbet, but less sweet and with a little more creaminess. It fills your mouth with fresh flavours and cold softness, then seems to just disappear.  Seriously addictive and perfect for the hottest days of summer. You can fiddle with the ingredients (more syrup, coconut cream or watermelon) to adjust the texture to your personal taste.  I've also heard that people on certain food regimens like to avoid sugar, and consider honey to be a better alternative.  I'm sure you can guess my opinion of that logic, but in the interests of inclusivity, I feel compelled to mention that you could use cinnamon honey (from the Honey Lady brand's range of organic honey) in place of the sugar syrup. Of course, this would mean the sherbert is no longer vegan; life is full of tough choices.

Ingredients

500g watermelon, in chunks
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 cinnamon sticks, crushed into smaller shards
200 ml full fat coconut cream
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp vodka
5 mint leaves, chopped finely, plus extra for garnish.
Cinnamon dusting sugar, for serving.

You will need an icecream maker for this recipe.

Method

In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar, water and cinnamon sticks.  Bring it slowly to the boil, let it bubble for a scant minute, then turn off the heat.  Leave the cinnamon sticks in the syrup and allow the flavour to infuse while it cools.  You could even do this step the day before and leave the cinnamon to steep overnight. Strain the cinnamon out of the syrup before using

Process the watermelon so that it is a puree (I used my stick blender), then pass it though a fine sieve to catch any seeds and fibrous pulp.

Combine the coconut cream, lime juice, vodka and mint with the watermelon.  Measure 1/3 cup of your cinnamon sugar syrup, then add it to the mixture as well (keep any leftover syrup for use in banana smoothies - heaven!).

At this point, taste your mixture. If it needs more zip, add lime. If it's too sweet, add coconut cream. If it's too creamy, add more watermelon. When you are satisfied with the flavour, pop the mixture in the fridge until it has chilled, then transfer it to your icecream machine.

The best time to eat this is straight out of the icecream maker while it's still soft. Serve topped with mint leaves and dusted with cinnamon sugar.

Chilled Soup

Although it is definitely too hot to cook, especially if you don't have air-conditioning, 40 plus weather does not necessarily need to see you heading for the local fish and chip shop.  Here are two little beauties that are not only delicious and refreshing, they take only minutes to make.

Avocado Soup

 

This is another gem from Nina St Tropez. Her recipe is really simple and contains only avocado, water, lemon juice, onion, garlic and seasoning, and is served topped with pistachios and olive oil. Shaun suggested it would be nice seasoned with the spice mix I use for guacamole, which seems like a great idea for next time.  There are many variations on this soup that can be found online.  I quite liked the look of the one on the Green Kitchen Stories blog. 

Although my mum would never actually eat avocado soup herself, she did comment to me that it would, if one were inclined to make it, be nice served with prawns.  This would be particularly true if you added dill to the mix.  Crab meat would work well also.

Gazpacho 

 

Obviously, this is a classic. And yet, until today I've never though to make it myself. Given that it is an absolute flavour bomb and about the easiest thing you could ever think to make, I'm now wondering why. I followed the recipe on food.com, but I didn't have any cumin, and I only used half the amount of olive oil.

Roasted pumpkin with fennel seeds and chèvre

Nina Parker's 'Roasted butternut squash with wild fennel seeds' is supposed to be served with buffalo mozzarella or burrata, which would be delicious, but as I had none, and still had some goat's cheese in the fridge from the other day, I wondered if it would be a suitable substitute.  To find out, I consulted the indispensable The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit, and found that there was in fact a three-way compatibility between butternut, anise and goat's cheese. So I proceeded.

This side dish for two is a simple matter of tossing the butternut pumpkin chunks in olive oil, salt and pepper (as you would normally do when roasting pumpkin), then sprinkling with fennel seeds.

Roast the pumpkin until tender, then allow to cool to room temperature. Serve with crumbled goat's cheese and (this was my masterstroke) drizzle liberally with some sweet caramelised balsamic.