Notes about Recipes in this book

• Roasted broccoli with lemon, garlic and anchovy crumbs

  • Lepa on March 11, 2021

    This is pretty good- and I loved those breadcrumbs- but it probably won't replace our favorite broccoli sauteed in garlic and olive oil.

• Greens pie

  • tui on July 23, 2025

    I made a half quantity of this recipe and two of us enjoyed it very much. The pastry is amazing! I will be making versions of this pie very regularly from now on.

• House salad

  • Lepa on March 10, 2021

    This is a nice combination of flavors but I like a more assertive dressing. I might experiment with this, as I liked the fennel and raisins in the salad.

• Ribollita

  • Lepa on April 04, 2021

    Nothing unusual here, but it was easy to cook and very satisfying. I cooked dried beans and followed the directions on page 21 to use 110 grams. I used the bean water with a bit of bouillon paste instead of stock.

• Trofie with pesto alla Genovese

  • LisaH19 on February 03, 2021

    Really nice, trofie takes a bit of time though!

• Orecchiette three ways: orecchiette with walnut and herb sauce

  • Lepa on October 05, 2021

    I just made the sauce for dried pasta. I used dill and basil for the herbs. This was okay but not as good as the walnut sauce I usually make with cream, walnuts and bread. Patricia Wells' recipe in Trattoria is my standby and this was more complicated and not quite as good.

• Garganelli with pancetta and zucchini

  • Lepa on September 09, 2021

    This pasta dish takes minutes to prepare and it's rich, delicious and satisfying. I used dried egg pasta instead of making the garganelli. I think egg pasta is good here because the sauce is so simple.

  • murphyfrank on September 20, 2021

    This is not a difficult pasta shape to make but it is definitely time consuming. The outcome however makes it all worthwhile. The pasta was silky smooth and an absolute delight to eat. The sauce was simple & complemented the shape. Highly recommend.

• Ricotta gnocchi with a summer tomato sauce

  • Lepa on July 23, 2021

    These ricotta gnocchi are easy to make and dreamy with the sweet cherry tomato sauce. This was one of our favorite meals over the last couple of months. Just delicious.

  • ali_msb2ui on April 28, 2026

    One of my favourite recipes. Ever.

• Spaghetti with pancetta and vongole

  • Lepa on March 17, 2021

    This was delicious- possibly the best pasta with clams I have ever made. This is going on our regular rotation.

• Soft polenta with bitter greens and walnuts

  • kelly_ff7q50 on April 23, 2026

    Stellar polenta recipe. Goes great with a beef & mushroom stew instead of greens.

• Tray-roasted chicken with grapes, olives and walnuts

  • angrygreycat on July 14, 2018

    Made this tonight, after reading the review and picking up some grapes. I did add more garlic than called for in the recipe. It was fine and very easy to make and looks very pretty. I just feel like there should have been some more seasoning/spices for the chicken.

• Braised lamb with chickpeas

  • Melanie on January 29, 2019

    We enjoyed this with mashed potato on the side to soak up the sauce.

• Chocolate, rhubarb and walnut cake

  • ChelseaP on May 21, 2021

    A lovely cake. The combination of rhubarb, chocolate and walnut works really well.

• Almond chocolate cake

  • debkellie on March 23, 2018

    Absolutely divine.. great dessert cake. Freezes well.

  • melba on August 08, 2021

    This is seriously good. Just a classic dense chocolatey cake. Next time, I think I'd halve the Amaretto.

• Whole orange cake with candied fennel seeds

  • debkellie on October 31, 2021

    seemed too simple.. but it works ;-). A very light, very moist delicately flavoured cake, which isn't over-sweet. The suggested caramelised fennel seeds/praline didn't work too well for me .. so I decided to grind them a little.. made for a nice, but unusual, flavoured topping (I subbed mascarpone for crème fraiche). Would make again. Nice one for All saints' eve...

  • ChelseaP on July 07, 2022

    Stunner of a cake! So easy just blending the oranges raw. The creme fraiche topping was a bit runny but popped the cake in the fridge and it set up beautifully. I had the same issue with the praline and so just bashed it up with a rolling pin between some parchment and sprinkled on top of the cake.

• A nice plum cake

  • melba on July 31, 2021

    Added a sprinkle of cardamom to the crumble and used canned plums and it was seriously delicious

• Chocolate layer cake with espresso frosting and blackberries

  • nat_qp40lu on March 29, 2026

    Great for celebrating.

• Cardamom buns

  • Lepa on December 29, 2022

    I didn't love these buns. They had less cardamom taste than ones I ate in Sweden. I think the ones in Sweden are brushed with a sugar water and there is cardamom sugar on top. These had an egg wash and pearl sugar topping. We were happy to eat these buns but they are not repeats.

  • hewlettn on December 11, 2023

    Not a repeat recipe for us. Not enough filling, and tasted very yeasty. Buns split on cooking (and if you look closely at the recipe photo you can see this too). Recipe does not instruct to leave buns to rise before baking. After baking they are sad, heavy little buns.

• Eat Your Books

  Julia's Ostro feels like home warm, safe and filled with great food.

  Full review