• wester on September 08, 2014

  Cakes may need twice as long in the oven as the book says, or even longer. Apart from that, the recipes are uncomplicated and tasty.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chickpea tomato bruschetta

  • saladdays on April 15, 2014

    A quick and easy lunch which feels quite substantial as it uses chickpeas. The tomatoes cook quickly so it feels as though you have made much more effort than you actually have!

• Green bean and anchovy antipasto

  • wester on November 20, 2016

    A lovely salad and easy to make. Strong flavors. Me and the children loved it, husband just liked it well enough.

• Cavolo nero soup

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 29, 2013

    Page 52 Truly wonderful - and I didnt have any celery to hand and instead of borlotti beans I used cannellini beans. Oh and dark kale as in NZ struggle to get hold of Cavolo Nero. This soup was packed with flavour and deliciously mooreish :-)

  • Pimlicocook on March 29, 2023

    Delicious, and very quick thanks to my beloved pressure cooker. Made a quarter portion and it was a generous serving. Might add a bit more stock next time as it was fairly minimal - but just another 50ml or so. There will definitely be a next time!

• Pea, pancetta and zucchini soup

  • SACarlson on February 21, 2016

    Super-easy soup that is great if you have a lot of zucchini to move!

• Zucchini and capers spaghetti

  • veronicafrance on August 01, 2013

    Not bad, and very quick to do.

  • ellemoro on March 17, 2015

    OMG - if you don't fall in love with this supper there is no hope!

• Penne, zucchini, butter

  • Dinovino on December 24, 2023

    Don't skimp on the butter. Rigatoni works too.

• Fusilli carbonara

  • joneshayley on September 27, 2019

    A delicious and traditional carbonara. Easy rich and fulfilling.

• Sformata di ricotta

  • wester on October 04, 2013

    I liked this, but my 7 year old daughter hated it, so I am going to wait a year or so to make it again. It needed 10 mins longer in the oven than the recipe said, even though I had halved the recipe. ETA: 7 years later, my daughter still doesn't like it.

• Roasted sardines

  • saladdays on March 11, 2023

    Often the simplest recipes are the best. Cut down the amounts as I was cooking for one and it worked really well. Using the oven cuts down the lingering smell of fish!

• Red mullet with bay

  • wester on September 07, 2013

    Nice, but not that special.

• Roast quail with sage

  • wester on September 21, 2011

    I think I somehow missed the point of this recipe. The sage didn't stick too the birds at all, and I think I cooked them too long (how long is "almost overcooked" anyway?). A second batch that I cooked for a bit shorter time was better, but still unspectacular.

• Stuffed pumpkin

  • wester on December 03, 2010

    This looked spectacular, just like the picture in the book. It smelled very nice as well. However, the pumpkin didn't get really soft even after an hour in the oven, and after that it was a bit dry - I don't know if it was overcooked, undercooked or something else.

• Cauliflower, fennel seeds

  • wester on May 28, 2012

    Lovely. Robust flavors, subtly different from other recipes I have for cauliflower. Easy to make and forgiving of changes in the ingredients. Will definitely make this again.

• Espresso and hazelnut chocolate cake

  • wester on September 03, 2014

    Very good, a nice balance of flavors, and flourless (and therefore glutenfree) too. Not difficult, but quite elaborate. I found it almost impossible to dissolve that much instant coffee in that little water, it all became a large lump. Next time I will simply sprinkle it into the mixture. The oven time it needed was almost double the time given.