Notes about Recipes in this book

• Pepper salad with capers (Insalata di peperoni e capperi)

  • Ganga108 on March 07, 2022

    I learnt a great technique from this recipe. When roasting capsicums in the oven, include a tray of water in the bottom of the oven. The steam from the water begins to lift the skins from the capsicums without over-charring them, so that the flesh is protected. They are more steamed than grilled, leading to a very delicate flavour. This colourful salad of silky,sweet capsicums, tangy capers and fresh herbs can be a salad or side dish, appetiser, part of a mezze spread, or an addition to a sandwich or wrap. It can also be layered onto other tossed or composed salads. The combination of tomato, garlic, mint and capers is an amazing pairing with the sweet capsicums. Yum!

• Pasta with zucchini and shrimp (Pasta alle zucchine con gamberi)

  • lgardner on October 21, 2017

    Simple recipe. Good for weeknights. I used leftover cooked shrimp so cut it up and added it last so it would just be reheated and not overcooked. I thought there was too much broth for my taste so took off the lid to evaporate some of it. Next time, I will saute the zucchini more before adding the broth, too. At the table, we added Lemon Ginger olive oil from Menton, France, as well as hot pepper flakes for additional flavor and as it was rather bland as is. Still, it's a good base recipe to build on.

  • runoutofshelves on February 19, 2020

    We loved this. Had some lovely bright yellow squash, didn't soak the squash or the prawns, and maybe cooked to the squash to a level of softness not in the recipe, but loved the saffron flavour and took Igardners advice and put a small pinch of chilli flakes.

• Spaghetti with cauliflower sauce (Spaghetti al sugo di cavolfiore)

  • Ganga108 on January 10, 2022

    A very tasty dish. I would love it with some crispy buttered and toasted breadcrumbs on top. The sugo is quite good vehicle for any veg - even for a Sunday-clean-out-the-fridge type of dish.

• Eggplant steaks (Bistecche di melanzane)

  • Ganga108 on January 29, 2023

    Cooked again tonight with eggplant from the garden. An extremely easy dish to prepare, although it does need to be marinated for at least 1 hour before baking. Soft steaks of eggplant with a crispy breadcrumb coating. It just needs a simple green salad (avoid an acidic dressing as the eggplant is a little lemony) and chickpeas seasoned and dressed with olive oil while still hot.

• Tuscan beans baked with tuna and lemon (Fagioli stufati)

  • Ganga108 on January 13, 2022

    We first cooked this dish (without the tuna, as #vegetarian) in 2007 and have made it most Winters since. Even on cooler days in other seasons it is likely to go into the oven. It is a true classic that can be served on its own to delight in the flavours, or as part of a larger meal.

  • Ganga108 on June 24, 2023

    A delicious way to keep the kitchen warm in Winter. A Saturday afternoon cook, this wet, windy and cold weekend.