Notes about Recipes in this book

• Porcini and tomato risotto (Risotto ai porcini e pomodoro)

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on January 24, 2018

    Very tasteful. Perfect for a cold autumn or winter day. Not too difficult, but very nice.

• Savoy cabbage, pancetta and Fontina risotto (Risotto alla verza, pancetta e fontina)

  • Pimlicocook on January 30, 2025

    A soothing winter risotto, with the pancetta and cheese adding depth. I used taleggio rather than fontina. Think I’ll be bolder with the seasoning next time.

• Leek, clam and prawn risotto (Risotto ai porri, vongole e gamberetti)

  • Kirsteen on May 03, 2013

    This is quite labour intensive but is one of the best risottos I've ever made (and I've made lots!). The stock, alone, with the steeped shrimp shells, is fantastic. We had it as a one-dish dinner.

• Chocolate and ginger cake (Torta al cioccolato e zenzero)

  • metacritic on January 26, 2026

    Absolutely fantastic. I was quite worried about the amount of ginger the recipe calls for. 200 grams is a massive quantity. As it happened, I only had 2/3's the amount, which I feared would overwhelm the cake. Instead, it was perfect. The cake took much longer to cook than the recipe indicates but otherwise a perfect, smashing recipe. One of the best cakes I've ever made (not much of a baker, I'll acknowledge).

• Penne with asparagus carbonara (Penne alla carbonara con asparagi)

  • bellaCat on April 08, 2015

    New ingredient is asparagus.

  • metacritic on June 03, 2022

    This is a recipe that at once is very rich but feels light. Very, very satisfying. A family favorite.

• Pasta with asparagus, peas, prosciutto and cream (Pasta con asparagi, piselli e prosciutto)

  • joneshayley on March 04, 2020

    All the family loved this, a great use for the first of spring's asparagus.

• Pea, ricotta and lemon zest risotto (Risotto con piselli, limone e ricotta)

  • e_ballad on April 23, 2020

    A great risotto, though I didn’t have fresh peas & used frozen instead (6 cups or 900g, instead of the 3kg peas in the pod). I used a fresh ricotta that was firmer than the usual commercial variety & it worked really well.

• New potato risotto (Risotto con patate novelle)

  • luke_i8msqc on June 02, 2026

    This was ok - perhaps lacking something flavour wise (no wine or parmasan included as part of cooking process). The other thing to note is the recipe calls for 1kg of rocket which is an insane amount. I checked with AI and am told that this is likely referring to freshly harvested rocket sold in markets (old fashioned and unlikely to come by it now) which has more stalks and far less tender leaves (see “stalks removed” clue in the recipe). Instead I used 400g of supermarket rocket (just the leaves) which seemed about right (although may still be too much for some tastes). 1kg of supermarket rocket would obliterate the dish and ruin it!

• Ricotta pesto (Pesto alla ricotta)

  • Dolcetto23 on January 31, 2026

    This is lovely, and super easy. It could take more pine nuts if you're feeling extravagant.

• Aubergine caponata (Caponata di melanzane)

  • Dinovino on March 01, 2025

    Delicious, de a little cautious with the seasoning

• Braised summer squash (Zucchine gialle e verdi trifolate)

  • Livia on October 05, 2021

    Used ingredient list as inspiration as had different type of squashes and served it with penne which was a nice weekday meal

• Polenta with hot olive sauce (Polenta con salsa calda di olive)

  • mcvl on June 10, 2015

    Ohmigosh, this is genius -- a snap to make, and so delicious!

• Pumpkin and cinnamon risotto (Risotto alla zucca e cannella)

  • Dinovino on May 26, 2025

    Chorizo is a great substitute for Pancetta.

• Hazelnut meringue and chocolate cake (Meringa di nocciole e cioccolato)

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on January 20, 2021

    You could consider calling this death by chocolate. The chocolate layer is not really mousse, more a bittersweet ganache. The meringue is delicious, but be careful when building the cake, it is very brittle. I used Frangelico instead of cognac. The mascarpone on top is a must.