torta all’ arancia (orange cake)

Posted by tamsin on Apr 22, 2012 in blog posts, dessert recipes, snack recipes | 0 comments

Before I embark on a description of how light and fluffy this easy orange cake is, I feel I should explain myself. Perhaps a mea culpa doesn’t matter amid the gorge (collective noun?) of food bloggers posting with hearty gusto out there.  However I have failed spectacularly to blog a single recipe in recent weeks. My excuse? Things have been a little hectic of late. In a sort of leaving my staff job, and setting myself up as a freelance journalist kind of a way. But my new business is now up and running and I’m now into my third week of not, I repeat, not getting up at 5am to be in the newsroom for 6. I’m already feeling like a new person. So what better way to celebrate than with cake. This recipe is from the family of a Sicilian man I interviewed for a BBC radio documentary.

spezzatino di pollo con piselli (quick chicken and pea stew)

Posted by tamsin on Mar 2, 2012 in main meal recipes | 3 comments

This quick and healthy recipe comes from a school dinner menu in Naples. I once interviewed the headmistress there about the challenges she faced dealing with kids from warring mafia clans. I doubt they sat together eating this stew at lunch time, but I’m told that it’s one of the most popular school meals. I’ve tested and tweaked the recipe, and I have to say that I’m impressed with how soft the meat is, and how sweet the peas are. I’m also big fan of easy dinners that tick both protein and veg boxes, but don’t make a lot of mess, or create a lot of washing up. This is definitely one of those ‘one pan wonders’. Serve with a jacket potato (no more pans needed). Also goes well with a dollop of mash or scoop of brown rice. Do let me know what you think. 

crema di frutta al limone (lemon curd fruit pots)

Posted by tamsin on Feb 12, 2012 in dessert recipes, favourites | 0 comments

This dessert is a great way to get fruit into kids. It’s an unusual alternative to banana custard and as long as they’ll try lemon flavour, it’s a real hit. You can use any fruit you like but I’ve found pears, strawberries, mangos, raspberries or blueberries work best. This recipe is inspired by an Italian writer and single mum I met when I was living in Rome. At that time she was writing an Italian cookbook that included a chapter on her friends’ favourite dishes. I feel rather ashamed that when she asked me for a suggestion, I didn’t exactly take it very seriously.  Infact, and I can’t believe I’m admitting this, I called my Mum to ask for a recipe I could pass off as my own. My interest in cooking still wasn’t up to much at that point you see.

frittata di zucchini e ricotta (courgette and ricotta frittata)

Posted by tamsin on Feb 1, 2012 in blog posts, main meal recipes | 4 comments

This week I emailed a busy Italian journalist and mum I know in Rome and asked her what she cooks her kids when she’s up against it, with hardly any time to think, let alone plan meals, shop and cook. In case you hadn’t guessed, that’s where I’m at now. Too much going on, and too little time to do it in. But enough about me.  Her suggestion was simple and nutritious with the bonus of hidden vegetables. I had this frittata on the table in under 15 minutes from when I started making it. Daughter loved it, courgettes and all. Not sure she spotted them under the ketchup to be honest! She certainly wasn’t fooled by the lovely glossy cherry tomatoes you see in my photo. “I don’t eat tomatoes Mummy. Not ever.” So I served her tomato-free frittata along with some potato croquettes I remembered to pop in the oven. Leftover frittata can be eaten cold. 

pasta di salsiccia, spinaci e finocchio (sausage, spinach and fennel pasta)

Posted by tamsin on Jan 10, 2012 in favourites, main meal recipes | 3 comments

A little good quality meat, a lot of vegetables, and a zing of fennel that’ll make your family’s tastebuds sit up and take notice. This quick but delicious pasta dish I learned in Sicily is a revelation and I’m really excited to share it with you.  Sicilian sausages are often flavoured with fennel, but as I couldn’t find any like these in butchers and supermarkets near me, I added fennel seeds instead whilst cooking and the end result tastes just as good. You can add less if you want to introduce the flavour more gently, but my 3 year old loved the taste and only frowned at a stray spinach stalk that escaped the blender.  If you have spinach rebels in the house, then try carrot, courgette or any other veg instead, as long as its softened enough to whizz up.  Let me know what you think! 

insalata russa rossa (pink potato salad)

Posted by tamsin on Dec 19, 2011 in main meal recipes | 1 comment

I love it when I contact someone I interviewed in Italy to ask for recipe inspiration, and they hand me a gem wrapped up in their own family history.  This insanely pink salad has been a Christmas tradition for 3 generations in the family of Silvio Berlusconi’s image consultant. Presumably she never suggested that Italy’s flamboyant former Prime Minister should wear a beetroot coloured tie. It may have clashed somewhat with his slightly, er, orange complexion.  However this unusual but simple dish is a perfect accompaniment to cold meats such as ham and turkey. It’s really easy to make for a large number of people and is a fantastic quick meal for kids who are of course intrigued by the colour. Pink isn’t just for girls.

coppette di nutella e ricotta (nutella and ricotta tartlets)

Posted by tamsin on Dec 4, 2011 in dessert recipes, favourites | 1 comment

This idea was inspired by an Italian dad I interviewed who once told me he would make a very simple ricotta and Nutella pudding for his kids when left in charge. I’m assuming he’d cook something savoury first, but who knows. At least ricotta has calcium I guess. Anyhow, I remembered this when I began making mince pies today. My daughter reminded me she hates the ‘pippy bits’, by which she means the mincemeat. So I thought I’d experiment by using this Nutella and ricotta mixture in little open tartlets. When baked, the chocolate is light and fluffy with a gently crackled top. These slightly alternative mince pies went down a treat. With everyone. Hope you like them too. 

ragù alla cannella (cinnamon ragù)

Posted by tamsin on Nov 27, 2011 in main meal recipes | 2 comments

This delicious recipe has completely transformed how my family eat the humble ragù. It’s all about using a familiar everyday meal to introduce exciting new flavours. Cinnamon marries the richness of meat and tomato sauce perfectly. It’s subtle, aromatic and not overpowering. I’ve adapted this recipe after interviewing a young chef originally from Rome who now works in a remote hillside restaurant in Sicily. He takes cooking for his young family very seriously. Aside from the fact he’s almost evangelical about cooking proper grown up grub for kids, he claims his wife is a hopeless cook. Of course she wasn’t there to defend this slur on her culinary expertise when we met. But given his passionate approach to feeding their child she may well have forgiven him this slander.

The key to this ragù is in the preparation of the meat before you cook it. I’ve found that it’s almost easier to prepare the night before and leave in the fridge so the flavours properly infuse. Then you’re ready to hit the ground running when cooking the next day. I know I usually adapt most recipes on my blog so they’re super quick, but I’m sorry to break it to you that I really can’t do the same with this one. I’ve done a taste test after 30 minutes cooking, after an hour and after 2 hours. And there’s no doubt. It really is a case of the longer the better. But it’s no hassle I promise.  Just leave it cooking over low heat and get on with other stuff around the house.  This  ragù will simmer away quietly for hours needing absolutely zero attention. How many members of your family can you say that about? 

semolino al parmegiano (parmesan semolina)

Posted by tamsin on Nov 15, 2011 in main meal recipes | 1 comment

This is uncomplicated comfort food from the woman who has been Silvio Berlusconi’s image consultant for the past 20 years and is now between jobs.  I first met her in Rome several years ago when she described how she has been instrumental in everything from the choice of his suits, to the presentation of his speeches. Presumably he didn’t always follow her advice and latterly her job became a rather stressful whirlwind of damage limitation. She told me that she often arrived home from the office exhausted with little time to cook but enjoyed the nostalgic ritual of making a bowl of this parmesan semolina. There’s no spin involved here, unless you count gentle stirring. It’s a simple recipe that her grandmother and mother cooked for her as a child. And when she makes it for her 4 year old niece she loves it just like this. In a bowl, with a spoon. This recipe is very versatile and can be frozen in little portions. It’s great for babies under a year (without the egg of course). For older children and adults it makes a delicious filling for a baked potato or a more sustaining alternative to traditional cheese sauce on cauliflower or broccoli. 

Would you stay in a Sicilian Mafia boss’s farmhouse?

Posted by tamsin on Nov 15, 2011 in blog posts | 0 comments

Combining a family holiday with a spot of journalism made for an unusual trip. Of course we enjoyed lazy breakfasts and late lunches overlooking the rugged hills near Corleone. We also went to meet some of my contacts involved in fighting the mafia, and visited businesses formerly owned by notorious gangsters.

You can read the finished article here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15726135

It’s rather different researching a story with a small person in tow. Spontaneous opportunities were sometimes abruptly, even rudely curtailed. I found myself declining an impromptu offer to chat with a local mayor. That crazed hungry stare in my daughter’s eyes meant we were 10 minutes away from meltdown. Sorry Mr Mayor, interesting as you are, you have to come second now.