Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

All you need here is some frozen vegetarian/vegan puff pastry (I used New Way brand), which is already rolled into squares. Place the pastry on a oven tray lined with baking paper. Brush the surface with water or lemon juice and then sprinkle with caster sugar. Wash and cut the plums into two halves and remove the stone (you will need free stone plums, I used Luisa yellow plums and Black Doris from my local orchard in Oratia for this recipe) and place, cut side down, on the pastry. Bake at 180°C for about 15-20 minutes, or until the side of the tart have puffed up and are golden. During plum season I make this at least once a week, good warm (with ice cream or cream or custard) or cold (cut into small squares for breakfast or for lunch boxes). Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Peaches from my garden I like peaches with raspberries, but the season is finished now, so I used the last strawberries and blueberries (marinated with a little sugar and lemon juice for a few hours), than I added peaches and vanilla meringues. To make the meringues I used two tablespoons of caster sugar for each egg white, and a little vanilla paste (which is full of vanilla seeds). And then, why not, I topped everything with whipped cream :-) (come on, I don't do that that often!!!) Yum! Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I have a peach tree, grown from a discarded seed in the bush. Actually, there are two, but one is quite deep in the forest, while the other was struggling in the border of the open garden, battling for space. We don't cut native trees in the Waitakere ranges, this is a protected area, and I wouldn't do it anyway, so no chances of me clearing the space around the poor fruit tree! But it was close enough for me to train it to grow sideways out of the forest and into an open space, over the little Japanese garden I built. In fact it looks quite like a gigantic bonsai now, and in spring the flowers really suit the Japanese garden. For many years I only had a handful of peaches, but finally this summer the tree was full! The peaches are smaller than the ones I can find in shops, but they taste great, and they are mine!! What a satisfaction! Thank you lovely tree! A part from eating them by themselves I am making smoothies, like this one, with peaches, banana and apple juice from the...

The first time I ate this salad was in Turkey, the mother of a good friend of our made it, all her food tasted amazing, but this recipe is particularly easy, and can be made anywhere in the world, without the need of special ingredients. Just roast the capsicums whole, then put in a paper bag to sweat, then remove all the skins and seeds. Dress with a little extra virgin olive oil and salt (but just a very very little!). Mix some natural yogurt with some garlic, several cloves, squeezed through a garlic press. Add salt and, if you like, fresh mint leaves. Pour over the capsicums. Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © And then I made a variation to serve in verrines, possibly in shot glasses for a fancy summer party. I blended the capsicum with olive oil, salt and a drop of lemon. I added some parsley to the green ones to have a stronger colour. Then I made layers and this time I used thick Greek style yogurt (always with garlic and salt). A vegan variation, without yogurt, is fine, if you li...

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © Ingredients: 2 cups natural yougurt 1 cup mango pulp (like the one I used in the Mango Pudding recipe) 1 cup iced water a few ice cubes Blend everything together and serve immediately.

This is the last of 4 courses I made for a Twilight menu (inspired by Stephenie Meyer's books) . It was fun to create Twilight recipes, especially with just the few ingredients I had at home at the time. Enjoy! Breaking Dawn Dessert Black Sesame Seed Pudding with Rose Syrup and Red Rose Petals Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © I unashamedly admit that I am very happy with the dessert. In the pantry I found some surigoma, crushed black sesame seeds, and I remember that in Japan I enjoyed many sesame seeds desserts. And in the garden I had some beautiful red roses, not sprayed and therefore edible! Breaking Dawn is all about love..... Ingredients 50 g crushed black sesame seeds (available in Asian shops) 100 ml water 1 tbsp sugar 1/3 (one third) tsp agar agar (available in Asian shops) For the Syrup 100 ml water 2 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp rose water essence Finish with red rose petals Place the first 4 ingredients in a small pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring well, and then...

This is the third of 4 courses I made for a Twilight menu (inspired by Stephenie Meyer's books) : Eclipse Pizza Red Pizza with Black Seeds Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © Pizza is a must when teenagers are involved (and it was the first food our heroes, Bella and Edward, shared). I scoured the pantry for black seeds, I finished the poppy seeds, but I had some black sesame seeds. I added the cumin seeds mostly for flavour. I also used up the remaining of a jar of roasted red capsicum antipasto. I finished all my fresh tomatoes with the first two dishes, so I used canned tomatoes instead. Ingredients Pizza dough, recipe here Tomato Sauce, recipe here (but omit the basil) Olive oil Salt Black sesame seeds Cumin seeds Roasted red capsicums Follow the given links to make the pizza dough and the tomato sauce. I have to say that by this stage the most difficult thing for me was not to add anything green to my food (I wanted to keep the Black and Red look of the books)! Roll the dough to...

This is the second of 4 courses I made for a Twilight menu (inspired by Stephenie Meyer's books) : New Moon 'Rice' (or sushi rolls) Tomato and Red Chili Sushi Rolls Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © Nori seaweed looks black and shiny. And Sushi rolls are round like the moon, but I needed a red moon! Actually, the red rice in the photo is not very clear, these looked much redder to the naked eye. I wanted to add chili because I thought that one of the dishes needed a little 'bite'. These tasted great, I even surprised myself, as I never though of combining tomato and chili with nori seaweed! I had a few left for the day after, so I fried them with a little oil, like for rice croquettes. Even better!!!! Ingredients Short grain rice Fresh tomatoes garlic red chili Olive oil salt Nori seaweed I didn't measure the rice, I used what I had left. I washed it and cooked it by absorption. In the meantime I fried some fresh chopped tomatoes with garlic and 1 red chili using ...

Yes, I have 'Twilight fever', or 'Twilight addiction'? Whatever the term, it gets to me at any given time of the day, and I have to open the closest of the Twilight saga's books I can find, and read a bit of it! So this is the first of 4 courses I made for a Twilight menu (inspired by Stephenie Meyer's books) : Twilight Starter Plum Tomatoes with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © Well, this is easy! Red tomato from my garden and Modena's black gold: Traditional Balsamic Vinegar (ABTM) , possibly one of the most sensual ingredients ever! Ingredients Fresh plum tomatoes Extra virgin olive oil Salt to taste (I used Maldon) A few drops of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena Assemble as shown in the photo.

The tofu is made in New Zealand, not far from my house actually...cut it into cubes and fry it with olive oil and garlic until golden. Set aside. Cut the eggplants (I used the thin Asian type) into halves and sweat with salt for 30 minutes or so. Rinse. Heat the oil again in the pan, add more garlic, and sauté the eggplants for a few minutes, then cover with a lid and and cook them in their own steam. When they are nearly done add the tofu, 1 tsp of smoked paprika and smoked slat (I used Maldon). Add a glass of white wine and stir. Cover and turn the heat off. Wash the rice and cook by absorption, when it is ready add the saffron and stir. No need to make a risotto here, or to add salt: the rice will taste of saffron and nothing else, and will go well with the salty, spicy and smoky flavour of the tofu and eggplants. Now, this last photo has nothing to do with the recipe, but while I was cooking my little boy was picking tomatoes from the garden for his lunch box. This year the yellow...

Yes, this is my favourite creation, it takes time to make but it can last a week, and the flavour gets better and better. For the ingredients...no measures really, just be aware that you will need a lot of olive oil and lots of eggplants (I use both Italian eggplants and the long Asian eggplants), plenty of zucchini, and red, green and yellow capsicums. Cut all the vegetables in long and large strips, sweat the eggplants with salt for 30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Then, using plenty of olive oil, start frying. This is going to take a looooong time. First fry the zucchini, then set aside. Fry the eggplants, set aside; finally fry the capsicums (which have the strongest flavour, so they would alter the flavour of the oil). You will need to add oil from time to time, and be very careful to cook well the vegetables without burning them. When the capsicum are cold remove and discard the skins. Finely chop plenty of garlic with tons of parsley. Add few more herbs if you wish, either a ...

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © Our friends Jonathan and Fiona invited us for a Indian dinner, and I brought this dessert: Mango are quite expensive in NZ, and not always very good, but in the Indian shop I found this big can of Mango pulp. For the Mango Pudding: 850 g mango pulp 250 ml water 2 tsp agar agar powder Place the mango pulp and water into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the agar agar powder and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring. Pour into a mould (mine had a hole in the centre) and let it set for a few hours, first at room temperature, and then in the fridge. For the strawberries: 600 g strawberries half a lemon 1 cinnamon quill 3 cloves 2 tbsp sugar Hull and wash the strawberries, cut into small pieces and add the juice of half a lemon, one cinnamon quill and three cloves. Add 2 tsp of sugar and stir. Let the strawberries marinate for a few hours at room temperature and then cool in the fridge. Thank you Jonathan and Fifi for the great evening and food! :-)

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © This is a lovely way to serve rice, one of my favourites in fact! Ingredients 400 g Thai rice 1 x 400ml can coconut cream half tsp salt (In Thailand they also add sugar, but I prefer not to). Wash the rice a few times with cold water, place it in a saucepan and add the content of the can of coconut cream plus half a measure of water from the same can (in this way you can also rinse the coconut cream out). Add salt and cover with a lid. Cook very slowly by absorption, if your lid is not very heavy line it with a tea towel to avoid loosing too much steam during cooking. When the rice is ready turn the heat off and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. At this point you can also add some fresh leaves of Thai mint, they will perfume the rice and give it more flavour.

My rhubarb is huge, and ready to eat now! I cooked some for a pie and made some extra juice to make this agar agar. 1 l water 200 g sugar a few drops of lemon 600 g rhubarb stalks, cleaned and cut into pieces 2 tsp agar agar Boil the water, sugar and lemon juice. Add the rhubarb and cook until it starts to froth. Drain and use the rhubarb to make pies (or eat by itself). Collect the juice and bring back to boil. Add the agar agar and simmer for 3 minutes. Pour into a square or rectangular container. Cool. Cut in to squares and store in the fridge. Very refreshing and with a delicate but distinctive taste. Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Back to school, and it is sooooo hot! The kids don't feel like eating much, so I am opting for fruit, and something they always like: Pizza! I make the pizza the day before, and keep a slice aside for the lunch boxes. The pizza dough recipe is here . For a Vegetarian pizza I top it with tomato sauce (recipe here ), vegetarian edam, oregano and olive oil. And then I put some fresh rucola on top, they love it! For a vegan lunch box I make the pizza base as above, and then top it with zucchini slices, lightly sautéd with olive oil and garlic (only lightly, the zucchini will keep cooking in the oven) and a little vegan pesto made with basil, cashew nuts, garlic, olive oil and salt. Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © Get out in the garden (or bush, or field...) and start picking. I got a few young borage leaves, some cress, some puha, then I added a leek and a potato from my garden. Wash everything very well and cooked with water, add salt to taste and a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.

Still plenty of zucchini in the garden...I have been cooking them in 100 ways, so here is a risotto! Ingredients 1 block of tofu, frozen and then defrosted 1 shallot 2 yellow zucchini 2 green zucchini 2 tbs olive oil 400 g arborio rice 1 glass wine (optional) 1.5 l vegetable stock If you freeze the tofu, and then defrost it, it becomes porous and absorbs flavours like a sponge! Also it doesn't brake into pieces while you are cooking it, even in risotto, when you have to stir often! Cut the tofu into small cubes. Chop the shallot and slice the zucchini. In a capable saucepan sauté the shallot and tofu with the olive oil. After a couple of minutes add the rice and, when hot, the wine. Stir and add the zucchini, and then, ladle by ladle, the vegetable stock. Cook as for any risotto and serve.

Ingredients 1 kg tomatoes 1 red onion 3 fresh chillies, finely sliced 3 garlic cloves, peeled 1 tsp freshly grated ginger 4 tbsp sultana 250 ml white vinegar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp hot chilli powder (optional) 1 cinnamon quill 5 cloves 400 g sugar 1 apple Wash the tomatoes and dice into 2 or 3 cm pieces. Peel and chop the onion and dice into 1 cm pieces. Place the vegetables in a large saucepan with the chillies, garlic cloves and ginger. Bring to simmer, stirring often, and when the tomatoes are starting to break add the sultanas, vinegar, salt, hot chilli powder (if using), cinnamon and cloves. Bring back to simmer point and then add the sugar. Stir well until the sugar is dissolved, then add the apple, also diced into 2 or 3 cm pieces, but not peeled (apple peel contain pectin, a setting agent). Keep stirring and simmer until the apple becomes soft, but not mushy. Add some fresh chillies if you like and simmer for five more minutes. Place the hot chutney into sterilised jars ...

This is a wonderful drink I make very often (in fact almost everyday) for my family. In a blender put two bananas, 4 apricots (stoned), 1 kiwi fruit, 1 teaspoon of spirulina powder, and top with apple juice. Blend and serve!