Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Since I had some left over mushroom sauce from yesterday's dish , today I made some pasta. I heard from other bloggers about the Garofalo pasta brand, in NZ I could only find it in one shop, and it was too expensive even to consider, so I thought that I should try it while I am in Italy. I choose mezze maniche for this dish. Mezze maniche with mushrooms I cooked the mezze maniche al dente. In the meantime I warmed up the pan with the left-over mushrooms and added 250 ml of cream. Then I added some freshly chopped Italian parsley and some freshly ground pepper. I drained the mezze maniche and passed them in the pan with the mushroom and cream sauce. They tasted great! Photos by Alessandra Zecchini©

I discovered frozen mixed mushrooms (apparently with some pieces of porcini in it, but I couldn’t see many). In any case, unable to forage now, these looked good to me. I used a 300g bag of frozen mixed mushrooms 30g dried porcini mushrooms, a few garlic cloves olive oil tomato passata salt The dried porcini mushrooms need to be soaked for a an hour or so. Saut é the garlic with the olive oil, add the frozen mushrooms, and after five minutes the porcini mushrooms and their soaking water. Add the tomato passata (about a cup) and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir often and add water if necessary. Add salt to taste. Photos by Alessandra Zecchini© I served these mushrooms with polenta, and then, since I had a few left over, I made some pasta the day after, but I'll talk about that tomorrow!

I cannot believe that I bought zucchini! After eating so many from my garden I thought that I would not want to see them for at least six month, instead...I discovered that I missed them! And since I don't have a veggie garden here in Valcamonica, I have to buy my veggies! These are the first zucchini of the season, probably from some hothouse, but at least they come from Italy, not a far away country. I decided to try another of the Garofalo pasta (since so many Italian bloggers talked about it) and I though that for my dish this format, mafalde corte, would work well. And it did!!! Ingredients: 500 g pasta Rock salt for the water. for the sauce: 4 zucchini 2 garlic cloves, peeled 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Salted water from the pasta (very important ingredient, read more later) Freshly grated pepper (optional) Freshly chopped Italian Parsley Wash and cut the zucchini and saute in a large pan with the garlic and olive oil. Stir often, the zucchini should not burn! They actually...

Paccheri are hollow pasta tubes that look like rigatoni or tortiglioni, but with a difference: the paccheri tubes flatten once they are cooked. Usually the have very rich sauces, but I am one for 'less is more' these days, and so here I just warmed up a ready made Italian tomato passata ( a good one ). Once the passata was hot I added some salt, extra virgin olive oil and finely chopped Italian parsley with garlic. These days I am chopping a lot of parsley and garlic together, it is too early for basil, and parsley taste really good in Italy! Also, I like the idea of having a cooked sauce but with raw herbs and garlic in it: the taste changes completely. Simple but really effective!!! If you are not vegan you can add some ricotta to this. Photos by Alessandra Zecchini©

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © This is my adaptation of the Thai dip Nam Prik, (there are many versions, this one is more like the ones from the North of the country). I like this version because the ingredients are easy to find in most countries, but the taste is really 100% Asian! Ingredients: 1 or 2 fresh green chilies, 1 or 2 fresh red chilies, 1 eggplant (possibly white, but I tend to use the purple ones which are easier to find) 2 garlic cloves (peeled), 1 shallot (peeled) , 1 or 2 tomatoes, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, half tsp salt (In Thailand they also put in a littles sugar, but I don't) Wrap the chilies, eggplant (cut into four) garlic shallot and tomatoes in a sheet of tin foil. Seal well and bake at 175°C for 30 minutes. Remove the content and place: 1) in a large mortar, and start pounding with the pestle adding the lemon juice, soy sauce and salt. this way you will get a a chuncky sauce with lots of skins but lovely and spicy. or 2) in a blender, fo...

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © A lovely and crisply salad made with fresh mixed leaves and red radicchio (the round type, which is crispy and lovely to eat raw). I find red radicchio a bit bitter, this is why I like to mix it with other green leaves. Then I added some finely cut Florence fennel, and some freshly shelled walnuts. For dressing I just used some good extra virgin olive oil, some lemon juice and some salt. Non-vegan option: I had some salad left over and I made a mega panino using crusty ciabatta bread, this salad (without dressing) and some gorgonzola cheese. It was super!!!!

Spring = Asparagus Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © Here is an easy and classy risotto Get a pot ready with 1.5 of vegetable stock (home made or organic) Clean a bunch of asparagus and cut into 3-4 cm pieces (remove only the woodiest part, the rest of the spears are fine). Keep aside. Finely chop a small onion (possibly white), put in a capable casserole or saucepan with 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook until the onion is translucent, but not brown yet. Add the 500 g of arborio rice. Stir, add one glass of white wine. Stir, add one ladle of vegetable stock. Stir, add the asparagus spear pieces, but not the tips! Keep stirring and adding vegetable stock until the risotto is nearly cooked. It will take about 20 minutes. Add the asparagus tips only at the last 5 minutes of cooking. If you are not a vegan you can add a piece of butter and/or some parmesan cheese at the end. Always stir well. This last step is called mantecare in Italian and it is an essential step in many risotti.

The Big Book of Sweet Treats New Holland Publishers Ltd has just released this new collection of 130 sweet treats, which includes some of my recipes. A photograph accompanies each recipe and there is a useful introduction on how to get you started, covering basic equipment and ingredients to make biscuits, cakes, pancakes, ice creams and a whole lot more. The Big Book of Sweet Treats is suitable for keen cooks or bakers looking for new ideas, and it is available in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and other countries. Also (while I am here promoting I may as well go the full length!), if you live in New Zealand and Australia please look out for the latest issue of Dish Magazine with my article about the Balsamic Vinegars of Modena. Have a good week-end!

Spring!!! Finally! I am now moving away from soups and into fresher ingredeints. For this I used: 500 g basmati rice 1 x 400 g can brown lentils 1 cup washed Italian parsley leaves 3 garlic cloves, peeled salt to taste 1 lemon, plus one more for decoration 1 grated carrot 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle freshly ground black pepper. Wash the rice and cook by absorption. Rinse the lentils, and add to the rice when is nearly cooked. In the meantime finely chop the parsley leaves with the garlic and some salt. Place in a bowl and add the juice of one lemon and the grated carrot. Remover the rice and lentils from the heat add the parsley and lemon mixture, the olive oil, and stir. Divide between 6 plates, and top each one with one slice of lemon and some freshly ground black pepper. Add more salt and olive oil if you like, and enjoy. This is a full, balanced and healthy meal! Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © This is a very simple pudding which I made just because I had some coconut cream to finish up . Ingredients 1 x 400ml can coconut cream or coconut milk 2 tbsp sugar half tsp agar agar 1 drop vanilla essence Pour the coconut cream into a small pot, add the sugar and agar agar and bring to boil. Simmer for three minutes, add the vanilla essence and pour into 4 ramekins. Chill and serve, by itself or with fresh fruit and/or berries. The biscuits on the side are plain biscuits (recipe here ) topped with chocolate and sugar granules.

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © This is not a Nigella Lawson’s recipe, but a recipe using nigella seeds. I don’t have many spices (yet) in my new kitchen, but this possibly makes me more inventive. Also, I am not sure if this could be defined as Indian food, certainly it is Indian inspired, I served it with a Dahl and basmati rice, and it was a winner!!! Of course your comments are welcomed! Here is the recipe: Nigella Potatoes Ingredients: 500 g potatoes (Agria or similar ‘floury’ potatoes) 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 garlic cloves, peeled 1 tsp nigella seeds half tsp ground coriander half tsp cumin powder 1 tsp turmeric salt to taste one cup fresh coriander (or parsley) leaves Peel the potatoes and cut into 4-5 cm cubes. In a large wok or frying pan with high borders heat the oil and add the garlic cloves and nigella seeds. When the seeds start to crackle add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, and a little salt. Add the cubed potatoes and coat ...

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © Living in Valcamonica (North of Italy) I have discovered this vegetable. I don't know the name in English, and not even in Italian, they just told me that these miniature salads (they are about 5 cm) in the local dialect are called butti . They are crunchy and delicious, and to dress them you just need some good extra virgin olive oil, salt and a drop of vinegar or lemon juice.

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini © Ingredients 500 g penne Salt for the water 10 walnuts 1 celery stalk 100 g gorgonzola or vegetarian blue cheese. Serves 4-5 Cook the penne al dente in plenty of salted boiling water (according to packet instructions). In the meantime shell about 10 walnuts and clean and chop a celery stalk. I also try to remove all the ‘strings’ from the celery. In a large frying pan place the gorgonzola and add a ladle of water from the pasta, then on low heat slowly melt the cheese. Add the walnut kernels and the celery. Drain the penne and add to the gorgonzola sauce. Stir and serve. I like to add celery to this pasta because it gives it a nice fresh and crunchy taste.