Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I had an idea! Instead of cutting nori seaweed with scissors (like I usually do) I tried with a pasta machine, with the tagliolini setting. And it works really well! Next time I'll show you how I used it, but for now I just wanted to share the idea! Anyway, great to top rice, soba, soups, salads... so pretty too! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Cook the linguine al dente, In the meantime clean the broccoli, cut the stalks into small pieces and the florets in fork size pieces. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add two cloves of garlic, peeled (chopped if you like a stronger garlic flavour). Sizzle the add the broccoli stalks. Stir, after one minute add the florets. Stir for a couple of minutes, add salt, cover with a lid and simmer for two minutes, then turn the element off but leave the lid on: the broccoli will cook in their steam. Cut the semi-dried tomatoes into strips and cube the feta. Drain the pasta and place in the pan with the broccoli (you can add a bit of water from the pasta or a bit more olive oil to mix everything well together. Top with the tomatoes and feta. Serve immediately.  Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

When time is an issue I can always grab a packet of Halloumi cheese (if I have time  I could make it , but not today!). Here it is cooked with Chinese garlic chives and served on a bed of spinach. What you need: 500 g frozen spinach 1 bunch Chinese garlic chives olive oil a small pinch of salt One block Halloumi Defrost the spinach and chop the Chinese garlic chives. Put half of the garlic chives in a pan with olive oil, sizzle and then add the spinach and a pinch of salt. Sauté the spinach. In the meantime in a separate pan sizzle the remaining Chinese garlic chives with a little olive oil, then add the Halloumi and cook on both sides until golden. Cut into four and place over the spinach. Serve hot with some crusty bread. Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Ingredients: Two blocks of soft tofu 1 shallot 2 fresh red chillies  1 can coconut cream 500 ml vegetable stock 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger fresh coriander fresh Vietnamese mint (or basil) Drain the tofu and cut into slices. Finely chop the shallot, and roughly break up the chili, discarding the seeds unless you like your food very spicy. Place everything in a pot with the coconut cream and vegetables sock and simmer for 20 minutes. Grate the ginger and add to the tofu, finish off with some fresh coriander and Vietnamese mint leaves. If you don't have Vietnamese mint use fresh basil. Serve with Thai rice or noodles. Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Swiss chard (silver beet) is a vegetable that you can always find in winter, and fortunately I love it. Also it can be cooked in so many ways, as a side or as an ingredient for a main. This is a quick side, I never had it 'spicy' and I was pleasantly surprised!  Just wash the silver beet (chard), cut the white stalks and leaves into fork-size pieces (pieces that you can pick up with a fork). Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add a peeled clove of garlic or two, and some fresh chilies (I added a green and a red, chopped). When the garlic and chilies sizzle add the white stalks and stir. After a few minutes add the leaves and salt to taste. Cover and let the leaves cook in their own steam, stirring from time to time. Serve hot. Yummy, different and super easy! And for more silver beet ideas look at all the recipes below :-) Alessandra Zecchini: Pasta with  silverbeet  cream and pistachio pesto Feb 26, 2012 Pick the silverbeet from your veggie gar

In Lima I heard a lot about quinotto, quinoa cooked like risotto. Many of my Italian blogger friends also  make it, and I though of trying, starting with a classic saffron style 'quinotto'. I chopped one onion and cooked it with a little olive oil (I wanted to make a vegan dish, but remember that butter is traditionally used for saffron risotto), then I added 450 g of quinoa. Once the quinoa was 'toasted' and 'greasy' with oil, I added one glass of white wine, and then, ladle by ladle, slowly slowly, and stirring often, one litre of vegetable stock. I added the saffron just at the end, when the quinotto was cooked. How was it? Well, I liked it very much, my son liked it too, but my husband and daughter weren't so sure... they ate it, but are they are not going to beg me to make it again, they prefer risotto with rice :-). And did you ever try to make quinotto? Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

I have lots of organic apples to use, so this cake is actually packed with apples! I use about 10, peeled and thinly sliced and sprayed with lime juice (I usually use lemon, but I have lots of organic limes too). For the batter I used 3 large free range eggs, 130 g demerara sugar, 120 g melted salted butter, a pinch of ground cinnamon and 180 g wholemeal flour. At the end I added half a tsp of cream of tartar and 1/3 of baking soda. I folded the apples in, and poured everything into a baking tin. For the topping I used 6 tbsp of wholemeal flour, 3 tbsp of demerara sugar and 50 g of salted butter, cubed. I mixed the topping to make a crumble and spread it over the cake. I baked the cake at 180°C and it took forever! About one hour or a bit longer! I guess it was because it had so many apples in it. But in the end it was just so yummy and moist and it lasted about 5 days! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©