Subscribe now

Linguine ai gamberi is one of those dishes that I really love because it is so simple, yet so tasty. The sweetness and delicacy of the prawns combined with the freshness of the tomato and parsley create something that feels incredibly balanced and vibrant.

It is not tied to one specific region in Italy, but it is very typical of coastal Italian cooking, especially in places like Campania, Sicily, and Liguria. It is also one of those dishes that comes together very quickly, but still makes you look like an absolute superstar in front of your guests. Honestly, I think most people would happily pay good money at a restaurant to be served a plate like this.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 350g Cherry tomatoes, halved

• 250g Deshelled and deveined raw prawns

• 250g Linguine

• 70ml White wine

• 7 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Bunch parsley

• 2 Cloves garlic

• 1 Fresh chilli

• 1 tsp Salt

• 1 tsp Black pepper

Method

Finely chop the chilli and crush the garlic.

Cut each prawn into three pieces.

Add extra virgin olive oil to a pan. Add the garlic and chilli on low heat and let them infuse for a few minutes. You do not want them to brown, just gently bubble and infuse the oil.

Turn the heat to medium-high and add the white wine. Let it evaporate on high heat until almost no liquid is left and it looks mostly like oil again.

Add the halved cherry tomatoes and salt. Cover and let them simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a pot of water to the boil, add a little handful of rock salt, and cook the linguine.

By the time the linguine is half cooked, the cherry tomatoes should have softened and started creating a sauce. Use a spoon to help smash the tomatoes.

Add the prawns to the sauce and stir for about a minute, then turn the flame off.

Add pepper and stir through finely chopped parsley, keeping a small amount aside for garnish. Check for salt. Cover the pan with the heat off to keep everything warm.

About 2 minutes before the pasta is ready, transfer the linguine directly into the sauce using tongs and add half a ladle of pasta water. Turn the heat back up to medium and toss the pasta through the sauce so it can finish cooking and emulsify properly.

If the pasta still feels too al dente, add more pasta water and continue tossing. The starch, pasta water, and sauce should create a creamy emulsion.

Serve immediately and spoon extra prawns and sauce over the top and finish with the reserved chopped parsley as a garnish. Top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Substitutions and notes

Because this dish has very few ingredients, they all need to be of really high quality, especially the prawns. I personally strongly recommend using local Australian prawns rather than the cheaper imported ones from South East Asia.

You can usually tell the difference by looking at them raw. Lower quality imported prawns often have a dark grey-blue tinge, while fresh local prawns tend to look more translucent white with pink tones.

The low-quaility imported ones are tasteless and can become squeaky or crunchy when cooked, which ruins the dish.

The prawns don’t need to be huge. Since we are not grilling them, there is no need for jumbo prawns. Smaller local high-quality prawns work beautifully in this recipe.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

This recipe is one of my absolute favourites. Octopus is a very loved food in Italy, and it’s cooked in so many different ways across regions, islands and coastal areas, each with their own version of octopus and potato salad. This is the Ligurian version, traditionally made with Taggiasche olives from Liguria. It’s a dish that means a lot to me, and just the scent of it takes me straight back home. It’s fresh, deeply flavourful, and one of my favourite ways to eat octopus. If you love octopus, this is one you don’t want to miss. It serves beautifully cold or warm, and in Italy it’s traditionally served as an entrée before a main, such as a seafood pasta.

Ingredients (Serves 6 as an entrée)

• 900 g Octopus

• 4 Medium Red potatoes

• 100 g Celery sticks

• 100 g Kalamata olives (Taggiasche olives if available)

• 15 ml Extra virgin olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• 1 Lemon (juice and peel)

• 1 Garlic clove

• Parsley

• 1 tbsp Whole peppercorns (optional)

• 2 Bay leaves (optional)

Method
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the peppercorns and bay leaves if using. Once boiling, dip the octopus into the water three times quickly to help the tentacles curl.

Add the octopus to the pot, cover, and once it comes back to the boil reduce to a gentle heat. Cook covered for 1 hour.

In the meantime, peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm to 3 cm cubes.

Boil them in salted boiling water for about 15 minutes, before draining. Test with your fork. The fork needs to go all the way into the centre of the potato with no resistance. As soon as that happens, drain the potatoes.

Once the octopus is cooked, turn off the heat and leave it to rest in the water for 20 minutes.

Drain and let the octopus cool completely. Remove the skin while keeping the suction rings intact. The skin is really soft by this point and will slide off easily. Slice the tentacles, cutting thicker sections into smaller pieces so each bite is balanced in size.

Finely mince the garlic into a paste. Finely chop your parsley. Slice the celery finely, about the size of the nail of your pinky finger. Slice olives in half if using kalamata. If using Taggiasche olives, there is no need to slice them smaller. Juice the lemon and grate the peel.

Combine everything in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss well and serve.

Substitutions and notes
Taggiasche olives would be ideal, but if you can’t find them, kalamata is fine.

It’s important that you use red potatoes, which are waxy. They hold their shape well during cooking and don’t break down or turn mushy once tossed through the salad.

For the octopus, ideally use frozen octopus. You can buy it fresh, freeze it for a couple of days, then defrost it slowly in the fridge for another couple of days before using. Freezing helps break down the fibres and gives a more tender result once cooked.

Ask your fishmonger to clean the octopus for you if possible. If it comes with the head, it can also be cooked, but make sure it is cleaned properly inside before cooking.

In this dish the garlic is raw, so the flavour can be quite strong. You can start with half a clove and increase if you’d like a more intense garlic flavour.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

This is such a core childhood memory for me in autumn and winter. Cioccolata calda was non-negotiable on a cold Sunday afternoon after a stroll through the city streets with family or friends. It was the kind of ritual that made cold days feel special.

And this is not really a drink in the way many people think of hot chocolate. It is something completely different from the hot chocolates you commonly find in Australia, UK or the US. This is dense, almost like a custard, almost like a hot chocolate mousse. Rich, filling and deeply comforting, something you eat with a spoon more than drink.

I still remember how disappointing it was the first time I went abroad and ordered a hot chocolate, only to be handed hot milk with a bit of cocoa in it. Italians mean something entirely different when they say hot chocolate.

For me, this is the perfect dessert on a cold afternoon in place of cake and tea. By the fire, rugged up on the couch with a warm blanket and rain outside, this is my idea of heaven. It is rich, luscious and honestly unforgettable, and once you make it, you will find yourself returning to it again and again. It is also such a beautiful thing to serve visiting guests in the colder months.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 135 g Cocoa powder

• 880 ml Whole milk

• 135 g Dark chocolate

• 175 g Sugar

• 65 g Cornstarch

• 1 pinch Salt

For the whipped cream topping

• 200 ml Whipping cream

• 2 teaspoons Icing sugar

• 1 tbsp Pistachios or hazelnuts, or sprinkled cinnamon or cocoa (optional for decoration)

Method

Place the cocoa powder, sugar, cornstarch and salt into a pot. Add a dash of the milk and stir to form a thick paste. Add a little more milk and keep stirring until you have a very smooth, thick paste.

Gradually pour in the remaining milk, a little at a time, stirring as you go until fully incorporated. Turn the heat to medium-low and whisk constantly. This comes together very quickly and you cannot walk away from it, as it can burn and become clumpy. Keep stirring as the mixture transforms from liquid to very dense in 1 to 2 minutes.

Once it reaches the texture of melted chocolate, turn off the heat and add the dark chocolate. Leave it in the pot for 1 minute to melt, then stir until completely incorporated.

If the hot chocolate feels too dense, almost pudding-like, add 2 to 6 tablespoons cold milk, depending on how much looser you want it. This comes down to personal preference. Keep in mind Italian hot chocolate is meant to be very dense and viscous, something you eat with a spoon, not drink, but it should not be like jelly either.

Pour into cups.

For the whipped cream, place the cream and icing sugar into a container and whip for about 30 seconds until fully whipped. Spoon over the hot chocolate.

Decorate with crushed pistachios, crushed hazelnuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon or a dusting of cocoa, if using. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Substitutions and Notes

If you want to create slight variations, you can add some cinnamon to the cocoa mixture, a little chilli powder, or even some almond essence, which works beautifully. These are lovely variations, but this is really a classic and you can’t go wrong with it.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Polpette is one of those Italian dishes that doesn’t really belong to one single city or region. It exists everywhere in Italy, and what changes is how each place interprets it. The word polpette literally means little balls.

Across the country, you’ll find different versions. The most well known is polpette di carne, meatballs cooked in tomato sauce, especially common in central and southern Italy. In parts of central Italy, there are also smaller variations and a meatless version known as polpette cacio e ova, made with just bread, cheese and eggs. Further south, particularly in coastal areas and the islands, seafood versions also appear.

The version that has travelled the world is polpette di carne, and that’s the one we’re focusing on here. It’s proper comfort food. Simple, satisfying, and also surprisingly budget friendly. It’s the kind of dish that tends to disappear quickly once it hits the table, and one you end up making on repeat.

One thing that often surprises people is how polpette are actually eaten in Italy. They are not served with pasta. There is no such thing as spaghetti con polpette or spaghetti meatballs in traditional Italian cooking. That combination is an Italo-American creation that became famous globally through films and pop culture.

There is one very specific exception from a town called Teramo, where spaghetti alla chitarra (an egg-based type of basta, in a squared spaghetti shape) is served with very small meatballs, but this is a very local speciality and something you won’t find anywhere else in Italy.

Because of this, many visitors arrive in Italy expecting spaghetti meatballs and are confused when it’s not on the menu. In Italy, the usual approach is to keep things separate, pasta as one course and polpette as another, often paired with vegetables, baked potatoes and bread.

I live in Australia, and my family loves spaghetti meatballs. I do make it sometimes because it’s such a comforting dish for them. It still tastes great, but it’s important to understand it’s not part of traditional Italian cooking.

Ingredients (4 serves)

Sauce
1.6 kg Finely crushed tomato (2 tins of 800 g each)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 Shallot
Salt and pepper
Basil

Meatballs
500 g Beef mince
Parsley
1 Egg
100 g Breadcrumbs
170 ml Milk
100 g Parmigiano Reggiano
Salt and pepper

Method

We start by making the sauce. Place extra virgin olive oil and the finely chopped shallot into a pan and sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat. The shallot should soften but not take on any colour.

Add the finely chopped tomatoes. Rinse the tomato tins by filling each one halfway with water, swirling it around to collect any leftover tomato, then pour this into the sauce. Stir through and bring everything to the boil. Season with salt and pepper, then cover with a lid and let it simmer over a low to medium heat.

At this stage, the sauce should be very liquid. This is important because the meatballs need enough space and liquid to poach properly without touching too much. They are very delicate when raw, and if stirred too early they will fall apart. The aim is for them to gently cook while floating freely in the sauce.

While the sauce is simmering, make the meatballs. In a bowl, combine beef mince, finely chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, milk, Parmigiano Reggiano, salt and pepper. In a separate small bowl, whisk the egg, then add it to the mixture.

Using your hands, work everything together for 5 minutes. This step is important as it helps the mixture bind and hold its shape during cooking.

Form the meatballs by rolling the mixture between your hands for 15–20 seconds and applying a fair amount of pressure (this will ensure they don’t break apart while cooking). The result should be a perfectly round ball about the size of a ping pong ball. They will expand a little as they cook, so keeping them slightly smaller at this stage helps them hold their shape and cook evenly.

You do not need to shape all the meatballs in advance. Instead, keep your pot of sauce gently bubbling nearby, and as you roll each meatball, drop it straight into the sauce. Work in a steady rhythm, rolling and dropping one at a time so they go in gradually.

Add them one by one, spacing them out as much as possible so they are not crowded. As the pot fills, it will become harder to find space. Avoid stirring. Instead, gently shake the pot to help the meatballs settle into the sauce.

Once all the meatballs are in, cook uncovered for at least 1 hour and 30 minutes, ideally 2 hours.

About 10 minutes before the end of cooking, add the whole bunch of basil, pressing it gently into the sauce so it is submerged. The stems can remain as they are, as the basil will be removed before serving. Cook for a final 10 minutes, then it is ready to serve.

Substitutions and notes

I recommend serving with crusty Italian bread. It also pairs beautifully with mash, roast potatoes or vegetables.

Any leftover sauce is perfect for pasta the next day.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Spaghetti alle vongole is easily one of my favourite dishes ever. I’m from Liguria, a coastal region where this dish is very popular. It is also made in Campania, Lazio and Emilia Romagna, the regions where the cities of Naples, Rome and Bologna are respectively located, and each of them still claims it as their own. It is one of those dishes that is so simple, yet so widely loved that every region claims it as their own. With so few ingredients, everything depends entirely on quality. The vongole brings a punchy marine saltiness that seasons the pasta, and that is what really defines the dish.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 500 grams spaghetti

• 100 mils extra virgin olive oil

• 1 whole chilli

• 2 cloves garlic

• A bunch parsley

• 500 grams vongole or clams

• Salt and pepper

• 1 glass of white wine

Method

Add the vongole to a large bowl and cover with cold water. Add two tablespoons of salt and stir until dissolved. Leave them for at least an hour. If leaving longer, refrigerate.

When ready to cook, finely chop the chilli. Crush the garlic under the palm of your hand. Remove parsley stalks and set aside, then finely chop the leaves.

Heat the olive oil on low with the garlic and parsley stalks. Let it infuse gently for around 10 minutes so the oil takes on flavour. Remove the garlic and stalks once done.

Add the vongole and turn the heat up. Pour in the white wine. As the vongole open, remove each one as soon as it pops open, and set aside in a bowl so they do not overcook and get chewy.

Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water.

Remove half the vongole from their shells, leaving the rest in for texture and presentation.

Drain the pasta two minutes before it’s ready, and add it straight into the pan. Add a ladle of pasta water and freshly cracked pepper. Return the vongole to the pan and keep the heat on medium.

Add chopped parsley and a little more pasta water. Toss for about a minute on medium heat until the sauce becomes a glossy emulsion. It should be lightly saucy, not watery and not just oil. Serve immediately.

Substitutions and notes

The vongole are soaked in salted water before cooking to allow them to naturally release any sand trapped inside their shells. This happens because they are still alive and respond to the salted water as if they are back in their natural sea environment, opening and expelling grit that would otherwise end up in the dish.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Lasagne is without a doubt one of my most favourite dishes on earth. It is pure comfort in Italy and it reminds me of almost every fond memory and celebration I have had in my life. It is a dish that is served on meaningful occasions, including Christmas. Lasagne Bolognese comes from the city of Bologna, but it has become known all over Italy and the world because it is so delicious. Unfortunately, it is often made in non authentic variations that are essentially made up. This is the authentic version.

One shortcut I have chosen to take is not making my own fresh pasta. This is actually something that many people in Italy also do. Ideally, if you have all the time, you would make your own fresh lasagne sheets. In Bologna, nonnas, known as sfogline, are extremely proud of making them from scratch and it is considered an art. But for people who are working and balancing life and family, it is an acceptable compromise to use quality pasta sheets instead. I hope you enjoy it and that this recipe brings you the same comfort and joy it brings me.

Ingredients (Serves 8–12)

For the béchamel sauce

• 150 Grams of butter

• 150 Grams of flour

• 1.5 Litres of milk

• Salt

• Pepper

• 1/8 Teaspoon of nutmeg

Remaning ingredients

• Half of my bolognese sauce

• 250 Grams of Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

• 4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Packet of lasagne sheets (egg pasta)

Method
Start with the béchamel sauce. In a generous sized pot, gently melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk continuously for 5 minutes over low to medium heat. This lightly toasts the flour in the butter, creating a roux and building a nutty flavour

Lower the heat to the lowest setting and add a quarter of the milk. Whisk vigorously until completely smooth and lump free. Add the second quarter of milk and repeat the same process, then add the remaining milk. Bring the heat back up to medium and stir constantly for around 10 minutes. This is not a sauce you can walk away from.

Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg (about one eighth of a teaspoon). Continue stirring until the béchamel thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, still slightly dripping but holding its shape. Turn off the heat.

To assemble, place the olive oil at the bottom of your tray. Add a few spoonfuls of bolognese and half a coffee cup of water, then stir directly in the tray to emulsify. This helps prevent sticking. Add your first layer of lasagne sheets.

Some sheets will fit the tray fully, while others will need to be cut with scissors or broken (if using dry sheets) to fill the remaining gaps. For each layer, change the direction you start laying the full sheets. This helps improve the overall stability of the lasagne.

Cover with a generous layer of béchamel, followed by bolognese and Parmigiano Reggiano. Repeat this layering process until you have four layers in total. For the final layer, use the remaining béchamel generously, followed by bolognese and a final layer of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Bake for 45 minutes at 180 degrees fan forced.

After baking, let the lasagne rest for 30 minutes before serving. If you skip the resting time, it will be very difficult to cut and will serve in a messy way. Lasagne holds heat surprisingly well, so even after 30 minutes it will still be hot when served, but it will hold its shape much better and slice cleanly.

Substitutions and notes

This dish can comfortably feed 8 to 12 people. That will depend on whether this is the only course you are serving for the night or if you are also serving an entrée and a course to follow. It is a very filling dish.

I am using a large tray measuring 38 x 24 x 8 cm. If your tray is smaller, you may struggle to fit all the ingredients and you might need to split the lasagne into two smaller trays. If you do this, you may need to slightly reduce the baking time.

My preference is fresh lasagne sheets, but you can also use a packet of dry lasagne sheets. The important thing is that they must be egg pasta, as some lasagne sheets do not contain egg and are not traditional.

You do not need to pre cook the sheets and can bake them directly. If you are using dry sheets instead of fresh, add 15 minutes of cooking time and make your béchamel slightly less dense, as the pasta will absorb more water.

It can be challenging to achieve a completely lump free béchamel. A few small lumps will not affect the final result and are perfectly fine. If your sauce is very lumpy, you can blend it using an immersion blender to smooth it out.

In Italy, lasagne is served on its own and does not need an accompaniment. It is meant to be the star of the plate, without garlic bread or salad.

This is also a great meal to make ahead. You can assemble the lasagne, then tightly wrap it in aluminium foil or cling wrap and freeze it for up to two months. When you are ready to use it, place it in the fridge for 48 hours to fully defrost, then bake it as per the instructions.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Spaghetti with fresh tomato and basil sauce is the most quintessential Italian dish. The white of the pasta, the red of the tomato, and the green of the basil embody the colour of our flag. It is the ultimate comfort food for every Italian in the world. It is the first dish that many Italians want as soon as they get home after a trip. It’s simple, it’s delicious, and because it’s so simple, it’s sometimes overlooked, even though it deserves to be one of the most treasured dishes in Italian cooking.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 250g spaghetti

• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 garlic clove

• 500g cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes

• A bunch of fresh basil

• Salt

• 40g Parmigiano Reggiano

Method
Smash your garlic clove by placing a large knife flat on top of it and pressing decisively with your palm over the knife.

Put the extra virgin olive oil in a pan with the smashed garlic and place it on low heat. Let the garlic gently infuse the oil for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, wash your tomatoes. If they are very small, halve them. If they are slightly larger, quarter them. Add them to the pan, increase to medium heat, and cook them together with the garlic and oil, covered with a lid, for about 10 minutes. Season with salt.

Add the whole bunch of basil leaves near the end of the cooking of the sauce, roughly broken with your hands, and stir through.

While the sauce is cooking, bring your spaghetti to the boil. Cook according to the packet instructions, removing about 2 minutes from the total time so it stays al dente.

When the pasta is ready, reserve about a cup of pasta water, then drain. Remove the garlic clove from the sauce, add the pasta into the pan, and toss over medium heat. Add half of the reserved pasta water and continue stirring.

Let the pasta water cook through the sauce for a remaining minute on low to medium heat. You will see the liquid reduce. If the pasta is still too firm, add a little more pasta water and continue cooking until it softens slightly, but is still al dente. Turn the heat off and add in the Parmigiano Reggiano.

Stir through until combined. Serve immediately.

Substitutions and notes
Be careful not to overcook the pasta. You want it to be al dente.

Try to find the ripest tomatoes you can. This recipe is at its best in summer, when tomatoes are at their peak.

For the basil, avoid chopping it as this can release a grassy, bitter taste. Always break it roughly with your hands so it stays fresh and aromatic.
With so few ingredients, the quality of the extra virgin olive oil really matters.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

I first discovered this dish when I was 12 and went to Rome with my family on a trip with a choir. My mum was part of the local church choir and they were going to sing for the Pope. After we left the concert for the Pope, we went to a small Italian trattoria, a family owned informal restaurant, and I tried this dish for the first time there and it stayed with me.

It is rich and buttery, with acidity coming through from the wine. It is salty from the prosciutto and aromatic from the sage, and it is a dish that sits close to my heart.

Check out the video on my Instagram page

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 4 thinly sliced veal steaks

• 4 slices prosciutto di Parma (medium thinness)

• 4 sage leaves

• 1/2 glass white wine

• 150g butter

• 4 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• 4 toothpicks

• 100g plain flour

Method
Pound your veal, or ask your butcher to do this for you. The slices should be quite thin.

Place one slice of prosciutto on each veal slice. Add one sage leaf on top and secure with a toothpick.

Coat each stack in plain flour on both sides.

On low heat, melt two thirds of the butter in a pan with the olive oil.

Add the veal stacks, prosciutto and sage side down first. Cook for about one minute on medium heat until lightly golden.

Flip and cook the other side for another minute.

Add white wine on medium high heat and let the alcohol evaporate for one minute.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the remaining butter on low heat and let it melt into a creamy sauce. Serve immediately.

Substitutions and notes
You can substitute veal with thinly sliced chicken breast, though it is not the traditional version.

Be careful to not overcook! Once browned and the wine has evaporated, the meat is already cooked through.

This dish pairs beautifully with some mash potatoes or roast potatoes.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

-From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

There’s something about a good tart that always pulls me in. Maybe it’s the contrast between a crisp base and a soft, rich filling, or maybe it’s just the kind of dessert that feels simple and special at the same time. I’ve always had a soft spot for them.

This ricotta, pear and chocolate tart is one I come back to often. It reminds me of an Italian version of cheesecake, but lighter and more delicate, with the sweetness from the pears and the depth from the chocolate.

It’s the kind of dessert that fits anywhere. Afternoon tea, a slow weekend, or the end of a dinner when you want something comforting without being too heavy.

For me, it’s easily one of my favourites.

Check out the video

Ingredients (serves 12)

Cocoa shortcrust pastry
Plain flour: 300 g
Salted butter: 200 g
Icing sugar: 180 g
Egg yolks: 3
Unsweetened cocoa powder: 35 g
Salt: a pinch

Filling
Ricotta: 750 g
Icing sugar: 150 g
Chocolate chips: 200 g
Cornflour: 1 tablespoon
Egg: 1
Salt: a pinch
William-Bartlett pears: 2
Caster sugar: 2 teaspoons
Lemon: 1/2

Method

Blend flour and cold, cubed butter until a crumbly texture forms. Do not allow it to turn into a ball.

Transfer into a bowl. Add icing sugar, egg yolks, cocoa powder and salt. Mix with your hands until you get a sandy and evenly coloured texture. Then press on it to make it more compact until it forms a ball.

Divide into two portions. One should be the larger portion and one the smaller portion.

Roll the larger portion between two sheets of baking paper into a round shape, about 3 to 4 millimetres thick. Roll the smaller portion between baking paper into a rectangular shape, also about 3 to 4 millimetres thick.

Refrigerate both sheets for at least 1 hour.

Prepare pears by peeling and cutting into small cubes. Toss with lemon juice and caster sugar to prevent browning. Refrigerate.

Combine ricotta, icing sugar and chocolate chips until smooth. Add salt. Whisk egg separately and add. Sift in cornflour and mix until fully combined.

Preheat oven to 155°C fan forced.

Butter the tart tin well. Line it with the larger round pastry sheet, pressing it into the base and sides. Use your hands to shape it carefully and be sure to leave no holes.

Cover with baking paper and fill with baking weights, dried chickpeas or dried lentils. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove weights and paper.

Add the pears into the ricotta mix, then pour into the tart shell.

Take the smaller rectangular sheet and cut six strips using a ravioli cutter (or a knife is just fine). Lay them over the filling in a crisscross pattern.

Bake for 55 minutes.

Cool at room temperature for 3 hours, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before removing from tin.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Substitutions and notes
This dough behaves like Play-Doh. It can be difficult to fit into the tin, so work it in slowly and do your best to shape it evenly. If there are any gaps or holes, patch them with extra dough, then press and mould it with your fingers until the surface is smooth, even, and fully sealed with no lumps or bumps.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

The first time I had ragù in Bologna, I realised I had been eating something completely different my whole life. What I knew as bolognese before that was heavier, more tomato forward, and honestly a bit blunt compared to what I tasted there.

In Bologna, ragù is not loud. It is slow cooked meat that develops over time into something rich, balanced, and deeply savoury. Nothing is trying too hard. That restraint is what makes it stand out.

Outside of Italy, we call it bolognese. In Italy, it is simply ragù, or ragù bolognese. Ragù just means a meat sauce cooked slowly, and bolognese ties it to its city of origin.

In Bologna, the dish is taken seriously enough that an official version was recorded with the Chamber of Commerce. It is a reference point for what the dish is meant to be, including ingredients, ratios, and method.

At its core, it is a mix of beef and pork cooked slowly with soffritto, wine, and a small amount of tomato. No garlic. The key is time. A proper ragù needs hours on a very gentle heat for the flavours to come together properly. If you rush it, it never becomes what it is meant to be.

My version stays very close to that foundation, with one change. I use Italian sausage instead of pork belly. It is an accepted variation and I prefer it for the flavour and slightly lighter texture. Everything else stays true to the traditional approach.

Ragù is not complicated, but it is patient. It cannot be hurried without changing what it is.

It is best served with egg pasta like tagliatelle or pappardelle, which are wide enough to hold the sauce properly. In Italy, this dish is never served with spaghetti.

If you have never had it made this way before, this is what ragù bolognese is meant to taste like.

Ingredients (Serves 12+ people)

• 1kg Beef mince

• 3 Italian sausages

• 2 Onion

• 1 Carrot

• 1 Celerys stick

• 150 ml Extra virgin oilve oil

• 1/2 Bottle red wine

• 4 tablespoons of tomato paste

• 2 Bottles Passata

• 1 Stock pot or stock cube (vegetable or beef)

• Salt & pepper

• 1 Glass milk (optional)

Method
Finely chop the celery, onion and carrot. There is no such thing as rough chopping for this. You either take the time to do it properly with a knife, or you use a food processor like I do to get everything very finely chopped.

Heat around 150ml extra virgin olive oil in a large pot and gently sauté the carrot, onion and celery (soffritto) on a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until it softens and becomes fragrant.

Add the crumbled Italian sausage (removed from its casing and broken up with your hands) along with the beef mince. Turn the heat up to high and cook, stirring constantly. Use your spoon to break down every clump of meat as it cooks. The texture should be fine and even, not chunky or clumped together. You want small pieces of meat throughout the sauce.

Keep cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. The meat will change from pink-red to a grey-brown colour and the pan should be dry. This step is important for building flavour.

Add the red wine while still on high heat and keep stirring for about 5 minutes. Do not cover. The alcohol needs to fully evaporate.

Add the passata, tomato paste, and stock cube or stock pot. Bring everything to the boil, then reduce the heat to low (around 2 to 3 out of 10). Cover and let it cook slowly for 5 to 7 hours, stirring every so often, about once an hour.

Towards the end of cooking, adjust seasoning with salt and add black pepper to taste.

A small glass of milk can be added 10 minutes before turning off the heat, if needed, to soften the acidity or add extra creaminess. I don’t usually use it in my version, but it is an option, especially if the sauce reduces too much and you need a little extra liquid. If you do, prefer milk over water.

Substitutions and notes
I always make a very large batch of bolognese. That’s why the quantity is high. It’s a slow cooked recipe that takes time, so I prefer to cook a big batch, set it aside, use some for lasagne, and freeze the rest in individual portions so I always have some ready. It’s something I usually make about once a month.

You can easily halve or third the quantities if you need less.

This needs to cook for five to seven hours on very low heat. The long cooking time allows the collagen in the meat to break down, which gives the sauce its rich, velvety texture.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Genova is where pesto comes from. It sits inside Liguria, a region that is actually quite small, which makes you assume everything food wise would feel familiar from town to town. But it does not. Even within such a short distance, things change in a way that catches you off guard.

This version of pesto, trofie al pesto avvantaggiate, is one of those things you really only find in Genoa itself. It is called avvantaggiate, meaning enriched, and it refers to the way green beans and potatoes are added directly into the pasta and folded through with the pesto.

One time I went to Genova and ordered trofie al pesto, I remember being asked if I wanted the regular version or the avvantaggiate version. I had no idea what it meant at the time. It is simply this very local variation where the dish is made richer with vegetables.

There are also only two traditional pasta shapes used with pesto in Genova: trofie, like this one, or trenette, a longer Ligurian pasta. These are the only forms you will really see there, and they are considered the most authentic way of eating it.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 2 red medium potatoes

• 200g green beans fresh

• 500g dry trofie pasta

• Rock salt

• Homemade pesto (check my last post for the recipe of pesto)

Method
Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes roughly the size of a fingernail.

Trim the ends of the green beans, then cut them into two or three pieces depending on length. They should be bite sized.

Bring a pot of water to the boil. Once boiling, add a small handful of rock salt and add the potatoes. Cook for five minutes with a timer.

After five minutes, add the green beans and cook for a further five minutes so the vegetables cook for a total of ten minutes.

Drain the vegetables and set aside.

In the meantime, bring another pot of water to the boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add a small handful of rock salt and the trofie. Cook according to packet instructions until slightly al dente.

Unlike other pasta dishes, this is not one where we undercook the pasta and finish it in a pan. We are not cooking it further after draining, so what you drain is exactly the final texture. It should be al dente, but not overly firm or underdone.

Before draining, reserve a cup of pasta water.

Drain the pasta and transfer it into a large bowl where half of the pesto has already been placed at the bottom.

Add the drained pasta, then add the potatoes and green beans. Spoon the remaining pesto over the top.

Add a little reserved pasta water a few tablespoons at a time, adjusting by eye as you mix. The goal is to loosen and emulsify the pesto so it coats everything evenly. If it looks dry or grainy, add a little more water. Do not add it all at once, as too much can make it watery.

Mix until the sauce looks silky and evenly distributed, then serve immediately.

Substitutions and notes
Use red potatoes for this recipe as they are waxy and hold their shape better. This is exactly what you want here so they do not turn mushy.

We do not put the pesto in a pan and sauté it with the pasta to finish, as you might do with other sauces. Heat is the enemy of pesto. It will darken it and mute its flavour and aroma.

Instead, we dress the pasta after draining it in a large bowl. We add the pesto off the heat, along with reserved pasta water, and mix it through until it becomes lightly creamy and emulsified.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

There are dishes that take you straight home. For me, it’s pesto alla Genovese.

I grew up in the Liguria region, where pesto is from. One of my fondest memories is coming home from primary school and my nonna having a giant bowl of pasta al pesto ready for me. The smell of basil and garlic would hit me before I even sat down.

It was simple, quick, and perfect every time.

That’s still what pesto is to me. Fresh, aromatic, and comforting in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’ve grown up with it. A few ingredients, a few minutes, and it brings everything to life, whether it’s pasta or just a piece of bread.

Every time I make it, I’m back in my nonna’s kitchen.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

• Fresh italian basil 160g

• Pecorino cheese 50g

• Parmigiano reggiano 70g

• Garlic 1 clove

• Extra virgin olive oil 150g

• Pinenuts 80g

• Salt 2 pinches

METHOD

Crush the garlic with a garlic press.

Grate your cheeses.

Add the basil, half of the cheese, the crushed garlic, 150g of extra virgin olive oil, the pine nuts, and the salt into the blender.

Blend for 15 seconds on and off.

Add the remaining cheese and blend for another 10 seconds or so on and off.

The more you blend it, the more smooth of a texture you have. If you blend it less, you're going to have it chunkier. I personally like a middle ground.

Store it in the fridge as soon as you're done making it, and cover the surface with the remaining extra virgin olive oil to prevent darkening.

SUBSTITUTIONS AND NOTES

Heat is the number one enemy of pesto. You want to use your blender in intervals. You don’t want to blend continuously for the time given because the heat generated from the blades will make your pesto turn black.

For the same reason, pesto is the only type of Italian sauce that should never be sautéed in the pan with your pasta. That’s why we toss it through the pasta in a bowl, not in the pan.

If you enjoy recipes like this, subscribe to get a new one each week and build your own library of authentic Italian cooking. 🍝

- From Italy, with love and sauce x