Jennie Eats Italy

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Here's my first ever Jennie Eats Italy video! Hope you like it x

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parma ham with pomegranate and Italian greens

It's been a gorgeous weekend full of sunshine, so today I decided to do something nice and light for lunch. Parma ham is so delicious and has always been a lunchtime favourite for me. And I started early - I remember having parma ham sandwiches for lunch at primary school while everyone else ate cheese slices between white bread. I think my mum drew the line at my request for parmesan shavings.

Today I just sliced up a pomegranate and scattered the juicy seeds over the parma ham. The fruit's sweetness against the strong salt of the ham works really well. Of course you can use melon or even a drop of raspberry coulis if you prefer.

Next is Italian-style greens, which I absolutely love. My grandma has always done the best sautéed greens and I'm always fascinated to hear my dad tell stories of when she first moved to England in the '40s and used to pick greens, even rocket which today is more than common, and how people thought she was like a witch picking weeds. How things have changed!

If you know and love Italian food, I'm sure you'll agree that the way they cook vegetables is seriously tasty. And it's not hard. All you really need is lots of olive oil and garlic. 

Today at the Sunday market in Wellington there were lots of lovely greens, so I picked a large bunch. You can use any greens that take your fancy for this recipe. All you need to do is cover the base of a frying pan or wok with olive oil, fry off three cloves of crushed garlic and the end green part of five spring onions, sliced, then add your greens and stir until they've wilted and fried for about 10 minutes. It really is as easy as that. Good hot or cold, these kind of greens can be part of a light lunch or a nice vegetable to accompany meat on an evening. 

As I keep cooking for Jennie Eats Italy, I'm really realising that a lot of Italian food is so much easier to make than people think, and I'm going to keep unearthing good recipes that look and taste impressive but don't require lots of ingredients or time in the kitchen. Have a lovely Sunday x

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Penne pasticciate

I don't know about you, but I live with someone who wants to add meat to every single meal. Whenever I cook something without meat he'll be like, "this is lovely, but it would have been amazing with some chicken, sausage, bit of mince, ham, some lamb chops, a whole hog..." 

With this in mind, last week I decided to give the big man a break and cook something a bit more 'meaty' (ish). Penne pasticciate was one of my favourite pastas growing up and a big favourite from my family's restaurant. It's super simple to make and is just yum, yum yum. I'd say most of the ingredients would normally feature in your weekly shop too and the fact that it takes about 10 minutes to prepare makes it great for a quick but delicious dinner after work.

Penne pasticciate - serves two

Ingredients

One onion

One clove of garlic

One tin of chopped tomatoes

Pouring cream

Handful of mushrooms

Large handful of peas

Pancetta (or any ham you fancy)

Penne (between 100g and 150g per person)

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Method

Firstly, finely chop your garlic and onion and sweat it down in a pan with some olive oil. Whilst that's happening (it should take about five minutes on a low heat) finely slice your mushrooms and pancetta or ham. Pop these in the pan and stir well. 

While everything is frying off, boil your kettle and empty into a large pot for your pasta. Put it on a high heat and pour in a good dose of salt. Once that's bubbling away, add your pasta. 

Back to your sauce, now add in a tin of chopped tomatoes and your peas. I tend to chuck mine in from frozen but if you'd prefer to defrost in some boiling water before - go right ahead. Give it another good stir, add a very small ladle of water and leave to bubble away.

Once your pasta is ready, drain and add to the sauce. Mix everything together thoroughly and then pour in your cream. I always just go with what I fancy - you can add a dash or lots depending on how 'creamy' you like your pasta. If you don't do dairy, the cream can definitely be left out.

Outcome

I serve this dish in a lovely big bowl with nothing but a sprinkling of parmesan. I find it caters for everyone's needs - ham for all of those meat-needing boys, fresh vegetables for our five-a-day and a bit of naughtiness if you're in need of a treat.

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Roasted baby turnip crostini

I was in the supermarket this weekend and saw a bunch of baby turnips. They were so cute that I just put them in my trolly without any idea what I'd do with them. After much thought and deliberation, I decided they'd be tasty as a crostini topping - and by God was I right.

Like with any crostini, this is a really quick and simple recipe. When it comes to vegetables, I think anything of the 'baby' variety is quite avant garde so I think this is one of those impressive looking (and tasting) nibbles that you could have when friends come round or when you're celebrating something special. 

All you need for this dish is a french stick (or any crusty bread you have at home) baby turnips, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, runny honey and a pinch of salt. I've used white balsamic vinegar here as it gives a lovely tang against the sweet honey but it's clear in colour so you don't end up with brown soaked bread.

All you have to do is pre-heat your oven to about 200 degrees, scrub and quarter your turnips then chuck them into a baking dish with lashings of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. I left a bit of the turnip stalk on as I thought it looked quite cool - but it's totally up to you. You'll need to roast the turnips for about one hour/ one hour 15 minutes until they're nice and soft. 

When you have about 10 minutes to go on the turnips, slice your bread about 2cm thick and add to your baking dish. Cook for five minutes on each side or until golden and crusty.

Once everything is ready, take the baking dish out of the oven, lay out your crostini and top with the roasted baby turnips. Now in a jug or cup, mix white balsamic vinegar with runny honey - you want a 50/50 consistency. Finish by ladling a spoonful of the mixture over each crostini with a teaspoon. 

The combination of flavours from the dressing against the beautiful crunch of the bread and taste of roasted turnip is honestly gorgeous. Everything marries really well together and it's a great way to kick-start your taste buds for something great for dinner. Give it a go!

[jennieeatsitaly]

Mozzarella roulade

My parents have just come back from three weeks in Italy - taking my Grandma back to see the famiglia. Some mornings I would wake up with over 20 Whatsapp messages from my Dad purely of food (cheers, Den - rub it in why don't you?) There was fettuccine, there was cannelloni (in fact there was fettuccine and cannelloni on one plate), there were deep fried pizza balls, deliciously juicy tomatoes from the garden, bottles of family wine, it just never ended. 

One dish I saw twice in the torture photos was a mozzarella roulade-looking invention. Though my parents had never seen it before this trip, they said it seemed to be the new craze over in the homeland. I wanted to try it because firstly it contains some of my favourite ingredients and secondly it looks beautiful.

Before I go on I have to say that fresh is best for this recipe. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where you can access really fresh mozzarella it will be so much easier to make. Unfortunately in Wellington it would be easier to go and milk a buffalo and make your own cheese than it is to find top notch fresh mozzarella. If it isn't the freshest it will be a little bit hard and thus impossible to roll into a flat mozza-pancake. If this is the case, you can cheat like I did and melt your mozzarella. The end result won't be as soft and creamy as the proper version but will still taste great.

Mozzarella roulade

Ingredients

One large, fresh mozzarella ball

One large handful of basil leaves

One large handful of rocket

A small pack of prosciutto

Cherry tomatoes

Method

As mentioned in my mozzarella monologue, if you have a really soft ball of mozzarella - use a rolling pin to get it completely flat like a thin pizza base. If you don't you can chop your mozzarella up and lay it on the base of a large frying pan and turn the heat on. One the cheese melts take it off the heat (waiting a few minutes so you don't burn your fingers) and then pop it into a ball and roll out the same way.

Now put a layer of basil leaves, a layer of rocket and then a layer of prosciutto over the flat mozzarella. Finally slice your cherry tomatoes into thirds and add a layer of those. Now gently roll as you would a roulade and firmly wrap in cling film, popping in the fridge for one to two hours.

When you're ready to serve, slice your roulade about 2cm thick.

Outcome

You can serve this as part of an antipasto starter, with a balsamic rocket salad or just as wee appetisers when you have people round. The thing I like most about this recipe is that it looks really impressive with very little effort (unless you do decide to go and find that buffalo). Enjoy!

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Ricotta, mushroom and rosemary stuffed pasta shells

Pasta is my favourite thing in the whole world - nothing else even comes close. So when I see pasta that's super sized I have to say it excites me. Until tonight I'd never actually stuffed giant pasta shells myself, which may come as a shock, but it's not something I ate growing up. I'm not sure if it's a regional dish or if it's a modern Italian trend (feel free to tell me the answer) but I've seen so many delicious photos of them on Instagram that I just had to give it a go. 

For my recipe I decided to use ricotta, button mushrooms and rosemary for the stuffing. The flavours work really well together, especially when the sharp tomato sauce cuts through that rich creaminess. I encourage everyone to give this dish a go and as with most of my recipes, you can change up the ingredients if you like. It's also a really easy recipe and a good alternative to lasagne or cannelloni as there's a lot less to do.

Stuffed pasta shells - serves four

Ingredients 

250g large pasta shells

300g ricotta cheese

20 button mushrooms

Two sprigs of rosemary

Two tins of tomatoes

One onion

Two cloves of garlic

One chicken or vegetable stock cube

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Method

Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees and pop a large saucepan of salted water on a hot hob.

Wash and finely slice your mushrooms. Throw them in a hot oiled frying pan with the leaves from two sprigs of rosemary. To remove the leaves just nip the stalk and run your fingers upwards against the direction of the leaves.

After about three minutes spoon the mixture into a bowl to rest.

Once your water is boiling, pop in your pasta and stir. Now onto your tomato sauce. Finely chop your onion and garlic and add to olive oil in a pan. Stir and after two minutes add two tins of chopped tomatoes and crumble in a stock cube. You can leave this to bubble away while you get on with the rest of the dish. 

When your pasta shells are al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. By this stage your mushroom mixture will have cooled down and you can pour it back onto your chopping board to finely chop it. Put it back into the bowl and mix thoroughly with your beautifully creamy ricotta. 

Your pasta sauce will no be ready to use. If you'd prefer to have it without any texture, pour into a blender or use a stick blender to blitz it. Take a casserole dish and spoon a thin layer of the tomato sauce into the bottom. Now start stuffing your shells. Take a teaspoon and fill each shell with the ricotta mixture and put into the dish. Finish with a lovely layer of tomato sauce and a generous grating of parmesan cheese and black pepper.

Outcome 

Yum, yum yum. I know it's getting colder back in England and to be honest it's not feeling that hot over here in New Zealand, so I think this is a universally perfect option for dinner at the moment. Add a lovely balsamic dressed salad with juice cherry tomatoes and avocado and you've got the perfect weekend indulgence.

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Rigatoni with breadcrumbs, pancetta and brocollini

Not every pasta dish has to be laced with sauce to be scrumptious. This rigatoni recipe is really simple with big flavours topped off by the gorgeously light crunch of breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs work really well with pasta, especially with a salty accompaniment like anchovies. Pecorino certainly does the trick too and works beautifully with my favourite vegetable, long stemmed brocolli. It's so good for you and tastes great in Italian cooking.

Rigatoni with pancetta and brocollini - serves two

Ingredients

200g rigatoni

Five thin slices of pancetta 

One garlic clove

One red chilli

A nice bunch of brocollini 

One small handful of breadcrumbs

One small handful of pecorino cheese

Olive oil

Black pepper

Method

Boil a saucepan of salted water and add your rigatoni until al dente. While your pasta is bubbling away, roughly chop your pancetta and throw into a hot, dry pan, allowing the fat to render down. Now finely chop your chilli (removing the seeds) and garlic, add a dash of olive oil to the pan and add everything along with your broccolini. Fry until the stalks are just cooked through. 

Once your pasta is ready, drain and add to your frying pan. Add another drizzle of olive oil along with the pecorino and breadcrumbs. Continue to stir under the heat until the breadcrumbs are lightly toasted. Finish with a twist of black pepper.

Outcome

This is the perfect Italian example of fast and easy comfort food. Very little effort is required and you can use anything you like. If you're not in the mood for sauce, breadcrumbs can be a really nice alternative and for me the salty taste of the pancetta and pecorino cheese alongside the fresh flavour of the brocollini is a heavenly match.

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Stuffed chillis

Chilli is a staple in Italian cooking. I wish I had a picture to show you of my uncle Ettore who is now in his late 80s and still has a little dish of tiny scorching red chillis by every meal and just picks them up and eats them whole. It's unreal.

This recipe isn't quite so hardcore. I remove all of the seeds and membrane so no one's mouth will explode. The red part of the chilli is very similar to pepper (or capsicum as the Kiwis seem to call it) but with a lovely undertone of heat to it. 

I wanted to do a stuffed chilli to show that anyone can enjoy it, even those afraid of spicy food. It's a seriously simple side dish and certainly works with red peppers too if you'd like to stick to something a bit more sweet.

In terms of ingredients - all you need are a bunch of large red chillis, pecorino cheese, breadcrumbs and olive oil.  You need large chillis for this dish because firstly, you'd only get half a mouthful if you stuffed the little ones, and secondly, the larger the chilli, the milder it is.

The first step is to prep your chillis. Using a small sharp knife draw a line down the centre of your chilli, length ways, and then commit to it by slicing through gently. If you want to be decorative, follow all the way through the stalk.

Now using your knife, draw a line round the outside of the white membrane and pull it out along with all of the seeds. Wash the chilli to get rid of any remaining seeds.

Glug some olive oil around the base of a baking dish and lie your chilli halves in a line, skin side down. Pop under a hot grill for 15 minutes.

While your chillis are grilling, mix pecorino cheese with breadcrumbs. You want a half and half consistency here so you can really taste that strong, salty cheese but also get the crunch of the crumbs when they go back under the grill.

Take your chillis out of the oven and start to stuff them with your mixture, using a teaspoon. Pop back under the grill until browned.

Do be careful as chilli skin does blacken quickly and though the edges will char ever-so-slightly, you want to avoid serving up little canoes of coal.

These simple stuffed chillis go really well with a lovely wine vinegar tossed salad and bread, as a lovely accompaniment to a meat dish. You could also lie them over your favourite creamy pasta dish as tasty decoration. 

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pork & polenta

Polenta is an Italian classic and can be used in so many ways, even cake. Tonight I made polenta to form a creamy base for pork that's lightly fried with onion, garlic and chilli and then cooked in a rich tomato sauce with wine. It's a really easy dish to do if you have people coming over and is perfectly cosy for the colder weather.

Pork & polenta - serves four

Ingredients

One cup of polenta

One cup of milk

Three cups of water

Parmesan cheese

One tin of chopped tomatoes

One punnet of cherry tomatoes

Two small onions

400g of diced pork

One red chilli

Two cloves of garlic

White wine

Olive oil

Salt and pepper 

Method

First things first, do all of your chopping. Finely chop your onions, chilli and garlic and chop up your porn into tiny pieces. Half your cherry tomatoes and pop them in a bowl.

Heat a frying pan with a good glug of olive oil and add your onion, chilli and garlic and stir. Once soft, add your pork to the pan. Add a sizeable splash of wine and your cherry tomatoes and leave to simmer.

Now for the polenta. Add your milk and water to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then turn down to a low heat and start to pour your cup of polenta into the pan, using a whisk to quickly mix. The mixture will thicken really quickly and as soon as it does you can leave it on a low heat and stir occasionally. I add a small handful of parmesan cheese and a big pinch of salt to my polenta, too.

Give your pork a big stir and add your tin of chopped tomatoes. Put the heat up a bit so it bubbles away and all the yummy flavours concentrate.

After your polenta has been on the heat for 25-30 minutes everything will be ready. Spoon your polenta out onto a platter and top with your pork mixture. Finish with a nice big sprinkle of parmesan. 

Outcome

This dish is really delicious and comforting. It's a great sharing platter for when you have friends over and looks really impressive. The polenta put with the subtle heat and sweetness of the pork's rich tomato sauce is just scrumptious.

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Amaretto special

I've grown up with amaretto specials. They were a favourite at my family's restaurant and a big treat pudding at home. The good thing about it is that it takes about two minutes to make but it tastes great. Up until yesterday I honestly thought everyone in the entire world loved amaretto - I for one am a huge fan. It may not be your thing, but it if is you should definitely give this pudding a go.

Amaretto special

Ingredients

Vanilla ice cream

Single cream

Amaretto biscuits

Amaretto

Method

Firstly whisk your cream until it has body. Of course if you want to use pre whipped cream you can, I just think it's always nicer to whip your own.

Scoop your ice cream into bowls, pour a good shot of amaretto over each one, add a dollop of cream on top of the ice cream and then crumble between two and three amaretto biscuits over each bowl. Voila! 

Outcome

So fast, so easy, so delicious. I'm not saying it's as impressive as a tiramisu or rum babas (which I will be making in the next few weeks) but if you've got a few courses to make for a dinner party and want something quick but tasty for dessert, this is a great option.

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Goats cheese & roasted cherry tomato salad

If I had to write my own version of 'these are a few of my favourite things' from the Sound of Music, it would go something like - pesto and spinach and big blocks of goats cheese. Rocket, balsamic, and red roasted sunbeams....

I guess what I'm trying to say is - this salad has lots of my all time favourite ingredients and when you put them all together on one fork it's just fantastic. You can have this salad on its own or use it as a lovely side dish to accompany a simple bowl of spaghetti. Of course, if you don't like goats cheese you could turn this bad boy into a caprese with mozzarella or just use feta. 

Goats cheese and roasted cherry tomato salad with balsamic and rocket pesto

Ingredients

One bag of baby spinach

One punnet of cherry tomatoes

A small block of goats cheese

Half a bag of rocket

Lemon juice

Parmesan cheese

Balsamic vinegar

Honey

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 180.

First things first, rinse your tomatoes and remove and stalks then dry off and pop into a roasting tin with lashings of olive oil and salt and pepper. Shake the tin so your tomatoes roll around in the oil and then put it in the oven. 

To make the pesto, put your rocket in a deep bowl with two small handfuls of parmesan, a big squeeze of lemon and a good glug of olive oil. You can either pop it all in the blender or just blitz it with a hand/stick blender like I do. Finito!

Now pour a finger full of balsamic vinegar in a bowl or jug and add two tablespoons of honey. Mix quickly with a spoon. Just check on your tomatoes at this stage, giving the baking tin another shake from side to side (with an oven glove on). The tomatoes will need between 10 and 15 minutes in the oven in total.

Now you can assemble your salad. You can portion it, put it all in a big salad bowl or if you have people coming for dinner and want to be a bit fancy, a lovely big platter works really well.

Empty your bag of spinach and lay it across the platter with room to dot your other ingredients. Start with your pesto, spooning bits all over the platter. 

Take your tomatoes out of the oven and use a spoon to scoop each tomato up and put on the platter. Now slice your goats cheese about half a cm thick and put in the same baking tray - popping in the oven for five minutes.

Once the cheese is all nice and soft, take it out of the oven and add to your salad. Finally drizzle your honey balsamic all over. 

Outcome

The warm, juicy and sweet tomatoes go ridiculously well with the tang of balsamic and the creaminess of goats cheese - and the added layer of peppery pesto can only be described as a taste sensation.

I know you're probably wondering why I haven't used pine nuts. It's true - pine nuts are a regular addition to pesto and would work really well whole, sprinkled all over too. I urge all pine nut lovers to do just that if they so wish.

[jennieeatsitaly]

Italian baked eggs

I was at a restaurant the other day and saw this absolutely gorgeous looking bowl of baked eggs drift past me. It got me thinking about eggs. I'm not a huge egg fan really, but when used in the right way they can be really yum.

My favourite way to have an egg is on a pizza, like most things. A fiorentina pizza is typically with mozzarella and tomato with spinach, black olives and a lovely egg on top. So, with all of this deep thought on eggs, I decided I'd make baked eggs fiorentina style. 

This dish is made for one as my boyfriend is working nights at the moment and I'm solo, but of course you can do it in a bigger dish if you actually have friends.

Italian baked eggs - serves one

One egg

One tin of chopped tomatoes

One small red chilli

One garlic clove

One small handful of sliced black olives

Two handfuls of spinach

Mascarpone cheese

Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 180.

Firstly fry off a finely chopped red chilli (de seeded) and a crushed garlic clove in olive oil. Then add your tin of chopped tomatoes and stir.

Wilt your spinach in a separate pan and then empty into a sieve and squeeze out all of the excess water. Add to the tomato mixture along with your sliced olives leave to simmer away for five to 10 minutes. You don't want any excess liquid to keep it going until you have quite a bulky consistency.

Now you can spoon the mixture into a small baking dish. Get a tea spoon and dot little blobs of mascarpone all over the top of the sauce and then make a little well in the middle. Crack your egg into a wee ramekin and pour it into the saucy dip. Now sprinkle the whole of the top with parmesan and put in the oven to bake for 30 minutes - or as soon as the egg on top is suitably baked.

Outcome 

These flavours are a match made in heaven. It's really tasty and surprisingly filling. If you ignore the cheese, it's also incredibly healthy! Enjoy with a nice glass of wine.

[jennieeatsitaly]

Amaretto & coffee cake

I'm convinced that everyone in the world loves cake. They have to, surely?

For me, the flavour of coffee in cakes is just heavenly. It certainly features in my top three cake and butter cream flavours. And don't even get me started on amaretto. What a joy it is to be half Italian and thus recipient of endless tin boxes of amaretto biscuits. Buonissimo! 

My mum taught me this recipe. Though she's not Italian, she's an absolutely fantastic cook. When we still had our Italian restaurant, she'd make pavlovas every weekend and they'd be polished off very quickly. If I had to describe her in three words they'd be: beautiful cake goddess. 

I don't have specific measurements for this recipe. It's more of a - if you like lots of amaretto, go for gold - type cake. 

Ingredients 

Two eggs

Sugar

Self raising flour

Butter

Amaretto

Coffee

Icing sugar

Amaretto biscuits

Method

Pre heat your oven to 160 - 180 depending on how powerful your oven is.

With this recipe, all of your main ingredients should be the same weight - so firstly weigh your eggs and then make sure your sugar, flour and butter are all the same weight as them.

Mix your butter and sugar with an electric whisk (unless you have a Kitchen Aid mixer which I couldn't recommend highly enough). Then add in your eggs one at a time.

While mixing in your eggs, add two tablespoons of amaretto, then fold in your flour - which you must sift through a sieve first to get rid of any lumps and bumps.

Once the mixture has been whisked within an inch of its life to get lots of air circulated through, pour into a round baking tin. I use one with a removable base and pop baking paper on the bottom. Put in the oven for around 20 to 30 minutes - and check it's done by poking a skewer or cocktail stick through the middle. If it comes out clean then you're all good to go.

Whilst your cake is cooling you can make your butter icing. Mix butter with icing sugar and add half a small cup of coffee (instant is fine but don't tell anybody). Again, for me this is a keep going until you get the right consistency job. I often end up adding a lot more icing sugar so have it on hand. When people actually start to read my blog I'll figure out proper measurements. Use a knife to spread the mixture all over the cake. 

And finally, the finishing touch - a dusting of amaretto biscuit crumbs. I smashed a handful of amaretto biscuits and then scattered them all over my cake. On reflection, I'm sure it's easier to pop some in your blender, but hitting things with a rolling pin is always quite enjoyable.

Outcome

The combination of coffee and amaretto is just delicious. Make it on a Sunday afternoon and then sit down with a lovely hot drink and enjoy. 

[jennieeatsitaly]

beef genovese

When I was young my whole family would go round to my Grandma and Grandad's for tea on a Monday. I was always really excited about this because I was guaranteed two rather large courses of absolutely gorgeous food. The first dish at Grandma's was always pasta. I can remember me and my cousins lining up and tasting the pasta to see if it was ready which was the most exciting prelude. This woman was and still is a pasta savant.

The second course varied but was always a meat dish. My absolute favourite was her beef genovese. It was so tender and tasty that I'd always wondered how she managed to do it.

The version I'm doing today is actually my mum's but there's only a few additions to the original. I'll tell you now that it takes a while to cook so it's definitely a good one for a late Sunday lunch or a special occasion. Or, if you're an old Italian lady, every second Monday night.

Beef genovese - serves four with some to spare (or one if you're me)

2lbs (that's about 900g) of topside or silverside beef (make sure you get rolled beef)

3 onions finely sliced

2 sticks of celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 cloves of garlic

2 glasses of wine

Olive oil (and plenty of it)

Water

Method

Start off by chopping your vegetables. Half and finely slice your onions and chop your celery and carrots into small cubes. Peel the two garlic cloves.

Take a large pot (large enough to fit your beef and vegetables) and cover the bottom completely in oil. Heat the oil and then pour in your onions and whole garlic cloves. Stir until everything is soft, then with a slotted spoon or spatula, scoop the onions and garlic out of the pot, storing in a bowl.

Season your beef with salt and pepper and put it in the pot. It's really key to get each side of the beef brown and almost crusty, so keep turning every few minutes. Once you've suitably sealed the beef, leave it in the pot and pour one and a half glasses of wine over it. Decant the remaining half glass into your mouth.

Now you can pour your chopped vegetables into the pot, surrounding the beef. As they sizzle and bubble away, put your onions and garlic back in.

It's essential to keep rotating the beef from one side to the other every five to ten minutes and making sure the pot has lots of liquid. As soon as the juices evaporate, add a glass of water so the beef is always sitting in liquid. Trust me, this doesn't dilute the flavour. 

Cook your beef like this for two hours with a lid on. If you feel like it could do with an extra 30 minutes, that's fine. Now take your beef out, slice it and pop it back into the mixture, leaving to sit for another 15 minutes before serving.

Outcome

Oh the flavour. I'm borderline evangelical about this dish. It's just so delicious and will go with anything - whether it's part of a roast, or just with a simple salad. The meat will speak for itself - it is the king of all beef dishes.

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Eggplant scrolls

I decided I'd get a bit creative last night. I had a vegetarian friend coming round for dinner and I'm always conscious that veggies tend to get given the same rotation of meat-free meals, so I wanted to do something a bit different. I started thinking of vegetables (obviously) that could help in terms of flavour and texture. And from somewhere in my food-filled head I pulled out an eggplant scroll.

I'm sure a lot of people substitute pasta with eggplant for various cannelloni type dishes and I can see why, because it tastes bloody delicious.

In my scrolls I decided to add a mixture of spring onion, black olive and sundried tomato, with a nice dollop of ricotta. Smearing the scrolls in tomato before they go in the oven to bake adds a lovely tartness to the salt and cream combination.

Eggplant scrolls - enough for four with a little left over

Three eggplants

One tub of ricotta cheese

Three quarters of a jar of sliced black olives

Half a jar of sundried tomatoes, chopped

Approx. eight spring onions, finely sliced

Garlic (as much as you like)

Two tins of chopped tomatoes

Parmesan to sprinkle

Spray oil

Salt and pepper

Crusty bread and salad

Method

Heat your oven to approx. 180.

Wash and finely slice your eggplants length ways. At this stage you can salt them depending on personal preference (a lot of people pour salt over eggplant to draw out bitterness. If you rub salt on the slices, you will see a brownish liquid come out. However, lots of people don't bother with this and if you don't have time to leave the slices for five or 10 minutes, don't worry). PLEASE remember to wash your slices if you are a salter - this dish has lots of salty content and we don't want to overload the taste buds.

Finely chop your spring onions and sundried tomatoes and mix in a bowl with the olive slices.

Now heat a none stick frying pan (quite obviously my favourite kitchen tool) with spray oil so you get a nice fine covering. You can just use oil from the bottle but just be careful as the eggplant with suck all of it up in the first round. Pop a layer of eggplant slices into the pan and turn after a few minutes, with tongs.

Once you've lightly fried every slice you can start your scroll assembly. But before you do, pop your sauce on. I went really simple with my sauce for this as there's a lot of flavour going on and you just want something fresh and light to run alongside those other ingredients. In your already hot frying pan, just add a bit more oil with some garlic and pour in your tins of tomatoes with another half tin of water. Add whatever herbs you like (I tore up a bit of basil) and leave to render down - but don't forget to stir every so often.

Back to your scrolls. With two teaspoons, start smearing creamy ricotta over your eggplant slices. Use one teaspoon to scoop the ricotta and the other to paint it across the slice. I would say you need a teaspoon per slice, or enough to coat one side of the slice completely.

Now sprinkle your lovely mixture of olives, onions and tomato across the slice. At this stage I just like to check the flavour combination by unloading a bit into my mouth. Scrumptious!

Now you can start to roll your wee scrolls, as per my picture above. I know what you're thinking and no, that's not a distorted image, I really do have sausage fingers. 

It's completely up to you how you want to have your scrolls. I decided I'd do them in individual ramekins last night, but of course you could do it in a larger dish and portion it out later. If you want to follow my lead, squeeze as many scrolls as will fit into your ramekin, like so. 

Now all you have to do is spoon the tomato sauce (which I hope you've been stirring!) into all of the nooks and crannies. If you're going for individual portions, it's easier to add the sauce with a small spoon. Sprinkle with parmesan and pop in the oven for 20 minutes or until bubbling and baked. 

Outcome

You can serve your scrolls with warm crusty bread and a nice spinach leaf salad like I did, but just go with what you fancy. It's a little bit of a fiddly meal but totally worth it and open for some artistic license like all of my dishes. Enjoy!

[jennieeatsitaly]

Fresh fish stew

There's nothing more delicious than a thick soupy stew bursting with gorgeously fresh flavours. This fish stew looks really impressive but in reality it takes no time at all to prepare. It's also a great fridge clearer - you can use whatever you have (within reason) and it will work. It's perfect for a quick midweek bite and especially good if you're watching your waistline. Personally, I'm just observing mine from afar... sporadically. 

Fresh fish stew - serves two

200g white fish (I used tarakihi but if I was back home in England I'd use haddock)

Two cans of chopped tomatoes

One onion

One head of broccoli

Two cloves of garlic

One handful of rocket

Half a tin of lentils

Basil

Olive oil

Water

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat a none stick frying pan with a good glug of olive oil. Slice your onion length ways into strips and add to the hot pan along with two crushed garlic cloves. Chop your broccoli into small florets and add to the pan, stirring everything well. 

Now add your chopped tomatoes (the greatest ingredient in the world) along with three ladles of water. Add a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper and stir. Now you can add your fish to poach in the rich bubbling liquid. Cut your fish up into large cubes and dot around the pan. Leave for about five minutes for it to infuse the delicious tomatoey juices and when the pieces turn white you can give the mixture another big stir.

Finally add a generous handful of rocket and half a tin of lentils, rinsed. Stir again and leave to simmer for a few minutes. 

Outcome

A taste sensation, full of different textures and bursting with yummy goodness. The depth of flavour from the stew's ingredients will allow you to add a bit more water, if you like your stew with a bit more liquid. It's the perfect winter warmer and certainly one you can experiment with, depending on what you have and what you fancy.

[jennieeatsitaly]

Rocket and ricotta risotto with chilli infused broccoli

When you've got that Monday feeling, there's nothing better than a tasty bowl of risotto.

I love this dish, the rich creaminess of the ricotta works perfectly with the peppery rocket and chilli infused broccoli bits. As with any risotto, huge portions aren't necessary, but this recipe will give you spoonfuls for seconds if you fancy some more.

Rocket and ricotta risotto with broccoli - serves two

300g arborio rice

One litre chicken stock

Three large broccoli florets

A large handful of rocket

Two tablespoons of ricotta

Three tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar

One red chilli

Two cloves of garlic

Olive oil

One knob of butter

Parmesan

Salt and pepper

Method

Wash your broccoli and chop into tiny pieces. Deseed and finely chop your chilli and garlic. Pop the knob of butter and a large glug of olive oil in a frying pan and heat. Once the butter has melted add your chilli and garlic. This is the perfect environment to lightly fry off your broccoli so it's infused with scrumptious chilli oil whilst keeping a nice bite. Throw your broccoli in the hot pan and stir for about two minutes before scooping out and resting in a bowl.

In those two minutes, boil your kettle. You need to dissolve a chicken stock cube in one litre of boiling water before you pop your rice in the pan. 

Once your broccoli is done and your stock is made, add a bit more oil to the frying pan before pouring your rice in. Stir continuously until all the rice is covered with oil (about two minutes again). Gradually start pouring your stock in and stirring until it disappears. Stir then stock, stir then stock.

A lot of people use wine and even cider in their risottos (including me) but in this recipe I use white balsamic vinegar as it's sharp enough to cut through the ricotta we'll be adding. So in go three tablespoons of your balsamic along with a pinch of salt and lots of black pepper. Stir well until you've barely got any spare liquid.

Now it's time for ricotta. Oh wow. One of my favourite things. Dedicated to making your meal a rich heaven of Italian amazingness. Add two generous tablespoons of ricotta to your risotto and stir. Now add your rocket and a nice handful of parmesan.

Now it's time to plate up. Spoon your thick buttery risotto into a bowl and then top with your chilli infused broccoli. Finish with another sprinkling of parmesan.

Outcome

This dish is pure comfort in a bowl. The white balsamic cuts through the creamy ricotta perfectly, especially against the added layer of peppery greens. The crunch of mini chilli broccoli florets adds a lovely layer of texture and flavour to finish. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off for another fork full.