Wine Suggestion: Something red from Italy’s Adriatic coast, but nothing too big or complex as this is a fun, casual dish! For us Umani Ronchi’s Rosso Conero Serrano, a Montepulciano – Sangiovese blend that has a medium body, fresh and bright cherry fruits and a gentle, earthy tannins was the ticket.
Prawn spaghetti with tomato, chilli & basil – serves 2
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
150g baby plum tomatoes
150ml white wine
200g spaghetti
a handful of basil leaves
225g raw peeled prawns
a generous knob of butter
Warm the oil in a large frying pan, then add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until starting to soften, then add the white wine and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions in lots of very salty water, then drain but reserve a cup of the cooking water.
Add the basil and prawns to the tomatoes, season well, and cook until the prawns turn pink. Stir in the butter and spaghetti and a splash of pasta cooking water if you need to loosen the sauce a bit. Toss it all together and serve.
(Original recipe by Janine Ratcliffe in Olive Magazine, March 2020.)
Do buy good quality tuna for this, packed in olive oil. We like Ortiz which is widely available and excellent quality. We’d also highly recommend Shines’ Wild Irish Tuna, one of our local companies based in Donegal. We have tried loads of their tinned and jarred fish and they are all top quality.
Wine Suggestion: We chose a lighter red to match this dish from the Marches in central Italy. The Umani Ronchi San Lorenzo Rosso Conero has style and panache and the medium body, morello cherry flavours, soft spices and silky tannins are a charming match.
Baked orzo puttanesca – serves 4
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ tsp chilli flakes
3 anchovies in oil, drained and roughly chopped
2 tbsp capers
30g preserved lemon, discard the flesh and thinly slice the skin into strips
70g pitted Kalamata olives, roughly torn in half
2 tins of good tuna in olive oil, drained and roughly flaked
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
250g dried orzo
1-2 plum tomatoes, cored and cut into half ½ cm thick rounds
40g Parmesan, finely grated
5g basil leaves, roughly torn
Preheat the oven to 200C fan.
Heat 3 tbsp of the olive oil in a large ovenproof sauté pan that has a lid. Add the onion and cook gently for about 8 minutes or until softed and browned. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and anchovies and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
Stir in the capers, half the preserved lemon strips, 45g of the olives, the tuna, tomato purée, tinned tomatoes, orzo, 450ml of water, 1 tsp of salt and lots of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover with the lid and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the orzo is cooked through.
Turn the oven up to 230C fan.
Remove the lid from the dish, top with the tomato slices and sprinkle over the cheese. Bake for a further 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned, then leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle over the remaining olives, preserved lemon, basil and 1 tbsp of oil before serving.
(Original recipe from OTK Shelf Love by Noor Murad & Yotam Ottolenghi, Ebury Press, 2021.)
This is a perfect lunch dish – quick, easy and just a few ingredients. We made this to use up the rest of a jar of passata and cooked slightly less gnocchi to serve 3. The quantities are just a rough guide really so use up what you’ve got.
Gnocchi al pomodoro – serves 4
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
700ml passata
10 basil leaves
500g ready-made plain gnocchi
100g grated mature Cheddar cheese
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan, then add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the passata and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the basil leaves, season with salt and black pepper and set aside.
Half-fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add 1 tbsp of salt and the packet of gnocchi. As soon as the gnocchi start flowing to the top, scoop them out with a salted spoon and add to the sauce.
Gently stir the gnocchi into the sauce, then transfer everything to a baking dish and scatter over the grated cheese. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.
(Original recipe from Gino’s Pasta by Gino d’Acampo, Kyle Cathie Ltd., 2010.)
We love romanesco and pick it up any time we see it. This simple cooking method shows this veg off at its best.
Romanesco – serves 4 as a side
a large head of Romanesco broccoli, snap off any big or bruised leaves, trim the end of the stem and cut a cross at the base
6-8 tbsp best extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
a few shavings of Parmesan or Pecorino
Bring a pan of very salty water to the boil.
Put the whole head into the boiling water and simmer for about 12 minutes or until tender but not breaking up. Remove from the water and allow to steam dry for a few minutes, then put onto a plate and douse with the olive oil.
Season with pepper, scatter with parsley and cheese, and serve.
(Original recipe from Bocca Cookbook by Jacob Kennedy, Bloomsbury, 2011.)
Inspiration for evenings when you’re feeling uninspired. Ready in 10 minutes.
Wine Suggestion: A southern Italian red, especially those from Mt Etna and surrounds if you can as they tend to have both warm to match the roasted red peppers and a savouriness to comliment the umami anchovies. For us the Gulfi Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and Nero d’Avola – Frappato blend. Fragrant, silky and with a deep core of earthy red fruits; one of those wines that is both effortless and yet demanding of attention.
Red pepper & anchovy spaghetti – serves 3
300g spaghetti
3 tbsp olive oil, plus a bit extra to drizzle
4 garlic cloves, sliced
8 anchovies, from a jar of tin of anchovies in olive oil
1 tsp chilli flakes
300g jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
1 tbsp tomato purée
a handful of basil leaves, finely sliced
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add lots of salt. Add the spaghetti and cook for 1 minute less than the timings on the pack.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil, garlic and anchovies into a large, deep frying pan and cook over a medium heat for a minute or until the oil is hot and the garlic has started to sizzle.
Add the peppers and tomato purée and stir well. Continue to cook until the spaghetti is ready, adding a ladle of the pasta cooking water to make a sauce.
When the spaghetti is ready, use tongs to transfer it to the sauce, you can add a little more water to get the right saucy consistency if you need. Cook for another 30 seconds, tossing to coat, then remove from the heat and stir through the basil. Serve drizzled with some extra olive oil.
We’re pretty sure we saw somewhere that Polpo, a cookbook by Russell Norman, has just turned ten years old which inspired us to get it out and cook something. We served these, at Russell’s suggestion, with some home-made focaccia but pasta would be good too. It’s an excellent tomato sauce to use for other purposes too.
Wine Suggestion: Given the Italian inspiration to this dish we had to open something to match. The cherry and berry flavours in Pico Maccario’s Barbera Tre Roveri really sing alongside the anise-fennel flavours and the wild herb, leather and truffle flavours lend a base note to the whole dish. Bravo!
Spicy pork & fennel polpette – serves 6
1.5kg pork mince
3 medium eggs (we only had large, all was well)
150g breadcrumbs
a large pinch of dried chilli flakes
20g fennel seeds, lightly toasted and ground in a pestle and mortar
½ tbsp fine salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
½ tbsp fine sea salt
¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
a small pinch of dried chilli flakes
750g fresh tomatoes, quartered
3 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
a small handful of oregano, chopped
caster sugar, if needed
Make the tomato sauce first, up to a few days in advance if you like.
Heat half the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat and sweat the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and chilli flakes for 15 minutes. Add the fresh tomatoes and the rest of the oil and continue to cook gently for another 15 minutes.
Add the tinned tomatoes, bring to a gentle bubble and simmer over a low heat for 1 hour.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped oregano. Now taste and season if it needs a litle sweetness (we find it usually does). Blitz with a stick blender until smooth and you can also pass through a fine sieve if you would like it more passata textured (we don’t tend to bother).
Now make the meatballs. Heat the oven to 220C/Gas 8.
Put the pork mince, eggs, breadcrumbs, chilli flakes, ground fennel seeds, salt and pepper into a large bowl and mix together well with your hands. Roll in 45g balls and place on a greased baking tray, then roast in the oven for 10 minutes, turning once, until starting to brown.
Meanwhile, bring your tomato sauce up to a gentl simmer. Transfer the meatballs to the tomato sauce and poach for 10 minutes. Serve with some lightly toasted focaccia or pasta or whatever else you fancy.
(Original recipe from Polpo by Russell Norman, Bloomsbury, 2012.)
Adapted from Claudia Roden’s Tagliolini with lemons, but as we couldn’t find this pasta chose another thin version with great success. Perfect for lunch or in small portions for a starter.
Wine Suggestion: Paired with Sartarelli’s Sparkling Verdicchio which captured the sunshine and joy of the Adriatic coast. Full of pure fruit flavours, hints of almond and lemon and a real balance between a crisp, fresh acidity and fruit.
Capellini with lemon – serves 2 to 4
200g capellini (or tagliolini or whatever long and very thin pasta you can find)
1 lemon, grate the zest and juice
6 tbsp double cream
grated Parmesan or Grana Padano, to serve
Cook the pasta in lots of boiling water according to the timings on the pack.
Mix the lemon zest and juice with the cream in a serving bowl and season with salt.
Add the cooked and drained pasta into the serving bowl and mix with the sauce.
Serve with lots of black pepper and cheese.
(Original recipe from Med: A Cookbook by Claudia Roden, 2021)
This recipe is from Rachel Roddy’s fabulous book, An A-Z of pasta. She introduces this one by asking if you are familar with vitello tonnato, which happens to be one of Jules’ favourite dishes, so we had to try it. Rachel uses the lumache pasta shape, which means snails and they are a bit like snail shells. We found these hard to find so we substituted conchiglie to great effect.
Wine Suggestion: look for a crisp, fresh white with a good body/structure like a dry, unoaked chardonnay from a cooler region. For us it was Céline & Frèdéric Gueguen’s Bourgogne Côtes Salines. Grown in vineyards just outside the Chablis appellation this is vibrantly fresh apple and melon flavoured with a savoury mid-palate that just melts into the tuna sauce.
Conchiglie with tuna, egg & capers – serves 4
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick of celery, trim to the palest bit, pull of any strings, and finely chop
6 tbsp olive oil
1 x 200g tin of tuna in olive oil, drained
2 tbsp tiny capers, rinsed
200ml white wine
1 unwaxed lemon, zested and juiced
400g conchiglie (or lumache)
a sprig of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 egg yolks, beaten
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a generous amount of salt.
Warm the olive oil in a frying pan, then add the onion and celery with a pinch of salt and cook on a medium-low heat, until soft. You need to be patient as this will take a while.
Add the tuna and capers, stir for a minute, then add the wine and allow to bubble for 10 minutes, adding 3 tbsp of lemon juice and some zest for the last few minutes. You are looking for a saucy consistency so cook for a bit longer if it is still watery.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet timings, then drain and tip into a warm bowl, pour the sauce over the top, add the parsley, toss together, then quickly add the egg yolks and toss again.
(Original recipe from An A-Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy, Penguin: Fig Tree, 2021.)
This is tomato pasta sauce but with some unusual additions that make it taste a bit special. We hightly recommend you try this.
Pasta with tomato sauce & brown caper butter – serves 4
400g penne pasta
Parmesan
flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
1 onion, chopped
olive oil, for frying
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
1 tbsp white miso
1 tsp runny honey
FOR THE BROWN CAPER BUTTER
4 tbsp capers, drained
75g butter
Fry the onion in a splash of olive oil over a lowish heat for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic, rosemary and tomato purée and fry for another minute, then add the tomatoes and simmer for 10-15 minutes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in lots of salty water until al denté.
Melt a small knob of the butter into a small frying pan, then add the capers and fry until they burst open, then tip into a small bowl. Add the rest of the butter to the frying pan and cook until it turns light brown and smells nutty, then pour over the capers.
Add the miso, honey and a little seasoning to the tomato sauce.
Drain the pasta but reserve a mug of the cooking water.
Mix the drained pasta with the tomato sauce and a splash of cooking water to loosen the sauce. Divide between warm bowls, then pour over the caper butter. Serve sprinkled with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the chopped parsley.
(Original recipe by Ylva Bergqvist in Olive Magazine, December 2018.)
This version has fresh pesto stirred through the béchamel sauce which is a variation we’d not come across before, and it’s very good indeed. So good we may add any leftover pesto to dishes like this in the future; it brings a burst of Spring to a rich dish.
Wine Suggestion: We were uncertain what to open alongside this dish given the many components, but felt we needed to stick to an Italian. Freshness to balance the béchamel, depth for the layered richness, but a lightness of being to complement the basil pesto. We had a bottle of Pira Langhe Nebbiolo on the shelf and we’re happy to report it was a good match.
Lasagne with pesto – serves 6 to 8
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 celery stick, finely chopped
500g beef mince
1 glass of red wine
700ml passata
1 tbsp tomato purée
12 fresh lasagne sheets
FOR THE BÉCHAMEL SAUCE
100g butter
100g plain flour
1 litre full-fat milk
¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
100g freshly grated Parmesan
FOR THE PESTO
40g basil leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled
30g pine nuts
120ml extra virgin olive oil
20g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Heat the 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the onions, carrot and celery for 5 minutes over a medium heat. Add the beef mince and cook for 5 minutes, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon until browned all over. Season and leave to cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the wine, stir well and buble for about 3 minutes, then add the passata and tomato purée, lower the heat and continue to cook for an hour, uncovered, until you have a thick sauce. Taste for seasoning after 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the pesto by putting the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor. Pour in the oil and blitz until smooth, then transfer to a bowl and fold in the cheese. Season with a pinch of salt and set aside.
To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then gradually whisk in the cold milk, reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes, whisking constantly. When the béchamel is thickened, stir in half the Parmesan, the nutmeg and the pesto. Season and set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas mark 4.
To assemble, spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of a deep ovenproof dish. You can use your lasagne sheets to get the right sized dish, you need to make 3 layers of lasagne sheets. Lay a third of the lasagne sheets over the béchamel, then spread over half the meat sauce and top with another thin layer of béchamel.
Lay another third of the lasagne sheets on top and cover with the rest of the meat sauce. Add the final layer of lasagne and spread the remaining béchamel on top, completely covering the lasagne sheets. Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan and grind some black pepper over the top.
Cook on the bottom shelf of the oven for 30 minutes, then move to the middle shelf and increase the temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cook for another 15 minutes or until browned and bubbling.
Remove the lasagne from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
(Original recipe from Gino’s Pasta by Gino D’Acampo, Kyle Books, 2010.)
We came across this Joe Trivelli recipe at the weekend when trying to find a lunch dish that would use up half a tub of ricotta. It’s definitely worth buying a tub of ricotta for too.
Wine Suggestion: This dish needs a wine that has a bit of acidity and freshness, so taking inspiration from the grated Pecorino on top we went for the similarly named Pecorino grape from the Marche. The crunchy, characterful Vellodoro Pecorino from Umani Ronchi well met the mark and reminded us of summer too, which was a bonus.
Pasta with pine nuts and ricotta – serves 4
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
a pinch of dried chilli flakes
60g pine nuts
300g tomatoes, peeled and chopped (Joe recommends yellow tomatoes but we had red)
3 sprigs of basil
400g short pasta, we used fusilli
200g ricotta
50g grated pecorino
extra virgin olive oil
Put the garlic into a wide pan with 3 tablespoons of oil and place over a medium heat. When the garlic starts to turn golden, add the chilli. Turn the heat down low, remove the garlic and add the pine nuts. Allow them to colour but watch carefully or they could burn.
Add the tomatoes and basil sprigs and season. When the sauce starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in lots of boiling salty water until al dente. Scoop out a mug of cooking water before draining.
Toss the pasta with the tomatoes and pine nuts, then add the ricotta, half the pecornio and a few spoons of cooking water. Keep turning the pasta over until you have a nice consistency, adding more water if it looks dry. Serve in warm bowls with the rest of the cheese and a drizzle of your best olive oil.
(Original recipe from The Modern Italian Cook by Joe Trivelli, Seven Dials, 2018.)
We regular base our dinner on packets of fresh gnocchi. They’re perfect for when you haven’t much time.
Gnocchi with peas, pesto and spinach – serves 2
50g baby spinach
100g frozen peas, defrosted
4 tbsp fresh pesto
3 tbsp crème fraîche
300g pack gnocchi (you can use a plain variety or one with spinach)
Put the defrosted peas, the spinach and a splash of water into a large frying pan. Season, then heat, stirring, until the spinach has wilted.
Add the pesto and crème fraîche, and gently heat through.
Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi in lots of boiling salty water. As they rise to the surface, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and add to the spinach pan.
Toss it all together, then serve.
(Original recipe by Janine Ratcliffe in Olive Magazine, August 2018.)
Yummy sauce for using up leftover pesto and perfect for mid-week.
Green Spaghetti Sauce – serrves 4
400g spaghetti
100g baby spinach
140g frozen peas
a small bunch of basil, leaves picked
3 tbsp green pesto
150ml single cream
50g Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve
Cook the spaghetti in lots of salty water for the time stated on the packet.
Meanwhile, put the spinach and peas in a bowl and pour over boiling water to cover. Leave for 3 minutes, or until the peas are tender, then drain well.
Tip the peas and spinach into a food processor, then add the basil, pesto, cream and Parmesan. Whizz to make a smooth sauce.
Drain the pasta, but reserve a mugful of the cooking water, then return to the pan. Pour over the green sauce and place over a low heat to cook for a few minutes, you want the sauce to cling to the spaghetti. Add a little pasta water if it looks dry, season to taste and serve with extra Parmesan.
Romanesco cauliflower is a vegetable that we can’t resist picking up when we see it. It’s flavour really shines in this simple pasta recipe. It is very important to cook the romanesco until completely soft (you will be crushing it later with your wooden spoon), there is no place for al dente in this recipe!
Wine Suggestion: This is best served with a joyful white, and while we initially thought about an Italian Pecorino from the Marches instead went for Domaine Ventenac’s Colombard Vermentino, which is quite simply summer in a glass.
Pasta and Romanesco – serves 4
1 large head of romanesco cauliflower, discard the stalk and break into small florets
6 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed with the flat side of a knife and left whole
1 red chilli or 1 dried red chilli, chopped, or a pinch of chilli flakes
400g penne pasta (or similar)
30g grated pecorino, plus extra to serve
Cook the romanesco in a very large pan of boiling salty water for 6-8 minutes or until completely soft. Scoop the florets out with a slotted spoon into a colandar.
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and chilli and cook gently until golden, take care not to let it go brown or it will be bitter. Discard the garlic clove.
Cook the pasta in the water used to cook the romanesco.
While the pasta cooks, tip the romanesco into the olive oil and toss to coat in the oil. Season with salt, then crush the florets gently with a wooden spoon so they break up. Scoop the pasta out of the cooking water with a slotted spoon straight into the frying pan. Add the pecorino and stir to mix everything together.
Serve with extra pecorino.
(Original recipe from Five Quarters by Rachel Roddy, Saltyard Books, 2015.)
This is like a cross between a lasagne and a parmigiana. If you have a gas barbecue it makes a very easy job of griddling the aubergines in big batches which attracted us to this dish in the first place as the barbecue was on a good run. Nice with some crusty bread.
Wine Suggestion: Light, crunchy red wines just seem to fall into place with lasagne, or aubergine and tomato. This was no different. Tonight to good effect, our favourite Loire red, the Chateau du Hureau Saumur Champigny Tuffe.
Aubergine Parmigiana Lasagne – serves 6
3 large aubergines, thinly sliced lengthways
4 tbsp olive oil
250g mozzarella, drained and coarsely grated
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
a bunch of basil, leaves picked and roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
8 dried egg lasagne sheets
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
2 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
¼ tsp golden caster sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
Make the sauce by warming the olive oil and garlic in a large pan for a minute or until golden, go gently or the garlic will brown and turn bitter. Add the sugar and red wine vinegar and allow to bubble up for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes. Season with salt and return to a simmer. Bubble gently for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a gas barbecue or a griddle pan to a medium-high heat. Brush the aubergine slices with oil on both sides and season with a little salt. Griddle or barbecue in batches until softened and slightly charred. Don’t let the heat get too high or they will char before they are softened.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Lay a third of the aubergine slices over the base of a large baking dish, then spoon over a third of the sauce. Scatter with a small handful of both cheeses (but not too much as you want most of it for the top) and half the basil, then top with 4 lasagne sheets. Repeat once more, then finish with a layer of aubergines topped with the rest of the sauce and scattered with the remaining cheese.
Place the dish in the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes then serve with the rest of the basil sprinkled over.
We couldn’t find cougettes to plant this year so we haven’t been cooking them nearly as often. Definitely one of the vegetables we miss the most in the colder months. You can of course buy a good-quality fresh pesto if you don’t feel like making it, though there is something very satisfying about pounding your own.
Wine Suggestion: We looked for a wine with a herbal streak and remembered the Ch Vignelaure La Source white from Provence. Made mostly of Vermentino with a dash of Semillon for body and Sauvignon Blanc for a crisp grassiness, this has both the body to work with the food and freshness to remind us of summer. Grapefruit and peach flavours, hints of white blossoms and a southern French, sassy finish.
Courgette & broad bean risotto with pesto – serves 4
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp butter
350g courgettes, cut into small dice
a pinch of chilli flakes
a pinch of grated nutmeg
2 scallions, finely sliced
zest of ½ a lemon
150g risotto rice
75ml dry white wine
750g warm vegetable stock or chicken stock
80g broad beans, podded and blanched for a minute, then skins removed
20g Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve
FOR THE PESTO:
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
a large handful of basil leaves, plus extra to garnish
a handful of mint leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp grated Parmesan
If you are making the pesto, do that first. Crush the garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt using a pestle and mortar. Add the toasted pine nuts and pound to a coarse paste, then tear in the basil and mint, pound again to break them down. Stir in the oil and cheese and season to taste.
To make the risotto, warm the butter and oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the courgettes, chilli flakes and nutmeg and season. Fry for about 5 minutes or until the courgettes have softened and turned golden. Add the scallions and lemon zest and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until translucent and coated in fat.
Add the wine and cook until almost evaporated, then add the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring until absorbed. Keep adding stock for 20-30 minutes, stirring all the time, until the rice is tender.
Stir in the broad beans and warm through for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then swirl in about half of the pesto (keep the rest for something else).
Serve in warm bowls with basil leaves and extra cheese sprinkled on top.
We cooked this fantastic recipe for Easter, avoiding the temptation of Spring lamb which is ridiculously expensive at present. Plus we think lamb is tastier later in the season when they are a bit older. This is the sort of recipe that Jono would choose, but I decide it looks too fiddly and we opt for something else. Something this weekend made me relent and give this a go … probably the prospect of a long weekend and nothing much to do!
Make friends with your butcher and ask them to debone the rabbit for you. The stuffing and rolling seems a bit tricky when you’re doing it and ours looked far from pretty but if you tie it tightly with string, wrap in some cling film and leave in the fridge for an hour, it will all stay together nicely and looks great when you cut it out. Be brave.
Wine Suggestion: Good with a Chianti Classico from a better producer and, if possible, a little age for some of the tertiary bottle development characters to emerge. For us we had a bottle of the Tenuta Sant’Alfonso, a single vineyard wine made by Rocca delle Macie from our cellar.
Stuffed rabbit – serves 4 to 6
1kg deboned rabbit (about 1.2kg unboned)
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 tomato, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil, plus a bit extra
1 tbsp tomato purée
30g pine nuts
30g currants or sultanas
200ml white wine
about 100g soft breadcrumbs
10-12 slices streaky bacon or pancetta
Spread the deboned rabbit out over a work surface. Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and cook until soft, then add the tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes. Add the tomato purée, pine nuts and currants and cook for another minute. Add 100ml white wine and bubble until most of it has disappeared. Start adding the breadcrumbs, a handful at a time, until you have a stuffing that is neither too wet or too dry. It should clump in your hands and stay together but not feel too sticky. Season.
Make a pile of the stuffing, shaping with your hands, about 7cm from the less fat end of the rabbit. You need to leave a generous margin near the edges so the stuffing doesn’t squeeze out. Roll the rabbit into a fat log shape, tucking in the sides as you go. Wrap the joint in the bacon or pancetta and tie firmly widthways and lengthways with kitchen string. You can set it aside in the fridge for a while now if you need, we found this useful to firm it up a bit.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C/Gas 6.
Heat some more oil in a frying pan, then brown the rabbit on all sides. Transfer to a deepish roasting tin, not too much bigger than the rabbit. Add rest of the wine to the frying pan, scraping the meaty bits on the pan with a wooden spoon, then pour this over the rabbit. Roast for 45 minutes until nice and golden on the outside. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving in thick slices.
(Original recipe from Two Kitchens: Family Recipes from Sicily and Rome by Rachel Roddy, Headline Home, 2017.)
For many years we didn’t buy Polpo by Russell Norman. It has a fancy binding and was always wrapped in plastic in the bookshop, so there was no way to have a flick. We can’t remember now what made us take the plunge, but we’re so glad we did. We’ve cooked many of the recipes and recently took this book off the shelf again and cooked a few more, finishing with this steak dish. You probably don’t need Italian roast potatoes with rosemary as a side but we couldn’t resist.
Wine Suggestion: A kind birthday gift from our friends Nicola and Dave was a wine we knew nothing about, the Iuli Umberta and opening it to try with this dish was a revelation. From the Monferrato hills east of Turin, this Barbera is so full of energy and layered with subtle flavours and gentle spice; so easy and refreshing.
Flank steak with portobello mushrooms – serves 4
800g flank steak, about 5cm thick
4 handfuls of rocket leaves
8 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
1 small handful of flat parsley leaves, chopped
Season the meat with plenty of salt and pepper.
We cooked ours on a hot barbecue but if you prefer you can oil a griddle pan and heat until hot, then grill the steak on both sides. 10-12 minutes in total should give you a medium-cooked steak. Leave it to rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, dress the rocket leaves in some good olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Divide the rocket between the serving plates or you can put it onto one large platter.
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan with the garlic and most of the parsley. Add the mushrooms and fry until soft and glossy, then set aside. We like to season these a little too.
When the meat has rested, sliced it thinly. Lay the steak on top of the rocket, then scatter with the mushrooms and serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and the rest of the parsley.
(Original recipe from Polpo by Russell Norman, Bloomsbury, 2012.)
Somewhere along the line we forgot about spaghetti carbonara, but remembered it again last night. This really is a store-cupboard dish. We’re never without pasta, eggs or Parmesan and more often than not there’s a half packet of pancetta or bacon lardons in the fridge needing used. Thursday night might turn into carbonara night!
Wine Suggestion: An open bottle of Edetaria via Terra red, made from Garnache Tinta grown in Terra Alta south of Barcelona was a joyful accompaniment. Fresh with refined spices and tannins; a gourmand wine. We don’t know whether it was the night or the wine but we had the chats all night after this food and wine.
Spaghetti Carbonara – serves 2 – though you can of course double to serve 4
200g spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
100g pancetta cubes or bacon lardons
1 clove of garlic, crushed
25ml vermouth or white wine
1 large egg
50g grated pecorino or Parmesan
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Cook the spaghetti in lots of very salty water according to the timings on the pack.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the pancetta over a medium heat until crispy. Add the garlic and cook gently for a couple of minutes before the vermouth or white wine and bubble until well reduced. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Put the egg into a large bowl and beat it with a fork. Add a little salt and plenty of black pepper, then add the cheese and stir to combine.
Drain the pasta in a colander and immediately transfer to the bowl with the egg and cheese, don’t be too fussy when you’re draining as a little of the pasta cooking water will help make a silky sauce. Stir together until the spaghetti is coated in a glossy sauce, then add the pancetta and stir again.
Serve in warmed bowls and sprinkle with the parsley.
This handy Italian chicken dish is great for a Friday night and kids love it! Serve with a green salad, lemon wedges and mayonnaise. If you have eggs leftover you can pop them in the fridge to scramble the next morning.
Wine Suggestion: keep it simple with an easy, dry white of your choice: Chardonnay, Verdicchio, Chenin … or tonights choice the Flying Solo Grenache Blanc – Viognier blend from Domaine Gayda. Easy, friendly citrus and apple flavours with hints of heather and a slight nuttiness, finishing clean and dry.
Chicken Cotoletta – serves 4
2 chicken breasts, sliced lengthways with your knife parallel to the board to give 4 thin fillets (your butcher will do this for you if you ask)
juice of ½ lemon
1 handful of Italian 00 flour
3 medium free-range eggs, lightly beaten
about 300g panko breadcrumbs
Put each piece of chicken between sheets of clingfilm, then beat them gently with a rolling pin until nice and thin. Season and sprinkle with the lemon juice.
Get 3 plates out and put the flour on one, the eggs on the next, and finally the breadcrumbs. Dip the chicken into the flour, shaking off any excess, then gently into the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs.
Heat a large frying pan with plenty of olive oil and fry the chicken until golden and crispy, a couple of minutes on each side. You can do this in batches if easier.
(Original recipe from Polpo by Russell Norman, Bloomsbury, 2012.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 