STEPS 9 INGREDIENTS 9 TIME 1.5 HRS This butternut squash ravioli recipe takes a delightful fresh pasta dish with a super-sweet aftertaste and a hint of sage, and makes it so simple that any beginner can manage it. The ‘standard’ version of this recipe involves lots of multitasking – because you make the sauce and […]
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Easy Potato Gnocchi Recipe
STEPS 6 INGREDIENTS 2 TIME 2 HRS This weekend-friendly potato gnocchi recipe will help you produce super-soft, hand-made potato shapes that are perfect for smothering in your favorite sumptuous sauce or baking. Taught to me on a rainy winter’s day by my mamma-in-law Marisa, this gnocchi recipe requires just 4 things: • Potatoes (big ones) […]
Marisa’s quick-and-easy homemade meatball recipe
STEPS 4 INGREDIENTS 6 TIME 10 MINS (to prepare) It’s not strictly a pasta dish, but you might find this homemade meatball recipe useful if you’re looking to use beefy balls with an alternative pasta sauce, or to bolster an alternative meat-feast lasagna. As this recipe demonstrates, any fool can make these beauties! You just […]
Imperia Pasta Machine: in-the-kitchen review
I received this Imperia pasta machine ‘SP150’ as a present from my wife two years ago and I can’t recommend it highly enough. And it seems I’m not alone, as it’s also Amazon.com’s Top Rated Pasta Maker! The SP150 is a traditional ‘wind-and-watch’ pasta roller machine and a seriously heavy duty piece of kit to […]
‘Tale Of Two Fishes’ – spaghetti, tuna and anchovy recipe
STEPS 5, INGREDIENTS 8, TIME 20 MINS This quick and easy anchovy recipe serves up a dish of seriously healthy pasta pleasure, because you get not just one brain-friendly fishy ‘hit’ but two. Not only that, but this pasta meal is a cinch to cook – with just 5 steps in all and 8 ingredients […]
Get In The Ring – Marisa’s guest-impressing baked pasta recipe
STEPS 10, INGREDIENTS 11, TIME 1-2 HRS (depending on ingredients) This baked pasta recipe is a real ‘circle of taste’. It’s called ‘pasticcio di ricotta e melanzane’ (which means a ‘pastiche’ of ricotta and eggplant). It rules because it employs one of Italy’s killer-ingredient combos: eggplant (aubergine), tomato, ricotta cheese and basil. Mmmm… I reckon […]
Pugliese orecchiette pasta with beef-rolled celery
STEPS 5 INGREDIENTS 11 TIME 50-55 MINS I learned this orecchiette pasta recipe from a friend of my mamma-in-law’s called Rosetta Chirico. A traditional ‘Pugliese’ dish (i.e. from the Puglia region of Italy), this flavorful treat is packed full of contrasts. You get the meaty taste and firm consistency of cooked and rolled beef. Inside […]
Nonna’s simple baked spaghetti recipe
STEPS 6 INGREDIENTS 8 TIME 45 MINS If you are a bonafide tomato lover, this simple baked spaghetti should suit you down to a juicy red tee. This recipe was originally taught to my mamma-in-law Marisa by her mother, Linda, who was my wife’s grandma (gran is ‘Nonna’ in Italian – thus this page’s nonna-ish […]
How to make pesto
STEPS 1 INGREDIENTS 6 TIME 5 MINS This quick and easy video guide explains how to make pesto in just 5 minutes flat. Buy the 6 ingredients outlined in the first video, grab a small blender and cheese grater, and you’ll soon have enough fresh, crunchy Ligurian basil pesto to smother over your favourite pasta […]
Waste nothing with this leftover turkey tagliatelle recipe…
STEPS 7, INGREDIENTS 9, TIME 60 MINS This baked tagliatelle recipe was taught to me by Carole Mazzella – an American living in Rapallo, Italy – and it’s perfect for using up leftover turkey from Christmas or thanksgiving. (You can make this turkey pasta year-round too – I explain how to cook fresh turkey breast […]