Panzanella tiepida - Tepid Tomato and Bread Salad

Panzanella is a summer salad from Tuscany, made with stale bread mixed with plenty of raw tomatoes, red onions, peppers and cucumber, basil, and dressed with oil and vinegar.

Pasticcio di verdure e lenticchie

I am not a vegetarian but I eat less meat than I used to. I do not feel like having beef any longer. I find it heavy to digest. I'd rather eat chicken or fish, once a week. Sometime lamb, preferably stewed. That's it. Eggs, cheese and pulses are always welcome on my table. I definitely feel better, for myself and for our planet,  and I am not the only one. 

My clients in my cooking courses keep on asking me for new vegetarian recipes to refresh their repertoire. Pulses are the most wanted.

Here is my last creation.

Torta lenticchie e cioccolato - Lentil and Chocolate Cake

Lentils are my favourite pulse. No need to soak, versatile, light to digest, nutritious, with a nutty taste. Here I discover that they well combine with chocolate, becoming a fancy ingredient for desserts.

Riso integrale e lenticchie - Brown Rice and Lentils

Rice and lentils combine very well together and even better when you use the brown rice.

Riso con spinaci e ceci - Spinach and Chickpea Rice

I am an early person and I enjoy breakfasts. No brunches but light lunches in my life. 

Here I prepare a spinach and chickpea rice with fried eggs. So simple and so good.

Pollo in umido con spinaci, pinoli e uvetta - Chicken Stew with spinach, pine nuts and sultanas

Spinach is a popular ingredient in the Milanese cuisine. It is usually served as a side dish, either just boiled and dressed with oil and lemon, or sautéed, preferably in butter, and sometimes combined with sultanas and pine nuts.

Here in my recipe, I serve pine nut and sultana spinach with braised chicken as a main course, and I dress my dish with saffron and lemon. It is a new combination of traditional ingredients from my hometown kitchen.

Zuppa lenticchie e cavolo nero - Lentil and Cavolo Nero Soup

‘How do you create your recipes?’ people often ask me. ‘Never from scratch’, is my answer. The Italian kitchen shapes my taste and gives me the basics, while my curiosity broadens my repertoire. Different sources inspire my new recipes, such as tradition and contemporary trends, memories and practice, friends’ tips and stories, social networks and television, food magazines and books.
I like to play with ingredients, but without loosing the Italian taste. I feel lost and illiterate outside my own boundaries.