Vellutata finocchi e scalogni - Fennel and Shallot Veloute'

This morning, I spotted frost covered windscreens on the cars parked in the street. Winter has arrived, at last. I am recovering from a flu and I immediately decided not to go out for my shopping. I  work from home on Mondays and today I can be creative, inventing a soup with what's left in the pantry. Not much, but enough to make a comforting velouté.

Polpette di piselli – Green Pea Boulettes

I love ball-shaped food. Any kinds of gnocchi and polpette is relaxing to mould for me, quick to cook and easy to eat. It is a convivial shape everybody loves. No need of knife.
Here I prepare vegetarian polpette with green pea and I serve them in a tomato sauce. 

Polpette al pomodoro – Meatballs in a Tomato Sauce

In Italy, polpette is a traditional domestic dish. They are prepared either to recycle meat leftovers or to serve inexpensive meat, which is minced, combined with stale bread and flavoured with plenty of herbs. 

Lenticchie e fregola con pomodorini al forno - Lentil and Fregola with cherry tomatoes

Fregola is typical pasta from Sardinia, shaped like giant couscous. Traditionally fregola is cooked in the same way as risotto and served with a vongole and tomato sauce.

Minestra zucca e porri - Squash and Leek Soup

The delicate and colourful butternut squash brings joy into the winter soups. 

Insalata tiepida di farro, cavolo rosso e trevisana - Farro Salad with Red Cabbage and Trevisana

Farro (spelt) is an ancient grain the Romans lived on for centuries. They ate farro as a whole grain or ground it into flour to make bread and pulsum, their popular version of polenta. 

Pizza al cavolfiore - Cauliflower Pizza

Sunday, family lunch, pizza for everybody, as usual. Yet, I suddenly realise that today somebody cannot have it. My niece Bianca, in London for few days, has intolerance to yeast and flour. Do I change the menu? I prefer to change the recipe, as everybody looks forward to the homemade Sunday pizza.

Minestra lenticchie, zucca e spinaci - Lentil Squash and Spinach Soup

Today I feel like having a soup, a good soup. I will make it with three main ingredients: lentils, butternut squash and spinach. 

Crespelle Funghi e Melanzane - Mushroom and Aubergine Crespelle

I love mushrooms. I love picking them in the wood, I love cooking and combining them with pasta, ravioli, risotto, polenta or simply scramble eggs. Mushrooms, especially the wild ones, bring an earthy flavour to the table. 

Torta di mele – Apple Cake

It is a family recipe we have been cooking over and over without remembering the author. Was it my aunt, my granny or my mother who made it up? It doesn’t really matter; it is a family legacy, or better a “family signature dish”.

Pasta con broccoli alla Siciliana

If you happen to order Pasta con broccoli in Sicily, you will get delicious cauliflower pasta. Do not blame the waiter, he is perfectly right, as in Sicily cauliflower is called broccoli, while the light green broccoli (Romanesco broccoli) are cauliflower and the dark green ones (the traditional broccoli) are ‘sparacelli’. A bit confusing, but the language enhances the independence of this beautiful island.

Whatever you call it, pasta with seasonal vegetables is a popular dish in Italy, with plenty of variations and inspirations. It is the perfect example of cucina povera: inexpensive, traditional, healthy.
The sweet and sour pasta with broccoli (cauliflower) alla Siciliana is made with raisins, pine nuts, anchovies and saffron. I like to prepare it with short pasta, such as maccheroni, but both bucatini and spaghetti would work as well.
Remember to keep the cauliflower al dente and to add the saffron at the very end. You will preserve its full flavor.

Pasta con broccoli alla Siciliana
Cauliflower and Raisin Pasta

350 g maccheroni
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 cauliflower, about 800 g
50 g raisins
50 g pine nuts
6 anchovy fillets in oil
15 g saffron
2 tablespoons extra virgin oil
Sea salt and black pepper
Extra virgin oil

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

1. Soak the raisins in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry. 
2. In a pan, sauté the pine nuts without any fat for 4 to 5 minutes until just golden, stirring frequently. Transfer to a bowl; do not leave them in the pan, as they would keep on cooking, even off heat. 
3. In a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté the onion with a pinch of salt on low heat for 10 minutes, until translucent. 
4. Stir the anchovies into the onions and cook until dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. 
5. Divide the cauliflower in florets and boil them in plenty of salted water with a good pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Drain and keep the water for the pasta. 
6. Add the florets to the onion along with two tablespoons of their cooking water and leave to cook on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
7. Dissolve the saffron in 2 tablespoons of hot water and add to the cauliflower sauce with the raisins. Stir well. 
8. Cook pasta in the cauliflower water until al dente. Drain, reserving one ladleful of cooking water. 
9. Add pasta to the cauliflower, stir in half of the cooking water, sprinkle with pine nuts and sauté for 2 minutes on high heat. 
10. Serve at once, with a drizzle of oil. 

Torta al cioccolato fondente – Chocolate cake

When you feel like having a chocolate cake, go for this one. Simple and quick to be made, it is rewarding. You only need to have good-quality chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) - which I suggest storing in the pantry - on top of the classic ingredients for a cake. If you don’t have ground almonds and don’t need to make a gluten-free pudding, replace the almonds with white flour. It will work as well.

Pollo Impanato al Forno - Breaded Chicken Baked

My 92 year-old father-in-law Giorgio, is a great chef. He invents new recipes every other day and always phones me to illustrate his new creations in detail. I like to promote his enthusiastic creativity. 

Torta Prugne e Grano Saraceno - Plum and Buckwheat Flour Cake

Fruit puddings are my favourite ones as they inspire my creativity. I can play with different  ingredients and follow the seasonal produce to make a good variety of cakes.

Melanzane Rosse di Rotonda con Pasta - Red Aubergine Pasta Sauce

I discovered the red aubergines from Rotonda - a village in Basilcata - in London. I had never heard of them before. They are so beautiful that I kept them for days in the center of my dining table before deciding to cook them. 

Vellutata Ceci e Castagne - Chickpea and Chestnut Veloute

Foto di Giulia Verdinelli

I would put chestnuts everywhere, from soups to desserts,  from meat to fish dishes. 
Here I propose a veloute' recipe I start serving in autumn. It is a delicate and nutritious dish, the perfect comfort food for short and wet days. 

Polpette di Pesce - Fish Boulettes

I like to play with different ways of cooking in order to keep the distinctive tastes and textures of the ingredients I use. Here the baked boulettes are eventually combined with the sautéed tomato sauce. The final result is a light dish full of Mediterranean flavours.
Serve with any boiled grains you like, from rice to barley, or with mashed potatoes.

Insalata Cavolo a Punta e Tonno - Pointed Cabbage and Tuna Salad

 

It has been 15 years since I started shopping at the same vegetable stall in Portobello Market. Here I discovered the pointed cabbage, sweeter and more tender than the round cabbage. It is the perfect ingredient for the winter salads you can invent with whatever you have in the pantry.

Matuffi

October: time for matuffi.

Incoronate - Fancy Meatballs

Italian polpette (meatballs) is a domestic dish you are unlikely to be served if you are invited to someone's house, unless you are regarded as part of the family. Polpette  belong to the cucina povera, they express a popular way to recycle a leftover piece of meat.