Polpette di lenticchie rosse - Red Lentil Boulettes

In Italy, we celebrate the new year's day with a traditional dish of lentils, which should bring luck and money. Today, the 1st January 2019, I make red lentil boulettes to start the new year with a new lentil recipe.

Dahl con polpettine di agnello e cavolo riccio croccante - Dahl with Lamb Boulettes and Crispy Kale

Dahl is one of my favourite dish in the cold season. I prepare it at least once a week, as it is quick, healthy, tasty, comforting  and so versatile that I can always serve it in different variations. Today, I combine my dahl with mini-boulettes of minced lamb and I finish it with crispy kale. Three dishes - dahl, boulettes and crispy kale - in one-course meal to share with family and friends. If you prepare and cook the boulettes and the kale while the dahl is simmering, it will take no longer than half an hour to have your meal ready. It is just a question of organisation. 

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.

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.

Zuppa cavolfiore e lenticchie rosse - Cauliflower and red Lentil Soup

I could live on soups and I always enjoy making new ones, especially in the cold season. 

Vellutata carote e albicocche - Carrot and Apricot Veloute'

To celebrate the apricot season up in the mountain, I made up a carrot veloute' with the fresh apricots I picked from the tree.