Twisted French Martini

Welcome to my third and last post for November's #onebookthreerecipes adventure, from the classic Italian cookbook, Italy the Beautiful. For this, I share a simple, yet incredibly delicious side dish of broad (fava) beans, pancetta, onion and tomato. That's it, just four simple ingredients. The recipe itself calls for guancale - a cured part of the cheek that's used in authentic Roman carbonara. It's super fatty and the first time I tested this recipe out when wondering what to do for this final post, I used guancale. But I'm just not into cooking with food that's 80% fat, so have found a lighter option by using pancetta. I also prefer the taste of shallots in this recipe, so have replaced onion with shallots. As the broad bean season is getting towards its end here in Australia, they're getting a bit big and the outer skins of the individual beans are tough. A tip I picked up years ago is that they're really easy to double-shell. First, take from the pod and discard that. Then blanch the beans for about 3 minutes in boiling water. A little nick with a sharp knife on the end and the bean slips out easily. No more needing to smile politely while dealing with tough outer skins. Ugh. But that's it for my revisit to Italy and its food. Such a tiny snippet too. At least this side will go with so many things you may want to cook, whether they be Italian or not. Confession: this wasn't what I'd planned to share, but I had a major kitchen fail when I dropped the tart I was making on the way to the fridge yesterday! It broke. It was awful. So, enjoy the beans - they were enjoyed with roast lamb and are perfectly delicious! Just not for dessert. 🥧 Thanks to Deb, @cookingwithoutanet and Nonno, @whennonnocooks for the group! #italianfood #italianfoods #italianfoodlover #italianfoodstyle #italiancooking #italiancookingadventures #sidedishes #sidedishesfordinner #sidedishesforsteak #sidedishesforchicken #broadbeans #broadbeansalad #broadbeansrecipe #favabeans #favabeansalad #onebookthreerecipes #theinfatuatedfoodie

My Mum loved a good sponge cake and it was a good day when she made one. It was light, fluffy and full of whipped cream, often iced with chocolate or vanilla icing. Today, I still have her recipe and made it recently when I had friends over for dinner. It's a little different from your standard Victoria sponge as there is no added fat and very little flour in it. The lightness comes from whipping the eggs and sugar until you have a golden mix that's full of tiny air bubbles. That's followed by ever so gently folding the flours in. When I made it recently, I found it tended towards being a little dry, so before I share this recipe I might make some edits, which could even include adding a little melted butter. I think it would benefit from it - adding some moisture and removing the dryness. But overall, it was a nice, light dessert - even with the whipped cream and macerated berries. The perfect end to a pasta dinner. The first photo is one I took before serving. The second at the table, taken by one of my guests, @mareegreen13. #spongecake #spongecakes #creamcake #creamcakes #desserts #desserttime #dessertpic #desserts #cakefordessert #baking #bakinglove #BakingDelights #cakebaking #cakebakingtime #theinfatuatedfoodie

Sometimes it's difficult to capture how good something looks, no matter how hard I try. This, my second November recipe from Italy the Beautiful as part of #onebookthreerecipes is one such example. Tortelli di Zucca is my choice for this week. Or ravioli in this case - because I have a plate thing that makes filling and cutting ravioli easier and went with the time saving option. Its filling is deliciously simple. It's a gentle sweet-salty-savoury mix of mashed roasted pumpkin (squash), crumbled amaretti biscuits and grated parmigiana reggiano (or Grana Padano) cheese. It’s encased in a perfectly tender egg pasta, which I rolled to a number 6 on my KitchenAid pasta roller, so it’s not so thin it breaks. The recipe is finished off and served with one of my favourite pasta toppings- browned butter with crispy sage leaves. Extra Reggiano is served at the table for those who want that extra cheesiness. I made this to share with friends I’d invited for dinner and served the lot on one plate so we could serve ourselves at the table. A nice green salad was offered alongside. Although salad with the pasta dish isn’t exactly a traditional Italian thing to do, it’s what we like here in Australia when pasta is served as the main meal. So that’s my second recipe for my first month in this lovely social recipe share. For the record, I'd be happy to serve a spoonful of the mashed up pumpkin as a side dish, it was so yummy it would hold its own! @cookingwithoutanet @whennonnocooks #onebookthreerecipes #ravioli #raviolidizucca #tortelli #tortellidizucca #vegetarian #vegetarian #vegetarianfood #vegetarianmeals #vegetarianrecipe #recipeshare #recipesharer #italianfood #italianfoods #italianfoodlover #italianfoodstyle #italiancooking #italianrecipes #italianrecipeshomemade #theinfatuatedfoodie #yum #delicious #deliciousfood

It's the second Tuesday in November and today I share my first post for my first ever One Book Three Recipes. And ... drumroll ... taaaaadaaaa ... today's plate is best known to us all as: Risotto alla Milanese ... aka Risotto allo Zafferano (or Saffron Rice). This recipe is a very simple but rich risotto with beef bone marrow at its base, which gives it a richer flavour than olive oil alone. The jammy texture is the result of a dry Italian Fiano white wine with flavourful home-made chicken stock. It's completed with the addition of saffron threads bloomed in the hot stock and a generous handful of Parmigiano Reggiano (or Grana Padano). The bone marrow is what makes this recipe authentic, but I didn't use even close to the amount that Lorenza di Medici suggests in the recipe. Firstly, I found marrow bones hard to find and ended up buying two beef osso bucco cuts with generous marrow content. Even then, I only used the marrow from one and at 25 grams worth, it was enough (noting that I made half the amount shown in the recipe with just one cup of rice). I also prefer using carnaroli rice to arborio, as it gives a firmer texture and feels more like you'd get in Milan. Speaking of which, the last photo is my first meal in Milan, where I spent a few days in May this year. While on the train from Venice I chatted to a woman sitting opposite me and she recommended a restaurant she said did her favourite Cotoletta di Vitello Alla Milanese - veal cutlet. I had to go and try it and the photo of that plate is last in the four posted here. Although the veal looks huge on the plate, it was a very thin cut and with the risotto on the side, my meal at @alcantinone was a perfect introduction to this surprisingly lovely city. I think my risotto stacks up rather well next to the real deal I had in Italy, in looks, flavour and texture. Now, what to cook next? @cookingwithoutanet @whennonnocooks #onebookthreerecipes #risotto #risottolover #risottorecipe #risottoitaliano #risottoallamilanese #carnaroliriso #italianfood #italianfoods #italianfoodlover #italianfoodstyle #italiancooking #italianrecipes #italianrecipeshomemade #theinfatuatedfoodie #yum

It’s been months since I came back from my adventure in Europe and all that time I’ve wanted to make Gabriella’s potato gnocchi recipe from my foodie stay at @nidodeglidei high above the Amalfi Coast. Tonight I finally did. And I’m very happy with the results too. Gnocchi is one of those things that can be wonderful - or it can fail dismally. With the fantastic instruction by Gabriella, I succeeded in making some rather good, if a bit wonky, pillows of goodness. I served it with a simple tomato sauce and some Parmigiano Reggiano. And a glass of red. Happy food. The first three photos are tonight’s gnocchi. The last two are the night I learned to make the real deal with Gabriella (on the right), with fellow foodies Ron and Mary-Carol. Head to the website for full recipe. You can be transported straight there via the LinkTree in my bio. Happy cooking! #gnocchi #gnocchidipatate #gnocchiallasorrentina #potatognocchi #italianfood #napolifood #gnocchiheaven #theinfatuatedfoodie #napolitana #napolitanasauce #foodofitaly #nidodeglidei #amalficoastfood

Banana and walnut muffins, fresh from the oven. I made these a few weeks ago and inhaled two straight away. They’re light in texture, full of flavour and oh so good. There were far too many for me, so I gave some to my neighbours and froze the rest. And I can confirm they freeze really well. You can thaw slowly in the fridge or at room temp or nuke them for 40 seconds to eat. They’re great as morning tea with coffee! The recipe is on my site now and I’m going to take some proper photos when I make some more. Because they’re really good and worthy of better photos. #muffins #bananamuffins #breakfast #morningtea #havewithcoffee #baking #bakingfromscratch #bakedgoods #bakefromscratch #walnuts #theinfatuatedfoodie #yum #sweettreats

Who would ever have thought they’d see me at an #afl grand final!? But here I am at the MCG! Lunch in the Founders’ Room, great seats. Thanks to my neighbour for the 11th hour tickets! The atmosphere is amazing and the weather is HOT. #aflgrandfinal #footy #melbournefooty #mcg

Fresh from the oven, this is a cross between a quiche and vegetable tart. I made the lovely shortcrust pastry first, then let it cool while preparing the filling. To do this, I slowly sautéed two finely sliced onions with two finely sliced shallots until caramelised with fresh thyme leaves and a pinch of salt to draw out the moisture. It started drying out at one stage, so I added a splash of brandy, which I keep in my cupboard for cooking. When the onions were nicely caramelised, I added some chopped mushrooms and red peppers, adding salt and pepper at this stage. I let that cook down a little, then plonked in about a cup of grated courgette/zucchini. I mixed all that together and sautéed another few minutes. I set that aside to cool slightly. I then whisked up six free range eggs with about 1/4 cup of pure pouring cream (I also use milk for this if I don’t have cream at hand)and a good grating of nutmeg. I then added about 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (Parmigiana Reggiano to be precise) and mixed through. I placed the pastry case on a tray to catch any spills, then filled it with the vegetables. I then slowly poured the egg over the vegetables and carefully placed into a preheated 150C oven. It took about 45 minutes to cook through, which is when it was set but still had a slight wobble in the middle. Served with a fresh green salad, this has also provided great lunches. I cut it into 8 wedges, which have gone into the freezer and can be taken out to reheat for a quick, healthy lunch. #tart #vegetabletart #quiche #pastry #eggs #vegetarian #lunch #healthydinner #dinner #savourytart #savorytart #shortcrustpastry #theinfatuatedfoodie #yum #delicious #homecooking #homemade #homemadeisbest #worklunchideas #lunchideas #lunchbox

Batch cooking pizza bases for the freezer because it’s impossible to do dough for one pizza. Followed by the perfect veg pizza for dinner. That’s one way to get the five a day! #pizza #pizzanight #pizzafordinner #italianfood #homemadepizza #homemadepizzadough #pizzatime #pizzas #pizzabases #homemadeisbest #homemadehappiness #theinfatuatedfoodie #yum