A traditional Sicilian recipe for pasta with the amazing flavours of fennel, anchovies, saffron, wine, pine nuts and lemon with crunchy bread crumbs on top. I searched high and low for fresh sardines but my fishmonger said they were out of season, so I used good quality tinned ones in olive oil and they are absolutely fine. I make mine with spaghetti Nero but any long pasta works.
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This onion tart is based on the French Pissaladière tart from Nice that is made with pizza dough. It’s delicious for dinner with a crispy green salad. You can put more or less of the onion mixture on depending on your taste. The Niçoise like a lot of onion, I like it both ways…btw if you press on pizza dough below it will take you straight through to the dough recipe.
This traditional Italian recipe for spaghetti with broccoli is deceptively delicious. It’s got a great combination of flavours with saffron, onions and wine. There is also a sweetness from the currants which makes it taste all the more delicious. Its got really typical Italian flavours and is normally made with Bucatini. I think it’s perfect for a dinner party or dinner date, (you can halve the ingredients) just serve it with a salad and a glass of wine. Job done.
OMG this salad is so delicious, the recipe is a traditional Italian salad from the Rome in Italy and its usually served with bread on the side but I’ve made a crunchy sourdough crumb to go on top of it instead. Chicory is a tad bitter, which Italians love hence our love of the aperitif Campari, so you can add a teaspoon of maple syrup or sugar to the sauce if you prefer it a little sweeter. This salad is fantastic with fish or cheese or if you eat meat it would work really well with roast chicken or lamb.
This recipe is Spanish and it’s a really tasty way to cook cauliflower. It’s got lots of garlic and chilli so it’s a fantastic side dish to cook with baked fish or with other salads. It’s also got healthy lemon and parsley so it’s packed with vitamins and also very low carb. It can be served hot or at room temperature.
Tartines are open sandwiches on bread, Tartine means open faced sandwich in French. They usually are a really delicious combo of crunchy bread and fresh salad. I decided to make a Caesar salad version, so the crunchy bread base is there instead of the croutons. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Caesar salad or toasted bread for that matter. When I mention Caesar salad to people as a snack or meal suggestion they always jump at it, more than any other recipe! These tartines could be a great starter for a dinner party, or fantastic for dinner with my matchstick fries.
Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini invented the Caesar in 1924 in Mexico during the prohibition, when supplies were depleted and he had to make a dish with limited ingredients for the customers in his restaurant.
This salad is not only on my blog because it is a great classic recipe but because I made it for a certain special person who loved it and I know will be pleased I mentioned him….HB.
Serves 2 but you can double or triple the amounts depending on how many you are feeding.
Ingredients:
1/2 clove of garlic
3 eggs or 12 quails eggs
A loaf of sour dough bread
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons of good quality Mayo
3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt (or Alpro Greek yogurt or Oatly creme fraische)
3 anchovies fillets tinned in oil and drained (or a tablespoon of vegetarian fish sauce)
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan (there are plant based versions) plus more for grating on top of salad
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cos lettuce
