Zucchini Tomato Risotto

I have published risotto recipes on this site before but never one quite like this, my mother first introduced to me this concept and I rather like it, this dish uses slow roasted tomatoes and tomato passata, added to the rice just before it has finished cooking to add sweetness, and it's truly a revelation, my only stipulation with this recipe is that you must make it in summer, tomatoes grown in a greenhouse in December simply won't provide enough delicate sweetness.

Around an hour or so before you wish to eat drizzle some olive oil into the bottom of a glass ovenproof dish and add the cherry tomatoes, add another drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt flakes to the tomatoes and place them in a medium oven for an hour or until they have shriveled.

Dice a white onion and heat some vegetable oil with a knob of butter in a large heavy-based frying pan. Fry the onion until translucent and soft and add a teaspoon of ground coriander. Make up your stock in a jug. Add the arborio rice and turn in the oil until it is shiny and coated. Brown lightly and add a splash of vermouth. Cook off the alcohol until the pan is relatively dry and no longer smells alcoholic. Add the stock a splash at a time until it has all been absorbed and the rice is still firm, but tender.

Meanwhile, dice the courgette and fry it lightly in butter until it has browned. When the rice is cooked add the passata and stir, allow to reduce slightly then add the grated parmesan and stir until it has melted. Add the courgette and the roasted tomatoes and combine. Serve garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

ingredients

1 medium white onion

300g arborio rice

vegetable oil

small knob unsalted butter

small splash vermouth

500ml vegetable stock

50g grated parmesan

150ml tomato passata

100g cherry tomatoes

2 courgettes

small pinch sea salt flakes

Rosemary Focaccia

I lived in Milan for a year from 2008 to 2009, and one of the most wonderful things about Italy is focaccia, soft, golden and glistening with olive oil, focaccia in Italy comes topped with more toppings that your average pizza, and is essentially a meal in itself.

This recipe makes a glorious focaccia, and whilst it pales in comparison with the actual article, it's the best I have tasted on these shores. I have made a rosemary focaccia here, using fresh rosemary,but you can use any herb you like, thyme would work well also.

Start your dough by sifting and mixing together your dry ingredients. Finely chop your rosemary needles and add them to the dry ingredients, add a tablespoon of dried mixed herbs and some crushed black pepper to taste. Add your wet ingredients and mix with a fork until you have a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for ten minutes until you have a smooth dough. Return to the bowl and cover with a tea towel, leave to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

When the dough has risen, knock it back gently, and place it on a greased swiss roll tin, work the dough with your knuckles, stretching it until it covers the whole of the tin, don't worry about it being too uneven. Cover with clingfilm and leave again to rise for 30 minutes. Remove the clingfilm and top the dough with some rosemary leaves, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and add some crushed black pepper, finally drizzle the bread with olive oil and bake in the oven at 200C for about 40 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer doughy. Leave to cool slightly before eating.

ingredients

200g plain flour
1tsp salt
4g dried yeast
2tbsp olive oil
150ml water

3 rosemary branches
1tbsp dried mixed herbs
olive oil
salt & pepper

Pesto Alla Trapanese

This is quite possibly the most traditionally italian dish I have ever written about, and the only changes I have made are to use ingredients commonly found outside of Italy.

This dish originated in Sicily, as so many great italian dishes do, and is essentially a sicilian version of pesto, which originates from Genoa. The basil of Pesto alla Genovese is substituted for tomatoes, and instead of pine nuts, almonds are used instead.

Start by cooking your pasta, you can make the sauce while this is cooking. I like linguine with pesto, but spaghetti will work just as well.

To make your sauce finely chop a small handful of salted roasted almonds. You can also use raw nuts, but I prefer the rich flavour and saltiness of these almonds, which are usually used as bar snacks.

Also chop a handful of sultanas and a few cloves of garlic, throw all of these into a small hand blender and add a large glug of olive oil and a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Throw in a few teaspoons of capers, I absolutely adore these so I tend to add quite a lot. Finally add about half a can of chopped tomatoes, and blitz until the mixture has a smooth, fudgy texture.

Drain your pasta and add the sauce to the pasta in the saucepan, off the heat, stir to combine and to warm the sauce, and serve, topped with a basil leaf, if you wish.

This sauce is almost embarrassingly easy, and like all good pasta sauces, it can be made while the pasta is cooking. It is refreshingly different to pesto, having a more subtle flavor, and more body than Pesto alla Genovese.

ingredients

500g linguine
3 cloves garlic
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
25 grams sultanas
2 tablespoons capers
60ml olive oil
salt & pepper