The first time I ate proper eggplant parmigiana in Italy, I remember thinking: what have they done to this? The eggplant was silky and rich, the tomato sauce deeply flavoured, and the cheese used with a much lighter hand than many versions I’d tried before. Instead of feeling heavy, the whole dish felt balanced —…
Category: Italian
Mushroom Ragù
This mushroom ragù is rich, slow-cooked and deeply savoury — the kind of sauce that feels comforting without being heavy. Built using classic Italian technique, it relies on finely chopped mushrooms, olive oil, red wine and time to create depth and body. Rather than slicing the mushrooms, they’re chopped finely and cooked down slowly, allowing…
Traditional Carbonara
If there’s one pasta dish that’s endlessly misunderstood outside Italy, it’s carbonara. Creamy versions with bacon, garlic or onions are everywhere, but in Rome, carbonara is something else entirely — eggs, extra yolks, guanciale, pecorino, black pepper and pasta water. That’s it. This kind of cooking — where flavour comes from restraint rather than extra…
Clear-Out-the-Fridge Frittata
This is the frittata I make when I need to use things up before they go bad. A half capsicum, a few mushrooms, some asparagus that’s been sitting in the crisper a bit too long, good eggs from the markets — it all goes into one pan and gets finished under the grill. Sometimes I…
Tuna Crudo Recipe with Olive Oil & Lemon
This tuna crudo recipe is a simple way to serve fresh tuna with olive oil, lemon and a few sharp, salty elements for contrast. I’ve been thinking about doing a tuna crudo for a long time. It’s one of those dishes that feels deceptively simple, but only really works when the fish is excellent and…
Charred Nectarine, Prosciutto & Burrata Salad
The other day it hit 35 degrees in Sydney, and the last thing I wanted to do was turn the oven on or sit down to anything heavy for dinner. When it’s that hot, I crave food that feels light, fresh and effortless to pull together. With stone fruit in peak season right now, I’ve…
Lemon and Ricotta Cake
The other day I made a batch of fresh ricotta, and as always, there was a little left over. Rather than let it sit in the fridge, I turned it into this Lemon and Ricotta Cake — soft, buttery, and delicately scented with lemon. It’s a classic Italian-style cake that’s wonderfully simple: just a handful…
How to Make Fresh Ricotta
The other day during the school holidays, I went to visit my Nonna with my son. As usual, I brought her a few goodies — some Namoura I’d baked for the blog and a tub of fresh ricotta from Paesanella. When I handed her the ricotta, she smiled and asked, “Oh, did you make this,…
Panzanella Salad
Panzanella Salad is the ultimate example of Italian resourcefulness in the kitchen. Italians have a way of turning the simplest ingredients — often things that might otherwise end up in the bin — into something truly delicious. Nothing goes to waste, and this salad is proof of that: day-old bread, ripe tomatoes, onion, and basil…
Weeknight Sausage & Broccoli Orecchiette
A few years ago, my family and I travelled to Puglia in Italy — a region with a breathtaking coastline, turquoise waters, and some of the most memorable food I’ve ever eaten. One of the moments that stuck with me most was wandering through the old streets of Bari and turning a corner to find…