A little, wonderfully creamy dessert represents the perfect way to celebrate the end of a year and the beginning of a new one, don’t you think? Parfait, what’s in a name? Whether it’s for the last or the first meal of the year, this lovely semifreddo will put you in the right mood for sweet new beginnings. A bit…
For Italian site Principessaplatessa.it dedicated to promoting Dutch plaice in Italy I’ve developed this recipe inspired by a classic of the Roman tradition usually served on Christmas eve. It’s a rich soup prepared with arzilla, the name with which Romans call thornback rays. A lovely fish which I replaced – replaiced, actually 🙂 – with plaice to offer an alternative,…
A French dish with an Italian twist: the Niçoise salad. There are different versions of this classic: with or without potatoes, often without green beans but with crunchy raw peppers, and then anchovies and black olives that are typical of the surroundings of the French city of Nice. I really like potatoes and green beans in my nizzarda, and…
Sangría is one of my favourite cocktails and yesterday I decided to make my own version with an Italian twist, which I named Sangriella. To prepare it too, use a big carafe or pitcher for about 1 litre or else make half the quantity. It’s lightly sweet due to the use of Martini Bianco vermouth (I prefer to avoid soft drinks to sweeten…
This is the simplest brown rice salad for the warm Summer days, made with tuna, tomato, green olives and an unusual and unexpected ingredient, at least for Italian dishes: a dash of ketchup. My mum always adds a little bit of ketchup to her rice salad and I’ve learned to appreciate its pleasant sweet-and-sour taste in it. I buy a good organic one and…
This elegant salad with lovely bittersweet notes is perfect for a light Easter brunch. Beautiful radicchio rosso from Treviso, one of the many amazing chicory types from Northern Italy, has wonderful purple curled leaves and a distinct bitter crunch which is greatly compensated by the sweetness of the ripe pear and the full, nutty taste of the avocado. The high protein content of…
Nowadays we can buy a LOT of ready-made food that can simplify our lives quite a bit. Think of peeled tomatoes and chickpeas in a jar, for example, which free us from lengthy preparations when our busy schedules demand quick lunches and dinners. A lot of this food is not such a good choice. Take for example many ready-made…
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Last year I started working as a consultant, recipe writer and “face” of Italian site www.principessaplatessa.it This website was created by the Dutch Fish Marketing Board (in Dutch: Nederlands Visbureau) to make it easier for Italian consumers to gather information about, among other things, the origins, the fishing methods, the nutritional values and the many possible ways to prepare one…
During the latest Horecava (8-10 January) I’ve been resident chef of Bellavita, THE Italian Food & Beverage Trade Show that represents and presents the best of the made in Italy (if you’d like to have an idea of how great this fair is, take a look at the video on this page). During this delicious 3-day food & drinks marathon…