Chickpea & Tomato Curry

Allow me introduce you to your next mid-week dinner! Quick, healthy and full of flavour, this curry sports a good balance between the heat of the red chilli and the sweetness of the coconut milk,  which together with the tomatoes form a thick sauce that envelopes the buttery chickpeas. I used fresh tomatoes as opposed to tinned ones because they are sweeter; however, you do need to ensure you use some deep-red, sun ripened ones. The pale, watery excuses for a tomato often sold cheaply in supermarket just won't do for this dish...or for anything else, for that matter ;-)

Pot Roast Guinea Fowl with Porcini Mushrooms

Another Autumn evening, another seasonal dinner inspiration. Guinea fowl is a bird that originates from North Africa; in Italian, it is called gallina faraona, which translates as "pharaoh queen hen".  Just  take a look at this animal and I am sure you'll agree it is a very appropriate name! Its meat is darker and has a more gamey flavour than chicken, however as it doesn't have as much fat, it tends to dry out if simply oven roasted. For this reason, pot roasting it tends to be the best way to ensure the meat stays moist. I have added flavour to my guinea fowl by using some chopped vegetables, white wine, thyme and a handful of dried porcini mushrooms - the gravy these ingredients make is to die for!

Pear & Chocolate Tart

Here comes the Autumn, bringing us brown leaves, chillier air and the longing for comfort food.  I am a fan of pears, although funnily enough (at least for me!) I do not know many people that share this passion. If you too are not that keen on this fruit, I especially encourage you to try my tart: the soft shortcrust pastry (previously described in this post) encases a smooth chocolate filling, and chunks of this juicy, sweet Autumnal produce. It's not without reason that la crostata al cioccolato e pere features on the menu of many Tuscan restaurants around this time of the year!

Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

If you are a regular follower of this blog (in that case, a special hello to you and welcome back!) you may notice that I have posted a similar recipe before, for lemon cupcakes. However, I have recently came up with a rivisited and, in my opinion, improved version, therefore I have decided to publish this one too and let the readers decide for themselves. This new version includes a lemon curd filling, and a couple of tablespoons of lemon curd also go to enrich the butter cream icing. Finally, the cupcakes are drenched in a tangy lemon syrup before the icing is applied.