King Prawns in a Prosecco & Cream Sauce

Prosecco is a delicious, dry sparkling wine from the cooler, Northern regions of Italy (tipically Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia) that in my opinion has little to envy to his more popular cousin the champagne. Italians tend to drink it as an aperitivo (pre-dinner drink) or during a fish meal. A fish dinner accompanied by few glasses of prosecco definitely comes high on the list of my favourite things in life, and it inspired the idea for this dish: juicy king prawns in a creamy sauce delicately flavoured by the prosecco and fresh garlic, with crunchy zucchini slices sautéed in parsley and olive oil, on a bed of fragrant basmati and wild rice. If you are planning to make an impression on a special someone, I suggest you invite them for dinner and make this dish as one of the key elements of your plan of seduction :-)

Quiche Lorraine

My previous attempt at making a quiche, and specifically the pâte brisée (shortcrust pastry) had been a disaster! The pastry was dry, sandy and generally horrible. I couldn't understand what went wrong as I had followed the recipe religiously, and the poor results discouraged me from giving it another try any time soon. Until I moved to Belgium, and signed up for a cookery course run by Catherine, a wonderful French lady who taught me how to make proper pâte brisée at my first lesson. It's surprisingly easy, provided that you follow the few necessary steps carefully and do not try and take shortcuts. Now, making shortcrust pastry does not scare me any more, on the contrary I can't wait to experiment the endless sweet and savoury combinations it lends itself so well to. If you too want to find out the secret to great shortcrust pastry, keep on reading...

Colourful Fruit Skewers

This is not really a recipe, more of a suggestion for a fun way to serve your usual fruit salad. The combination of of the fruit chunks' bright, vibrant colours looks really appetizing, and it is one of the healthiest desserts you could ever offer your guests or family after an evening meal. It also makes for an attractive centrepiece on the buffet table at a party, or brunch. The credit for this idea goes to my lovely Italian aunties Bonaria, Paola, Patrizia, Ornella and Doli who created it for our Easter lunch.

Coconut & Chocolate Cake

Or Bounty Cake, as my brother called it, as the combination of coconut and milk chocolate immediately reminded him of the famous chocolate bar that used to be very popular in the eighties. This cake is next to impossible to get wrong as the high quantity of coconut ensures it stays very moist, therefore you can bake it for a party or a special occasion with the minimum effort and the maximum outcome!

Pasta with Grilled Vegetables & Smoked Pancetta

This dish is one that you can enjoy guilt-free, as it accomplishes the hard task of being both delicious and healthy. Grilling the vegetables imparts bags of flavour, while the smoked pancetta's strong taste means you don't need too much of it. As you can see from the picture, I have also used three different short pasta formats, as a way to employ the many "nearly finished" packets in my cupboard. Doing this not only will help you clearing up space in your kitchen, but it will introduce a few more textures in the dish. If you want to do the same, remember to: stick to the same size of pasta (either short or long format, you can't mix both) and pay attention to the cooking times that the various shapes require (you may have to add one format to your pan first, boil it for a few minutes and then add the second, and so on).

Roast Breast of Lamb Stuffed with Lemon, Capers and Anchovy

This was my first time cooking breast of lamb. This cut of meat is not particularly popular in Italy, which is odd considered that Italians are rather keen on what are generally considered the "poorer" cuts - oxtail, pig trotters, tripe and similar other anxiety-inducing dishes for the more squeamish diners. The main issue with the breast of lamb is that it has a lot of fat, and not too much meat; therefore, I decided to add the stuffing to bulk it up a little, and slow roast it to allow the fat to melt away. I was really pleased with the results, and it makes for quite a sophisticated looking plate of food, considered its humble origins!

Red Mullet Fillets with Green Vegetables & Prawn Noodles

This Asian-inspired dish is what I decided to turn the red mullet fillets I bought today into. I am still exploring my neighbourhood in Brussels, and this afternoon I found out that one of the nearby supermarkets has a decent fish counter. The red mullet fillets reminded me of a dish I always have when I visit Sam's restaurant in Fowey, Cornwall: there, the red mullet is fried in a tempura batter and served with coriander and chilli sauce. I shallow fried my fillets instead, to make the dish less heavy, and accompanied them with noodles, vegetables and prawns tossed in my home made coriander, ginger, garlic and chilli paste.

Salt & Pepper Squid with Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

Who doesn't love fried squid? I make mine using cornflour and nothing else (no water or egg) as it makes for a light, non greasy and extra crunchy coating. Season it with salt and pepper first to make each bite one to remember. Served with sweet chilli dipping sauce, it's a match made in heaven.

Honey Glazed Roast Gammon

This dish takes a few hours to cook, which makes it more suitable for a Sunday lunch or a week-end dinner; however, even though it requires time, it is not too demanding on the energy or skills front. The honey glaze and studded cloves not only add lashes of flavour but make it shiny, attractive and a real centerpiece when served at the table, too.

Spring Vegetable Soup

This soup is really simple, but incredibly comforting and tasty. It lets the ingredients speak for themselves and allows their freshness to shine through. The vegetables that best work with this are delicately flavoured baby carrots, fresh peas, cherry tomatoes, leeks, i.e. all the ones you find in spring; hence the name of the dish. They are simmered in chicken stock until al dente (as they need to retain some bite) together with a small format of pasta, then dressed with a little olive oil, parmesan cheese and freshly cracked pepper. Goodness in a bowl.