Stuffed Artichokes Istrian Style Recipe

If you are looking for a little inspiration for a slightly different appetizer, look no further.

Artichokes are a great garden vegetable, rich in potassium and iron, and low in calories, but somehow ignored and overlooked in the supermarkets or vegetable stalls as the majority of people are not acquainted with this vegetable, not quite sure how to prepare it, clean it and eat it.

This dish is rustic and informal, artichokes are trimmed and stuffed with garlicky breadcrumbs, then cooked in a saucepan until tender.

Each leaf is then individually removed to scoop up a bit of the sauce, and with the top of your teeth you scrape the bottom of the leaf.

This recipe might look complicated to make but despite its elegant appearance there is nothing difficult or intimidating about it.

Artichokes have been hugely popular up and down Italy, and artichokes bottoms are a specifically Venetian delicacy.

Due to geographical proximity there is no surprise that this wonderful vegetable has been prepared and cooked in Slovenian Istria since forever, the area was dominated and gastronomically influenced by the Most Serene Republic of Venice.

In a coastal town of Strunjan, every year, towards the end of May, there is a festival called Dnevi Artičok (Artichoke Days) to honour this humble vegetable that is growing and thriving in this area due to a mild Mediterranean climate.

During the festival you can learn and taste a variety of artichoke dishes. This event values a still little know Istrian Artichokes, smaller than the common artichoke but packed with flavour and therefore greatly appreciated among the gourmets community.

I am sharing here my mum's recipe, I loved cleaning the artichokes with her, and as a child I found pulling the outer leaves such a great fun. I think sometimes I pulled away far too many, but of course, my mother never said anything, and when she cooked this dish it always somehow felt a special treat.

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a starter

• 4 fresh globe artichokes

• dry breadcrumbs, 70g (approximately 6Tbsp)

• fresh flat leaf parsley, about a handful (7g roughly), finely chopped

• extra virgin olive oil (about 6Tbsp) 4Tbsp for the stuffing and 2Tbsp for the sauce

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and pressed

• Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, about 30g (or to taste), optional, finely grated (can use other types of cheeses to your liking)

• water or vegetable stock 200ml (using a good quality instant vegetable stock is perfectly fine)

• sea salt, to taste

• black pepper, optional, to taste

• lemon juice of 1 lemon

Method

Take a big bowl (big enough to accommodate the artichokes), fill it with cold water and add lemon juice of 1 lemon.

Reserve the lemon halves for later use.

Start by cleaning and preparing the artichokes, one at a time.

Trim off the stem of the artichoke so it can stand and sit upright without rolling over. Put the stem in the acidulated water and set aside for later use.

Rub the base of the artichoke with a lemon half, this will prevent from turning it brown.

Tear off the outer toughest leaves, (one or two layers, depending on the artichokes) but leave most of the leaves on.

With the sharp knife cut off the tip of the artichoke, about 2-3cm (1inch).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Take a pair of scissors and trim off the pointed and slightly prickly and spiky tips of the remaining outer leaves.

Place the artichoke on a working surface, and with your hands loose the leaves a bit, so you create little gaps between the leaves.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Rub the artichoke with the cut end of half a lemon and place treated and trimmed artichoke in a bowl with cold acidulated water previously prepared (this stops the artichokes from browning, and discolouring). Carry on with the process with the rest of the artichokes.

While the trimmed artichokes are in the bowl prepare the stuffing.

In a bowl place breadcrumbs, finely chopped parsley, pressed garlic, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and grated cheese, if using.

Mix well until all the ingredients are well combined, incorporated and amalgamated, set aside.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Place about 2-3Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan, big and large enough to accommodate all 4 artichokes.

Take the artichoke out of the bowl (one at the time), drain it a bit, and with your hands loose the leaves once again if necessary.

Using your hands (or a spoon) stuff the spaces between the leaves of the artichoke and put some filling on the top of the artichoke.

(do not worry if some of the stuffing falls around the artichoke on your working top, scoop it up and put it back on the top of the artichoke, slightly pressing it down).

Place the stuffed artichoke in a saucepan, sitting upright, they should be snuggled together tightly.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Repeat the process until you stuff all the artichokes and they are all in the saucepan.

Take the stems out of the bowl, if using, I highly recommend you do, as it will create a wonderfully delicious sauce.

Peel and finely chop or dice the stems. Scatter them in the saucepan all around the stuffed artichokes.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Carefully pour water or vegetable stock, cover with the lid and bring to the boil.

Lower the heat and gently cook and simmer for about 45 minutes. It can take up to 1 hour, this will depend on the age and the size of the artichokes.

Check now and again, give a saucepan a little shake. If the sauce is getting too thick simply add a splash of water or vegetable stock.

When cooked, artichokes should be nice and tender, the leaves should pull easily from the centre, most of the liquid should be evaporated, and you should be left with a sauce that is nor too thin or too thick.

Remove from the heat and serve warm or at room temperature.

Spoon a bit of the sauce around and on the top of cooked artichokes.

Venetian style Rice and Peas Recipe (Risi e Bisi)

This springtime speciality dish Risi e Bisi, meaning rice and peas in Venetian dialect, originated in the north-eastern region of Veneto in Italy. It is a dish that has been long disputed in the culinary world whether it is a very ‘runny’ risotto or a very ‘thick’ soup, and hence whether you should eat it with the fork or with a spoonBeing a risotto or a soup, this dish is absolutely delicious, incredibly satisfying and deeply rooted in the history of the region. It has such a profound cultural significance to the point of being celebrated by the Venetian poet Domenico Varagnolo:

To bless the holy spring,

which makes a garden a paradise,

all I need is a soup bowl,

a soup bowl of our own risi e bisi...

There, in hundreds of tiny little globes,

I savour a tender green jewel of the earth

scattered in a white sea of tender smiles.

Risi e Bisi was one of the key dishes, among a menu of more sophisticated foods and fine wines, that used to be served at the Doge's banquet (Doge is the highest official of the republic of Venice for more than 1,000 years, from the 8th to the 18th century, and symbol of the sovereignty of the Venetian state) on April 25th to mark and celebrate Venice's patron Saint, St. Mark, the Evangelist, since he is the saint who evangelised the people of the Veneto.

This traditional dish served on a feast day also marked the period approaching Easter, the end of winter, and the arrival of Spring, which provided the very first peas in the new season, renowned for being small, sweet and tender.

This dish has been very popular and very much loved along the Slovenian coastline where it is known as Rizi e Bizi. This should come as no surprise since this area is bordering with Italy and was once dominated and ruled by the majestic La Serenissima (‘The most Serene Republic of Venice’) which left behind a significant “foodprint” in the region.

A pea and rice dish is a very family friendly meal and was cooked by my mother on a regular basis when the peas where in season and at their best. Shelling the peas was worth the effort since the final dish is divine in its simplicity and humbleness.

This recipe has remained one of the top favourites among family and friends. Try to make it and you will understand what the fuss is all about and why the Doge requested it every year at his palace...

This is not the dish I would normally cook in springtime as peas are a long way off in the UK where I currently live, but are widely available a bit later in the season. It is well worth waiting for them, and you will end up with unbeatable (late) summer or early autumn supper!

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 kg fresh young peas in their pods, shelled (can use 400g of frozen petits pois)

• 1.2 litres good vegetable, chicken or beef stock

• 4 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 small onion (about 100g), peeled and finely chopped

• 50-100g pancetta (salt-cured pork belly) or ham, cubed

• 250g risotto rice like Vialone Nano, Arborio or Carnaroli

• 40-50g Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, freshly finely grated

• small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves (about 15g), finely chopped and some extra for garnish

• a knob of butter, optional

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Before starting to make the risotto have your boiling hot stock ready to hand for later.

Pour the oil in a low-sided pan, add finely chopped onions and cubed pancetta.

Cook for a few minutes until the onions become soft and translucent and the pancetta begins to release its fat.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the peas and the chopped parsley, sauté for a few minutes, stirring constantly and making sure that the mixture does not start to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Season with black pepper and add roughly a glass of stock.

Cook the mixture over a fairly high heat so that the liquid evaporates quickly.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add more stock and the rice. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent sticking to the pan, until the first amount of liquid is absorbed.

Start gradually adding ladles of hot stock, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Cook on a medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is cooked and ready, and the mixture has a distinctly runny consistency.

Finish the dish with a typical Italian “mantecare phase” (when the rice is cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat, add a knob of butter (if using), and finely grated Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese. Stir quite vigorously with a wooden spoon to obtain a creamy consistency).

Taste and adjust the seasoning with black pepper (if using) and the sea salt, but the latter might not be necessary since the stocks from the stores, generally speaking, pancetta and the cheese contain salt already.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Serve immediately while still hot and distinctly runny in consistency.

Ladle onto the plates and sprinkle with some roughly chopped fresh parsley to garnish (optional).

Just a thought

A variation of this recipe, which further refines the dish, involves the use of the empty pea pods which get washed, placed in pan with a plenty of cold water and boiled for roughly an hour.

Then they get drained in a colander and the inside of the shells get scraped with the spoon obtaining the green paste which is added to the onion, pancetta, pea and parsley mixture.

I have not been familiar with this process and made aware that this is only done if the peas are organically produced.

Apparently, all the pesticides residues concentrate on the inside of the pea shell and the farmers are very keen on the use of the chemicals as peas are particularly susceptible to pests.

Wine suggestion

Soave Classico DOC "Vin Soave" 2022 - Inama

Classic Tomato, Cucumber, Pepper and Onion Summer Salad Istrian Recipe

This colourful cucumber, tomato, pepper and onion salad is very refreshing, and it is made during the summer when the vegetables are at their best and in abundance.

It is absolutely delicious, so easy to make, it hardly takes any effort.

It is traditionally served as a side dish to accompany grilled meats, but can be enjoyed as a main meal on a hot summer's day when you want to keep things easy.

To make it more substantial, I simply toast a piece bread, cut it into cubes and mix it into the salad (resembling a concept of Italian, Tuscan, Panzanella salad).

If you ever had a chance to travel along the Istrian coast or Dalmatia (in Croatia) and asked in the restaurant for a side salad, it is most likely that you were brought this one. It is an absolute classic during the summer season as the vegetables in this salad have a very high content of water and therefore the salad is very cooling.

This type of salad has been on the dinner tables of the locals – well, since forever, during the summer months almost on a daily basis.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4 (as a side salad)

• 1 yellow bell pepper (can use orange, red or green bell pepper)

• 1 medium-large cucumber

• 2-4 tomatoes (depending on the size, I used vine tomatoes each weighing roughly 170g) Make sure you use in season, ripe and juicy tomatoes (can use San Marzano tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beef tomatoes, grape tomatoes or a variety of your preference).

• red onion or salad onion (about 40g), sliced

• a few fresh basil leaves, torn, or dry oregano (optional)

  For the dressing

• extra virgin olive oil, generous drizzle

• red or white wine vinegar, a drizzle

• sea salt, to taste

• black pepper, to taste

Method

Peel and slice the cucumber into coins and place into a big salad bowl.

Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add to the bowl.

Slice the bell pepper and the onions and put into the bowl.

Mix gently all the vegetables.

Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, a drizzle of vinegar, season with sea salt and black pepper.

For extra dimension, in terms of flavour, sprinkle the salad with a bit of dried oregano or with a few freshly torn basil leaves.

Toss and serve.

Summer Risotto with Fresh Tomatoes Istrian Recipe

This light and fresh summer risotto is made with juicy and ripe tomatoes that are in season, and it is a great alternative to a very much loved and more common pasta with tomatoes sauce.

It is low in budget, healthy, incredibly easy and simple to make, an ideal solution for a midweek lunch or dinner, it can be served as first course or as a main paired with grilled or pan fried fish or meat.

During the whole of the summer season, and especially during the summer holidays, my mother would make this colourful risotto quite often, this is the time of the year when the the tomatoes are at their peak, the ripest and the sweetest, and they are in abundance.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for this humble and delicious summer tomato risotto served with freshly torn fragrant basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil, you will come back to this recipe time and time again.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 onion (about 100g), peeled and finely chopped

• 500g vine tomatoes or other variety of ripe and sweet tomatoes, washed and roughly chopped

• 300g risotto rice (like Vialone Nano, Arborio or Carnaroli)

• a few fresh basil leaves

• 1 litre of hot vegetable broth or stock (you can use instant vegetable stock powder)

• a bit of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

• sea salt

• ground black pepper

• a handful of Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, finely grated, optional

• a knob of butter, optional

Method

Before starting making risotto have your boiling hot vegetable stock ready to hand for later.

Put extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add finely chopped onions, a pinch of salt, and sauté for a few minutes on a gentle heat until cooked down and soft.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add roughly chopped tomatoes, a few basil leaves, put the lid on and cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. The tomatoes should be fully cooked and broken down.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the rice and toast it for a few minutes, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour or ladle a bit of hot vegetable stock and cook until the first amount of liquid is absorbed.

Start gradually adding ladles of hot stock, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more (you might not need all the stock).

There should be enough liquid just to cover the risotto, the Italians say that a risotto should be smooth and runny enough to be described as all'onda, on the wave.

Cook on a medium heat, siring almost constantly, until the rice is cooked al dente (meaning fully cooked but still a bit firm when bitten).

It should roughly take between 15-18 minutes for a risotto to be cooked.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with black pepper (if using) and sea salt, but this might not be necessary since the stocks from the stores generally speaking contain salt already.

Stir in finely chopped fresh leaf parsley.

For even creamier texture and a slightly richer flavour you can finish cooking the tomato risotto with a typical Italian mantecare phase (as soon as the risotto is cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat, add grated cheese and a knob of cold butter to the risotto, and stir with a wooden spoon quite vigorously).

Serve immediately while the risotto is still hot and a bit runny in consistency.

Ladle the risotto onto the plates and sprinkle with some roughly chopped fresh parsley and a few basil leaves for garnish and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Wine suggestion

Alto Adige Valle Isarco Müller Thurgau DOC "Sass Rigais" 2021 - Manni Nössing

Austrian Style (no mayo) Potato Salad Recipe

This recipe for Austrian style potato salad uses sliced boiled potatoes and a simple dressing made with olive oil and vinegar and no use of mayonnaise, which makes it very light and fresh.

It can be enjoyed as a main dish and it is most commonly pared with a famous Wiener schnitzel and breaded fillets of fish.

Great dish to add into your picnic baskets and great side dish to barbecued meat, fish and vegetables, and a great addition to any selection on a buffet table.

This potato salad is best made ahead allowing the potatoes to soak and absorb the light vinaigrette, this makes it very juicy and succulent.

The beauty of this salad is that it can be enjoyed and eaten warm, at a room temperature or chilled in the fridge (perfect for hot summer days).

In Slovenia, up and down the country this is a dish (Krompirjeva Solata) that is prepared in the households and canteen on a regular basis and sometimes found in local family run restaurants.

I am sharing here the recipe for this humble and very tasty potato salad that has been prepared and enjoyed for generations in my family.

To this basic potato salad you can add hard boiled eggs and other types of raw vegetables, this is not however the way it is traditionally eaten.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g waxy potatoes (like new or baby potatoes, Jersey Royal, Charlotte and similar, they have smooth and dense flesh that holds its shape when cooked; for this recipe I used miniature potatoes)

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 50ml white wine vinegar (can use cider vinegar)

• onion (about 30g or to taste), peeled and finely chopped, optional

• fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly or finely to your preference

• 100ml cold water

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Wash the potatoes, place them into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil, cover with a lid and simmer until the potatoes are fully cooked and tender (for small, baby potatoes it should take between 8-12 minutes).

Alternatively, you can cook the potatoes with your preferred method like steaming or microwaving.

Drain well and peel the potatoes when still warm (as soon as you can handle them).

Slice them and transfer into a serving salad dish.

Pour over cold water and let the potatoes cool completely (pouring cold water over warm potatoes stops the potatoes absorb too much dressing, therefore the potato salad stays nice and moist).

View fullsize

View fullsize

While the potatoes are cooling, prepare the dressing.

In a small bowl pour olive oil, vinegar, sea salt, black pepper and whisk well. Add finely chopped onions.

Pour the dressing over sliced potatoes and mix very gently so the potatoes do not break completely (some will break, and this is normal).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Taste and adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

Sautéed Leeks Istrian Recipe

This dish is simple and rustic, and is made with humble leeks, a vegetable that is very often overlooked, but in this recipe they proudly take central stage, and take no time or trouble to cook.

Raw leeks are almost inedible but when cooked they become sweet, mellow, and taste delicious on i their own as a side dish or used as a base for risotti or soups. Sautéed leeks are also fantastic as a filling, together with some cheese, for a grilled sandwich.

Leeks are omnipresent at vegetable markets but they are at their best during the coldest months of the year, October through May, and better yet, they are packed with nutrients and antioxidants.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for this incredibly easy way of cooking the leeks. This vegetable side dish would be on our dinner table quite often during colder month when perhaps the range of vegetables on offer to buy was slightly more limited compared to the variety you can find during warmer months of spring and summer.

Try to make it, you might start reaching out for this humble and inexpensive vegetable a bit more often, if you are not doing that already...

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a side dish

• 900g - 1kg leeks, cleaned and chopped or sliced

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tbsp butter

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Rinse the leeks under cold running water and pat dry with a paper or clean kitchen towel.

Place the leeks on a chopping board and with a sharp knife cut off the dark green leaf ends of the leek and the muddy tip of the roots (keep the green ends for the stock if you wish or discard).

Cut each leek in half from top to bottom and slice further into thin stripes.

Place sliced leeks into a colander and wash thoroughly under the cold running water. Leeks need a good cleaning before using, as dirt often gets stuck between the layers of leaves as they grow.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Put the butter and the oil in a frying pan, heat it up a bit and allowing the butter to melt.

Transfer the leeks into a pan, add sea salt and black pepper .

Cook on a medium heat, stirring now and again, for about 10-15 minutes, or until the leeks are cooked to a desired consistency (some prefer them very soft and others quite crunchy with a bite).

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.

Peas with Ham Istrian Recipe

This mouthwatering recipe for peas with ham is easy, uncomplicated and super fast to prepare, as it can be made in no time at all, with fresh or frozen peas.

With this Italian style dish, referred as Piselli con prosciutto cotto, you might win over the most reluctant vegetable eaters.

It can be served as a side dish or as a main with boiled, oven roasted or mashed potatoes, fried or hard boiled eggs, a salad, or simply with plenty of fresh, crunchy rustic bread.

My mother used to make peas with ham very often when I was little, as this vegetable dish is particularly appetizing for small children because of the “sweetness” of the peas and cooked ham.

I am sharing here her recipe with which you can delight all generations around the dinner table with this fresh and very pleasant dish.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 shallots or onions (about 75g), peeled and finely chopped

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 500g fresh or frozen petits pois, defrosted (can use garden peas)

• 150g thick slice of cooked or roasted ham, diced

• 200ml vegetable, chicken stock or water

• handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 7g), finely chopped

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Place the oil in a frying or sauce pan, add the onion, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.

Cook for a few minutes on a gentle heat until soft and translucent.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the peas, stock or water, and cubed ham.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes until the peas are tender and almost all of the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in fresh chopped parsley, adjust the seasoning, and serve hot immediately.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Just a thought

For this dish you can use pancetta, bacon or lardons instead of cooked or roasted ham, in which case you sauté the meaty element together with the onions first and then follow the other steps of the recipe.

Sliced Fennel and Rocket Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon Dressing Istrian Recipe

This simple and fresh salad makes a full-flavoured side dish and will sit nicely along side any main course. It is quick and easy to make, all you need is a few fennel bulbs, rocket leaves and uncomplicated olive oil and lemon dressing. It can also be enjoyed as a main salad if you are looking for a nutritious and light meal recipe.

Raw fennel can be quite fibrous, but when sliced very thinly and mixed with some salad leaves it really makes a wonderful salad.

Wild rocket has been used as a culinary herb since Roman times, and this peppery leaves was a little known weed.

Fennel and wild rocket salad has been popular along the coast of Slovenian Istria, where I come from, long before wild rocket became “fashionable” and mass produced for the supermarkets and food stores.

Along the Slovenian coast and inland Istria wild rocket grows naturally on the fields and other areas with dry and poor soil (close to typical Istrian dry stone walls), and has been foraged by the locals since – well, since forever, and they mixed wild rocket leaves with other types of salad leaves to make a variety of different salads. My 96 year old nona remembers very vividly picking it.

View fullsize

View fullsize

I am sharing here this traditional and unpretentious shaved fennel and rocket leaves salad recipe that will bring freshness to your dinner table, and for extra flavour and a bit of crunchy texture you can top this salad with walnut kernels or lightly toasted pine nuts.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 2 fennel bulbs

• pack of rocket leaves (about 60-100g)

• juice of ½ of lemon, or to taste

• extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle, or to taste

• sea salt

• a handful of walnut kernels, optional

Method

Wash fennel bulbs under cold running water and dry them with kitchen paper or kitchen towel.

Place the bulbs on the chopping board and cut off the hard hollow stalks from the bulb which are quite tough and very fibrous.

Cut the feathery fronds from the stalks if you are using them for this dish for adding extra flavour and garnish.

Trim off a thin layer of the root end of the bulb (the base of the fennel bulb).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Thinly slice the bulb using a sharp knife or ideally mandoline slicer, if you have one.

Transfer the fennel slices into a big salad bowl and add rocket leaves.

Season with sea salt, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Toss together, taste, and adjust the seasoning.

Sprinkle and scatter a few walnut kernels and fennel fronds, if using.

Serve immediately directly from a salad bowl or pile onto plates.

Sautéed Mushrooms with onions, garlic and fresh parsley Istrian Recipe

Sautéed mushrooms in olive oil with onions, garlic and fresh parsley is super delicious in its simplicity, it is vegetarian and vegan friendly, and one of the most versatile dishes.

The Slovenian coast, where I come from, this is the most traditional way of eating sautéed mushrooms. It can be served on a bed of soft cooked or grilled polenta or with scrambled eggs and some rustic crunchy bread to go with it.

This nourishing delicacy with its intense flavour is a fantastic side dish alongside roasted chicken, pan fried chicken breast, steaks or other grilled meats.

Mushrooms, in terms of flavour and texture, are a great substitute and alternative to a meat dish and therefore make a very satisfying main course served with mashed potatoes or cooked rice, on toasted bread or bruschetta, as topping on a pizza, as a base for a risotto, a soup, a stew, or a sauce, used in a sandwich, and is a great topping for a canapé.

This dish would be traditionally cooked with wild mushrooms picked by the locals in the late summer and in early autumn in the fields and in the shadows of the dense woods and forests.

Most commonly picked mushrooms would be porcini, chanterelles and parasols, the latter being a real treat when coated in breadcrumbs and shallow fried. Wild mushrooms would also be preserved in olive oil, dried and frozen to be enjoyed during the months when they are no longer in season and impossible to forage.

Slovenians are a very keen and passionate mushroom hunters and local authorities impose increasingly strict limitations about the quantity of the mushrooms allowed to be foraged.  

I carry with me very fond  childhood memories of long walks with my maternal grandparents, close relatives, or family friends, and returning home with a wicker basket full of wild mushrooms. It was rather magical, despite the fact, that as a small girl, I never quite managed to encounter in the woods any wizards, elves, or dwarfs featured in many European folk tales for the children.

I am sharing here this simple but super tasty recipe that you can make with wild or store bought mushrooms.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 800-900g mixed mushrooms of your choice (I used a combination of chestnut mushrooms, baby button mushrooms, Oyster, Shiitake, King Oyster and Portobello mushrooms), cleaned and sliced

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• onion (about 90g), peeled and finely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

• fresh flat leaf parsley (about a handful),  finely chopped

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Put olive oil in a fairly large shallow cast iron dish or frying pan, add finely chopped onions, crushed garlic, a pinch of sea salt and cook for a few minutes on a gentle heat until the onions become soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add sliced mushrooms and stir in with the onions and garlic. Add sea salt and black pepper.

Cook the mushrooms on a medium heat, for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, or until all the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms are fully cooked, but still firm (al dente).

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Turn the heat off and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley.

Serve hot or at room temperature on a bed of soft cooked or grilled polenta, mashed potatoes, on a toasted bread or bruschetta, as topping on a pizza, as a base for a risotto, a soup or a sauce, and excellent with scrambled eggs and some rustic crunchy bread. 

Just a thought

Keep sautéed mushrooms in an airtight container in the fridge for no longer than 2-3 days.

This dish is not suitable for freezing.

Djuvec Rice with Bell Peppers and Tomatoes Istrian Recipe

Djuvec (frequently spelled Ðuveč and pronounced Joo-vetch) is a one pot rice dish, and a bit of a hidden gem in the gastronomic world.  It is very commonly found in South-Eastern Europe in countries like Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and other Balkan countries, and  perhaps it is not very well known to the rest of the world. 

This vegetarian and vegan friendly dish is one of my absolute favourites, it is incredibly simple and quick to make, healthy, and is really delicious. It is also a very practical dish. It can be prepared ahead of time, and it makes a fantastic addition to more familiar picnic foods and buffets at parties. 

Djuvec is always a big hit with friends and family at the barbecue gatherings, as it is  traditionally served at a room temperature as a side dish, and makes a great paring to pan fried or grilled vegetables, fish or  different type of meats like Ćevapčići (small pieces of rolled grilled mince meat) and Ražnjići (grilled pork meat on skewers). 

It can also be served hot or warm as a main mail, maybe with a side salad, as an alternative to a tasty, and perhaps,  more frequently cooked, well known and much loved a classic Italian risotto. 

It is often made during the summer, end of summer and early autumn with main ingredients being onions, red, orange or yellow bell peppers and tomatoes, and often peas, ajvar (sweet roasted red pepper spread) and powdered paprika is added to a basic recipe to create a very common variations of this dish. 

I am sharing here my mum's super delicious one pot pepper and tomato rice dish that she used to make time and time again, just try it, I promise you, you will came back to this “off the beaten track recipe” that my family and my friends simply adore, and cannot get enough of it. 

Recipe

Ingredients 

Serves 4-6 

• 3 Tbsp virgin olive oil or olive oil 

• 1-2 onions (about 250g), peeled and finely chopped 

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed 

• 2 red bell peppers (about 400g), wash, dry, remove the seeds and white filaments and cut into small cubes (for this recipe you can also use yellow or orange bell peppers or a combination) 

• few vine tomatoes or other types of ripe and sweet tomatoes (about 300g) washed, quartered and roughly chopped 

• 1 Tbsp tomato paste 

• 300g long grain rice 

• 600ml vegetable stock or instant vegetable stock powder 

• sea salt 

• black pepper 

• fresh flat leaf parsley for serving, roughly chopped, optional 

Method 

Place olive oil in a fairly large shallow cast iron casserole dish or frying pan, add finely chopped onions, crushed garlic, a generous pinch of sea salt and  cook for about 10 minutes on a gentle heat until the onions become soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add small cubes of bell peppers and stir in with the onions and garlic, cook further for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Transfer roughly chopped tomatoes to the pan, add tomato paste, mix and cook for 10 minutes or so  or until the tomatoes are soft and cooked down, stirring occasionally. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the rice to the pan, stir with the onion, pepper and tomato mixture 

Toast the rice for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour vegetable stock in the pan and bring to boil. 

Turn the heat down to a minimum, put the lid on and cook for about 20 minutes without stirring. 

Halfway through cooking time, very gently move about the rice with the fork. 

Serve hot or at room temperature. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Sprinkle some roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, optional.

Just a thought 

This dish is not suitable for freezing and will keep in an airtight container in a fridge for a few days. 

Wine suggestion

Alto Adige Valle Isarco Kerner DOC 2021 - Pacher Hof

Sautéed Aubergines with garlic and parsley Istrian Recipe

This simple and rustic aubergine side dish is light and full of flavour. It can also be enjoyed in less traditional way, spread on bruschetta, toasted bread, as a topping on a pizza, and it can be mixed with rice, or used as a base for a pasta sauce. 

Sautéed aubergines in garlic and parsley infused oil is an unpretentious dish, very easy to make and typically prepared in the households along the Slovenian coast, where my nona lives. She told me that her family had a lovely vegetable garden where aubergines grew during the summer months and early autumn. The best ones were picked and sold on the market, just across the Italian border, in Trieste, where they fetched good money. Only the wonky and imperfect ones, but most certainly not less tasty, were left behind for domestic use. They were cooked in delicious home-made extra virgin olive oil flavoured with garlic and fresh parsley and accompanied by potatoes or polenta. 

This is not the dish that you would normally find in restaurants, with the glimpse of sadness in my nona's eyes, and a slight sense of embarrassment, she explained to me that this dish is “too simple” and  is part of what  “the modern world” defines as “the food of the poor” (more widely known as the Italian concept of Cucina Povera). However, it is slightly intriguing, since without her realizing it, this is precisely one of the kinds of dishes that are becoming increasingly popular and appreciated by many people. 

What is interesting about this dish is that visually cooked aubergines resemble more closely mushrooms than aubergines. This is why Italians call a very similar and typical aubergine side dish from the Campania region in southern Italy, Melanzane a Funghetto (Mushroom-style aubergines ). 

I am sharing here my nona's recipe for this delicious and humble sautéed aubergines with garlic and  fresh parsley. 

Ingredients 

Serves 4 

• 1 kg aubergines 

• 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled 

• handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 13g) plus some extra for garnishing,  finely chopped 

• sea salt 

• black pepper, optional 

Method 

Wash the aubergines and dry them, remove the stem. 

Cut each aubergine into quarters lengthwise and check for the amount of seeds. If there is a considerable amount of seeds, eliminate and remove the central part containing the higher concentration of the seeds.   

Cut the rest of the aubergine into a fairly small and thin regular-sized chunks. 

Transfer the aubergine pieces into a colander, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and place it over a bowl or into the sink so the bitter juices can drain away (avoiding the aubergines to taste bitter) during a sweating process (about 30 minutes).  This phase will help to loose the liquid avoiding the aubergines tasting bitter.   Squeeze very gently. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour the oil in a fairly large frying pan and sauté a whole garlic until golden in colour . 

Stir in chopped parsley and add aubergine pieces. 

Mix well so all the aubergine chunks are coated in oil and parsley. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Simmer in an open pan, on a fairly gentle heat, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking at the bottom of the pan and burn, or until they release most of their liquid and the skin starts to have the same kind of texture as mushrooms. The aubergine pieces should be nice and  soft but not mushy. 

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper. 

Fish out and remove garlic clove, discard. 

Sprinkle with a bit of roughly chopped fresh parsley. 

Serve hot, warm or at a room temperature. 

Just a thought

Aubergines cooked this way are mainly served as a side dish but they can also be enjoyed in less traditional way, spread on bruschetta, toasted bread, canapes, as a topping on a pizza, and they can be mixed with rice, or used as a base for a pasta sauce. 

Wine suggestion

Collio Friulano DOC 2021 - Ronchi di Cialla

Courgette risotto Istrian Recipe

Courgette risotto is a perfect choice if you want to make a light and elegant dish, but one that is delicate in taste and yet filling. Summer risotto is incredibly easy to make, and during the summer months, when courgettes are in full season and in abundance, choosing this delicious vegetable to cook with seems almost an obvious choice.

This is not a risotto you will find in the restaurant menus on the Slovenian coast, it is cooked in the households that almost always keep a slab of pancetta in the fridge, and whenever possible grow courgettes. This recipe, since Istria is geographically so close to Veneto region in Italy, where there are a great variety of risotti recipes, it should be no surprise that courgette risotto has been created, and cooked on a regular basis and enjoyed by generations.

This risotto will cover all occasions, it is a perfect rustic and informal choice for a mid week lunch or dinner, but has nothing to dread if it is served in a more formal setting.

I am sharing here my mother's summer courgette risotto, most of the time made with freshly picked courgette that my paternal grandfather used to grow in his vegetable patch.

If you happen to grow your own courgettes and have courgettes flowers as well, and not quite sure what to do with them, use them in the risotto, just chop them roughly and cook together with sliced courgettes.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300g risotto rice (like Vialone Nano, Arborio or Carnaroli)

• courgettes 430g roughly, sliced

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, 80g roughly

• 50g pancetta, finely sliced (can use cubed pancetta, sliced bacon, lardons or pork sausage meat), optional for a vegetarian variation

• small clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 1 litre of hot chicken broth or stock (can use vegetable broth or stock)

• sea salt

• fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped, optional (for garnish)

• generous knob of butter, optional

• a handful of Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated, optional

Method

Before starting to make the risotto have your boiling hot chicken or vegetable broth or stock ready to hand for later.

Wash the courgettes and pat dry them with kitchen paper or clean kitchen towel.

Trim off the ends of the courgettes and slice or cut into smaller pieces (if the courgette is big, cut in half first, then slice lengthways into quarters, then chop into smaller chunks)

View fullsize

View fullsize

Put olive oil in a pan, add finely chopped onions, pancetta, crushed garlic, a pinch of salt and cook on a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions become soft and translucent.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add courgette pieces and cook for a few minutes until they soften a bit.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the risotto rice and toast for a bit , stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the pan.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour or ladle ½ litre (500ml) of hot chicken or vegetable broth or stock.

Cook until the first amount of liquid is absorbed then start gradually adding ladles of hot stock, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more.

There should always be enough liquid just to cover the risotto.

Cook on a medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is cooked al dente, meaning fully cooked but still a bit firm when bitten, it should roughly take between 15 -18 minutes for a risotto to be cooked.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt, but this might not be necessary since the stocks that come from the store generally speaking are salty already!

For even creamier texture, you can finish cooking the courgette risotto with a typical Italian mantecare phase. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add grated cheese and a bit of cold butter to the risotto when it is almost finished, and stir with a wooden spoon quite vigorously in order to develop its delicious creamy texture. This phase is optional.

Sprinkle with some roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and finely grated Parmiggiano Reggiano Cheese (only if you have not used it already in the mantecare phase) and serve immediately while the risotto is still hot.

Just a thought

Courgette risotto can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container.

It can be enjoyed at room temperature as well and is not suitable for freezing.

You can freeze the onion, courgettes and pancetta base and defrost when deciding to make a risotto.

With a leftover courgette risotto you can make some arancini (staple Sicilian stuffed rice ball, coated in breadcrumbs and fried)

Wine suggestion

Roero Arneis DOCG 2021 - Malvirà

Peperonata Istrian style Recipe

This quintessentially summer dish gets devoured and seems to be a real hit every single time, it is a very “practical” dish, as it usually prepared in advance, and takes central stage on the tables of the locals back home on the Slovenian coast, where during the summer months the heat can be terrible but it is also during this time of the year that the ingredients for this dish are most abundant and taste their best.

Peperonata is cooked by the locals during the fresh, cooler, hours of the day, usually early in the morning or in the evening when it cools down a bit (there is a different rhythm of life, a different way of doing things, when you live in a climate that can regularly be very hot).

Moreover, better cooking follows this different, summer, rhythm of daily activities, since the following day the dish tastes even better as all the ingredients have a chance to mingle together!

Peperonata is so delicious you can just eat it on its own with some fresh crunchy or toasted bread, it is great paired with grilled meats and fish, cheeses, cold meats, cooked rice, makes a great base for a risotto or a pasta dish and incredibly tasty spread on bruschetta.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for Istrian style peperonata, which is different from the Venetian variety where a little white wine is added to the dish.

When I cook this dish, I get immediately transported back home, to the sound of cicadas, to the fragrance of salty air, and to the childhood memories of long summers that never seemed to end...

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 5 Tbsp olive olive

• onions (about 300g) peeled and finely sliced

• 400g aubergines, diced

• 500g yellow or green bell peppers, washed, deseeded and sliced into strips or cut into chunks)

• 300g tomatoes (juicy, ripe and sweet) roughly chopped

• sea salt

• few fresh basil leaves, optional

• fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped for garnish, optional

Method

Place the oil in a fairly large pan, add sliced onions, crushed garlic, a generous pinch of sea salt and cook the onions on a gentle heat (for about 10 minutes) or until soft and translucent stirring now and again (do not rush this process as the slowly caramelized onions will add a final taste of the dish).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add cubed aubergines and cook gently for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked down and soft, stirring occasionally, making sure they do not catch to the bottom of the pan.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Transfer sliced bell peppers to the pan and cook together with the onions and aubergines for about 10-15 minutes or until softened a bit and cooked down, stirring now and again (if onion, aubergine and pepper mixture starts to catch at the bottom of the pan add a splash of water).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add chopped tomatoes, a few fresh basil leaves, a splash of water and cover with the lid.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Simmer on a very gentle heat for about 40minutes, checking and stirring now and again making sure it does not stick to the bottom.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt.

Let it cool, sprinkle with some roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and some basil leaves (optional) and serve tepid, at room temperature or cold.

Just a thought

Peperonata will keep very well in a fridge in an airtight container for a few days and is suitable for freezing especially if you make a large quantity, and want to eat it again in the near future; or, indeed, you want to bring back summer memories in the middle of winter.

The traditional way of preparing this dish does not call for chill, however, if you wish to add a bit of a kick to this dish it is perfectly fine to do so during the cooking process.

You can also add courgettes, some olives and capers to taste as a variation of this dish.

Wine suggestion

Calabria Rosato IGT "Terre Lontane" 2021 - Librandi

Crispy Breaded Courgettes Istrian Recipe

Crispy breaded courgettes is one of the most most loved dishes and a total crowd pleaser. It consists of slicing the courgettes, dredging them into a flour, then dipping them into whisked eggs, coating them with breadcrumbs and quickly shallow fried them until golden and crispy, which makes them utterly delicious, irresistible and scrumptious, you just cannot stop eating them! This dish will become an instant hit and breaded courgettes will disappear from the serving plate in no time!

Try to prepare courgettes this way when they are in full season and abundant, I can almost guarantee you, that the most reluctant courgette eaters will be converted in eating this summertime vegetable with delight.

This dish is also fun to make, and if you have children, try to involve them in the breading process, they will absolutely love it, but make sure they are as far away as possible, in a nicest way, during frying.

Breaded courgettes are ideally eaten hot as soon as they are fried with some mashed potatoes, a seasonal salad, but also incredibly delicious at the room temperature and offered as a part of a buffet, great used as a filler in a sandwich (add a bit of fresh rocket salad and spread a slice of bread with a bit of mayonnaise, basil or vegetarian pesto, and you will have a sandwich that is to die for).

This dish can be made ahead and stored which makes it an ideal picnic food, you bring this dish with you on a picnic, and you will stand out from the crowd and have no chance to bringing back home any leftovers...

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for crispy breaded courgettes, one of whole family's absolute favourite plates of food.

I simply adored this dish as a child, and nothing much has really changed since...

Ingredients

Serves 4

• fresh courgettes, medium size (approximately 700-800g)

• 2-3 eggs (the number of the eggs needed depends on their size and on the quantity of the courgettes you are using)

• dry breadcrumbs

• plain flour

• sea salt

• black pepper, optional

• oil for frying

Method

Wash the courgettes under cold running water and dry them with the kitchen paper or a clean kitchen towel.

Place the courgettes on a chopping board and cut off the ends.

With the knife or a mandolin slicer, slice the courgettes into a 4-5mm thick slices (if the courgettes are big, and you find them difficult to slice vertically, cut each courgette in half first, and then slice).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Prepare three dishes for flour, eggs and breadcrumbs.

Put the flour in a wide shallow bowl, dish or on a plate (I just use a piece of baking paper, fold it when I finish, and use it the next time)

Put the eggs in another shallow bowl or dish (big enough to accommodate one or two slices of courgettes at the same time) whisk lightly and season with sea salt and black pepper, if using. I suggest you use two eggs to start with, and crack another one, if two are not enough.

Put the breadcrumbs in a third shallow bowl, dish or plate.

Start the breading process.

Dredge each slice of courgettes into flour making sure everything is coated and gently shake off the excess.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Dip the floured slice of the courgette into a whisked egg, turn to coat, make sure all the sides are covered in egg, and let drip off excessive egg.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Coat in breadcrumbs and press a bit so the breadcrumbs adhere well and shake off gently the excess.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Repeat the process until you have used all the courgette slices.

Breaded courgettes can be shallow fried or baked in the oven.

Frying method

Pour oil into a large frying pan, about 1cm, and heat it over a medium heat (how much oil you need will depend on how big your frying pan is)

Once oil is hot, add breaded courgette slices, a few at time without overcrowding the pan (this will bring the oil temperature down)

Fry for about one minute on each side or until the breadcrumbs turn golden-brown in colour.

Transfer fried courgettes onto a dish lined with kitchen paper to allow excess oil to be absorbed.

If the slices are lined in layers, make sure you put a kitchen paper between every layer.

Baked in the oven method

Line large baking tray with a non stick baking parchment and place sliced bread courgettes on a tray, one next to each other, spray or drizzle with olive oil and bake in a preheat oven at 200 C static or equivalent for about 20 minutes or until golden-brown in colour.

Just a thought

I have shared here the basic recipe for crispy breaded courgettes, but if you wish to add additional flavour to the dish, you can add some fresh finely chopped flat leaf parsley in whisked egg and some grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese in breadcrumbs.

You can store crispy breaded courgettes in an airtight container in the fridge for about two days.

This dish is not suitable for freezing.

If you wish to prepare this courgette dish in advance, it is a good idea to store the uncooked and not fried breaded slices of courgettes in an airtight container in the fridge, and just before frying, “refresh” the breadcrumbs coating by covering the slices in breadcrumbs once again, this will give you a crunchy coating.

A vary tasty variation of this dish is using mushrooms or aubergines instead of courgettes.

Wine suggestion

Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Brut - Nino Franco

Risotto Primavera Venetian inspired Recipe

This classic spring vegetable risotto, using any seasonal spring vegetables, must be one of the most loved and popular dishes for all generations. This risotto is rustic, simple, and filling, and represents a genuine plate of food that puts a smile on anyone's face with the array of colours on the plate offered by the vegetables.

It can be enjoyed as a first course meal, which is traditionally what it is in Italy, or as a main course with a nice salad on the side.

This vegetarian risotto really celebrates the new season of vegetables, it is light but full of freshness and flavour and it is very satisfying. You can vary the recipe using different vegetables and combinations according to what is in season, just mix and match the vegetables that are your top favourites, add a handful of fresh roughly chopped baby spinach or broad beans a few radishes for example.

My mother has made this risotto time and time again, it was a regular mid week meal, we knew we had risotto primavera but it would be slightly different every single time depending on the variety of vegetables she would find available in the season from the market or from my paternal grandfather's vegetable patch. 

Ingredients 

Serves 4 

• 300g risotto rice (like Vialone Nano, Arborio or Carnaroli) 

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

• 1 celery stick (about 30g), finely chopped 

• 1 medium courgette (about 113g), sliced or diced 

• 1 medium carrot (about 90g), peeled and sliced or diced 

• 1 medium onion (about 100g), peeled and finely chopped 

• green asparagus (about 100g), wash, trim off the wooden ends and finely slice the stalks leaving the tips whole 

• green beans (about 50g), sliced 

• fresh peas in pods (about 300g), remove the peas from the pods (can use frozen petits pois, about a handful) 

• 1 tomato (about 170g), roughly chopped 

• sea salt 

• fresh flat leaf parsley (about 4g), finely chopped 

• 1 litre hot vegetable or chicken broth or stock (you can use instant vegetable or chicken stock powder) or hot water 

• Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, finely grated for serving, optional 

Method 

Before starting making risotto have your boiling hot vegetable or chicken stock (or just hot water) ready to hand for later. 

Put extra virgin olive oil in a pan,  add finely chopped onions, carrots and celery and sauté for a few minutes on a gentle heat until cooked down and soft. 

Add all the other vegetables (except asparagus tips, if using).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the parsley, and cook on a gentle heat for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. 

Add the rice and toast it for a few minutes, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom of a pan. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour or ladle ½ litre (500ml) of hot vegetable or chicken stock, or hot water. 

Cook until the first amount of liquid is absorbed then start gradually adding ladles of hot stock, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more. 

Cook on a medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is cooked al dente, meaning fully cooked but still a bit firm when bitten, it should roughly take between 15-18 minutes for a risotto to be cooked. 

Add the tips of the asparagus, if using, a few minutes before the end of cooking time. 

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt, but this might not be necessary since the stocks from the stores generally speaking contain salt already. 

Serve immediately while the risotto is still hot and a bit runny in consistency. 

Ladle the risotto onto the plates, sprinkle with freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese and garnish with some roughly chopped fresh parsley. 

Just a thought 

For even creamier texture, you can finish cooking the asparagus risotto with a typical Italian mantecare phase. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add grated cheese and a bit of cold butter or cream to the risotto when is almost finished and stir with a wooden spoon quite vigorously in order to develop that delicious creamy texture.

Wine suggestion

Cooked fennel salad with lemon and olive oil dressing Istrian Recipe

Cooked fennel salad is a great choice when you want to complete a meal with a simple salad, all you need is a few humble fresh fennel bulbs and an uncomplicated olive oil and lemon dressing which will get soaked up with some crunchy bread.

This fennel salad is rustic and informal, very healthy and nutritious and a great companion to grilled meats and fish, very fresh and incredibly easy to prepare, can be done in advance, stored in a fridge and served cold on a hot summer day.

Along the Slovenian coast, where I grew up, the area is blessed with Mediterranean climate, which subsequently means that there is an abundance of fennel, a very much loved vegetable by the locals, it is traditionally eaten raw or cooked in salads, or braised, which does go down a treat. Wild fennel is also abundant and grows just about anywhere it can, the fronds are used in the local cuisine instead of flat leaf parsley or in combination with.

I am sharing here this traditional and unpretentious cooked fennel salad that it has been made in my family, and by the locals, well, since forever.

If you go so the food store, see some lovely fennel bulbs, and not quite sure what to do with them, you can start with this recipe...

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as part of meal

• few fresh fennel bulbs, approximately 900g (smaller bulbs are better for this dish)

• extra virgin olive oil, a very generous drizzle

• 1 lemon (juice of ½ or whole lemon, depending on a taste)

• fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly or finely chopped (amount to taste)

• sea salt

• black pepper, optional

• fennel fronds, optional

Method

Wash fennel bulbs under cold running water and dry them with kitchen paper or clean kitchen towel.

Place the bulbs on the chopping board and cut off the hard hollow stalks from the bulb which are quite tough and very fibrous. Cut the feathery fronds from the stalks if you are using them for this dish for adding extra flavour and garnish.

Discard the stalks or use them in other recipes for soups and stews, you can use them as a bed for roasted chicken or other meats, and roasted fish.

Trim off a thin layer of the root end of the bulb (the base of the fennel bulb).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Stand your fennel straight up and slice in half.

Check how big the core is, if it is quite big, it is a good idea to remove it for this recipe, as they are very fibrous. The cooking time for this recipe is fairly short, and the core, if not removed, could stay quite hard.

View fullsize

View fullsize

To remove the core, take a knife at a 45 degree angle on both sides of the core and slice in, the core will pop out easily.

Place the fennel in a pot, add boiling water, about ¾ up, alternatively you can steam the fennel.

Put the lid on and gently simmer for about 15 minutes, cooking time will depend on the size of the fennel pieces and the desired consistency.

Adjust cooking time, depending on whether you want the fennel quite soft, or prefer it with still quite a bit of a bite.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Drain in a colander, run under cold water, leave to drain well and cool a bit.

Slice cooked fennel to your liking.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Transfer sliced fennel onto a serving plate.

Season with sea salt and black pepper, if using.

Dress cooked fennel with very generous extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh flat leaf parsley an fennel fronds, if using.

Serve at room temperature or cold, place the serving plate in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves, and make sure you have some crunchy bread to soak up all those juices.

Just a thought

For extra flavour, sprinkle dressed fennel salad with dried garlic, not a very traditional way of serving, but a nice addition or a variation of the recipe.

Šataraš - Bell peppers, onions and tomato Balkan inspired stew with scrambled eggs Recipe

Šataraš (pronounced Satarash) is a stew like dish made with fresh bell peppers, ripe sweet tomatoes, onions, and scrambled eggs, it is similar to Shakshuka which has a sunny-side up eggs and makes a perfect main meal choice in the summer when the vegetables used for the dish are in full season. This dish is very well known in the Balkan regions but not so much to the rest of the world.

Eating šataraš just make you happy, and it feels like having a sunshine on a plate, as the addition of the eggs makes this dish colourful, extra flavourful and filling, it is also healthy and fresh.

This is one of my absolute favourite childhood dishes and if you like bell peppers this recipe is one of those you will come back to it time and time again as the recipe is very easy to make and the base can be cooked well in advance.

This dish is normally homemade and not found in the restaurants, it is typically served for lunch or dinner but it is also a great choice for breakfast or brunch.

Šataraš travelled from the neighbouring Balkans and stayed in Slovenian Istra, where it has been a very welcomed guest and has been enjoyed by the generations of locals in the area where gastronomy has been strongly shaped and enriched by the Balkan culinary traditions as well as Venetian and Austro-Hungarian.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for šataraš with which she has delighted us during long hot summer months. If you do try it, then I think you will soon realize how delicious this dish truly is in its humble simplicity.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 bell peppers, a combination of yellow and green (each bell pepper weighing about 200g), wash, dry, remove the seeds and white filaments, and cut into strips (you can use more or less peppers according to your preference)

• 4 vine tomatoes (each weighing about 150g) or other types of sweet and ripe tomatoes, washed and roughly chopped (use more or less tomatoes according your liking)

• 1 onion (about 170g), peeled and finely sliced

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 4 eggs

• sea salt

• black pepper

• fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped, for serving, optional

Method

Place extra virgin olive oil in a fairly large frying pan, add sliced onions, a pinch of sea salt and cook for about 10 minutes on a gentle heat until the onions become soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add strips of bell peppers and stir in with the onions. Cover with the lid (the steam will help to cook down and soften the peppers) and cook on a gentle heat for up to about 30 minutes.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add chopped tomatoes, cover with the lid, and cook on a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20-30 minutes, or until tomatoes are cooked down and soft.

If the mixture has too much liquid (this will depend on how watery the tomatoes you are using are) take the lid off and cook further for a few minutes or until all of the liquid evaporates.

View fullsize

View fullsize

In a small bowl crack the eggs, slightly whisk, add sea salt and pepper.

Pour the egg mixture over the pepper stew, mix and stir and cook until desired consistency.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh parsley, optional, and serve immediately with plenty of rustic crunchy bread.

Just a thought

This dish is best served hot, equally delicious at room temperature.

You can prepare pepper, onion and tomato stew well in advance, keep it in a fridge in an airtight container for about 3 days, and pour the whisked eggs on a pepper base just before you want to complete the dish and ready to serve it.

The pepper stew (without the egg) is also great served with grilled and barbecued meats, a great base for a risotto or a pasta dish, and it can also be enjoyed with polenta or an egg frittata.

Pepper, onion and tomato base is suitable for freezing.

Wine suggestion

Salento Negroamaro Rosato IGT “Calafuria” 2021 - Tormaresca

Green asparagus with pancetta and scrambled eggs Istrian Recipe

This extraordinarily simple and humble dish is really easy to make and truly sublime. It consists of cooking down the asparagus with some crunchy pancetta and then adding whisked eggs and cooking them to a creamy and smooth consistency, and when served with some fresh crunchy bread, this dish becomes a perfect choice for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

Green asparagus with pancetta and scrambled eggs (Umešana jajca s šparglji) or Green asparagus frittata with pancetta, know locally as Fritaja s špargljo, Fritata s šparglji or Fritaia coi sparesi, are probably the two of the most representative dishes and part of a unique gastronomic offers of Slovenian Istra, so much so, that a Festival called Šparga Fest is dedicated to these two dishes, traditionally using exclusively wild asparagus (divji šparglji).

Wild asparagus, like store bought ones, have a fairly short season, but are more aromatic and they are ready to be picked around Easter period and one can commonly find them growing on the south facing pieces of land close to dry stone walls, on the edges of the forests, among the bushes, and although they are free in Slovenia to be foraged and enjoyed, there is a legal limit of how much wild asparagus someone can pick for personal use and consumption.

This is not quite the case in the United kingdom, where I currently live, as I found out, according to Janet Lister (Wildlife and Countryside Advisor for the National Trust). Wild asparagus, once a plentiful plant, is now a very rare coastal plant that only grows and can only be found in a handful of counties (Glamorgan, Pembrokeshire, Cornwall and Dorset). In fact, it is in decline and classed as an “endangered” species on the GB Red List.

Wild asparagus

In the olden days, along the coats in Slovenia, these green delicacies were only known to the locals who used to invent and create dishes that were born out of necessity, with the ingredients available only during a particular season. This, once again, is a testimony and a reminder of the great resourcefulness of local people, who proved time and time again the ability to find clever ways to overcome hunger.

Nowadays, this type of asparagus has reached such a popularity that the inhabitants from inland Slovenia make a special day trip to the coast to enjoy this truly seasonal speciality.

Green asparagus with pancetta and scrambled eggs is a very much loved dish in many households, and so it is made very often. However, since it can only be made during asparagus season, it is also during this time that it is found in many informal family run restaurants.

I am sharing here the family recipe I grew up with, made with wild asparagus, which was picked by the family during many enjoyable and very memorable walks in nature. In this recipe I have replaced wild asparagus for the cultivated alternative, and you can also transform this recipe into a vegetarian and vegan friendly variation by using and frying the onions instead of pancetta, bacon or lardons. For this recipe you can also use fresh white asparagus.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Ingredients

Serves 4

• about 500g fresh green asparagus

• 180g roughly, pancetta, bacon or lardons, finely sliced

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 8 fresh eggs

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Wash the asparagus under cold running water and chop each asparagus into smaller sections.

Put extra virgin olive oil in a fairly large frying pan, add finely sliced pancetta, bacon or lardons and fry until fully cooked and slightly crispy.

Add chopped asparagus and cook for a few minutes together with pancetta, until they soften a bit and deepen in colour.

Add small amounts of water, about 50ml at a time, this will help to cook down the asparagus.

Cook the asparagus until they are fully cooked, deepen in colour, and tender but not overcooked and falling apart.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Cook the asparagus until they are fully cooked and tender but not overcooked and falling apart.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add sea salt, black pepper and whisk.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Take the pan off the heat and pour the eggs over the asparagus mixture.

Put the pan back on the heat, stir and cook the eggs to the desired consistency stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula, lifting and folding the egg and asparagus mixture from the bottom of the pan.

Cook the eggs until they are softly set and slightly runny in places or cook further until they reach the desired consistency.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh parsley, if desired, and serve hot immediately with fresh crunchy bread.

Just a thought

This dish is not suitable for freezing.

Cooked asparagus and pancetta mixture, without adding the eggs, makes a fantastic base for risotto.

You can also turn cooked asparagus and pancetta base into a scrumptious sauce for a pasta dish by simply adding a bit of single cream to it and dilute it, if it gets too thick, with a bit of water where you cooked the pasta.

Wine suggestion

Lugana DOC "Le Fornaci" 2021 - Tommasi

Pan-fried potatoes with onions and pancetta Istrian Recipe

If you are searching for a slightly different potato side dish from the usual and delicious mashed or roast potatoes, look no further.

This modest, simple and humble, but hearty and scrumptious potato side dish, pairs perfectly with just about anything, but it is the most loyal companion to meat or vegetable based dishes.

This recipe consists of boiling the potatoes, then cutting them into small pieces and pan-fry them together with salty and crispy bits of pancetta and caramelised, sweet and mellow onions. During this process the light crust will form at the bottom of the pan and when the mixture gets broken into pieces and mixed, you end up with the combination of smooth, creamy potatoes and brown crispy pieces of potato crust, heavenly texture! During this pan-frying phase, the stock gets gradually added for extra flavour and moisture.

You really cannot find a more Slovenian dish than this. It is cooked recurrently in every household and found regularly on the menus (Pražen krompir) in a family run restaurants, nurseries and school canteens up and down the country. Traditionally it is served with roasted meats, sausages and sauerkraut, boiled sheen of beef cooked in broth or simply eaten on its own with a salad or fried eggs.

I grew up with this dish and I am sharing with you my mum's recipe, a variation developed on the coastal part of Slovenia (Kromper v teći, Patate in tecia) where pancetta and olive oil is used instead of lard and pork cracklings, still a very popular choice, but most commonly perhaps ingredients used in inland Slovenia.

This potato dish really unites all the regions of Slovenia, it is a part of very strong gastronomic culture in Istria and Dalmatia (in Croatia) and stretches across and beyond the “borders” with Italy.

This very popular and very much loved potato side dish is traditional in the whole region of Friuli- Venezia Giulia in Italy, where the city of Trieste with its inhabitants particularly prides itself for exceptionally good Patate in tecia.

It is in the dialect of this region and the Veneto region that the word tecia has a double meaning; it can indicate a type of a pan that would normally be used to cook this dish and it can refer to a method of slow cooking on a fairly low heat.

Other recipes and dishes can have a word tecia in them, so for example you can have Zucchine in tecia (Pan- fried courgettes) or Verze in tecia (Pan-fried Savoy cabbage) etc.

This dish, made from scratch, is incredible in its simplicity, but it is also made and can be prepared using leftover boiled potatoes and no vegetarian or vegan friend or family member will be excluded from the dinner table as you can cook this dish by omitting the meaty element and using vegetable broth or stock.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1kg of potatoes

• 100g unsmoked pancetta or bacon, cut into small strips or finely diced, bacon lardons or pork cracklings

• onions (about 240g), peeled and finely sliced

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or lard

• sea salt

• black pepper

• 200ml meat or vegetable broth or stock (you can make a simple stock using a good quality instant vegetable or meat stock powder)

• flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped, for garnish

Method

Wash whole unpeeled potatoes under the cold running water and put them in a big pot of boiling water.

Add sea salt and gently boil the potatoes until fully cooked, this will depend on the size of the potatoes you are using.

Drain cooked potatoes and allow to cool.

Peel the potatoes and slice or cut them into irregular shape smaller chunks, set aside.

Put the olive oil or lard, if using, in a fairly large frying pan.

Add finely sliced onions and pancetta and gently fry on a fairly low heat until the onions become golden brown in colour, soft and caramelised, and pancetta fully cooked and slightly crisp. This might take around 40 minutes but it is important not to rush this phase of the recipe as the onions might not get as sweet.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Turn the heat up a bit, add pieces of potatoes and season with sea salt and black pepper (bear in mind that the use of pancetta and broth in this recipe, will partially provide the seasoning).

Cook the potatoes with the onion and pancetta mixture and break down a bit bigger pieces of potatoes with the back of the wooden spoon or or a fork, avoiding to end up with mashed potatoes, you still want bits of potatoes in the texture.

Cook for a few minutes allowing the mixture to catch a bit at the bottom of the pan forming a light crust, but try and avoid to get it burnt (although if it does burn slightly it is not the end of the world).

Scrape the layer of golden brown bits and break the crust with the wooden spoon, stir the mixture.

Cook further for a few minutes until the crust forms again, break it and stir.

Repeat the process a few times adding small amounts of broth or stock to avoid potatoes getting too dry.

The whole idea behind repeating this process of allowing the crust to form, then breaking it and stirring the mixture is to end up with a final dish that will have a combination of crusty and crispy bits of potatoes that are stirred back, mixed with the rest of soft/mushy potatoes, caramelised onions and pancetta.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Taste, adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and serve hot.

Just a thought

This dish is not suitable for freezing.

When reheating this dish you will need to add some moisture back, as it gets quite dry when cooled down and kept in a fridge, adding more stock or broth.

You can cook this dish with leftover boiled potatoes or using left over mashed potatoes.

Wine suggestion

Friuli Venezia Giulia Friulano DOC "San Pietro" 2020 - I Clivi

White asparagus with hard boiled eggs Venetian style Recipe

This exquisite recipe is so easy and quick to prepare you can hardly call it a recipe. It consist of gently boiling the asparagus and dress them with oil, sea salt and pepper to allow the delicate and mild sweet taste of white asparagus to be fully enhanced and appreciated. Asparagus prepared this way can be served as a starter, main course or as a side dish and is a great meal for vegetarians.

White asparagus grow with the absence of sunlight which prevents the photosynthesis to take place and therefore stops the asparagus turning green in colour.

Back home, where I come from, on the Slovenian coast, this dish, (Beli beluši s trdo kuhanimi jajci / Beli šparglji s trdo kuhanimi jajci) among other asparagus dishes, is very popular during the fairly short asparagus season and the locals make the best of it.

My nona shared with me a very touching story about white asparagus. She very modestly confessed to me that when she was a little girl, her father was the first farmer in the village (Marezige), and the first in the surrounding area to grow white asparagus. She also told me the story that when the asparagus were almost ready to be harvested, he would guard them during the night as these vegetables were very precious source of income for the family and were almost never consumed for domestic use. Only a very small amount of the asparagus, the ones that broke during the harvest, were used by the family for cooking, and this was a real treat for everyone.

White asparagus were, and still are, more difficult and more laborious to grow, therefore they fetch a higher price when they are sold on the market. The asparagus would be taken by my great grandmother to Trieste, just across the border, a big port city with Imperial style cafes, and important theatres where a fairly high number of wealthy noble families used to live, families that could easily afford to buy this type of vegetable and appreciate its gastronomic use.

My nona also told me that the locals used to say that the white asparagus were so cherished they were considered to be vegetable fit for the queen.

Even nowadays, white asparagus, although more accessible, are still pricier compared to the green ones, and they are enjoyed as a “festive food” especially around Easter celebrations when they are in season.

There is a very close geographical proximity between my home town and the Italian region of Veneto, where this flavoursome and elegant dish is typical, (Asparagi bianchi con uova sode alla Veneta) and where in the foothills of the town of Bassano, and along the whole stretch of the river Brenta, the best, renowned, plump white asparagus are produced in terms of size and flavour.

I am sharing here this simple and very much loved family recipe which traditionally calls for white asparagus, and is a very much anticipated vegetable in the spring season. However, if you have difficulty buying them, then just use green asparagus, the dish will be equally delicious.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1kg white asparagus (you can use green asparagus)

• 8 eggs, soft or hard boiled and quartered, sliced or chopped

• extra virgin olive oil (sunflower oil or a neutral tasting oil of your preference)

• sea salt

• black pepper

• red or white vinegar, optional

Method

First of all prepare the asparagus. Chop off the ends which are normally hard, woody and fibrous.

With the potato peeler, peel the asparagus starting from just underneath the tips.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Place the asparagus in a pan with a small amount of boiling water.

Gently boil for about 10-15 minutes or until just tender. Test by inserting the tip of a small sharp knife into the end of the asparagus as this part takes the longest to cook. The cooking times will vary according to the size and thickness of the asparagus.

With a slotted spoon gently remove the asparagus from the pan and place them, one next to each other, on paper kitchen towel. Allow the asparagus to drain and cool.While removing the asparagus be careful not to break the tips, they cook quicker than the ends and will be much softer, if they do break, however, it is not the end of the world, they will just not look quite as nice on the plate.

Alternatively, you can steam the asparagus or cooked them tied in a bundle and placed upright in a tall pot with two thirds of their length immersed in cold water. Bring the water to boil and cook for about 10-15 minutes (the steam will cook the tips). Remove and untie the bundle.

Transfer the cooked asparagus and lay them on a serving plate.

Place the soft or hard boiled eggs on the top or between the asparagus.

Dress liberally with oil, sea salt and black pepper.

Serve with crunchy bread to soak up the juices.

Just a thought

You can use the water in which you cooked the asparagus as a stock. Just add the ends you cut off the asparagus and the peels and add them to the water, gently boil for about half and hour and strain.

You will end up with a delicious and delicate asparagus flavoured stock to be used for asparagus risotto, minestrone primavera or asparagus soup.

If you are not using the stock straight away it is perfect for freezing.

Wine suggestione

Collio Sauvignon DOC 2020 - Schiopetto