Stuffed portobello mushrooms with spinach and cornmeal

Recently I read an article on the Times newspaper on how mushrooms should be considered a superfood. They contain lots of vitamins particularly vitamin D which many people in Northern countries like the UK are very low of; they also have many minerals and virtually no fat.  Several studies have also revealed that mushrooms could…

Simple mushroom and tomato spaghetti

My weight is shifting nicely but I am eating! I am no under no punishing regimes at all. I am eating the same but in smaller quantities. After Christmas I had a “foggy” mind and I was tired and a little overweight too, but now just 3 weeks later I feel much more alive and…

Chestnut and mushroom soup with truffle olive oil

Chestnuts, mushrooms and truffle soup. This dish speaks of late autumn, of cosy evenings in with the family gathered around the fireplace. It also brings up memories of childhood precisely when I used to go to the woods in the mountains to collect chestnuts. We would then go home and roast them. Roasted chestnuts are…

Creamy pumpkin and mushroom risotto

One of my favourite times of the year is pumpkin season. Pumpkins are not just for Halloween, yes it is fun to carve them but you can do so much better with them…in the kitchen. Every year I always buy several pumpkins and I like to line them up in my little “cantina” or cellar……

Vegetable and mushroom lasagna recipe

My favourite ever lasagna recipe is with radicchio and speck (a smoked type of ham) which my mum makes every time radicchio is in season. It is so simple yet so much lighter than the traditional meat lasagna. I also love lasagna packed with lots of vegetables like the one I made for our Sunday…

Polenta, cheese and mushroom nibbles gluten free

I have an interesting recipe today. These rustic polenta disks with button mushrooms and crunchy speck (or bacon) were indeed really tasty! I have used quick cook polenta this time (and you know I rarely do!) as I had people coming over for dinner and very little time to make a starter so I needed…

Mushroom, Pumpkin Risotto Recipe with crunchy bacon

Changes of season can affect people in different ways. In autumn, after recharging my batteries with plenty of summer sunshine and fresh air I feel like a new person: happier, full of life and more relaxed. It is incredible what vitamin D can do to you. After literally pigging out on peaches, cherries, apricots and…

A trip to the Italian Alps

On Sunday we went up to the Alps for a family day out. It was reaching 35C /95F and we thought it would be a good idea to get some cooler and fresher air up there. My hometown is just over an hour away from the nearest mountains. We walked up for a couple of hours…

Polenta Pizza with mushrooms, gluten free and delicious

When I want something that tastes like home then it has to be polenta. Growing up in Friuli, North Eastern Italy, corn fields were everywhere and polenta was cheaper than bread. That meant that I had polenta with milk and honey for breakfast, chargrilled polenta with fish or meat for dinner and sometimes during winter…

Mushroom Tagliatelle and buon appetito!

I mentioned before my friend Antonio who is an expert at mushrooms. Every year he heads for the woods and comes back with a basket of fresh and perfumed mushrooms; I am planning to join him soon and learn more about which mushrooms are safe to eat. Wild ones taste fabulous and are widely used…