Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa – (Calabrese Broccoli)

I went to the greengrocer’s this morning as the fridge was bare and came across some lovely bunches of purple-sprouting broccoli, a British classic with a very short season. Since one of my favourite Italian dishes is the Puglian classic orecchiette coi broccoli – or orecchiette con cime di rapa I thought I’d have a bash at making it using some good British broccoli instead. Cime di Rapa are turnip tops, or what we in the UK call Calabrese broccoli, tight green sprigs of what looks like broccoli but longer and thinner, with flat, long leaves and tough roots.

VIDEO: Itinerant Epicure cooks Wild Herbs and Melanzane ‘Mbuttanate

Three goats eye me suspiciously as I slice a plump, sweet aubergine in two and stuff it with a thick, creamy mixture of their own soft cheese, some egg yolk and bread crumbs. Behind me, Signora Cerullo, a portly mamma in clogs and black skirts, clatters a thick iron pot over the open brazier in her backyard, stewing wild greens picked this morning behind the farmhouse.

Broadway Market and London Fields Lido

I took a trip to London Fields this weekend, up Hackney way to explore the Broadway Market and get my fix of sunshine in the park there, which boasts one of the few heated lidos in London. Whilst strolling through the charmin market, with its preponderance of double bass-playing doo-wop buskers, I managed to pack away a Damascan felafel wrap with pickles and lemon tahini, a tangy seasonal veggie curry with cumin rice and a couple of portuguese custard tarts as well as some proper cloudy apple and rasberry juice from Chegworth Farm.

Garlic-fest Hummus

I love garlic. Almost as much as cheese, in fact. Garlic makes the world taste better, it wards off vampires and it is good for your heart. What more do you want??? Plus, with garlic, you don’t need to worry about kissing your French boyfriend/girlfriend as it’s more than likely he/she loves the stuff too.

Pumpkin-Stuffed Fresh Ravioli

I dug out the pasta maker on day two in the new house and set about making my first batch of proper egg pasta. I nicked Jamie Oliver’s recipe but tweaked it as he failed to mention one thing that makes stuffed pasta all the better… adding a teaspoon of milk for every egg you put in the mix makes your pasta much more malleable and smooth than it would be otherwise, especially useful when you are stuffing shapes and trying to stick the ends together!

Tabbouleh – Moroccan Bulgar Wheat Salad

An old post form when I was on my “special diet” back in April 2010: Day two of the new diet, I suddenly realise I can eat Tabbouleh, something I could gorge on until kingdom come and a perfect spring dish full of zest and fresh flavours! Based on bulgar wheat and parsley, the ideal proportions are 2 parts parsley to one part bulgar, but I need sustenance and am eating this as a main dish, so I’ve upped the quantity of bulgar wheat somewhat. You can play around and see which you prefer!

Risotto con Asparagi e Broccoli

Everyone’s cooking risotto at the moment it seems, and since pasta now sits in the negative column of my diet plan I am increasingly turning to rice as a way of getting that satisfactory carby bloated feeling of gastronomic satiation. British asparagus is in its prime right now and broccoli is nice for a bit of crunch too. I unfortunately can’t have parmesan or butter, but frankly they aren’t wholly necessary if you’re working with a tasty stock, and doing without is that little bit healthier! I used the leftover stock from my chicken and chickpea casserole and just added some more water.