Serves 4

Ready in 10 mins

8 thin slices of lean beef (carpaccio)

8 slices of cheese (such as edamer or gouda)

100 ml sweet soy sauce (ready or prepared as indicated below*)

8 skewers

1 tbs vegetable oil

*To prepare the sweet soy sauce, in a small casserole bring to a boil (and let simmer 10 miniutes) the following ingredients: 200 ml soy sauce, 50 ml water and 100 gr white sugar

Let cool before use.

Cut the slices of cheese into smaller strips, roll each slice of cheese into a slice of meat as shown in pictures (and on a skewer). Make sure the cheese in well wrapped.

Heat the vegetable oil in a pan. Dip each skewer into the sweet soy sauce and fry them, both sides, for a couple of minutes or until the cheese is starting to melt.

Serve with sweet soy sauce.

The Borscht is the most amazing soup on earth. Made with very simple ingredients it tastes like good old things. I simply love it.

Its origins are Ukranian and it is spread throughout Russian countries, with number of variations.

The secret for a good borscht is a good broth – this is what my ukranian friends said to me. You can make a broth with pork or beef. I picked the first – since the humble origins of the plate made me feel cheaper pieces of pork were much easier to be found on a poor family table compared with beef. Up to you.

My friend told me that you should keep half of the beetroot (once grated) in red wine vinegar for half hour using them (very well drained). Other say that without Kvas (a fermented sort of liquor made with fruits) there is no borscht. But this is quite impossible to define, it is like a Tiramisù in Italy: 60 million families, 60 million recipes.  : )

I made it relatively easier: the recipe below is to be made in 2 times. First you make the broth then the borscht. I asked my friend if I could use vinegar directly without making any infusion – she agreed. LOL.

So let’s go with this Ukranian borscht!

For the broth

5 pork ribs

250 grams pork shoulder or neck meat

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 big onion

2 garlic cloves

2 tbs tomato paste

20 grams dill

2 bay leaves

olive oil

salt and pepper

For the borsch

1 onion

2 carrots

1 celery stalk

1 garlic clove

250 grams celery root (grated)

800 grams beetroot (grated)

400 grams cabbage (finely sliced)

2 tbs tomato paste (or ketchup if you run out of it!)

red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

To serve

Sour cream

Chopped dill

TO MAKE THE BROTH

Heat the oil in a casserole. Fry the meat on high heat until brown.

Add the onion, the carrot, the garlic and the celery all diced. Add 1 tsp of salt a 1 tsp of pepper.

Fry for 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and fry for further 2 minutes.

Add the dill roughly chopped, the bay leaves and 3 liters of water. Let simmer for 3 hours.

Drain with a colander and put the broth in a container-let it cool completely and put into the refrigerator until the fats become cold and hard. Retain the fat and keep in a air tight container (you will use it for the second part).

NOTE: if you want to use the broth straight ahead, then skim the fat off as much as you can and use 3 tbs of olive oil to fry the vegetables when you make the borsch.

Separate and clean the meat and the vegetables and cut the meat into small pieces (discard the vegetables). Keep the meat in a container (or freeze it along with the broth), until you make the borsch.

TO MAKE BORSCH

Now, melt in a casserole half of the fat retained from the broth (or the olive oil). Fry the onion, the garlic, the carrot and the celery (all finely sliced) for 7/8 minutes. Add the tomato paste, fry for further 2 minutes.

Add the meat (retained from the broth), and the remaining grated vegetables (beetroots, celery root, carrots and cabbage), fry for a couple of minutes and add the broth. Simmer for 20 minutes (or until the vegetables are cooked through).

NOTE: The vegetables must be cooked and still compact, a sort of ‘al dente’, be careful not to overcook them.

Now add little by little the vinegar enough to balance the sweetness of the vegetables (you will need approximately 1/4 of a cup – but all is depending on your taste, add it little by little to make sure you reach the sourness you like – I like it sour).

Serve in individual soup bowl, accompanied by a tbs of sour cream and a pinch of freshly chopped dill.

Well, this is the magic of British Christmas.

Mincemeat is the basic preserve you need to make amazing Christams sweets and treats in Britain, such as pies or puddings. I fell in love with it when I lived in London years ago. The taste feels something like Grandmother’s ovens. In origins it was made with fruits, sugar, vinegar, wine, fat and meat. Yes, meat (the name tells it all!). Today meat is rarely part of the recipe, pork suet instead is the only fat (so a connection with its meaty origins is still there).

Mincemeat is in the category of preserves and must be consumed in pies or puddings and if you want also with very savoury cheese.

It preserves like this up to 6 months and as per all preserves the more it ages, the more it gets better. Vegetarians can substitute suet with vegetable suet.

Makes 20 pies (7 cm diameter)

Ready in 1H30

400 grams all purpose flour

80 grams caster sugar

300 grams unsalted butter

80 grams cold water

a pinch of salt

filling

500 grams mince meat (recipe here)

1 apple, peeled and grated finely

zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

juice of half lemon

Pre-heat a traditional oven to 180° C (or 170° C if using a fan oven).

In a bowl mix all dry ingredients for the dough. Add the cold butter and with your fingertips start to mix them adding the cold water little by little, knead rapidly until the dough is firm and compact. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile mix all the ingredients of the filling. And butter the tins (in the pictures they are 7 cm diameter).

Roll the dough to 3 mm thick. And cut circles (in size with your tins). Crop also some other shapes (with a biscuit cutter at your choice – I picked a star biscuit cutter), to create the “lid”.

Line the tins with the dough, fill it in with the filling and close the top with the lid.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden. Let them cool before taking them out from the tins. Dust them with icing sugar before serving.

Serve 4

Ready in 15 mins

300 gr pineapple diced (fresh or canned, the latter not in syrup)

450 gr shrimps shelled and cleaned

3 tbsp vegetable oil

5 ripe tbsp yellow curry paste (recipe here) – home-made or ready from international foodstores

500 ml cocount milk (you can add up to 800 ml if you wish more sauce)

3 tbs fish sauce

20 grams fresh basil leaves

7/8 kaffir lime leaves

half lime

salt

Heat the oil in a casserole. Add the yello curry paste and fry for 4/5 minutes stirring continuously.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes (the sauce has to thicken).

Add the pineapple and the shrimps. Cook for 4 minutes.

Add the basil and kaffir leaves and cook for further 2 minutes. Season with salt if necessary.

Retain from fire and add the juice of half lime. Stir well and serve with steamed rice.

for 6 sandwiches

ready in 4h

1 kilo boneless pork shoulder

3 tbs bbq dirt (BBQ Dirt recipe)

1 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs ground pepper

1 tsp salt

1 onion in quarters or 4 full spring onions

half glass of water

half glass of white vinegar (wine/apples or rice at your pleasure)

6 buns (or tortillas)

Clean the meat and cut the skin (but leave the fat).

In a small container mix the dirt with sugar, salt, pepper and garlic, mix well and coat the meat throughoutly.

Ricoprire la carne con questo composto, porre in una casseruola e unire tutti gli altri ingredienti (escluso il pane ovviamente).

Put in a casserole with the oil and add the water and vinegar. Bring to a boil on high heat and then let simmer at very low heat, covered for 3 hours circa, or until the meat is tender and soft.

Let cool. Extract the meat and retain the juices. Shred the meat with a fork (or your hands). Add the juices.

Heat the buns (or tortillas) in hot oven or toast it in a hot pan, fill them with the shredded meat and add any other ingredient of your choice: cheese, tomatoes, salad or bbq sauce (or all of them).

Sicily, yet again. The way they make vegetables in Sicily is beyond imagination. Here a very quick recipe, perfect as a side or even bette ras an appetizer with a nice glass of white wine – better if Inzolia or a Sardinian Vermentino.

Serves 4

Ready in 1H

3 aubergins/eggplants medium size

200 grams breadcrumbs

80 grams pecorino cheese, grated

1 tbs minced parsley

1 minced garlic clove

salt and peper

Extra-virgin Olive oil (as needed)

White wine vinegar (as needed)

Slice the eggplants vertically into 2 mm thick slices.

Heat a pan and grill each slice 3 minutes on both sides (make sure you add some salt to the empty pan before you add the eggplants).

Meanwhile in a conatiner mix all the remaining ingredients, add 5 tbs of olive oil, mix well adding water until the mixture is compact but crumbly.

In a small container mix tigether 5 tbs olive oil and 2 tbs white vinegar. Coat every slices with the olive oil-vinegar mixture, put each slice on a board, with your hands make small balls with the breadcrumb mixture and roll the slices around it.

Put each roll into a baking pan and bake for 15 minutes at 200°.

Serve warm or cold.

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Here we go again in Korea.

Japchae are potato glass noodles sauted with coloured vegetables (always balance between greens, reds and whites), and eggs. Usually served as a side dish, but I can eat a full plate by myself quite easily. All ingredients are cooked separately, and then assembled and mixed to the hot noodles the very last moment before serving.

Serves 4

Ready in 40 mins

100 gram onion roughly sliced

100 grams carrots (filangé)

100 grams zucchini (filangé)

100 grams button mushrooms (sliced)

1 minced garlic clove

150 grams potato glass noodles (or soya or rice in case you can’t find them)

2 eggs

vegetable oil (as needed)

salt

Seasoning sauce:

4 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

2 tbs sesame oil

In a pan with 2 tbs of vegetable oil fry separately all vegetables for 5/6 minutes (until lightly translucent but not overcooked), season with salt before setting aside and letting cool.

Separate yolks and whites, lightly beat them in 2 separate bowl.

Heat 1 tbs of vegetable oil in a pan and cook the whites on both side for a couple of minutes (until lightly crunchy). Repeate with the yolks. Slice both frittatas into 1 cm thick slices. Set aside.

Cook the glassnoodles as per directions in boiling water. Drain and wash them under running fresh water. Drain well.

Meanwhile mix in a small bowl the ingredients for the seasoning sauce.

Heat 2 tbs of vegetable oil, fry the minced garlic for 30 seconds and add the glassnoodles. Stir fry, medium heat, for 1 minute. Add the sauce and stir fry for further 2 minutes. Retain from heat and add vegetables and sliced eggs. Mix well and serve.

Welcome to a wonderful trip to the South of China. The first time I tried this soup I was in Hong Kong, then I was told is a very rare recipe, cause it requires hours and hours (and nowadays is found in reastaurant, rarely into homes).

We akll know from our grandmothers that the best stock is the one boiled for at least 3 hours. Can you imagine what can happen to a stock, boiled twice for 3 hours in total?

Magic for your palate and, also for your eyes.

4 young coconuts

600 ml  chicken stock*

4 tsp goji berries

1 – 2cm stick fresh ginger

4 small bunches of shitake mushrooms (or 4 pleurotis mushrooms)

* Chicken stock

2 chicken tights cu tinto 2 cm pieces

1 liter water

1 onion

(if you like: half carrot and half celery stalk)

1 tbs salt

* To prepare the stock, put everything into a pot and bring to a boil. Leti t simmer for 3 hours at very low heat. Set aside.

Cut the coconuts at three quarters of their height (help yourself with a strong knife), pour the coconut water into a container and keep the top parts (you wil use it as lids).

In each emptied coconut, put the 1 bunch of shitake mushrooms (or 1 pleurotis mushroom) , one tsp of goji berries, 2 pieces of chicken. Add the coconut water (to reach half of the coconut and pour in the chicken stock up to 1 cm from the edges of the coconut. Close the coconut with their original tops.

Put them in a casserole big enough to fit them (or put them into 2 separate casseroles). Put water into the casserole 4 centimeters of water. On high heat bring to a boil, cover the casserole(s) with a lid and lower the heat to minimum. Simmer and cook covered for 3 hours (check every now and then that the water does not evaporate fully – in case add some).

Retain from fire, take the coconuts gently out of the water and let sit for 20 minutes before serving directly at the table. The soup must be eaten directly from the coconut.

Per 4 persone

Pronti in 40 minuti

8 capesante (2 capesante per persona o una se lo servite come antipasto)

500 gr di topinambur

300 gr di patate

10 gr di aneto tritato

30 gr di burro

Sale e pepe nero macinato

Olio EVO

Pepe bianco macinato

8 scallops (2 per serving or 1 if served as an appetizer)

500 grams Jerusalem artichokes

300 gr potatoes

10 grams dill

30 grams butter

salt

ground black pepper

ground white pepper

Boil separately potatoes and the jerusalem artichokes. Peel them and mash them with a potato masher. Set aside.

Clean the scallops and retain the red coral. Wash the sacllops under running water and pat the dry woth a cloth or kitchen paper. Set aside.

In a casserole, heat the butter wtih a pinch of black pepper, add the potato and jerusalem artichokes puree and mix well at high heat until the exceeding water evaporates. Season with salt and set aside.

Chop finely the red coral, put it in a heat-resistant container, add 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and put the container into a casserole with soft-boiling water. Mix the red coral until it starts to become hard. Set aside and stir every now and then until you serve it.

Heat 2 tbs of oil in a pan. At high heat, reach the smoke point (when you see the oil starting to create a burning smoke), add the scallops (side up down). Keep high heat and let it fry for 1 or 2 minutes maximum per side. Season with salt and retain from fire.

Put a ripe tbs of puree in the center of a plate, top with the scallops and top the scallops with a teaspoon of its caviar. Season with a little olive oil and a pinch of white pepper. Serve.

This is my Proust’s Madeleine. It reminds me of my first holidays by myself in Spain. Almost everyday I was nuying them at the supermarket and it was my official meal. Many variations in the marinade (chilli pepper only and /or with other spices), the pinchos are meat skewers that need to be grilled on a charcoal bbq to taste them at their best. Simply wow!

Serves 4

Ready in 10 minutes + time for the marinade

700 grams meat (chicken, beef, Pork, lamb at your choice) diced

1 medium sized onion

half lemon – squeezed

2 garlic cloves finely minced

2 tbs chilli pepper flakes

2 tbs ground cumin

half tsp ground black pepper

1 pinch of saffron

the tip of a tsp on ground cinnamon

half tsp salt

50 ml extra virgin olive oil

optional: 1 tbs fresh cilantro finely chopped

Heat the saffron on a tablespoon heated directly on the fire, until it gets toasted – it should take a few seconds. This step intensifies the taste of saffron (not necessary but nice to do, after all details make a difference!)

Mince (or better grate) the onion and the garlic, put in a container and mix all the ingredients (excluding the meat), or use a mortar and a pestle to have a very smooth sauce.

NOTA: it would be ideal to use a pestle to do this operation.

When the sauce is smooth, add the meat, mix well and put in a plastic bag. Refrigerate 24h or keep at room temperature 4h.

Put the meat onto the skewers and bbq them 2 or 3 minutes per side. The bbq should be open fire and very hot (so the outside gets flamed and the inside is still juicy).