Caprese is probably one of the world best known salads (and antipasto), and there are many variations, so here a couple more:

Caprese with edible flowers

I used red and yellow cherry tomatoes, and mozzarelline (the cherry size), plus added some edible flowers (borage and dianthus from my garden, organic of course). Add small basil leaves too before serving, if you like. Suitable also for a cocktail party, and ever so pretty!

Caprese with tree tomatoes and two basils

I used a mixture of vine tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and semi-dried tomatoes, mozzarelline (but you can use regular mozzarella cut into slices or pieces) and green basil and purple basil leaves. Dress with olive oil and salt. A filling salad or light lunch.

These lovely and aromatic little onions can be served hot or cold, as an antipasto or side vegetable.

I should have used little Italian flat onions, like the borrettane, but they don't sell them in NZ so I used some normal pickling onions. Peel the onions, soak in water for two hours, drain and then cook very slowly with a dollop of salted butter, a few fresh sage leaves and a pinch of salt for a long long time. I cooked them in a Le Creuset pot, with the lid on, stirring often. Check to see if you need to add just a little water half way through, but personally I didn't need it, mostly they cooked in their own steam (Le Creuset pots have great lids!!) and they caramelized a little too, becoming sweet and fragrant. All in all they took about 2 hours. Once they were cooked I turned the element off and added a drizzle of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena Extra Vecchio (25 year old), covered them again with the lid, and let them rest for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Popular variations include adding cloves, or grilling the onions instead of simmering them (obviously the flat onions are easier to grill than the round pickling onions!).

L'EMMETICHALLENGE DI MAGGIO 2012

In my mind Pâté is something made with leftovers: mince finely and add fat, and voilà le Pâté! But leftovers in this household are very scarce indeed, so for this month MT Challenge I needed to create some!


Obviously my pâté has a vegetable base, Kazuyo gave me some runner beans, and I had some green beans myself, so I cooked them with carrot, onion and celery, and water and salt. That was going to be blended into a creamy soup, but I could use some veggies first. Then in a saucepan I cooked a couple of zucchini with a green and a red capsicum, garlic, salt and olive oil. This ended up on top of a place of potato gnocchi (after keeping a couple of spoons for the pâté). Ok, so these weren't exactly leftovers, I worked in reverse, the main meals were the leftovers from my pâté! 










Yes this Pâté tastes good, but ever so fat! If I had bread I could eat an entire baguette with it, but to fill less guilty instead of bread I used crispy slices of Daikon. Just peel and cut the daikon into circles and place into a bowl filled with cold water. Before serving the Pâté drain the daikon, it will be nice and crunchy, ready to use instead of bread or crackers, and healthier too. The Pâté should be taken out of the fridge about 15 minutes before serving (it gets quite firm), spread on the daikon slices and decorate with edible petals and flowers. 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

These cute little capsicums came from the shop, red orange and yellow I just could not resist them!




Cut the top off from the capsicums, remove the seeds, and then chop the capsicum flesh still attached to the stalks (it will be very little, but worth keeping). Wash well and then place everything (capsicum shells and pieces) in a pot of boiling water, with a pinch of salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and keep the water aside.

Mash a little feta cheese, thinning it down with some of the capsicum cooking water. Add some finely chopped parsley and the small capsicum pieces. Use this feta cream to fill the capsicum shells.

This is easy! Use leftover polenta and roll it up in a sheet of nori seaweed using a sushi mat...just like when making norimaki. Cut into pieces and deep-fry until the polenta is golden. Sprinkle with a little salt and serve.