Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

A simple dessert or a treat at any time of the day: use some plain thick yogurt, like greek yogurt, or yogurt from  The Collective Dairy . For the topping I cooked some quince apples until mushy, then I put them into a muslin cloth over a bowl for a night to collect the juice. I measured the liquid and added half of its weight in sugar and boiled everything until I got a thick syrup. This can be kept in the fridge for a long time and spooned over the yogurt (or cakes or other desserts) when needed. So yummy! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Making mascarpone at home is one of my favourite occupations these days! A part from the 'magic' of it, and the resemblance to a chemistry experiment (I made this with Max, actually, he made it with me in the background giving instructions and liked doing it!) it is also so much cheaper, fresh and delicious that the one you buy!  For the mascarpone recipe just click   here , it is easier that you may think! When the mascarpone is ready just add a tbsp of honey (I used Tawari) and fold. Divide the mascarpone into 4 cups and it is ready to be eaten or topped with what you fancy.  This time I just toasted a few pistachios in a pan, then I rub them with a tea towel to take away loose skins and chopped them coarsely. Then I also added some  Fresh As  dried strawberries, crunchy and full of flavour and aroma. A simple dessert that everyone loved! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

To make mascarpone at home you can use just cream or a mixture of cream and milk, plus citric acid. Lemon juice can be used instead of citric acid, and if you have lemons (preferably not Meyer lemons, but some more acidic lemons)  you can use lemon juice, but citric acid is easy to measure. Some bloggers make a similar recipe and call the result ricotta (or  creamy ricotta ), but don't be fooled, they are mistaken (or idiots) and this is NOT ricotta, ricotta is a totally different product made in a totally different way and with different ingredients. You can find a recipe for ricotta  here  or, even better,  here .  Mascarpone is delicious, rich and fat, it is used in many Italian desserts or cheese dishes (like torta di mascarpone and gorgonzola) and of course the more cream you add the highest the fat content. I used 300 ml of cream and 200 ml of full fat (grey top) milk and 4-5 g of citric acid diluted in 50 ml of hot water (the lower the d...

A recipe from the  Forage to Feast  event held by  Slow Food Waitakere  last year: onion weed dip. Foraging is healthy and environmentally friendly, and foraging onion weed in Auckland and Waitakere is easy - remember that onion weed is, in fact, a weed, so it can be removed safely! Onion weed freezes well, just wash and cut into pieces. Every part can be eaten: bulb, stem, leaves and flowers, just make sure that it has not been sprayed or been near busy roads and dogs. To make this dip you just need some creamy feta cheese and onion weed (fresh or frozen). Blend, adding a tiny little bit of water (or olive oil if you prefer) to thin the sauce down if needed. No salt is required as feta is already salty. Refrigerate for a couple of hours and then serve as a dip or spread. Onion weed can be collected in Spring and stored in the freezer for months. It can also be used in cooking in place of onions, spring onions, chives, leeks and garlic.   Photos and...

When I was living in London, over 20 years ago now, every eatery I went to (unless it was some sort of hippy/alternative/macrobiotic/ethnic restaurant) would have two hot veggie choices: vegetarian lasagne and cauliflower cheese. I am not joking: that was it! The vegetarian lasagne was usually frozen stuff, and it seems that most pubs and cafes ordered it from the same company (i.e. it always tasted the same!). The cauliflower cheese was either boiled cauliflower with cheddar melted on top, or baked cauliflower with a white sauce... and the consistency of porridge. Meat eaters pitied me and wondered why on earth I would choose to be a vegetarian. Things are different now, and there is more choice, but I am sure that lots of vegetarians still have nightmares about that bland 'cauliflower porridge'. Anyway, here is a version that is not too cheesy (but you can add more cheese on top if you like), and tastes good.  Cavolfiore al forno Ingredients 1 large cauliflower, plus...

Labne is a strained yogurt 'cheese', to make it you just need plain yogurt (I used a pot   Straight Up  from  The Collective Dairy ).  To strain the yogurt I used a cotton cloth, not too fine, but finer that a muslin cloth or cheese cloth. Place the cloth in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl, spoon the yogurt in, close the cloth over it and top with plate that will fit the shape of the strainer, and then with a weight. Leave in the fridge for one or even two days if you can. The collected liquid can be used in baking, and what you are left with is a creamy labne, ready eating, for spreading, or to make  Labne balls . Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Still in yogurt mood, and why not, it is hot and summery and I feel like eating refreshing food. I love making this yogurt sauce, I call it raita when I serve it with Indian food, and tzatziki when I serve it with Greek-Turkish food. The only difference is that when I make tzatziki I like to add mint. You just need some thick yogurt (otherwise strain it) salt to taste, finely chopped cucumber, and if you like, a few leaves of mint, broken with your fingers. So yummy on salad and hot or spicy food, and as a dip.  Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

This is a no-cook dessert that can be made in two minutes, and with three ingredients. Also, it can be served as fruit, or cheese! Place a spoon of creamy ricotta in a glass or verrine, add some blueberries and a little bit of honey. Repeat with a second layer. Refrigerate until serving time. Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

I have silver beet (Swiss Chard) in the garden, one of the easiest green leafy vegetable to grow in New Zealand! I usually pick the leaves as I need them, but two of my old winter plants are starting to grow heads so I decided to cut them before is too late. For this recipe first I washed two big bunches of silver beet and cook them. I boiled the white stalks first, and then the green leaves. To do this I put the stalks in a big pot with a little water, and a pinch of salt, then after they have simmered for 5 minutes I add the leaves but no more water: the steam is enough to cook the leaves.  Then I made a thick besciamelle: I melted 100 g salted butter, took the pan off the stove and quickly mixed in 100 g flour, then back on the stove and slowly added 1 l milk. I stirred well until thick, and then I added salt to taste, white pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. In the meantime I cooked 500 g of pasta, I drained it and dressed it with a couple of tbsp of bes...

Making mozzarella and ricotta at home is possible and you don't need any special equipment except for a brewer or cheese maker thermometer. The basic recipe comes from my book Savour  (page 12-13), it is quite detailed, so here I will do a quick step by step explanation, with a little trick to cut down time.  Start with 2 litres of full cream  not  homogenised milk, if it looks too fat take away some of the cream at the top. Gently heat the milk to 38°C (110.4°F). Add 4 heaps tbsp of live yogurt, in New Zealand I only use Cyclops Yogurt (thick and creamy type) to make cheese. I tried with a variety of yogurts, but this really seems to have the right bacterias kicking into curd action! Stir. Usually I only add yogurt, and then the waiting time after cutting the curd is about 4 hours. if you want speedy results add a little citric acid too. I am not sure how many cheese makers would do this, on the other hand I am not sure how many ...