Lentils and flowers combo

Another salad with lentils (you can find one here too). The beauty of using flowers is that you can add colour to brown lentil salads, and all other salads. Even just washing the salad leaves and other vegetables from the garden gives me more joy if I can add some petals!

500 g brown lentils

1 leaf bay

water and salt for boiling

extra virgin olive oil

white balsamic vinegar

salt to taste

mixed salad leaves

sliced radishes

tomatoes (cherry or cubed)

fresh herbs (like basil, parsley)

edible flowers

Soak the lentil overnight, then rinse well, add plenty of water, a bay leaf and a pinch of salt. Cook until 'al dente', or as soft as you like (but not mushy). Drain and briefly rinse under cold water. Place in a mixing bowl with the radishes and tomatoes, add extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar (to taste, but make sure that the ratio oil to vinegar is 2 to1), and some salt to taste. Line a serving plate or large shallow bowl with mixed salad leaves (leave a few small ones for the top), spoon the lentils on top, then sprinkle with the remaining salad leaves, herbs and petals (I used verbena, dianthus, and cornflowers).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Red Beetroot risotto with Parmigiano Reggiano and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, step by step

   This is a super risotto, I am so proud of it!! I made the recipe many years ago for a magazine but I used shaved Parmigiano, but I think that cut into chunks is better. Start like for all good risottos, with plenty of butter and a chopped onion (I used a red one to keep the colour scheme!).

When the onion sizzle add the rice (I used arborio) and stir well: for a good risotto the fat at the beginning is important so make sure that the rice absorbs well the butter. Make really hot to the touch. 

Boil and peeled three small/medium beetroots (or a very large one) and cut into cubes.

Add the cubes to the rice and stir until hot. Remember that the rice has to be hot before you add the stock!

Add the stock (vegetable in my case) ladle by ladle, and stir often, adding more stock when needed.

The risotto is ready! Wow, look at the colour!

Cut the Parimigiano Reggiano into small chunks with a Parmigiano knife. Get your Balsamic ready: this is a 25 years old Tradizionale, truly spectacular!

Dish the risotto, add the Parmigiano and a drizzle of Balsamico.

This was just amazing!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Christmas Fruit Platter with Balsamic

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena goes well with fruit, and there is also a Balsamic cream you can buy which is less expensive and ideal to decorate plates.

 Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Balsamic glazed onions - Cipolline con Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena

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!).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Pears, Rocket and Parmesan Salad with Extravecchio Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

At the Festival Italiano I received a very special present from Naomi of Aceto Downunder: a bottle of ABTM (Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena), the extra vecchio (25 years +). This Balsamico is the real thing, only sold in specially designed 100ml bottles, expensive but worth it, every drop of it.

The first thing I made was this classic Italian salad: Rocket leaves (fresh from my veggie garden), shaved Parmesan, thin slices of crunchy pears, and a drizzle of ABTM. This salad is absolutely delicious, and perfect as an entree or a sophisticated yet easy and light summer main course. Thank you Naomi!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Strawberries and Balsamic non-alcoholic aperitif

It may sounds strange for those who live on the other side of the world, but here Christmas means strawberries, cherries and red fruit! For this aperitif I used one punnet of strawberries, washed and cut, 500ml of natural apple juice, and one tsp of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (ABTM). The real ABTM is only sold in 100ml round bottles, like the one pictured below.

Blend everything well and serve in small glasses. Great aperitif before an 'important' Christmas meal, and suitable for children too!

Here are the first cherries and plums of the season. They make a simple and stylish Xmas decoration for the table (but they don't last long :-)! Yum!)

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Modena, and Strawberries with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena.

I grew up in the province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. During the summer I returned to the city and stayed in the centre, in the lovely small boutique Hotel Cervetta. Below is the view from my balcony, a very quiet street that leads straight to the main square, Piazza Grande (photo above).

In the main square there is the Cathedral of Modena, considered one of the masterpieces of Romanesque architecture in Europe. Recently this was the place where friends from all corners of the world came to pay their respects to the city's most famous resident, the late Luciano Pavarotti. Below are some details of the Cathedral's Porta Regia.

This is the Clock Tower ...

....And the beautiful Torre della Girlandina, all boxed up for restorations. Some people don't like the 'box', designed by Italian sculptor Mimmo Paladino, but I thought that it looks cool.

And beautiful is also the Palazzo Ducale

But now for a typical Modena ingredient....

A must visit is the museum of the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, in the nearby small city of Spilamberto, where I got a 25 years old balsamic, which is just amazing!

Strawberries with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale

di Modena

1 punnet of strawberries

1 tsp Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (ABTM)

1 tbsp white sugar

Hull and cut the strawberries, place in a bowl with the ABTM and sugar,

stir and let marinate for a few hours. Serve by itself or with Vanilla ice-cream.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©