Crème Caramel & Watermelon Granita

Tagliatelle with Rabbit Ragu

Spinach Gnocchi with Pork Ragu

51 Bourke St, Melbourne

03 9654 6800

I saw Jamie Oliver make these on tv a few weeks ago and then yesterday a family friend gave me some from her dad’s garden. They were great. The filling was delicious and the batter was light, I used soda water. Here’s the recipe.

Goldfrapp – Fly Me Away (zSHARE)

I enjoyed Rome much more than Florence and Venice, there is just a lot more going on and the tourists are a little, just a little bit, more spread out or concentrated in main areas. There were a few nice streets that I found, this area below had a few cool clothing stores and the great place I had lunch. I met some really nice girls from Brazil and I spent my last day with them. It´s really annoying that all the cool people I met and could genuinely be friends with I meet on there´s or my last day.

I was sick and there was torrential rain so I decided to see a movie. I went to the largest, village, cinema only to discovered it didn’t open until 4pm!! Insanity.

Will be seeing Em and Georgia on Sunday and I am really happy to be leaving Italy. It will be nice to get a little costumer service and things done quicker than at a snails pace. Get your shit together Italy, fuck. And why do Italian men think it´s okay to call you baby or alike?

Mia Market

They have mini chopping boards and knives that you can take to your table and make your own sandwich with the meat and cheese you buy.

Orange Cupcake

This Lentil & Potato Soup was very nice. It came in that jar and it was hot.

Cherry Tomato & Mozzarella Bread

Apple Syrup Cakes

Im in Florence now and Im feeling a little more confident in finding a good meal. I spoke to the owner of the place Im staying (where they gave me a private room with dvd, bathroom etc… for the price of a shared) and he was extremely helpful admitting it was hard to find somewhere good but recommended two places and told me not to eat pizza anywhere in Florence.

I ate at this nice deli cafe where they had simple quality sandwiches, not a piece of processed meat in sight, fuck I saw so much shit in sandwiches in Venice.

Sufjan Stevens – Vito’s Ordination Song (zSHARE)

I just ate amazing well just real buffalo mozarella, it totally made this miserable wet day in Venice. The mini pizza was shit. It snowed which was cool.

I love Italian food and it is probably my favourite food to cook but that might be because its so hard to find good Italian food in Melbourne. Im not into Lygon Street Italian, sweet, creamy or over complicated sauces, or mushy rice or pasta – I like it simple. I love peasant food, Im happy with stale toasted bread in tomato soup.  I will only eat Italian cooked by Italian family friends or from a few restaurants (if anyone has any good ones Id love to know about them). My favourite thing to have with spaghetti is cherry tomatoes fried on a low heat with whole garlic in olive oil until everything is soft and thats when I mush it all into the oil and chuck the spaghetti in. I might have it with a little bit of cheese or basil but its great just as it is.

On a night out in Barcelona I met this guy from Venice and I asked him where I should eat. He told me what I had feared, that I wouldnt eat good food unless got way out of the cities or ate at someones house. I cannot do either of these things. Italians dont go out to dinner so almost all the restaurants are for tourists most of the boasting a tourist menu, such a turn off. So Venice is a really amazing place to see but I couldnt have stayed there more than a day, apart from the people working everyone is a tourist. A girl was telling me that only 30,000 people live there but 34,000,000 or something ridiculous like that visit every year. And everything besides gelato is so expensive.

Beirut – Postcards From Italy (zSHARE)

Eggplant Fritters

Gorgonzola Gnocchi

In Bianco

612 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy North

03 9481 8122

Van Morrison – Everyone

LCD Soundsystem – Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up (zSHARE)

Like my cupcakes this risotto turned out a little more pink than I wanted but it tasted pretty good. The next time I’ll use a lighter milkier cheese as I found the fontina a little too salty and strong for this dish – it ruined the earthy beetroot flavour a bit. A funny comment made by my sister was that it tasted like dirt, she liked it though and she doesn’t really like risotto or beetroot much.

Beetroot Risotto with Grilled Radicchio

Serves 4

1.5L vegetable stock

500g raw beetroot, peeled and chopped into small cubes

125g unsalted butter

1 red onion, finely

3 tablespoons raspbeery or red wine vinegar

500g risotto rice

250g goats cheese, crumbled

3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

sea salt and pepper

3 small radicchio or witlof, quartered lengthways (optional)

100ml olive oil

Heat the stock into a saucepan and keep at a gentle simmer.

Add the beetroot tot the stock and simmer for 20-30 minutes until almost tender.

Remove the beetroot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Melt half the butter in a large, heavy saucepan.

Add the onion and vinegar and cook gently for 10 minutes until soft and translucent.

Add the beetroot and rice stirring over a high heat for a minute until slightly translucent.

Begin adding the stock, a large ladle at a time, stirring gently until each ladle has been absorbed by the rice. The risotto should be kept at a bare simmer throughout cooking.

Continue until the rice is tender and creamy, but the grains are still firm. This should take about 20 minutes.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Beat in the remaining butter and parsley. If the risotto looks dry at a bit of stock as well.

Cover and let the risotto rest for a couple of minutes.

Serve immediately with crumbled goats cheese on top.

NB: If serving with radicchio, heat an overhead grill. Put the radicchio pieces in a grill pan and brush with the oil. Grill for 10-15 until soft and beginning to colour, turning a couple of times. Remove from the grill and set aside. Ladle the risotto into heatproof bowls and top each with the radicchio. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, set on a baking tray and grill for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted  and bubbling.