Italian Kiwi – Recipes, Travel, and More!

  • Peanut, Coconut, And Chocolate Square

    Peanut, Coconut, And Chocolate Square

        A recipe from way back when This recipe for peanut square is an childhood favourite of mine from New Zealand.  My mother used to make it regularly. She modified it from a recipe published in the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers Cookbook.  It’s not as posh as it sounds. It was an important…

  • Beef And Carrot Stew (Spezzatino )

    Beef And Carrot Stew (Spezzatino )

        With the nights getting colder, beef stew is very welcoming Winter’s rolling in.  There’s frost on the grass in the mornings and ice on the car windows. Though, luckily where I live (at least in my opinion!), the temperature then rises to about 15 to 20 degrees C or so during the day.…

  • Tiramisu: The Italian Dessert That Gives You a Lift!

    Tiramisu: The Italian Dessert That Gives You a Lift!

        An Italian blog can’t be Italian without a tiramisu recipe Well, I had to do it, didn’t I?  I can’t really say that I have a blog about Italian food without this recipe. What’s the best known Italian dessert outside Italy after gelato?  You’ve got it! Tiramisu!  Strangely, tiramisu is one of the…

  • Russian Salad From Nonna Pierina (Insalata Russa)

    Russian Salad From Nonna Pierina (Insalata Russa)

        The secret ingredient to make Russian Salad special This post on Insalata Russa is a very special one, as I am writing about it to honour a great woman who passed away this time last year. Pierina, my husband’s grandmother was a powerhouse of food production. She would make a huge bowl of…

  • Fusilli With Radicchio, Speck And Gorgonzola

    Fusilli With Radicchio, Speck And Gorgonzola

        I was first introduced to radicchio when I was living in California.  I have an Italian friend who comes from the mountainous area in the North-East of Italy where radicchio is grown and used extensively.  At the time she was living in a to-die-for apartment on the way up to Coit Tower in…

  • Penne all’Arrabbiata

    Penne all’Arrabbiata

        How penne all’arrabbiata got its name I’m off on holiday (great that there are so many school holidays in France!!) with the family to Venice and Padova in a couple of days.  We’ve decided that our youngest is finally old enough not to try jumping (or falling!) into the canals, so it’s a…

  • Artichoke Flan With Fontina Cheese Sauce

    Artichoke Flan With Fontina Cheese Sauce

        My love-hate affair with artichokes It’s coming into artichoke season!  I have a love/hate relationship with artichokes.  I love to eat them but hate dealing with them: from the minute I pick them up at the market and they prick me with their nasty thorns, to the time when I’m trying to pull…

  • Anzac Biscuits: New Zealand Can’t Live Without Them!

    Anzac Biscuits: New Zealand Can’t Live Without Them!

        Why Anzac cookies are called Anzac cookies Along the theme of New Zealand recipes, I bring you Anzac biscuits! You may have already seen my post on banana cake, another Kiwi stalwart.  As a kid, Anzac biscuits were one of the staples of my afternoon tea when I came home after school.  Anzac…

  • Oven-Roasted Pumpkin (Zucca di Arianna)

    Oven-Roasted Pumpkin (Zucca di Arianna)

        The time for roasting pumpkin is here Autumn has started to be weasel its way into my consciousness: suddenly the leaves on the trees are looking slightly brown and the mornings are getting chilly.  In Southern France, it still gets hot during the day, so my boys are trying to be all macho…

  • Banana Cake

    Banana Cake

        Banana cake is my favourite! What’s yours? I figured that I’ve been giving Italian recipes a pretty good run on my blog, so now it’s time to add a few from New Zealand to balance the “Kiwi” bit of “Italian Kiwi”. The first recipe I want to share with you is one which…

  • Meatballs with Peas (Polpette con Piselli)

    Meatballs with Peas (Polpette con Piselli)

    This recipe for polpette con piselli (meatballs with peas) is another great classic from my mother-in-law, Bianca.  Friends of my husband who grew up eating these often at his parents’ place in Turin  have been bugging me to put up this recipe for a while, so here it is!  Polpette con piselli a wonderful “make…

  • Penne With Salmon and Cream

    Penne With Salmon and Cream

        Fishy pasta for people who don’t like fish  Pasta with salmon is an easy pasta dish to keep up your sleeve when you need to get something on the table in a hurry, and feel as though it’s about time you ate some fish as you know it’s good for you, but you…