Veal Scaloppini in Lemon Sauce

8 veal cutlets
½ Cup lemon juice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Fresh sage and garlic to taste
Salt

Lightly pound the cutlets to flatten them out, salt them lightly, and marinate them in the lemon juice and a tablespoon of the olive oil for a half hour.

Heat the marinade, oil, and herbs to taste in a frypan, and when the mixture is bubbling add the meat. Cook quickly for about 1 - 1/12 minutes on each side, turning the meat once.

Note: You could cook this with chicken breasts that have been butterflied, instead of veal.

Chicken Cacciatore

8 chicken pieces
½ Cup flour for dredging
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ Cup oil
400 g can diced toamtoes
1 large onion cut into chunks
1 green capsicum cut into chunks
1 Cup mushrooms
1 ½ Cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
¼ Cup fresh parsley chopped

Mix salt and pepper into the flour. Place chicken in flour and toss to cover.

In a large frypan cook the chicken in batches in the oil until brown.

Place chicken in a large pot and add the tomatoes and stock and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms, onions and capsicum. Season with basil and oregano.

Cover and cook for around 45 more minutes.

Garnish with parsley and serve with pasta, rice or polenta.

Margherita Pizza

Dough

3 Cups plain flour
1 Cup warm water
1 sachet yeast
1 teaspoon water

2 - 3 Tablespoons passata
½ kg tomatoes sliced thin
½ kg fresh mozzarella sliced
10 fresh basil leaves
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 220 C.

Place yeast and sugar in water and allow to sit for 10 minutes or until it begins to bubble. Add to the flour and mix thoroughly. Knead until the dough is elastic. Roll out dough to the desired thickness.

Lightly cover the base of the pizza with passata. Place a layer of tomatoes. Place a layer of mozzarella on top of the tomatoes. Top with fresh basil and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cook pizza for around 10 to 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Makes 2 - 3 pizzas (depending on size and thickness of the base).

Eggplant Parmagiana

2 -3 large eggplants

Olive oil

1 bottle passata

500 g shredded mozzarella

Dried breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Slice eggplants 1 cm thick. Heat a heavy pan, add 1 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil and begin lightly frying eggplant slices on both sides and remove and drain as you go.

Take a cassarole dish and spread some passata on base. Sprinkle some crumbs and layer eggplant slices, sauce and cheese until the last layer is sauce with mozzerella on top. Sprinkle liberally with crumbs and bake in centre of oven for at least 30 mins. It is cooked with a skewer or knife can be inserted using no pressure. Allow to cool a little before cutting and serving.Experiment with quantity of sauce you like, it may be too wet or not wet enough.

Grilled Polenta

4 Cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 Cup medium coarse polenta

1 cup milk

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small red onion, chopped

½ Cup sundried tomatoes soaked until soft, drained, and chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh basil, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

Heat water to boiling.

In a small pan, sauté the chopped red onion and the 2 cloves of minced garlic in olive oil. (This will be added to the cooked polenta later.) When the water has boiled, add the cornmeal and salt, and simmer gently over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wire whisk, being careful that it does not boil over.

Add milk and whisk until liquid is absorbed and polenta is smooth, about 10-15 minutes. Add additional salt, if necessary.

Add the sautéed red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil and parsley to polenta, and stir well. Turn off heat.

While the polenta is still creamy, pour it out onto a baking sheet. Cover, and chill for at 1 - 24 hours.

Once it's set, cut into 12 squares, and brush each side with olive oil. Place the squares on a hot grill, and cover. Grill until polenta is golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

Easy Alfredo Sauce

475 ml heavy whipping cream
115 g butter
150 g Parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan combine cream, butter and cheese. Cook over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken upon standing.

PS: This was so good the only photo that could be taken was an "after" shot

Boscaiola

350 g mushrooms
2 shallots
350 g canned tomatoes, drained
A small bunch of parsley
A clove of garlic
The leaves of a sprig of rosemary
A few leaves of sage
Olive oil
Chicken stock
Salt & pepper
Freshly grated parmesan

Clean the mushrooms, brushing the dirt away from the stems, and separate the caps from the stems; dice the stems and cube the caps, keeping them separate. Mince the shallots and the herbs and sauté them for a few minutes in 4 tablespoons of oil in a casserole. Add the diced stems, cook another minute, and then add a half cup of chicken stock and the tomatoes. Season with a little pepper and simmer the mixture for a half hour. Add a little more stock and a drop of water, and the cubed caps.

Beef Ragu

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
100g bacon, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
700g beef mince
1 cup beef stock
700ml bottle Italian tomato pasta sauce

Heat oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, bacon and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 7 to 8 minutes or until soft.

Add mince. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2 to 3 minutes or until mince begins to brown. Add stock. Simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce and 1/2 cup cold water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper.

Quick Tomato Sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, peeled, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons tomato paste
410g can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tsp dried mixed herbs

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over low heat until the onion is softened. Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, herbs and 1/2 cup water. Simmer for 25 minutes until thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Carbonara Sauce

2 teaspoons olive oil
200g sliced bacon, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 egg yolks (at room temperature)
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1/2 cup thickened cream
75g parmesan cheese, finely grated

Heat oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add bacon and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towel.

Whisk egg yolks, eggs, cream and three-quarters of the parmesan together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Add egg mixture and bacon mixture to pasta.Season with salt and pepper. Toss over low heat until well combined. Serve with remaining parmesan.