METHOD:

Slice the eggplant lengthways. Without removing the skin, they do not need soaking if they are young and have a shiny skin.

If you salt the eggplant after slicing wash them and rinse them well and dry them well.

Toast in flour both side as you ready to fry them.

Choose a large frypan and pour enough oil into it.

Fry them in both sides few minutes at time.

Make sure that the oil stays pretty clean.

Spread few tablespoon of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.

Alternate each layer of the fried eggplant with the sauce. Slice of cheese and basil leaves. Sprinkle of Parmigiano

Sprinkle few fresh breadcrumbs on the first and last layer on top of the eggplant before the sauce.

Repeat at least for 3 layers.

Ending with tomatoes and cheese some breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven at 180,

Bake for 30 minutes until a nice crust is formed on top.

Let her sit for 15 minutes for the dish to settled.

Freezes well and last few days refrigerate. Serves 8

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

OUR PRODUCERS:

Ross Tomatoes, Sapunars Produce, Mt. Buffalo Olives, KNM Berries and Pasta Adele

METHOD:

Bring a pot of water to a boil.
To prepare the tomatoes, cut into the stem end and drop them into the boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes or until you see the skins begin to loosen
Transfer the tomatoes to a colander in the sink and run cold water over them until they are cool enough to handle.
Use a small, sharp knife, and peel off the skins and cut in half.
Cut out the small core and then scoop out seeds if you wish.
Chop tomatoes in quarters.
In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until sizzling, then cook the onion, stirring often, until it is soft and translucent.

Add the tomatoes, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Add the chopped basil and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Stir in the oregano, and top your favorite cooked pasta. Suitable for 375-400 gms dried pasta. Serves around 4..

This sauce is also great pureed when cold and used for pizza sauce..Can be frozen in small containers or put in sterilized jars and preserved by hot water bath for 20 mins and will keep for 12 months.

Risotto wasn’t common in Umbria until relatively recently – grains and pulses are the common crops, making pasta our mainstay. As a young cook, though, my mother was exposed to new things, and risotto became her forte. Sunday lunch was the only time she could cook for her own family, so she liked to spoil us. One pranzo she made her already special risotto extraordinary by adding strawberries – and today we’ve further added to the experience in the restaurant by including scallops. Today we are using smoked meats.

OUR PRODUCERS: Alpine Saffron, Gamila at Beechworth, Gamze Smokehouse Meats, Sapunars Produce, Mt. Buffalo Olives and Alpine Valley Vignerons

Risotto can be made a few ways. I like the classic version that uses flavoursome broth and just one or two lovely ingredients, with good cheese or butter to finish the dish. I don’t stir it continuously, but do think it is important to stir the rice well while it is toasting to ensure it doesn’t burn. I use Carnaroli or Arborio rice in the restaurant as they hold their shape, but at home I prefer tender Vialone Nano. It is true that it is easier to overcook, but I think it gives the palate the most pleasure.

The Dal Zotto family from the King Valley pioneered the production of Prosecco in Australia. This subtly fizzy wine is a perfect aperitif as it wakes up the tastebuds, and it is beautiful in this dish.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Gently warm the stock in a saucepan with the saffron strands. Melt the butter with the oil in a heavy-based deep frying pan over medium heat until sizzling, then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Season with salt.

Add the rice and stir constantly for a few minutes until toasted and coated with the butter – make sure it doesn’t burn. Stir in the prosecco and cook for 10 minutes or until absorbed by the rice – the spoon will leave a clear path after it is pushed from one side of the pan to the other.

Add half the chorizo or sausages and then a ladleful of warm broth and cook without stirring until the liquid has been absorbed – run the spoon through the rice again to check.

Continue adding stock a ladleful at a time until the rice is al dente – this should take about 20 minutes, depending on the type of rice used. Gently stir in the remaining chorizo, vegetable and cheese, then set aside to rest for 3 minutes

METHOD:

To make the drinks, place 3 Tablespoons of the simple syrup plus the mint leaves in the bottom of a glass. I like to include some of the whole berries in the drink, but feel free to strain them out if you prefer. Using a muddler or the end of a wooden spoon, muddle the mint and blueberries together in the bottom of the glass.

Add the juice of ½ a lime, enough ice to fill the glass, plus the club soda to top it off. Garnish each glass with a lime wedge or slice and a sprig of mint. Stir and serve immediately

This is my version of the whole fish baked with potato, tomatoes and olives we ate at the restaurant on my first trip to the seaside. Australians are lucky to have such wonderful seafood and farmed fish. We often bake salmon for a party or Christmas, giving it a very Italian lift by serving it whole with a balsamic dressing. Sometimes I also smoke it lightly in the barbecue to give it an Australian edge. Baked whole fish is so versatile – it can be scooped out as an antipasto for a large group or served as an entrée or main course, with the accompaniment adjusted according to the season, from asparagus to potatoes to tomatoes. I like to use different types of pepper to season this dish – sometimes pink peppercorns, lemon pepper or even freshly ground Sichuan pepper.”

OUR PRODUCERS: Mountain Fresh Trout & Salmon Farm, Ross Tomatoes, Mt. Buffalo Olives and Alpine Valley Vignerons

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 200˚C.

Check the fish is free from scales, then wash it inside and out and pat dry with paper towel. Slash the thickest part on both sides several times with a sharp knife to assist the fish cook evenly. Mix the lemon juice and oil, then season with salt and pepper and rub into the fish, working it into the cuts and the cavity. Fill the cavity with the lemons, fennel and onion.

Take a roasting tin large enough to take the fish flat but snugly and line it with baking paper, then add the fish. Pour the wine and stock into the tin (but not over the fish), then bake for 40 minutes–1 hour, depending how you prefer your fish. The fish is cooked when the flesh can be easily flaked from the bones.

Meanwhile, make the dressing but don’t add the parsley. Transfer the fish to an oval serving platter. Peel the skin back and roll it towards the spine. Spoon some of the cooking juices over the fish – there won’t be a great deal left. Stir the parsley through the dressing, then pour this over the fish. Scatter over the tomatoes, then cover the platter tightly with foil and set aside for up to 30 minutes – if you want to eat the fish hot, you can eat it after 10 minutes, but it is also delicious at room temperature when the dressing has mingled with the juices.

METHOD:

Cut the beef into 4 even pieces. Working with a few pieces at a time, cover the meat with plastic wrap and gently flatten with a meat mallet until an even thickness. Be careful – you don’t want to mash them!

Cut each prosciutto slice into 4 pieces. To make the saltimbocca, put a piece of prosciutto and a sage leaf on top of each piece of flattened meat and secure with a toothpick.

Heat a little oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add half the saltimbocca to the pan with the prosciutto side to the heat and cook for 2–4 minutes until caramelised, then turn and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove and keep warm while you cook the remaining saltimbocca. Deglaze the pan with the wine and reduce by half. Add the chestnuts, honey and stock to the pan, followed by the saltimbocca, then cook gently for 5 minutes.

Remove the saltimbocca to a warm plate and reduce the cooking liquid to form a sauce. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste, then strain the sauce back over the meat and scatter on the chestnuts.

Stir the parsley and serve w potatoes and Jerusalem artichoke mash, celeriac mash.

METHOD:

To make the gnocchi, warm a little garlic oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and heat and wilt the spinach, then season with salt and pepper, set aside until cool enough to handle.

Squeeze the spinach to remove excess mixture then finely chop them.

Line a tray with baking paper and dust with semolina.

Put in a bowl chopped spinach the chestnut flour, the potatoes, the eggs, work well to combined.

Roll the mixture into 2 cm diameter gnocchi or make quenelles then put into the prepare tray.

Bring a large saucepan with salted water to boil, boil the gnocchi for 6 minutes, scoop them out and let cool and firm up.

Meanwhile melt some butter and oil in a large frypan over medium heat, toss the hazelnut and gnocchi in to gently warm them up and then the sage leaves, cook for a while until the butter start to colour sage crisps and gnocchi warm, then add the lemon zest and lemon juice reduce the heat to low.

Serve the gnocchi in a plate with little juice, drizzle with walnut oil and plenty of the chosen cheese.