Who doesn’t love having spoonfuls of comforting risotto during the cold months? It’s delicious, warm, velvety, and yes, it does take some patience to make. But with a good old pressure cooker, did you know you can have this Italian classic ready in just 5 minutes?
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Dinner
Italian Beef Ragu
Rich and hearty, a sumptuous ragu is just the thing to warm and fill an empty stomach, especially on cold, bleak days. We bring you our version of this Italian comfort food, to be served with any pasta of your choice and enjoyed with a glass (or more) of wine. The best thing about ragu is that it can be made ahead of time and kept frozen for up to 3 months – great for busy people and big families!
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Slow Cooker Veal Osso Bucco
Also known as beef ragout in some territories, osso bucco is one of the most succulent and hearty beef dishes around. It is a favourite of Aussies, too, including professional chefs and Masterchefs. There isn’t much surprise to all this fandom, since the slow cooking helps bring out all of the aromatic flavour and smell of the beef and herbs. It takes over 6 hours to cook, which means it’s perfect for occasions and gatherings which you can plan ahead of time. Presentation is also a key here, and you will notice how enticing the recipe is just by looking at its photo. You just know you’ll want seconds!
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Rustic Italian Seafood Stew
More commonly referred to in Italy as cioppino, the seafood stew can serve as a great comfort food during the cold months and as a luscious dinner to look forward to during the week. For this variation, we’re looking into using white fish, mussels, prawns and Italian tomatoes as the protagonists of the dish – although you can feel free to change the proteins and herbs as you please. Get the most of this hearty meal by following the simple recipe below, fit to challenge budding chefs and put the skills of the more experienced to the test.
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Goat’s Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Italian classics, particularly pasta dishes, are common but sacred ground when serving dinner for one’s family or friends. This is why care must be practised to be sure that all ingredients are fresh and properly measured. For this recipe, we’re doing a baby spinach and goat’s cheese filling, fresh homemade ravioli, and tomato sauce with savoury sage leaves. Try this dish out for size the next time you’re having company over – be sure to plan and prepare ahead!
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Healthy Baked Tuna and Corn Jacket Potato
More often than not, people tend to think that healthy dishes have to lose all aesthetic appeal and flavour. We will prove this notion wrong with our simple jacket potato recipe, which boasts of healthy goodness and sumptuous flavours at the same time. This is perfect at any time of the day – you can have it with fruit juice in the morning or with wine for dinner.
Tuna and Corn Jacket Potato
Try out our delicious jacket potato recipe, all done and ready to be served in just an hour!
SERVINGS: 1
PREP TIME: 10 Minutes
COOK TIME: 50 Minutes
Equipments
Ingredients
- 1 medium potato (150 g)
- 100 g canned tuna (in water)
- 3 tbsps sweetcorn
- 2 spring onions
- 2 tbsps plain low-fat yogurt
Instructions
- Bake the potato at 200C until soft (50-60 minutes). Remove from the oven, set aside.
- In a bowl, mix the tuna with yogurt, sweetcorn and finely chopped spring onions.
- Split the potato in half. Stuff with the tuna and corn mixture.
- Serve while hot and enjoy!
Baking Tips:
The original recipe uses either mayonnaise or cheese, which you can substitute for this version’s yogurt
If fresh sweetcorn is unavailable, defrost canned or frozen sweetcorn as an alternative
This dish is served perfect with a side salad of greens and freshly squeezed juice
Fragrant Pumpkin Bread
Great comfort food never fails. With classic recipes such as pumpkin bread, one can always feel at home anytime, anywhere. Served on its own, with butter or jam, or with soups, pumpkin bread effortlessly stands out on the dinner table. In just an hour or so, you can have real homemade goodness right within the confines of your kitchen. Follow and share this recipe with loved ones to spread the warm, homey aroma of pumpkin bread.
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin bread is great on its own or with spreads and jams. You can tweak the recipe to include your own choice of nuts, herbs and dried fruit – the possibilities are endless! For starters, check out this simple and no-nonsense recipe:
SERVINGS: 2 Loaves
PREP TIME: 20 Minutes
COOK TIME: 60 Minutes
Equipments
Ingredients
- 450 g sugar
- 250 ml vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 450 g unsweetened pumpkin (canned)
- 450 g flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. allspice
- 150 ml water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.
- Grease the bottoms of two 22x12cm loaf pans with butter and flour.
- Mix the sugar and oil together, then stir in the eggs and pumpkin.
- Take all dry ingredients and combine in another bowl. Slowly add water. Finally, blend in with the egg-and-pumpkin mixture.
- Pour the batter evenly on two loaf pans.
- Bake for around 60 minutes. To be sure, use a cake tester.
- Let the loaf stand for ten minutes.
- Take the bread out of the pans, then cool and serve.
Pumpkin Bread
Baking Tips:
- By greasing only the bottoms of the pans, you get a gently rounded top of the bread.
- You can add raisins and nuts – even garlic cloves – to the mix if desired.
- Bundt cake pans also work in place of loaf pans.
- Adding as little as 2 teaspoons of vanilla can create all the difference in terms of the sweetness and savouriness of the bread.
- For a healthier approach, replace the vegetable oil with applesauce, the white flour with whole wheat flour, and use brown instead of white sugar.
Vegan and Gluten-Free Asparagus Leek Risotto
This asparagus leek risotto is a gluten-free and vegan version of the rice dish classic. Asparagus has been getting a lot of attention from foodies and health advocates lately, and it isn’t surprising why. These greens are not just full of nutrients – they are also quite tasty and ideal for many recipes.
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