It’s coming up to Mother’s Day and honestly, it’s difficult to know how to thank our mums. They do so many incredible things for us without us evening knowing, our lives wouldn’t be the same without them.
I’m from an Italian family and one of the ways my mum and nonna show their love is to cook. And lucky for me, they’ve taught me a thing or two along the way.
Italian recipes don’t often come in the form of cookbooks. My nonna doesn’t believe in recipes, she cooks in the moment, allowing variance for different ingredients, textures, weather… it’s all very romantic. But let me tell you, if you can whip up a yummy nonna recipe for your mum or grandma this Mother’s day, they’ll feel loved and cared for in a truly special way.
To help you make this happen, I’ve done my best to write out some of my favourite Italian dishes in recipe form, just the way my nonna makes them.
Doesn’t measure quantities. Less fatty more cheese, more fatty less cheese. Can only tell with texture
Polpetone (Italian meatloaf)
Ingredients
500g pork mince 500g veal mince 2x cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1x onion, super finely chopped 4x whole eggs 1 ½ cups of freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Small handful of finely chopped parsley A few healthy pinches of salt A little bit of pepper Breadcrumbs
Method
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees.
Put everything into a bowl and mix it together with your hands until it looks like one big meat patty. Add breadcrumbs until the mixture holds together.
Oil a big oven tray or dish with olive oil. Put your mixture in the tray and mold it into a loaf shape. Drizzle olive oil over your loaf and rub it in using your hands.
Optional: Add chopped vegetables around the loaf. Potatoes, pumpkin and chopped onion is yum.
Cook it in the oven for approx 1.5 hours. If the loaf is starting to go brown on the outside but is still raw in the middle, cover it with foil and keep cooking. The crunchier, the better.
Serve with roast veggies and red wine.
Brodo (Chicken minestrone)
Ingredients
A whole roast chicken 4x carrots, roughly chopped 1x bunch of celery leaves and all, roughly chopped 1x packet of spinach and ricotta ravioli 5x potatoes, diced
Method
Pull all the meat off your already cooked whole chicken. Cover the meat and put in the fridge for later. Use the chicken bones, carrots and celery, boil down a broth for a few hours or until it tastes like chicken stock.
Remove the bones. Add in the ravioli, chicken meat and diced potatoes into the stock and cook for 10 mins.
Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top.
Eggplant & Capsicum with Cheese Polotte
Polotte ingredients
1 ½ cups of pecorino cheese 6x eggs Freshly crumbed bread (Use stale white bread or toasted ciabatta)
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Hollow out your vegetables. Eggplants are easy to hollow out with a spoon. Capsicums just need the seeds pulled out of the centre.
Beat the eggs together, then add the cheese and a few handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs. Mix together until the mixture turns into a paste consistency. Add more breadcrumbs or cheese if it’s too runny.
Add the mixture into the centre of your hollowed out veggies. Put them into the over for around 15minutes.
They’re delicious served with a green salad or roast potatoes. Or both.
The cold weather in most parts of Australia coinciding with EOFY celebrations is the closest thing that we’ll get to snowy Christmas vibes. And if you’re in dire need of some festive cheer after the first six months of 2023, grab your ugly sweater and head to your nearest Red Rooster for Xmas in July deals.
From June 29 – July 31, 2023, Red Rooster is serving up free food items, a chance to win $10,000 or one of 10 merch packs valued at $400 and other fun prizes. All you have to do is sign up as a Red Royalty member and spend $5 on at a location near you or online.
Each week there’ll be new delicious deals and prizes to win. The week one deals have already dropped and they’re looking pretty tasty. You can get access to them via your Red Royalty account. The more you purchase, the more chances you have to win.
Spoiler alert: you can get 10 chicken nuggets for free, right now. Brb running to Red Rooster.
