Dishes Best Served Bold

There is so much to love about Italian Cuisine & so much more that we can all still learn about it.

Italy has a well-earned reputation as being home to some of the world’s favourite dishes, and Manuela Gant delights in showing people new tricks inspired by the old country.

Manuela, who runs a cookery school and catering company – La Cucina di Manuela, has been interested in food since her childhood in Milan. “From my mum I learned the basics, from my father how to love all that grows wild and free. We spent many holidays in the northern Italian mountains,” she says.

“We would all go fishing for trout and yabbies in the rivers, collecting mushrooms, berries and chestnuts in the forest, even catching snails. Then we would cook a fantastic meal.”

After moving to Sydney a few years ago, via New York and London, Manuela has been showing Aussies – and now readers of 2062 – how to whip up a delicious Italianstyle feast. But she doesn’t like to always limit herself to her home cuisine.

“Although my heritage is Italian my frequent travels and time spent living in different countries has made me eager to explore different dishes,” Manuela says.

Buon appetito!

Manuela's Gnocchi di Zucca

SERVES : 2-4 COOK: 1 HOUR

Cooler weather calls for hearty dishes that are able to warm your body and soul. Pumpkin is a wonderful ingredient for many Italian winter dishes, such as soups or risotto, but one of Manuela’s favourite winter warmers is this delightful pumpkin gnocchi.

INGREDIENTS: THE GNOCCHI DOUGH

500g Japanese pumpkin

250g desiree potatoes

1 egg

250g-300g all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

INGREDIENTS: THE SAUCE

400g mixed mushrooms, cleaned and finely sliced

20g extra virgin olive oil 1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tbsp parsley leaves, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

INGREDIENTS: THE GARNISH

100g butter

Sage leaves

Roasted pine nuts

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh ground pepper

Chopped parsley

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Remove pumpkin skin and seeds, then cut into chunks and place on a baking tray layered with non-stick paper and cook for 30-40 minutes until nicely roasted.

3. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes, skin on, in a pot of boiling water until soft and tender.

4. Drain potatoes and process them through a potato ricer, along with the cooked pumpkin.

5. Sprinkle the flour on a board, add salt and pepper, the potatoes, pumpkin and egg, and knead to form a dough (the addition of the potatoes is to achieve a proper gnocchi consistency, because unfortunately very often the pumpkin pulp is too wet and requires too much flour so the gnocchi can end up hard, floury and tasteless).

6. Put on a large pot of salted water to boil. Cut a small piece of the dough and roll it until about 1cm thick, and then cut into small pieces about 1.5cm long and mark the pieces with a gnocchi board or the back of a fork.

7. In a large saucepan, place the oil, garlic and parsley over a medium heat.

8. Cook for few minutes then add the mushrooms, salt and pepper.

9. Cook for about 10-15 minutes and set aside.

10. To prepare the burnt sage butter, place the butter in a small saucepan along with the sage leaves and cook over a medium heat, until the butter goes a soft brown colour and achieves a very aromatic sage smell.

11. In batches, put the gnocchi in the boiling water until they surface, then scoop them up and place them in the mushroom sauce, mix well.

12. Plate the gnocchi, adding a tablespoon of burnt sage butter, some Parmesan, freshly grated pepper, parsley and few toasted pine nuts.

Ricotta & Truffle Honey

SERVES : 2-4 PREPARATION: 5 MINS

This delicious dish dates back to Sardinia in Roman times, when locals would make fresh ricotta from the milk of the sheep and goats that roamed the island, and pair it with sweet local honey. This is an updated version, with the fantastic addition of truffle honey and pistachios.

INGREDIENTS

4 thick slices of quality sourdough toasted (Manuela loves raisin and walnut but you can use your favourite)

200g ricotta

2 tbsp of cream

60g truffle honey

40g pistachio nuts, halved, toasted and roughly chopped

METHOD

1. In a bowl, whisk the ricotta and the cream until well combined.

2. Equally divide and spread it on the toasted sourdough.

3. Spoon over the truffle honey and finish with the pistachio crumble.