Cooking with Carmelo
Sicilian-born Chef Carmelo Sortino has been cooking since he was 14 years old, starting in his uncle’s pastry shop where he became fascinated with baking and making marzipan. Two years later, he moved to Milan to work for the Ricci Company before being offered a place at Giuseppe Ciocca’s culinary…
Les Petits Farcis Niçois
Ingredients: 4 x Round courgettes (zucchini) for 2 people 2 x small white Onions 6 x Garlic cloves Tsp Curry powder 300g Spelt flour (can be substituted with wholegrain rice) 1 cup Split peas 1 cup Barley, 1 cup Lentils 1 cube Vegetable stock TbspPesto 150g Goat cheese cream 40ml…
Frittata – Italian style omelette
‘Omelette is the French word for the Italian ‘Frittata’. The difference is not only linguistic, but the cooking method is quite different. An omelette does not need to be turned over. It is folded in half in the pan and must be soft on the inside and golden on the…
Bechamel Sauce
This is one of the easiest and yet most difficult sauces! It has a French origin but is widely used in Italian cooking. It is a basic sauce that can be used in many recipes eg. Lasagna Ingredients (1 pint of sauce) 60g Butter 60g Plain Flour 1 pint Milk…
Tuscany 2016
Tuscany is especially beautiful in the Fall. It’s golden slopes and slender trees, its sienna sunsets and pastel skies, its red, red wine. I can remember the sounds and smells as if it were yesterday. I stayed at Villa Fonte, on the outskirts of Certaldo a short drive to San…
The Cyclades Islands of the Central Aegean, GREECE
In 2015, after having skippered food previous sailing trips in Croatia, and one in B.C. Canada, I decided to embark on a sailing adventure in Greece. I was in charge of a 49ft sailboat, and 7 crew. We left from Athens, and sailed 300 nautical miles over a 50-mile stretch…