Bella cucina

Forget takeaway pizza – these simply mouthwatering recipes from Kiwi chef Bri DiMattina will transport your tastebuds to the Italian countryside

Tomato with Whipped Feta

This tomato medley salad plays with the contrasting flavours of whipped feta and a sweet honey-chilli drizzle. Make extra of the whipped feta and the honey-chilli drizzle to reconstruct this later as a dip with other garden goodies. Though, honestly, it is best with fresh tomatoes – an addictive combination.

SERVES 2

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp honey

• ½ tsp chilli seeds

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp capers

• 500g mixed heirloom (or homegrown) tomatoes, sliced (little ones can be left whole)

• ½ small red onion, finely chopped

• Small handful of Italian parsley, roughly chopped

WHIPPED FETA

• 80g feta

• 40g sour cream (or yoghurt)

• ½ garlic clove, minced

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp olive oil

• Lemon zest and cracked pepper (optional)

Method

To make the whipped feta, blend the feta and sour cream in a food processor until smooth, then stir in the remaining ingredients by hand. Chill until required.

In a small pot, heat honey until runny (no need to simmer or boil) then add chilli seeds and stir thoroughly.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small pan and fry capers until crispy. Leave to cool.

Layer whipped feta on the base of the plate, followed by tomatoes, capers, red onion and parsley. Drizzle with the honey chilli just before serving, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Zucchini Arancini

Arancini are usually made with rice, often from leftover risotto. They have a delectable filling, such as cheese, truffle or ragu, and are rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. A lot of Italian cooking represents this
style of using up everything, and is the spirit of this dish. If you, like me, are seduced into planting lots of zucchini, unsurprisingly you will have lots of zucchini to use up, so this is for you. Arancini are Sicilian and southern Italian, and a similar recipe in Rome is called suppli. There are many variations and other names as you travel through Italy, but I think this one, made purely from grated zucchini, is a uniquely New Zealand garden version.

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

• 3 zucchini, grated

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• Small handful of parsley, finely chopped thyme leaves, to taste

• 1 tsp cracked black pepper

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup pecorino, finely grated 

• ½ cup fine dry breadcrumbs, plus more, to coat

• 100g mozzarella, cut into 1cm cubes

• Vegetable oil, to deep-fry

METHOD

Place the grated zucchini into a clean tea towel and wring out over the sink, to remove excess liquid. Place zucchini into a large bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Gently cook the onion and garlic until translucent, then add to the zucchini. Add the parsley, thyme, pepper, eggs, pecorino and breadcrumbs. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. If the mixture seems too wet, add some more breadcrumbs, though it should be fairly moist.

Take a small handful of the mixture and flatten a little in the palm of your hand. Place a cube of mozzarella in the centre, then enclose with the zucchini mixture and shape into a ball. Roll in the fine breadcrumbs to thoroughly coat.

Half fill a large saucepan with vegetable oil and heat over medium high heat. Deep-fry arancini in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towel.

NOTE: You can make these in big batches and freeze them after crumbing. They make a great lunch snack in the middle of winter.

Grilled Capsicum & Tomato Tart

This tart is almost better cold the next day than it is straight from the oven. Feel free to use puff pastry instead of shortcrust, but still leave a border around the edge so that you get a lovely crust.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

• 2 anchovy fillets

• 2 shallots, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

• 500g shortcrust pastry

• 150g gruyere, grated

• 4 tbsp chopped herbs (such as thyme, sage and oregano), plus extra, to serve

• 2 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced

• 3 large capsicums, cut into pieces and lightly chargrilled

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190°C fan-forced. Lightly grease a large baking tray.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the anchovies, shallots and garlic for a couple of minutes, until softened. Set aside to cool.

Roll out the pastry to a 30cm × 20cm rectangle and place onto the prepared tray. Spread the cooled anchovy mixture over, leaving a 2cm border around the edge.

Sprinkle with gruyere and herbs, then layer the tomato and capsicum on top, slightly overlapping.

Fold the edges of the pastry over to make a crust. Drizzle the topping
with olive oil. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until pastry is golden.

Cool slightly and serve topped with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and cracked pepper.

Spiced Apple Cake

This recipe hails from my mother’s café, Eliza’s Pantry. It’s super simple and uses four apples with their skin on. The apples don’t have to be at their best, it’s a little like a banana bread recipe for apples. They can be rescued because no one is inclined to eat them, and turned into something delicious – but the best part is that it is all just mixed up in a food processor, then baked.

SERVES 12

INGREDIENTS

• 4 apples, quartered, cored

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 2 tsp ground allspice

• 250g butter, at room temperature, chopped

• 2 cups plain flour

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• Ice cream and caramel sauce, to serve

CINNAMON CRUMBLE

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ½ cup rolled oats

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 25g butter

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced. Grease a 23cm springform tin and line with baking paper.

To make the crumble, combine the ingredients in a food processor and process until crumbly. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

For the cake, place the apples into the food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process for 1 minute. Pour into the prepared tin and sprinkle with the topping.

Bake for 1–1.25 hours, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve with ice cream, caramel sauce, or both.