Recipes, tips and reviews
These recipes are developed, tested and re-tested until perfect. Try one at home tonight.
I used the Japanese Kuri squash which is a fiery red colour. It roasts well. You can use any drier variety of squash for this curry.
The best Scottish shortbread handed down through my family. Crumbly, sweet and buttery.
This dish has a salty, savoury sauce with a little bit of a kick. If you don't want the spice of the jalapenos, leave it out, and finely diced onion can be used instead of the shallots.
This is the one hors d’oeuvre that I keep being asked for time and time again. It’s crunchy, creamy, spicy and hits all the high spots.
Mushrooms and squash have a real affinity and this soup proves it. I like to use oyster mushrooms, but chanterelles, which I found at the supermarket this week, provide the best flavour.
The fifth taste, umami, has much to do with glutamate, an amino acid found in such foods as prosciutto, soy sauce and a number of cheeses. Umami can show up in your glass, too (fermentation is glutamate’s old friend).
When this recipe originally ran in The Globe and Mail, I received a lovely note from reader Barbara Zuchowicz. This dish reminded her of a wonderful meal she had in Italy: "It brought back joyful memories of a trip to Italy my late husband, an exceptional cook, and I took a number of years ago.
If green garlic, garlic scapes or wild leeks are available, substitute them for the leeks. Artisan-made pasta, available at Italian shops or upmarket grocers, is much tastier and comes in more interesting shapes, which are perfect for this elegant dish. Parmesan gives a more subtle finish to the dish but the ricotta salata is earthier. Your choice.
Read MoreThis recipe - a salute to the Olympic rings - doubles easily.
Read MoreThis is incredibly rich and cheesy. People can pick up their little gratins, sprinkle on the topping of their choice and savour the flavour combinations. Some of my family's favourite toppings include crumbled bacon, sautéed garlic breadcrumbs, chopped lobster meat, extra cheese, salsa and chopped Italian sausage. Basically, add whatever your imagination allows! I like small tubetti pasta, but any shape will work.
I love the cheesiness and rich taste of this dish – it’s the perfect comfort food for the holiday season. You could serve this with the salmon or by itself as a vegetarian main. Vary the cheeses to your own taste.
Made with pancetta, eggs, cheese and cream, carbonara is soaked in tradition. Young chefs, such as Francesco Apreda at the stunning Imago restaurant in the Hassler hotel (the best meal we had in Rome), are putting their own spin on this quintessential Roman dish. I adapted this recipe from the dish he made for us with quail and quail eggs. If you can find boned quail, use 12 ounces finely chopped (instead of the chicken) and the yolks of 12 quail eggs.
Read Moref wild leeks are unavailable, substitute 1 cup chopped green onions and 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic. The sweetness of the tomatoes balance out the dish, although you could omit them. Use a short pasta.
Read MoreThe beans and the healthy kale play counterpoint to the richness of the next course.
Read MoreThis is an ideal dish for when it’s beastly outside. Because it uses ingredients that are usually on hand, you don’t have to leave home to make it.
Read MoreAnne Sorrenti, chef from Morgans on the Danforth, made garlic pizza, which inspired this garlic-infused pasta dish.
Read MoreThis recipe is inspired by a dinner I enjoyed at Charlie Palmer’s restaurant, Burritt Room + Tavern, in San Francisco. Based on the old style of meat-and-drink-heavy establishments that dotted San Fran in another era, it serves impressive cocktails and fun, trendy food.
Read MoreSimplicity and freshness are the keys to creating interesting pasta dishes. Pasta shapes are important, too. The length, curves and texture of the pasta should dictate the kind and size of ingredients used.
Read MoreRefined, elegant Bolognese is the famous sauce from the Bologna region of Italy. It is rich, meaty and not tomato-based. It is the sauce to use in lasagna or with tagliatelle, which is an egg-based pasta.
Read MoreA five-cheese extravaganza with sausage and some chilies to balance the cheesy richness. Serve a small portion as an appetizer before a light main course, or make it the centrepiece of dinner.
Baked pasta is my idea of real comfort food. It’s easy to cook and can be prepared well ahead of time, making it a go-to dish for families (especially since it also freezes well).
Read MoreMade with pancetta, eggs, cheese and cream, carbonara is soaked in tradition.
Read MoreRigatoni is perfect for this dish because the sauce settles inside the pasta as well as outside. Penne is a decent substitute. This is also a good vegetarian option for a buffet.
Read MoreOne of my best food memories is of a meal I had in Puglia. It was at a winery and we had a simple lunch that began with focaccia studded with tomatoes, the winery’s olive oil, olives and the wonderful Puglian burrata cheese that oozes cream as soon as you cut into it.
Read MoreRatatouille the movie is a glorious treat in which an animated rat creates a magnificent ratatouille (recipe courtesy of real-life chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry). Here is my version: a little unorthodox but wonderful. I roast the vegetables and tomatoes with lots of fresh herbs, garlic and a mustard sauce.
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© 2018, Lucy Waverman.
