EASY HOME COOKING ITALIAN STYLE

AUTHOR: Liliana Battle

PUBLISHER: New Holland Publishers, RRP $40

REVIEWER: Shirley Sinclair

THERE'S nothing quite like eating and cooking Italian dishes in Italy.

But put this recipe book on your kitchen shelf and you might just have the next best thing.

Author Liliana Battle certainly has the credentials, coming from a Calabrese Italian family and having the love of cooking and eating great food ingrained in her DNA.

After becoming known in Australian households as part of MasterChef Season 5, she now has her own Italian Sugo and Spice Mix range, runs a catering business, and does cooking demonstrations, workshops and classes.

Liliana is married with two boys, so she knows the challenge in bringing inspired dishes to the table day after day.

This collection of recipes, passed down through the generations and her own fresh inspiration on cuisine favourites, will help home cooks develop their own Italian penchant for cooking and the joy of food around the family table.

More than 300 pages not only cover the expected array of recipes for antipasta, pasta, bread-pizza-tarts-pies, soup-risotto, dishes for meat, chicken and seafood lovers, and vegetables and salads.

There are also sections for traditions and celebrations (the Christmas pignolata and family gingerbread, for example), desserts (how about tiramisu pavlova roll), cakes (apple custard cake with lemon drizzle, anyone?) and biscuits (the Calabrese specialty Nacatole - like plaited deep-fried pasta sprinkled with sugar and ideal for dunking in coffee).

Start simple - maybe with Calabrese-style scrambled eggs for breakfast, polenta chips for a snack, quick ideas for bruschette and crostini for entertaining, and Last Night's Leftovers Frittata for the lunchboxes - and you'll be hooked. The handy Italian pantry and freezer sections at the front of the book provide all the essentials you'll need to put a tasty Italian twist on all your cooking.

ROASTED VEGETABLE CROSTATA

Ingredients:

250g plain flour

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1tbs dried oregano

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper

155g cold butter, cut into cubes

6 tbs very cold water

450g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cubed

1 brown onion, peeled and sliced

1 red capsicum, deseeded and chopped

1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks

1 tbs dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

250g punnet baby roma or cherry tomatoes

Olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper

100g feta, crumbled

30g grated parmesan

1 egg, whisked with 1 tbs of water

Extra olive oil for drizzling

Fresh parsley or basil for serving

Method:

In the bowl of a food processor, mix the flour, cheese, oregano, salt and a good grinding of pepper.

Add the butter and pulse until a breadcrumb consistency forms.

Add the cold water, a tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to cling together. Do not overmix.

Remove from the processor and knead very slightly so the dough comes together to one ball.

Form into a disc and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Add the pumpkin, onion, capsicum and zucchini.

Sprinkle with oregano and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a good splash of olive oil and toss to coat.

Roast for 30 minutes. Add the garlic and the tomatoes and toss everything together.

Roast for a further 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and tomatoes have started to collapse. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out on to a large sheet of baking paper to a rough round shape about 35cm.

Pile the vegetables in the centre, spreading out to the edges, leaving a 5cm border.

Fold the edges in, pleating as you go, slightly overlapping the outer edge of the vegetable filling.

Brush all the dough with beaten egg wash, scatter over the fetta and parmesan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve scattered with fresh herbs.