Ever wanted to recreate your favourite Italian restaurant meal at home to delight friends and family with a dinner party to remember?
We have five sensational Italian recipes that are easy for the AGFG home cook to replicate for the ultimate feast that will not only wow guests but also taste buds. Don’t forget to pair each course with your favourite wine and let’s get the party started:
Octopus is considered a delicacy in many countries around the world from Korea to the Mediterranean. In Italy, octopus is usually simmered whole in a typical Neopolitan sofrito of garlic, hot red pepper and olive oil until it exudes its juices, then tomatoes, olives and capers are added while it continues simmering until tender.
This recipe calls for the octopus to be sous vide first and cooked for eight hours, before being seared on a hot grill for a couple of minutes on each side; serve with avocado purée, char-grilled cauliflower florets and octopus mayo for the ultimate Italian entrée.
There is great debate in Italy over which city is home to the ‘real’ ragu – this popular meat sauce is the basis of many great dishes and takes time and patience to perfect. Both Bologna and Naples have long laid claims to its origins, but wherever it is from the ragu is a staple in restaurants around the globe.
This recipe from Cucinetta Chef, Vincenzo Mazzotta, uses lamb shoulder marinated with herbs, garlic and Chianti, then slow-cooked for four to five hours. Once cooked, the meat is pulled apart and with the tomato sauce, added to your favourite pasta, topped with chopped parsley and finished with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Who doesn’t love spaghetti? The word rolls off the tongue almost as deliciously as it tastes – perfect for every mood – from a cosy lunch to a lively family meal – spaghetti has been around in Italy since the 12th Century and is believed to have originated in Palermo, Sicily.
This recipe comes to us from sunny Noosa Heads, where Chef Andy Wilcox is in charge of the kitchen at Park & Cove restaurant – it uses Mooloolaba prawns, red chilli, tomatoes, garlic, lemon and olive oil to create a simple, yet drool-worthy pasta dish that everyone will want more of.
This is a Sardinian fresh fish dish with white wine, butter and lemon from TERRA Catering Chef, Bruno Conti, that is sure to be a dinner party winner.
Quick and easy, it will become a go-to main for any celebration, served with cannellini bean purée, white wine sauce, micro herbs, fried capers and lemon zest. If you haven’t tried it before, Vernaccia is a white grape varietal from Tuscany – expect a medium to full-bodied white wine that equates to a Sauv-Blanc meeting a Chardonnay, or similar to a White Bordeaux.
This creamy custard-like dessert is made by simmering together cream, milk, sugar and gelatin for an incredibly smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture like nothing else you’ve tasted.
Meaning ‘cooked cream’ in Italian, there are many different versions of this divine dolci – try this one from swimming super fish Ian Thorpe:
"This is my absolute favourite dessert. For me, if there is panna cotta on the menu I find it hard to go past, even though there is not much about it that is good for you (except as in this case, it is accompanied by berry coulis and fresh berries),” Ian admits.
"So, just enjoy it! I believe everyone should allow themselves an indulgence, but just make sure it’s not too often!”
Buon appetito!
