Giulia Porro

Recipe inspiration from Ostro the cookbook Ingredients  1 large chicken chopped into pieces (or a mix of thighs and drumsticks) - approx 1kg  150g of red grapes 50g of olives 3 garlic cloves 50g of walnuts Rosemary sprigs 2 lemons Extra virgin olive oil Method Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C fan forced.   Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting tray. Scatter around the grapes, olives, garlic, walnuts and rosemary.  Halve the lemons and squeeze the lemon juice into the pan and leave the lemon halves in the tray. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast for approximately 40-45 minutes. Check the chicken is cooked with an oven thermometer.  While the chicken is roasting, if there is too much much liquid increase the oven temperature to 200 degrees C.  Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oven and leave the tray with the juices in the oven for another 10 minutes to reduce the liquid. Spoon the sauce over the chicken,...

Recipe inspiration from  Artisan Sourdough Made Simple cookbook Ingredients 280g bakers flour 200g all purpose flour 20g of whole grain flour (freshly milled) 365g filtered water 9g salt 50g active sourdough starter 100g of sun-dried tomatoes (chopped) Method Mix the sourdough starter in the water. Add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a wet dough. Cover the bowl and let rest for about 30 minutes. Add the salt and the sun-dried tomatoes.  Knead the dough for about 1 minute, form into a ball and cover the bowl.  Let the dough rise for about 8-10 hours (usually overnight).  During the first two hours (if at home), stretch and fold the dough every 30 minutes. With slightly wet hands, grab a piece of the dough, stretch it and fold it over towards the middle of the bowl. Turn the bowl by one quarter and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue until you have stretched and folded four times. Once the dough has (at...

Recipe inspiration from Araba felice in cucina (originally from Donna Hay) Ingredients  240g of almond meal 200g of caster sugar 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda 1 tbsp of lemon (or any citrus) juice 1 tbsp of lemon zest  2 egg whites  Icing sugar Method In a large bowl mix the almond meal, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk the egg whites until stiff in a separate bowl.  Add the egg whites to the almond meal bowl and mix with your hands until combined.  Divide the mixture into approximately 16 balls, then coat each ball in icing sugar and place on a baking tray (about 3-4 cm apart). Cook in a preheated oven for approximately 12-15 minutes at 160 degrees C. Remove the cookies once lightly browned, make sure to not cook for too long or they will dry out too much.  Leave to cool on a baking tray, then enjoy!

Recipe inspiration from Taste Ingredients  1 1/2 cups of milk 1 egg 2 tsp of vanilla extract or 1tsp of vanilla paste 2 cups of sifted self raising flour 1/4 tsp of bicarbonate of soda 1/3 cup of caster sugar Method In a large bowl mix the sifted flour, sifted bicarbonate of soda and caster sugar. Whisk until combined and the mixture is quite liquid but not too runny.  Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush pan with butter.  Add 1/4 cup mixture per pancake to the pan, cook pancakes until bubbles appear on surface.  Turn and cook for another 2 minutes or until cooked through.  Transfer to a plate and keep warm in either the oven or under some foil.  Cook all pancakes, then service with toppings.  Make a well in the centre and slowly add the milk, the vanilla and the egg whisking continuously.

Recipe inspiration from Ottolenghi The Cookbook Ingredients  1 large chicken chopped into pieces (or a mix of thighs and drumsticks) - approx 1kg  2 onions 60ml of olive oil 1 tsp of ground ginger 1 tsp of ground cinnamon 2 sachets of saffron or a pinch of saffron strands Juice of 2 lemons 60ml of water 100g of hazelnuts (skin on) 70g of honey 3 spring onions Method In a large bowl or sandwich bag, mix the chicken pieces with the chopped onions, olive oil, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, lemon juice, water, salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for at least 1-2 hours - preferably overnight.  Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C fan forced.  Spread the hazelnuts on an oven tray and roast for 10 minutes. Removed from the oven, peal off the skins (they should come off really easily) and in a small bowl roughly grind the hazelnuts. Transfer the chicken and marinade to a roasting tray and roast for approximately 30-40 minutes. Check the chicken is coo...