450 g ground beef
300 g ground veal (or pork)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
100 g freshly grated Romano cheese
6 g chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
salt and ground black pepper to taste
90 g stale Italian bread, crumbled
100 ml lukewarm water
olive oil

(makes approx 18-20 meatballs depending on size)

I have tried so many meatball recipes, and this one is a real winner. The meatballs are perfect in texture and taste. Frank Sinatra’s meatballs is Dolly Sinatra’s (Frank’s mother) recipe – she was a great cook and he loved his mama’s cooking! Whenever I make this my whole family is ecstatic – we always have a smashing meal.

Combine the minced beef and veal in a large bowl. Add the crushed garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add the water. The mixture should be moist but firm enough to make meatballs. Shape into meatballs.
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry 5-6 meatballs at a time until browned and cooked. Place on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Serve with spaghetti and Dolly’s marinara sauce. I like to add a few spoons of marinara sauce and sprinkle some pecorino or parmesan cheese on the meatballs – it makes them extra succulent.

Here’s a recipe I love, mainly because it’s Dolly Sinatra’s (Frank Sinatra’s mother) recipe for a perfect marinara sauce. I have done this some one million times – it’s delicious.

Dolly’s marinara sauce
(Serves 4)

80 ml olive oil
1 chopped onion
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 can tomatoes (chopped or crushed with a crusher)
1 tbps tomato concentrated purée
1 tsp oregano
Handful chopped basil
Half a glass of red wine
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion until tender. Add the garlic for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, herbs and purée. Simmer for 30 minutes.  In the original recipe there is no wine, but I like the extra taste it gives to the sauce. Instead of putting a lid I cover the saucepan with a sheet of parchment paper – I find this trick makes the sauce perfect in texture.

Ingredients: (for 6)

500 grs minced beef
1 onion (sliced)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tsp chilli powder (or more if you like it extra hot)
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground pepper
4 tbsp tomato concentrate paste
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
3 tomatoes (chopped)
400 grs canned tomatoes ( I like the chopped ones)
400 grs kidney beans (1 can)
1/2 cube crumbled chicken stock
100ml water
3 tbsp canola oil
Salt

To serve with:
500 g rice
1 cucumber
1 avocado
1 small pot of sour cream/ crème fraîche
Large handful of chives finely chopped
Tortilla chips

Chop the onions, mince the garlic and fry in the oil until semi-golden , then add the minced beef and fry on a higher heat till it’s dry and browned. Add the spices (thyme, paprika, cumin, bay leaf, pepper and cinnamon stick), chopped tomatoes, canned tomatoes and tomato paste and crumble the half cube of chicken stock – add the water, salt and stir. Simmer for 15 minutes and add the rinsed kidney beans. Cover with a lid and let it cook on a very low heat for minimum 30 minutes, but I like to cook it for an hour or more as the spices intensify with time and the texture improves.

Steam the rice (I use basmati and have a rice cooker from Cuisinart – can’t live without it!), slice the cucumber and chop the chives. Sprinkle the herbs to the sour cream crème fresh. Slice the avocado last-minute so it does not darken.

Serve the piping hot rice with the chilli con carne. I spoon a generous amount of sour cream on to the chilli, and crunch a few tortilla chips (the kids taught me that trick). A real delight! You can dress this meal up with a bottle of sparkling champagne (just like Nat king Cole sings in ‘Let there be love) or dress it down with a Corona beer.

The best part of this dish are the left-overs. I find it’s even better the next day, and it makes an easy Sunday lunch. We like to have it with a good baguette, not rice, and lots of sour cream and chives. A real cowboy meal!

View the video here: Nat King Cole 'Let there be love'

The ‘salade Piémontaise’ (Piedmontese salad) sounds very Italian but is in fact a classic French bistrot recipe. I loved buying this salad at my favourite local deli in Paris called ‘Davoli’ (Rue Cler, 7ème). Their’s was excellent and we loved having saucisson sec sandwiches with baguette bread, butter and crunchy pickles.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

2 large potatoes
1 large carrot
100 grams peas
1 tomato (chopped in cubes)
A large handful of finely chopped pickles
4 eggs (hard-boiled)
4-5 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp crème fraîche
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Parsley (a handful, chopped)
Salt and pepper

Boil the eggs until hard. Set aside to cool. Boil the potatoes and carrots until tender (I pre-slice them so they will cook faster). Add the frozen peas during the last minutes so they don’t get too soft. Drain. When they are ready, set aside to cool and chop the potatoes and carrots in coarse cubes.
Chop the tomato in cubes, set aside. Now you can make a small vinaigrette with the olive oil, mustard and vinegar, salt & pepper.
Toss everything together in a salad dish. Add the vinaigrette, mayonnaise, pickles and crème fraîche. The quality of the mayonnaise very important. Make sure you buy a nice rich mayonnaise, preferably sold in the fresh department. Mix well then add the boiled eggs (cut in 4), the parsley, salt and pepper. Keep refrigerated before serving. Et voilà!

There’s something about pies that’s so old school, so cozy and most of all so delicious. I always envied kids in old movies having a wholesome pie served for dinner at the table. So now and then, I love baking a good old-fashioned pie and the kids love this one in particular.

Ingredients:

400 grams chicken breasts, cooked and cooled
200 grams chopped ham
200 grams frozen peas
80 grams butter
70 grams flour
1 bay leaf
a pinch of thyme
1 cube chicken stock
600 ml milk
half a glass of wine (optional)
Coarse salt and pepper

Pastry:
2x 230 grams sheets of puff pastry (I use Herta)

Cook the chicken breasts in the boiling salted water, add a pinch of dried thyme, pepper and a bay leaf. Cook for 10-12 minutes. Place aside and let the breasts cool, then slice them approx. 2 cm.

Chop the ham, and put the frozen peas in the left-over water of the chicken to thaw for a couple of minutes. Drain and set aside.

Pre-heat your oven 190°c.

For the bechamel pie sauce, melt the butter in a casserole, and gradually add the flour and the milk with a whisk on medium heat. Crumble in the cube of chicken stock. It should become thicker and thicker. By now you can add the half glass of wine – (this is optional). Lower the heat and stir firmly and quickly until desired thickness. Set aside and leave to cool in a bowl.

While all ingredients are cooling off, you can prepare the pastry. I love to make a home-made pastry, but when I don’t have the time, I am very satisfied with the ones I buy from the supermarket (in my case Herta). Line your pie dish with the first pastry sheet. Mix all the cooled ingredients for the pie filling together and spoon in the pie dish. Cover with your second pastry disc and seal together by pressing firmly on the side of the dish with your thumbs. Cut off excess pastry dough and re-roll to create 8 leaves to decorate the pie. You can use a knife and cut out leaf-shaped figures and using the tip of the knife, draw the lines of the leaf (see pic). Finally, brush the pie with the egg to give it a nice golden hue in the oven. One last thing, take a stick and prick the centre of your pie – so your pie won’t puff up from the middle.

Cook approx 20 minutes – it’s always good to check during the last five minutes – all ovens have different strength.

I usually serve this with a spinach and pine-nut salad or a Piedmontese salad (see recipes).

Makes 8 generous slices.

I am a huge artichokes fan, and this dish is one of my favourite of all times. I discovered this specialty in Rome, in a restaurant called ‘Piperno’ located in the old Roman quarter (also known as the Jewish quarter in Rome). I have such fond memories of this place, with the green walls, elegant waiters in their white jackets and the beauty of this extraordinary dish. So here is the recipe, it’s actually very simple, you just have to prepare the artichoke correctly and deep-fry.

Ingredients: (for 6)

12 round, medium-sized fresh artichokes
Olive oil
Coarse salt & pepper
Parchment paper to drain the artichokes before serving

Remove all the tough leaves of the artichokes, and cut off the tip. Don’t be shy – you must take off as many dark green leaves as possible until you see the light ones. Then cut the stem and trim the underside of the base.
Hold the artichoke and push down gently until you flatten all the leaves (as if you were flattening a rose). You want the leaves open like a flower in full bloom.
Heat about 5 cm of oil in a large pan over high heat. A good test to see if the oil is ready is to throw in a small piece of bread – if it turns golden instantly, then it’s good. First place the artichokes head down for 5 minutes, then turn them over for 5 minutes more. They are ready if you pierce through the artichoke heart and it’s soft. They should be golden.
Place them on a parchment paper to drain off excess oil, and season with salt and pepper.

You will need a waffle iron – I’ve got a classic heart-shaped one that’s been working so well for years. Every week-end and Wednesdays (children don’t have school on Wednesdays in France), I make waffles. We all look forward to this ritual with such enthusiasm, it’s always so much fun to be together at the breakfast table and indulge. Served with nutella, jam and berries we are one big happy family. Here’s my little French touch – I love to add a dash of ‘Fleur d’oranger’ (orange blossom water). The smell and taste remind me of my grand-mother’s Madeleine cakes I loved so much.

Ingredients: (makes about 10)
400 grams plain flour
6 grams baking powder
125 grams melted butter
25 grams sugar
4 eggs
500 ml milk (enough to make the batter smooth but not too liquid)
A dash of range blossom essence/water

Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl. Slowly pour in the milk, adding the eggs one by one. Pour in the butter, stirring constantly, and finish off with a dash of orange blossom water. Mix well, the batter should be easy to stir but not too liquid.
Your dough is now ready for the waffle iron. One small ladle of batter is usually enough to cover the waffle iron, depending on the size. Cook 2 minutes or so (your machine usually has its own timer. Serve with jam, nutella, icing sugar and if you wish.

This recipe for Pilau rice is a hit every time I do it. It’s easy, wholesome and delicious. Here are the ingredients:

500 grams basmati rice
4 cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon salt
a good pinch of turmeric
60g Butter or Ghee
1 finely sliced onion
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 – 5 cardamom pods
litre boiling water

In a large saucepan, melt the butter or ghee and throw in the cloves, cumin, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods.
After a few minutes add the sliced onion and turmeric. Fry gently untill the onion is slightly golden.

Now add the rice to the pan and mix well.

Add the boiling water and salt, bring it to a boil, then lower to the lowest possible heat and cover tightly for 25 minutes max. No cheating! You can’t lift the lid or the rice won’t cook well.

When cooked, you can put a clean tea-towel on the rice then cover with the lid until served.

Takes 5 minutes to make!

Half an onion finely chopped
1 and a half greek yogurt
1/2 cucumber chopped in small squares
A bunch of chopped peppermint leaves
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Mix all the ingredients together and served chilled.

I simply love a good scotch egg. A fresh boiled egg wrapped in a golden breadcrumb and sausage wrapping. It’s the ultimate snack or meal for anytime of the day.

Makes 8

8 organic farm eggs (to be boiled)
2 eggs (for the dipping)
8 sausages (remove the skin)
200 grams white breadcrumbs
lemon zest of half a lemon
1 tablespoon mustard
parsley (finely chopped)
50 grams flour
Frying oil (I use frial or canola)
salt & pepper

Boil you eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes. Cool under cold water, peel the eggs and place aside.
Prepare the sausage meat by squeezing the sausages – take a sharp knife and slice them open. Put in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, salt, pepper, chopped parsley and mix well. Shape 8 balls of the sausage mixture and flatten on parchment paper. Place the egg in the middle of the flattened sausage meat mixture and wrap the egg slowly until it is evenly covered (don’t cover your egg too thick or it won’t cook through properly). Repeat with the other eggs.
Now you can prepare the 3 ingredients to assemble your eggs. Beat the 2 eggs, prepare the flour on a plate and the breadcrumbs in another plate. First roll the egg in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs (I use white sliced untoasted sandwich bread that I blitz in the food processor). Repeat again.
Fry the eggs in the oil in a heavy-based pan for 5-6 minutes, or until it is golden.
Serve with HP sauce, ketchup or simply nothing!

For chestnut cream and chocolate lovers, this is the business! This cake, so popular with my family and friends, is rich in chocolate flavour with an underlying taste of chestnut vanilla cream. Pure satisfaction.

Perfect for any occasions, I baked it for my husband’s birthday today!

435 grs tin sweetened chestnut purée (available in most supermarkets)
140 ml double cream or crème fraîche
50 grs butter (softened)
5 egg whites
80 grs caster sugar
300 grs dark chocolate , melted
6 tbsp plain flour

Pre-heat oven to 150C

Mix the chestnut puree with the double cream/crème fraîche and butter. Melt until smooth. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl and gradually add the caster sugar (when the egg whites start becoming firm) to make a meringue mixture.
Mix the chestnut mixture with the chocolate and flour and fold in the meringue mix. Spoon into a lined caked tin (24cm approx.) and bake for 50 minutes. Let the cake set at least 1 hour. I usually bake it well in advance so it becomes like ‘velvet’ in texture by the time I serve it. Serve with whipped cream.