Viva Italia

Whilst we're on the subject of Italy, the country that gave us Michelangelo, the Mafioso, Dolce&Gabanna, the Slow Food movement and the perma-orange Prime Minister who famously praised then Presidential Candidate Barack Obama for being "young, handsome and tanned", I have to wonder, are they genetically pre-disposed to creativity, a flamboyance bordering on tackiness and a divine understanding of what looks good and what tastes good?

My Italian friends used to amuse me with their ability to turn the most mundane of things into something as exciting as the Milan Fashion Week or a sunny day in London, engage me with their earnestess whilst simultaneously frustrate me with their predilection for superficiality and drama. They are a paradigm of contradictions and no where is it more clearly represented than in their food and fashion, 2 things the Italians are proudest of (that, and apparently football).

Italian cooking is all about simplicity and using good quality ingredients; it is the art of turning gifts of nature into hearty dishes that warm the cockles of your heart; where less is more (unless we're talking about volume; one X'mas spent in Cortina with my friend and his family convinced me of the Italian stereotype. Yes, it's ALL about the food, and lots of it.), and when you have sweet vine-ripened tomatoes, aged balsamic vinegar, home-made pasta and freshly shaved parmigiano-reggiano, you really shouldn't fuss about with it too much.

Juxtapose this with Roberto Cavalli, Versace, D&G and Pucci, where more IS more; sharper collars, louder prints, blingier bling, more fake tan and longer fake lashes, bigger trout lips and tighter face lifts. Where looks are everything, and the most botoxed of them all revealing the most surgically enhanced cleavage takes home the top prize.

I went on a bit of an Italian cooking frenzy this week and whilst the results were met with loud approval from my husband, it seems my photography still leaves a lot to be desired. I've googled "food photography tips", " photography for the optically challenged" and "how to make your food look good on your blog without investing in an SLR and forcing your husband into photography school". I've experimented with white light, light balance, macro, view from the top, bottom, left, right, macro, flash, no flash, spotted table cloth, brown place mat, purple background, white background. I'm sure there are myriad permutations I have yet to explore, and I could lay blame upon our stolen SLR for the retardation of my otherwise illustrious food blogging career. However, what this exercise has confirmed is that whilst I can COOK Italian, I sure as hell can't work the camera like one.

Eggplant and Pork Spaghetti

Serves 4

500gm spaghetti

400gm pork mince

4 medium eggplants

2 large cloves garlic minced

2 dried chilis de-seeded, chopped

1/2 brown onion, diced

4 large tomatoes, skinned, de-seeded and chopped (or 1 can tomatoes)

handful parsley, chopped

2 tblspn extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, then add garlic, onion and chili. When fragrant, add pork and cook till brown. Add eggplant and cook through, then add chopped tomatoes and simmer. Finally, add parsley and season to taste. When pasta is done, drain (reserve some pasta liquid) and add to sauce. If sauce is too dry, add some of the reserved pasta liquid.

Pizzas

Dough (Jamie Oliver Recipe)

1kg bread flour

2*7 gm dried yeast

650ml warm water

4 tblspn olive oil

1 level tblspn salt

1 tblspn sugar

Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Mix water, yeast, oil and sugar and let stand for 5 min. Jamie's method is to pour flour into a mound an work surface, make a well in the middled and pour oil mixture. Incorporate flour into liquid slowly until a dough forms and knead into a springy dough. Personally, I add the liquid to the flour in the bowl, mix with a wooden paddle until a dough forms, then knead it till it's springy. Form dough into a ball, dust the top with flour and cover with a damp cloth for at least an hour until it doubles. Then, remove towel, punch down the dough and divide dough into about 8-10 balls. Let sit for about 5-10 min, then roll each ball out. Heat your oven at the highest temp possible, WITH the baking trays inside (if you have a baking stone, even better).

Pizza Toppings:

1) Broccoli, Onion, Cheese, and Prosciutto drizzled with a shallot cream sauce (added after pizza is cooked)

2) Zucchini, Mushrooms, Capsicum, Onion, Cheese

3) Ham, Onion, Capsicum and leftover eggplant mince meat mixture, cheese, rosemary

Bake till cooked, and enjoy the aromas in your house that linger long after the pizzas have been devoured!