Mediterranean fregola & mushrooms

For ➋

200 g fregola sarda

300 g bite size chopped cremini, baby bella or fresh porcini mushrooms or a mix

1 medium sized shallot

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 cl olive oil

5 cl balsamic vinegar

1 tbs  marjoram (of thyme or oregano.)

2 tbs unsalted cold butter (or plant-based)

To cook  the fregola, the trick is to have enough water for the fregola to boil freely to avoid sticking, so salt and bring 0,5 - 0,75 cl of water to a gentle boil.

Cook Fregola as you would pasta for about 13-15 m and taste for firmness. You want it to be al dente.

Scoop a cup of water and set aside to water down the mushroom sauce.

Strain and keep fregola warm in the pan off the fire.


Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Washing them under water can make them turn slimey.

Heat a large skillet or frying pan on a low flame. Cut the mushrooms to small bite size pieces without or without the stems.  If you do decide on using the stems, cut off the bottom third. It is usually drier and more fibrous than the rest of the stem.
 Finely chop the shallot.
Add olive oil, shallots and mushrooms to the pan and increase to medium heat and cook for 5-7 m stirring occasionally until the mushrooms are still crunchy but not raw.
 Add the chopped garlic and sauté for 1 m.

Add the balsamic vinegar, mix well and simmer the vinegar liquid until it is nearly gone. The idea here is cook off the tangyness of the vinegar until it is sweet. 
Stir in the half cup of the water from the boiling pasta, add half the marjoram and give a little stir.

On a very low fire finish off the mushrooms by quickly blending in cold butter 1 tbs at a time. You do this by using the tip of fork to gentle stir the butter through the mushrooms. You are not cooking but gently emulsifying the butter with the liquid.
 Salt to taste.


Add the cooked fregola, increase heat to medium and cook for a couple of minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the liquid and butter. If too dry add a little more pasta water.
 Garnish with rest of herbs and serve with freshly grated Parmigiano cheese.

Rucola soup

For ➍
1 large shallot
1 garlic
2 small loose potatoes
1 l chicken broth
150 g rucola
2 tbs of cream
50 g sun-dried tomatoes
olive oil
marjoram dried
pepper & salt

Peel and chop the clove of garlic and the shallot coarsely. Fry in a dash of olive oil until the onion turns translucent. Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Add to the onion and put immediately with the chicken broth. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 15 m.
Finely chop the arugula. Add once the potato cubes are well cooked. Allow to warm up and lower the heat. Mix into a smooth soup. Season with pepper, salt and some dried marjoram. Add 2 tbs of cream and warm on a low heat. Meanwhile slice the sundried tomatoes into fine strips.
Serve the soup with a slice of sundried tomatoes in each plate. Serve with toasted bread.

Pumpkin risotto

For ➍
250 g risotto rice
600 g pumpkin, skinned & cubed
250 g smoked bacon
200 g black olives (canned), sliced into rings
150 g fresh goat cheese
Provençal herbs (marjoram, basil, tarragon, thyme, parsley)
olive oil
vegetable or chicken stock

Fry the bacon in a little oil. Add the pumpkin cubes. Bake until just not done.
Add some olive oil and fry the risotto rice in the panPour the remaining oil in the pan and pour the risotto rice. Let the rice on the oil fry until it turns translucent. Stir occasionally. Add hot stock and a pinch of the herbs.
Simmer the rice in the pan until soft. Add water if necessary.
Cut the olives into rings and add them.
Let it simmer until all the water is gone. Then stir in the goat cheese into the risotto just before removing it from the fire.
Serve with Parmigiano cheese.

Read the tip on making a quick risotto.

Herb-crushed pasta

For ➍
400 g pasta s.a. linguine
4 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf, minced
3 sage leaves, minced
1 tbs fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbs fresh thyme,chopped
1 ts fresh marjoram, chopped
1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh basil,chopped

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, then drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, minced bay leaf, minced sage, and minced rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few m or until fragrant.
Mix all the remaining chopped herbs together in a small bowl. Set half aside. Add the other half of the herbs to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 m. Remove from the heat.
Add the butter and herb mixture to the pasta and toss to coat. If the butter doesn't melt, return to the stovetop to heat briefly to melt the butter.
Add the remaining fresh chopped herbs to the pasta and toss to mix evenly.
Serve as is, or top with grated Parmigiano cheese. Or add fresh mozzarella and raw cherry tomatoes, or fried zucchini blossoms, or roasted heirloom tomatoes and Parmigiano...

Mousse de poireaux (leek mousse)

For ➍
3 leeks with 2 cm green, sliced
25 cl stock
chive, sage, marjoram, rosemary, finely chopped

Boil the stock. Add herbs and leeks. Boil for 5 m. Push through a sieve to extract all the juice.
Puree the leeks in a blender.
Mix a little of the cooking liquid and cream with the leeks.
Keep the rest of the cooking liquid aside.
Serve with fowl like pheasant.