Fantastico Recipes

Leeks make a fantastic alternative to onions, and yet many people only use them in soups. I got inspiration for this recipe while I was in Siena; I was served a bowl of leeks, cheese, nuts and sausages (which is also a great sauce for pasta) and I wanted to try and incorporate the same flavours in a risotto. I have left this as a vegetarian option, but by all means add in some cooked pancetta...

In Italy this would traditionally have been served as an inexpensive dish to feed a crowd. It's still a great standby recipe, using ingredients that can mostly be found in store cupboards but which together create something that has great flavours and textures. The gentle kick from the chilli and crunch from freshly toasted breadcrumbs really makes my mouth water! All it needs as an accompaniment is...

Gnocchi is a firm favourite of the ladies in my life – my wife and my daughter Mia. Rather than just preparing the traditional plain gnocchi with a tomato-and-cheese-based sauce all the time, I wanted to try and create gnocchi that had so much flavour in their own right that a sauce wasn't even needed. This is what I came up with. I have also tried replacing the pumpkin with butternut squash,...

I created this soup when I was cooking for friends who are vegetarian and they all watched me and wrote down the recipe so I figured if they were impressed, hopefully you will be too. I have used six different kinds of vegetables to make the wholesome soup you’d expect but the bread, cheese and beans give it an even more rustic feel. It’s the perfect evening family meal or a great starter for friends...