Fantastico Recipes

Making pasta can be a bit of a chore, but gnocchetti sardi (also known as malloreddus) is really easy. You don’t need a pasta machine – just mix, roll, shape and cook. Unlike most other types of home-made pasta, which contain eggs, the dough for these shells is made from flour and water, giving the pasta a firmer texture. The shells are best served with a chunky sauce such as a ragù made from...

Without doubt this has to be one of my father’s favourite pasta dishes. I remember when I used to live with him it was a must-have dish at least once a week but not always with the same shape of pasta. Please make sure that you never use tuna in brine for this recipe and if you like you can add some capers to the sauce.

This recipe is very different and worth a try. The flavours are unique compared to what you and your family are probably used to and it really is a wonderful, rich way to make a ragù. Please, whatever you do, don’t just throw away the discarded vegetables. Place them in a saucepan with some passata (sieved tomatoes) and heat it through; then you have created a sauce that can be used to top fish...

This is quite an old-fashioned recipe from my home patch, and I must admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of it when growing up (probably because of all the fruit and lack of chocolate), but now I really appreciate all the flavours and how well they work together. My grandfather, Giovanni, used to make this at Easter and now I carry on the tradition.