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RECIPES

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TOMATO CRAZY! (Summer 2010)

INTERVIEW WITH CALDESI LONDON RESTAURANT CHAIN FOUNDER AND CHEF GIANCARLO CALDESI

The Cafe' Caldesi is well known to Londoners for its family friendly atmosphere. We have interviewed its founder Signor Giancarlo about family meals 'all'italiana', London and kids.

Q: What is the secret for a great Italian family meal?

GC: In Italy we use tomatoes a lot to make various sauces for the pasta with the addition of basilico, origano, olive oil and mozzarella. These are the key ingredients for a very simple idea to make a delicious pasta meal for the summer. For a quick and easy second course 'pollo in casseruola' you just need to prepare a cherry tomatoes sauce (which you can also use for a main pasta course) - I personally prefer the new Cirio tomato sauces range Polpa Piu' as it is not watery and has a lot of sweet meaty tomatoes. Separately you can put the chicken fillets in flour and cook it in a pan with just olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Then add the tomato sauce once the chicken is golden and let cook for 8-10 minutes.

Q: As a London restaurateur what do you do to encourage families to come to your venues?

GC: As in the Italian tradition, in all our London restaurants kids are very welcome and we have a special Italian menu for them at reasonable prices.

Q: In your experience are London Kids well behaved at mealtimes?

GC: In Italy kids always eat at the table with their family. Here in London they seem to be less behaved maybe because their parents react less to their bad behaviour. Having said that, London Kids are used to eat more varied food from various cuisines so they are more used to eat international specialties.

Q: Tell us a bit about your London venture and when/how you decided to set up the Caldesi chain?

GC: I started my restaurant business Cafe' Caldesi 18 years ago – I have always been passionate about cooking and in particular Italian food. Recently people asked me to teach them how to cook Italian family meals so I started a cookery school which is very popular already. We have a varied audience including mums, dads and also kids. Q: From which region/town you come in Italy? What do you most miss from your region/town?

GC: I am from Montepulciano, in Tuscany (Italy). I miss the good old traditions and the simplicity of Tuscan life. I always remember the pleasure that I had of picking the pears from the trees at my home and the tomatoes from my family fields. I really miss 'I sapori della mia terra' (the flavours of my country). Q: What do you like the most about London?

GC: The cosmopolitan environment. No matter where you come from, you can be whoever you want to be in this melting pot I absolutely love. Vibrant life in London can kill but is formidable if you make the most of it.

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STAINED-GLASS WINDOW COOKIES (November 2009)

Recipe extracted from Annabel Karmel family cookbook (winter and Christmas 2009)

These novelty cookies - shaped like stars, Christmas trees and angels - are fun to make. Children enjoy crushing the sweets and using cookie cutters to make the shapes from dough.

INGREDIENTS:

Makes 25

Prep time: 50 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

350g/12oz plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

100g/4oz butter

175g/6oz soft brown sugar

1 egg

4 tbsp golden syrup

Different coloured fruit-flavoured

boiled sweets

Narrow ribbon

PREPARATION: 1- Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and then stir in the sugar. Beat together the egg and golden syrup and mix into the flour mixture to make a smooth dough, kneading lightly with your hands. 2- Crush the sweets in their wrappers using a rolling pin. Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface and roll out the dough until about 1/2 cm/ 1/4in thick. 3- Cut the dough into shapes using a selection of Christmas cookie cutters. Transfer to lined baking sheets. 4- Cut out shapes in the centre of each biscuit, making sure you leave a good edge all the way around the biscuit. 5- Fill the hole in each biscuit with crushed boiled sweets. Make a hole at the top of each biscuit using a drinking straw so you will be able to thread a ribbon through it later. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes until golden.

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LONDON MUMS' OWN RECIPES (September 2009)

FRUITY COLESLAW by London Mum Liezl Solomon (South African recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

2 Oranges

1 Small Cabbage, finely chopped

1 Apple, cored & cut in thin slices

2 Bananas, cut in slices

1/2 cup sultanas

Yoghurt salad dressing made of 150ml Plain yoghurt/ 150ml low fat salad cream / 30ml orange juice / 1 orange's zest / 5ml honey/sugar / salt and cracked black pepper (if desired)

1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts

Beat all the ingredients together until properly mixed. season with a bit of salt and balck pepper if desired.

PREPARATION: Grate the peel off the oranges. Keep aside to use in the salad dressing. Peel the oranges and cut into wedges. Place layers of cabbage and fruit (orange, apple, banana) in a big salad bowl. Sprinkle the sultanas on top. Pour salad dressing over (as much as desired, but not too much to avoid the salad geting too wet). Mix though. Sprinkle nuts over to finish. Serve with BBQ chicken and enjoy!

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Healthy Pitta Pockets by London Mum Faye Roets (Putney)

INGREDIENTS:

Pitta bread

Chicken breast cut into strips

Red and Yellow Pepper cut into strips

Fry together with a dash of olive oil and lemon juice.

Lettuce

Tzatziki

Humous (bought or even better home-made)

Great for kids and adults alike. Great for home meals as well as picnics. Kids love constructing their own.

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SUMMER RECIPE 2009

Coronation Chicken and Mango Wrap by Annabel Karmel (Makes 6)

INGREDIENTS:

6 tbsp light mayonnaise

1 and half tsp curry powder

1 tbsp mango chutney

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 cooked chicken breasts, skin removed and chopped into 2cm pieces

half ripe mango, peeled and finely diced

tsp salt

1 bag mixed salad leaves

6 spring onions, sliced

6 tortilla wraps

Prep time: 15 mins - Cook time: 20 mins - Suitable for freezing

Mix the mayonnaise, curry powder, mango chutney and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts and mango, then toss together. Place one tortilla wrap on the work surface. Lay a few slices of spring onion on one side of the wrap. Place a handful of lettuce on top, then spoon the chicken mixture on top of the leaves. Roll up into a long wrap, then slice and serve. Repeat with the remaining wraps and filling.

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SPRING RECIPE 2009

Apple, Honey and Raisin Muffins (Makes 8)

INGREDIENTS:

large apple, peeled, cored and grated

55g/2oz raisins

30g/1oz chopped semi-dried apple

85g/3oz self raising flour

tsp ground cinnamon

tsp ground ginger

tsp salt

55g/2oz butter, room temperature

55g/2oz soft light brown sugar

85g/3oz clear honey

tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

Prep time: 12 mins - Cook time: 20 mins - Suitable for freezing

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a muffin tin with eight paper cases. Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt together and set aside. Put the butter, sugar, honey, egg, vanilla and apple in a food processor and whiz for about one minute until well combined (it will look a little curdled, but don't worry).

Add the flour mixture and pulse twice, then scrape down the sides of the food processor and pulse another two or three times. Add the raisins and pulse twice again to just mix in the raisins without chopping them.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, filling the paper cases to about half full. Scatter over the dried apple. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight box.

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ITALIAN MAMMAS' RECIPE

Sun-ripened Tomato & Mozzarella Tortelloni with aubergines, courgettes and cherry tomatoes (Serves 2)

INGREDIENTS:

1 pack of Giovanni Rana Sun-ripened Tomato & Mozzarella Tortelloni

1 aubergine thinly sliced

1 courgette thinly sliced

150g cherry tomatoes

1 clove garlic finely chopped

Olive oil

Grated Parmesan

Salt & pepper

PREPARATION: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic and cook it until soft. Add the sliced aubergine and courgette and cook them until soft. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for a further 2 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pan, bring to the boil plenty of water with some salt. When the water is boiling, add the Giovanni Rana Sun-ripened Tomato & Mozzarella Tortelloni to the pan and cook for one minute. Drain. Stir the aubergine, courgette and tomatoes to the pasta. Season, stir to coat and serve immediately with some grated parmesan.

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ADDING A BIT OF SPICE INTO A MUM'S LIFE... Italian Mamas Win National Search for Italian Food Ambassadors

The wisdom of Italian Mamas is recognised through out the world and who better to pass on this knowledge to the nation than the women themselves. Pasta maker Giovanni Rana has recently undertaken a nationwide search to find a team of women who represent the epitome of Italian mamas, Monica Costa (38), Founder of London Mums and mumpreneur, based in Putney in London, and Daniela Calastri (34) from Woodford in Essex, have fought off stiff competition to be crowned the official Giovanni Rana mamas.

Monica and Daniela will now proudly fly the flag for Italian cooking throughout the UK and pass on the secrets of her mouth watering home-cooked cuisine. Giovanni Rana held this nationwide competition to put together a panel of Italian mamas who can help us Brits embrace the true taste of Italy.

Monica's family is originally from Faenza, Ravenna and she has one little boy aged 2 years, who all likes to lend a helping hand in the kitchen already. Daniela's family is originally from Milan in Lombardia and she has three children aged 8 years, 5 years and 20 months who all like to help her prepare the evening meals. The judges at Giovanni Rana, Italy's number one fresh pasta brand, felt that Monica and Daniela embody the spirit of Italy; from their relaxed personas to their passion for family and good food they felt they are true Italian Mamas. Monica and Daniela will now be taken on a trip to Verona, the home of Giovanni Rana, to meet Signor Rana himself and they already sharing a few well kept culinary secrets to help create exciting new recipes for the Giovanni Rana brand.

Signor Rana first sought the advice of Italian housewives in learning the craft of the perfect tortellini almost half a century ago and, since then, has been seen as a national treasure among Italian families. With the Giovanni Rana Mamas Panel in the UK, Signor Rana hopes to bring out the Italian cook in all of us, teaching us to experiment with flavours and adopt the Italian sense of adventure when cooking.

Giovanni Rana's range of premium fresh filled pastas, priced £1.99 for a 250g pack, are available from Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons.