Easy Home Cooking Italian Style

Easy Home Cooking Italian Style

Easy Home Cooking Italian Style is a wonderful collection of cherished recipes, passed down through generations, and new fresh creations to inspire every mealtime.

With tips on how to stock your pantry and freezer to whipping up a meal at a moment's notice, using only what's on hand, using leftovers, as well as a recipes for any occasion, Easy Home Cooking Italian Style is more than just a collection of recipes. In the true essence of Italian cooking, you will learn how to create your own dishes from classic recipes that will become the foundation of your kitchen.

Full of ideas on how to bring the love of Italian food to your table, author Liliana Battle, provides fast, simple ways to feed your family every day including lavish cakes and desserts to hearty Italian meals such as antipasti, crostini and arancini - all ideal for entertaining. You'll soon be cooking in true Italian style, and enjoying many cherished memories with family and friends.

Liliana Battle's love for cooking is ingrained from her childhood. Growing up in a Calabrese Italian family, she comes from a line of incredible home cooks, who cook from the heart. Married with two boys, she knows what it takes to feed a family every day, and that the best memories are of spending time together and eating at the family table. After appearing on MasterChef, Season 5, Liliana now has her own Italian Sugo and spice mix range and runs a catering business, Liliana's Kitchen " which gives her the satisfaction in feeding others. She also regularly runs cooking demonstrations, workshops and classes.

Easy Home Cooking Italian Style
New Holland Publishers Australia
Author: Liliana Battle
RRP: $40.00

Interview with Liliana Battle

Question: What was the most valuable information you learnt on MasterChef?

Liliana Battle: Probably the most important thing I learned was that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and work hard.


Question: How would you describe Easy Home Cooking Italian Style?

Liliana Battle: Easy Home Cooking Italian Style is a book full of easy to make Italian style meals meant to be shared with others. How to turn basic recipes into many varied dishes, how to stock your kitchen to be able to cook a feast without stress, how to stretch a meal for 2 into dinner for 10, how to use leftovers to make amazing, inexpensive meals. The book is all about cooking like an Italian would do, respect for the ingredients, plan ahead cooking, cooking something from nothing, and a welcome generosity of food made with love. There's everything from breakfast, antipasti, pizza, meat, desserts, cookies and my favourite section - pasta (including super fast recipes and how to make your own fresh pasta).

Question: Which recipe in Easy Home Cooking Italian Style holds the most memories, for you?

Liliana Battle: Of course the Calabrese Ragu is my most memorable dish, it's the dish my late father would want on the table every day of his life. Mum would put the sauce on to cook at 3pm every day so that by the time he got home it would be rich, intense and full of flavour. This dish was the reason we made our own passata every year with fresh tomatoes. Other favourites for me are the Pignolata - a beautiful dessert I looked forward to every Christmas, Pitti Pi - my childhood favourite biscuits, and of course the Rainbow Cake which gives me so many memories from my children' birthdays, plus the fact that I made it on Masterchef and it is my most requested recipe.


Question: Who has passed these recipes on to you?

Liliana Battle: Most of my cooking comes from my Nonna and my Mum. There's also a few recipes there from my Aunty Tona, who was always amazing in the kitchen. Some are new creations that have evolved from me cooking for my own family.


Question: What's the trick to perfect arancini?

Liliana Battle: I have made 1000's of arancini in my time as it's my most requested item when I cater for events. I like them smaller, so the ratio of oozy cheese to rice to crunchy crumb is more balanced. The trick to making them is to make the risotto one day and then the arancini the next, that way the rice has time to set and is easier to work with. The last trick is to fry and eat immediately - they are best hot.


Interview by Brooke Hunter