June 4, 2012 by Tristan

Making the most of winter

At The Essential Ingredient, we believe winter is a food-lover’s dream. Sure, it’s colder, darker and often much harder to get out of bed, but winter is also a wonderful opportunity to embrace some warming, comforting seasonal cooking.

Winter is the perfect time for hearty soups, steaming bowls of risotto, rich pasta sauces and all manner of slow-cooked masterpieces, and with the high-quality seasonal ingredients available in Australia, it’s also the …

May 29, 2012 by Tristan

Making pasta at home

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.”
-Federico Fellini

Pasta is the ultimate symbol of versatility. It makes a quick, affordable, simple and thoroughly satisfying meal for one, for two or for the whole family, but it can just as easily be elevated to the finest levels of dining.

Whether you’re serving a giant pot of bolognaise or a single, intricately crafted …

February 15, 2012 by Tristan

Recipe: Luciana Sampogna’s Pasta al Cartoccio

“This is one of my favourite dishes… because it is elegant and carries the best Italian flavours.” -Luciana Sampogna

Light of Lucia cookbook author and Cucina Italiana Cooking School owner Luciana Sampogna shares her passion for traditional Italian cooking.

October 28, 2010 by Tristan

Type “00″ flour: for perfect bread & pasta

Nothing beats home-made. Serving your own bread or pasta will always elicit heartier gasps at the table than something you’ve bought.

And yet, for all the love and care you’ve put into your own Italian masterpieces, often the texture and consistency of your bread and pasta isn’t quite what your local Italian bakery or pasta restaurant manages to create.

The secret? …