Simple Pasta with Garlic & Olive Oil by John Spottiswood

This is a classic recipe that is so simple to make but always delicious. You can serve this as a side dish to any grilled meat or vegetable entree. It can also stand on it's own or be paired with a salad for a light lunch or dinner. It's a great, easy recipe to add to your list of staples. Using a good olive oil is key here. I…

Sicilian Eggplant & Ricotta Pasta by John Spottiswood

This is yet another wonderful Italian recipe that I've adapted from Marcella Hazan's classic "Essentials of Italian Cooking". This one is good enough that my wife put a little smily face in the upper corner of the recipe and wrote "It's a keeper!". I think you'll feel the same way. We served this for friends with a wonderful citrus…

Ricotta and Greens or Spinach Pasta by John Spottiswood

This is another excellent dish that takes advantage of delicious and healthy greens. This is a Sicilian dish that I absolutely love. Our kids all went back for seconds. It's also quite beautiful...the lousy picture I took does not do it justice. A healthy and yummy treat! This is also adapted from Red White and Greens by Faith…

Orange perfumed risotto by Alida

A very straightforward dish. A light risotto with a delicate aroma of orange. You will use the zest as well as the juice so it would be best to use an organic orange.

Asparagus risotto by Alida

I find cooking asparagus in a risotto makes the dish particularly creamy. As for any risotto you have to add a nod of butter at the end. In Italy we call this "mantecare" which means stirring the butter into the risotto after it has been cooked. This will make it creamy and translucent and will add extra flavour.

Pasta alla norma by Frank Fariello

This, one of my favorite summertime pastas, comes from Sicily. Along with pasta con le sarde, it is perhaps the most famous of Sicilian pasta dishes. And it is a fairly simple dish to make, the only slight complication coming from the initial preparation of the eggplant.

Penne Pasta with sun dried tomatoes and chili by Brett Ede