Nico Moretti At The Emerald Class Thermomix trip to Lake Como – Italy, making Crostata di Ricotta (Almond & Ricotta Tart)

I first met Nico Moretti when he did a Cooking Class in Hobart about 4 years ago, it was a wonderfully delicious & inspiring class. I was very excited to get my copies of his amazing cookbooks signed too 🙂 Nico runs a cooking school in Perth, which he started in 2002. Nico & his wife Belinda run Cuisine & Culture Tours around the world – they even have some in Tassie too. Nico was our guide at the Thermomix Emerald Class trip to Lake Como in Italy last year. And this May I’m joining their tour of Japan with my hubby & I’m so excited!! Thanks so much to Nico for answering my Famous ThermoFive questions 🙂 Check out some of Nico’s awesome recipes on the Thermomix Recipe community here. I love all of his recipes but my favourite that I have made the most is the Frozen Mojito!!

1. What do you love about your Thermomix?

When I got my first Thermomix in 2002 I didn’t do much baking, but the Thermomix opened up a whole new world of recipes that I would never have attempted without one such as Italian focaccia like my mother would make, to shortcrust pastry for sweet and savoury dishes, and to profiteroles. One of the first things I made with my Thermomix back then was a “Croquembouche” for my daughter. It was so easy to make choux pastry and creme patisserie with the TM that I have never looked back.

2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe?

I’m most familiar with the recipes in our own “Delicious Journeys” and “Food for Friends” cookbooks, so they tend to get a work out at our place. We continually get friends asking us to bring along our Nico’s Butter Chicken or White Chocolate Pannacotta dishes from these cookbooks, if asked to bring something along for a gathering. When I’m away, Belinda always turns to the Prawn & Saffron Risotto recipe from “Delicious Journeys”.

3. What is your top Thermomix tip?

I always tell my Thermomix clients to “cook for flavour, not for speed”. This is especially true for sautéing things like onions as a base for sauces like my Tomato Pasta Sauce, where you want to take the time to cook down the onions. I believe you can’t sauté an onion in 2-3 minutes, and always cook them for a minimum of 10, sometimes up to 15 minutes, to let those flavours develop. If you don’t cook them for that long, the raw taste of the onion and other base flavours will carry through to the end result.

4. What is your quick & easy go to meal?

We always have a batch of my Tomato Pasta Sauce (Ragu di Pomodoro), from our “Delicious Journeys” Cookbook in the freezer. We make a batch of it at least every 2-3 weeks and as it has already taken the time to cook down to become wonderfully rich and sweet, you can use it either straight as it is on your favourite pasta or pizza, or simply sauté up some chilli, chopped bacon or chorizo, or some sliced mushrooms then simmer the Tomato Pasta Sauce with it for a few minutes until heated through. Too easy!!

5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?

Having just come back from researching our “Discover Sri Lanka” Cuisine & Culture experience for next March, I am working on some new Sri Lankan recipes including a Sri Lankan Chicken Curry and a Godhamba Roti which is used to make one of my favourite Sri Lankan “short eats” called Kottu.