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.
Thanks so much Nico!! You can see more Famous ThermoFive interviews here.
Welcome drinks with Nico Moretti on the first night of the Emerald Class Lake Como trip.
My FAMOUS THERMOFIVE interview with Fiona Hoskin. I met Fee when I first started my Thermomix business over 6 years ago & she even delivered me my first Thermomix!! I have learnt so much from her over those years & I’m so grateful for her awesome infectious positivity & friendship – Check out her website here.
1. What do you love about your Thermomix?
I love it’s versatility – how it can do the work of so many other kitchen appliances.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix cookbook or Thermomix recipe?
The basic chip! Great for the go-to guide to egg poaching etc.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip?
To spend some time researching how your Thermomix can save you time, money, and space, while helping you cut down on store bought foods and things in plastic while also cooking you highly nutritious foods. That way you can get the maximum benefit from it.
4. What is your quick & easy go to Thermomix meal?
Curried anything! Homemade from scratch! Yum!
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
Next on my list to try are vegan recipes as I’m getting increasing requests for dairy free meals.
Thanks so much Fee for taking the time to answer my questions. See more Famous ThermoFive interviews here.
I’m so excited to be working with Sophia Thermomix Baking Blogger including her upcoming Australian Cooking Class Tour starting in Melbourne on the 23rd Nov & finishing in Newcastle on the 7th Dec. Sophia lives in London & is a Thermomix baking expert. She was taught to bake from a young age by her Dad who has been a professional baker for many years. I’m so excited to meet her in real life in a couple weeks time 🙂 I have all her cookbooks and heaps of her products that I absolutely love!! Including the Thermi Ergoslide.
1. What do you love about your Thermomix?
I love that my Thermomix is always on hand when I need it. It makes my baking life so much easier. I could never just whip up a cake in 40 seconds if I didn’t have it. My Thermi gives me the opportunity to be free and creative and have enough time to make a wonderful meal for everyone without having to slave away in the kitchen for hours. It’s just a wonderful helper.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe?
I would have to say I’d love to big up my Real Bread book. I am completely obsessed with sourdough bread and this book is full of incredible sourdough bread recipes. It is one of the nicest things you can eat and the fact that Thermomix can make it so easily is a huge bonus. My book Real Bread is also full of amazing tips on sourdough baking and how to get the process started. I’ve been a sourdough fan since I was a child and my Dad the baker taught all I know today about sourdough baking.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip?
I think by far my favourite Thermomix tip is that you can use the measuring cup to cut out the most adorable scones, cookies or any other biscuits. You don’t even need a cookie cutter and besides those shapes you can use the TM5 measuring cup to make a cute Easter egg or butterfly shape. Love it.
4. What is your quick & easy go to Thermomix meal?
I love a good bolognese. We make it once a week at home and I always use the recipe for Chorizo bolognese from my book Practice Mix Perfect. It’s quick, it’s easy and super delicious. We always make enough to have some leftovers the next day. If I want to mix it up I make meatballs instead which can also be found in my booklet Bella Italia.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
I am currently really trying to make gluten free sourdough bread so that’s next on my bucket list to tick off. It’s a bit of a tricky one but, hey, I’ve got a Thermomix.
Thanks so much Sophia for your inspiring answers to my my Famous ThermoFive questions, see more Famous ThermoFive interviews here.
I’m so excited that Dani Valent has answered my Famous ThermoFive questions. She is my foodie/Thermomix hero & she is coming to Tasmania next week & will be in Hobart for her Entertaining with Dani Valent Cooking Class on Wed 18th Oct at 6.30pm. It will be the best $70 you will spend in a long time – trust me!! Book here there only a few spots are left 🙂 (Did I mention the Entertaining with Dani Valent Cookbook is my favourite Thermomix Cookbook?!) If you can’t make it to the class, I recommend signing up to Dani Valent Cooking, Dani’s awesome online video subscription site for amazing Thermomix recipes, tips & tricks.
FAMOUS THERMOFIVE
1. What do you love about your Thermomix?
I love the fact my Thermomix is there to help me with whatever I want to do. When I’m in a rush and just need to get dinner on the table, there it is! When I’m feeling creative and want to try new techniques or ingredients, there it is! When I need to replenish my basics – stock, pesto, flours, yoghurt, dips – there it is again. And, of course, when I need an emergency cocktail or cheesecake, there it is again!
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe?
I’ll always have a soft spot for vegetable stock paste. It’s one of the first things I made in my Thermomix when I got my first one in 2008 and there’s barely been a day that I haven’t had some on hand since. I feel honestly unequipped to go forth through life without it! And fave book…well, I’m very fond of this lovely Entertaining book right now 😉
3. What is your top Thermomix tip?
Trust it! Your Thermomix is your best friend in the kitchen: reliable and always there for you. Let it be the confidence boost that allows you to try new dishes, flavours and experiences. I love hearing that people have made their first curry paste, or tried bread making for the first time, or felt equipped and inspired to host a dinner party – that’s what my cookbooks and videos are all about!
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal?
I’m a sucker for a grain salad – steamed grains in the Thermomix, perhaps with steamed vegies or vegies that I roast in the oven. It’s endlessly adaptable and even if I’m having a ‘oh my goodness there’s no food in the house!’ day I can still scrape together something delicious and nourishing. My secret is to always have condiments on hand – kimchi, vadouvan curry powder, furikake, chutney, for example – and then you can turn any basic meal into something special.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
I’m thinking new cocktails for summer – my mind is buzzing with ideas. I can tell this is going to be pretty tough research!
Thanks so much Dani Valent, we are all so excited about your upcoming cooking class.
“Famous ThermoFive” are my 5 chosen questions to ask my family, friends & customers about their Thermomixing 🙂 Please get in touch if you would like to answer my Famous ThermoFive questions.
My first interview was with my Mum for Mother’s Day, she has had her Thermomix for over a year now & I gave her an Entertaining with Dani Valent Cookbook for her early Mother’s Day pressie. (That’s one of my sisters in the photo too)
1. What do you love about your Thermomix? I love weighing directly into the Thermomix bowl as I’m cooking & I love how well it blends. I make the best pesto with basil from my garden and a really smooth crepe’ mixture.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe? At the moment it’s the Smokey Chicken recipe from the Mexican chapter of Entertaining with Dani Valent.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip? I text Arwen for any of my Thermomix questions!!
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal? Butter Chicken from the Indian Cookbook (It’s so quick when you have the homemade Tikka Paste already in the fridge).
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next? Churros, Spanish Chicken & Red Rice from the Entertaining with Dani Valent Cookbook.
Thanks Mum 🙂 & guess what we made Mum for her Mother’s Day dinner? Spanish Chicken & Red Rice – she loved it!!
My next interview was with my son ❤
1. What do you love about the Thermomix? I love how easy it is to start something, then walk away & do other things while it’s cooking.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe? I love using the recipe community, it’s easy to find any recipe you want. I also like the Basic Cookbook.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip? I like to use the simmering basket to strain cooked pasta.
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal? Rice Pudding or Macaroni Cheese.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next? Cinnamon Scrolls.
My friend Eloise Emmett she is a Tasmanian Chef, Mum & Award Winning Author.
1. What do you love about the Thermomix? It stirs while cooking! I can have a shower while my porridge is cooking, get washing of the clothes line while dinner is cooking and it makes otherwise time consuming tasks like quince paste super easy. I also love that it inspires people too cook with real food and not buy as much food out of a packet.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe? Arwen’s Black Forrest Trifle 🙂
3. What is your top Thermomix tip? If you are thinking of buying a Thermomix or at all tempted, just do it, because you will eventually! I regretted not buying my first one when I was first interested, so I missed out on having it to make baby food for my first 2 babies and used all my pots, pans and blenders to prepare baby food and when I was making baby food for my 3rd child in the Thermie I would always think “why didn’t I just buy it earlier”!
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal? My Butter Chicken recipe.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next? I like making recipes for my family so I would love to try the pulled pork recipe from the Entertaining with Dani Valent Cookbook.
My friend Ulla (pictured with Pepsi & Hamish) Ulla is the reason I signed up to be a Thermomix Consultant 5.5 years ago!! She came to work on a Monday morning & said she bought a Thermomix on the interest free payment plan & I would love it & I should be a consultant! She wouldn’t stop talking about how amazing the Thermomix was so I had to book a demonstration – I was sold at the icing sugar!! The rest is history, so they say 🙂
1. What do you love about your Thermomix? I didn’t fall in love with my Thermomix until I got it & started using it & now I wouldn’t be without it! When I first saw the Thermomix at a demo, I had in mind Arwen loves food, cooking & has such a sunny personality, she should be doing this for her job!
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe? Beef Rendang & the Torte Caprese’ (gluten free almond & chocolate cake)
3. What is your top Thermomix tip? I use my Thermomix to chop up tired veggies for the dogs’ food, they love it!
4.What is your quick & easy go to meal? Any soup including the Moroccan Lentil Soup & Stir-fry.
5.Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next? Salmon with Salmon Mousse & Mango Sauce from the Full Steam Ahead Cookbook.
Next I interviewed my sister Ali, she was one of my first customers over 5 years ago 😀
1. What do you love about the Thermomix?
I love how quick it is to make everything & it’s on the bench ready for anything from baking prep to family meals.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe?
Pizza dough!! We have woodfired pizza’s every Friday night, the whole family help put the toppings on & we all sit around the fire while they are cooking.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip?
Definitely get 2 Thermomix bowls, it’s so handy to be using one while the other one is in the dishwasher 😀
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal?
Arwen’s Thermie Green Curry (I’ll pay her later lol!)
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
Steamed Bread.
Sally is an amazing cook & hosts Chinese Cooking Classes from her beautiful home just past Cygnet. I first met Sally many years ago when she was still a Thermomix Consultant. Thanks for taking the Famous ThermoFive questions Sally. You can email Sally directly to find out about her cooking classes sallypixies@hotmail.com.
1. What do you love about your Thermomix?
Apart from saving me heaps of money and time, Thelma (Sally’s Thermomix) has made my life sooooo much easier for the past 6 years! Now I can’t imagine a life without her. My husband is quite jealous of her actually!
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe? T
oo many to list, from dip to salad to soup to cake mix, all at my finger tips. However, I must say the thing I use the Thermomix most for is making various doughs for my Chinese pancakes, dumplings and steamed buns. My husband loves sticky date pudding. He keeps reminding me the way to a man’s heart is through his belly so that is on our menu often too!
3. What is your top Thermomix tip?
Before you start any cooking, think what you can do in your Thermomix. The more you use it, the more you will use it and the easier life will be! Trust me!
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal?
Again too many to list. At the moment it is pumpkin soup (only because I harvested 45 pumpkins in April…..need to get rid of them somehow) with my various forms of Chinese pancakes.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
I just saw Arwen’s post for her Vanilla Chia Puddings recipe. I happen to have some chia seeds in the pantry, so I will definitely will try that.
My friend & fellow Thermomix consultant Kelly has taken the famous ThermoFive questions. Thanks so much Kel, you are a true inspiration & I love that you use your Thermomix constantly to make delicious food for your family.
1. What do you love about the Thermomix?
I don’t think there is anything that I don’t love about my 2 Thermomix (yes I’m spoilt with 2 Thermomix, a TM31 and a TM5) I just love how easy it is to make everything from scratch and how I am in control of how much sugar and salt I add, not to mention the preservatives and rubbish in bought food that we are avoiding! Having 2 Thermomix is a huge saving on time and on the grocery bills!!
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe?
I love the Devil of a Cookbook and the I Love Chocolate, I Love Thermomix cook books. They both have some great easy recipes to make. One of my favourite dessert recipes is my own recipe from the recipe community for chocolate molten cakes.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip?
Don’t think just because you now own a Thermomix that everything you make will be a hit. Sometimes we do have failures in the Thermie (not often) but you just have to keep going and keep cooking. Add more flavour to dishes by upping the herbs and spices. Use your own intuition with some recipes.
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal?
The Thai Basil and Chilli Chicken from the Basic Cookbook & recipe chip. It’s healthy and super quick! I up the chicken to 1.2 kilos.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
After 4 years I still haven’t made mayonnaise so I guess I should give that a go!!
The ease that good, healthy and tasty food can be achieved with a TM.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe?
As I cherry pick, and blend so many techniques and recipes from the many TM cookbooks I’ve bought over the years, it’s hard to nail down a favourite but probably I’d have to say The Basic Cook Book as it reminds you of the basics of all recipes.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip?
Top tip for me is use it to roast and blend all your fresh spice mixes, and make (then freeze) curry pastes etc. Such an easy go-to solution for those times you don’t have the ingredients and/or can’t be bothered.
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal?
My favourite easy go-to meal is Thai fish cakes, or my Chiang Mai Sausages. Quick, easy and tasty using my own personal kitchen hacks.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
I’ve been really loving your posts and pics of steaming the whole chicken, so am really looking for an opportunity to try that. Never dared attempt it before, so one day….
My Famous ThermoFive interview today is with my friend Erica. I met Erica over 6 years ago when we trained together to be Thermomix consultants.
Even though she is longer a consultant she still loves & uses her Thermomix everyday. Erica is passionate about lunch boxes see her lunchbox inspiration below.
1. What do you love about your Thermomix? Versatility. I can throw everything in Thermie for a quick all-in-one meal. Or I can use Thermie to chop all the ingredients when batch cooking meals to freeze. Or blend up a dip or smoothie for afternoon tea. Or make a cake, buzz up bliss balls, pizza dough, muffins… the list is endless.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe? Only one?? I have more Thermomix recipe books than I care to admit! But my boys are 2 and 5 so I’m in the daily trenches of getting meals and snacks on the table and packing lunchboxes. The books I reach for most are the Basic Cookbook and all three Louise Fulton Keats’ books.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip? Use it. Start with recipes written for Thermomix. Choose ones that suit your tastes and nutritional requirements. Make as many different recipes as possible. Learn how different combinations of temperature, time and speed achieve the different functions. Get familiar with kneading, chopping, milling, grating, steaming, stirring, cooking, mixing, sauteing, blending. Then you can make any recipe you want, including recipes with conventional instructions. The sky is the limit!
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal? Good ol’ risotto. I use the Basic Cookbook recipe as a base and then vary it to suit. e.g. I use different veggies, or a mix of grains (e.g. quinoa, rice, buckwheat). Or I make a plain risotto and serve family style with side dishes to suit different tastes.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
I’m looking forward to exploring Cookidoo more and finding new recipes to try.
Thanks so much Erica for your inspiring answers to my my Famous ThermoFive questions.
Today’s Famous ThermoFive interview is with my awesome foodie friend Rosey, she made my Thermomix costume I met Rosey when she was a Thermomix consultant a few years ago & we will be lifetime friends because we love food & eating so much!!
1. What do you love about your Thermomix? It’s always there for me no matter what I want to do 😀 2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe? The Basic Cookbook & the Torta Caprese (with my own tweaks) it’s just so versatile.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip? Read the full recipe before you start cooking, to see if there you can make any of the steps quicker or easier like milling your sugar into icing sugar before you start your recipe.
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal? Healthy steamed whole chicken from the Devil of a Cookbook.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next? As many Dani Valent recipes as I can from her Entertaining Cookbook & her Dani Valent site 😀
Thanks so much Rosey I’ve learnt so much from you xx
Today’s Famous ThermoFive questions are with my friend & customer Janne, she has had a Thermomix for over 10 years ❤
1. What do you love about your Thermomix? I love how quick it is!
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe? Chicken Kiev’s.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip? To get extra mixture off the blades when scraping out the bowl put it on again for 1 second on reverse speed 4 to fling the mixture off the blade to the sides of the bowl.
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal? Pumpkin soup or risotto.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next? Arwen’s pesto scrolls 😀
Thanks so much Janne for answering my questions & being in a photo with me 😀
Today’s Famous Thermo Five is with my friend Kate – she is too shy to be in a photo but we have a pic of her 2 Thermomix.
1. What do you love about your Thermomix?
It encourages me to try to make new things that I was previously too scared to even attempt, like pastry and jam. Having two Thermomix has saved me even more time, today I made dinner and jam at the same time.
2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe?
My favourite cookbook is the Festive Flavours, it’s great for entertaining any time of the year. And the recipes always get compliments.
3. What is your top Thermomix tip?
If you think a recipe has too much or too little of something, adjust it to your liking as you’re making it. Trust your gut. You can always add more salt later, but it’s super hard to adjust a recipe once you add too much.
4. What is your quick & easy go to meal?
Okonomiyaki, to always use up the random cabbages my husband buys, the recipe is from the In the Mix cookbook.
5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?
There’s a curry in Skinnymixers “A little Taste of Asia” cookbook called Ayam Kapitan that a friends always raves about, I’m desperate to try it out next.
Thanks so much Kate – 2 TM’s is always better than one LOL!!
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