We were fortunate enough to have Nico Moretti for his Sri Lankan Curry Cooking Class a couple of weeks ago. We all enjoyed the class so much and the food was delicious. One of our friends was unable to attend so we said we would make all the recipes for a shared lunch so she could try them. I wanted to make all the recipes so made the ones I hadn’t already made a few days later for a family dinner.
Sri Lankan Curry PowderPol Sambol (Coconut Sambol)Spicy Sri Lankan Onion Jam (Seeni Sambol)Beetroot CurrySri Lankan Red Lentil Dahl (Parippu)Godhamba Roti (Paratha)Sri Lankan Stuffed Vegetable Roti with Mint & Coriander Spiced YoghurtSri Lankan Chicken CurrySri Lankan Cashew CurrySri Lankan Yellow Rice (Kahabuth)Chicken Kottu RotiSri Lankan Eggplant Curry (Vambotu)Sri Lankan Love Cake
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.
I can not believe it – I made it to Lake Como!! Thanks so much to all my amazing customers & friends you are totally awesome!! I will be continuing my Italian Cooking Adventures until I make it to 50 recipes to celebrate 🙂
Thanks to all my friends & customers for their ongoing support for my Thermomix Business 🙂
I am sooooo excited!! As an Independent Thermomix Consultant we have the opportunity to earn our way to a reward trip to Lake Como in Italy, including a guided foodie tour by WA Chef Nico Moretti!!
Only the top selling 51 consultants from (1st Jan-30th June 2017) in Australia & New Zealand will get to go & I plan to be one of them. (We can sell a Thermomix to anyone in Australia) Just for a bit of fun every time I get another point towards Lake Como, I am going to make an Italian recipe in the Thermomix & share the photo 🙂 Do you have any favourite Italian recipes you think I should try? I will only need to cook 50 plus recipes in the next 6 months!!
And anyone who hosts a Cooking Experience with 2 or more guests between 9th Jan & 30th April will go into the draw to win a Trip for 2 to Lake Como as well! I hope one of my customers wins the prize!
Join me as I cook my way through Italian Recipes using my Thermomix – 1 recipe for each time I make a sale – I need over 50 sales before the end of June to get to the Thermomix Reward Trip in Lake Como. I do love a good challenge.
1. I’m counting this as an Italian Recipe – It is the Inside Out Chicken Parmigiana – Not traditional but very delicious! It’s from the Entertaining with Dani Valent Cookbook.
2. Homemade Pizza Dough
3. I also made Nico’s Ragu Di Pomodoro E Peperoncini – Spiced tomato sauce for the base of the pizza.
4. Homemade pasta dough in the Thermomix made into Spaghetti with Ragu Di Pomodoro E Peperoncini (Spiced Tomato Sauce & Cheese)
5. Dani Valent Cooking Red Wine -Braised Beef with Polenta Cremoso recipe by Joseph Vargetto (I used the truffle polenta I bought at the Essential Ingredient) – The dish tastes better than it looks!
The pasta & truffle polenta I bought at the Essential Ingredient in Newcastle 🙂
6: Tiramisu for 2 (in a jar – one for me & one for my friend & customer who upgraded her Thermomix at the start of March) I used the recipe from the Basic cookbook & added my own homemade vanilla bean paste. I made 1/3 of the recipe so I didn’t have to eat too much 🙂
7: Nico Moretti recipe for Spinach & Ricotta “Gnudi” – “Gnudi” are a classic Tuscan dish, and it’s like ravioli, but without the pasta (just the filling). These light & fluffy gnudi are STEAMED in the VAROMA and served with a fresh Salsa di Pomodoro (Tomato Pasta Sauce)
8. A regular recipe made at our place is homemade pesto, delicious as a quick sauce on pasta or spread on toast with fresh homegrown tomatoes is just heaven.
9. Nico Moretti’s recipe for White Chocolate Pannacotta
10. A family favourite Lasagne – all the elements are cooked in the Thermomix the meat sauce, the béchamel white sauce, the fresh pasta dough & grated cheese. Then into the oven YUM!!
Italian Pantry Shopping – opps someone drank the prosecco 🙂
11. Italian Style Lamb Shank served on Cauli mash with truffle salt. The sauce was made in the Thermomix then poured over the lamb shanks that went into the oven in a casserole dish slow cooked for 2 hours.
12. Puttanesca sauce made in the Thermomix & I cooked the dry pasta I bought at the essential ingredient. (A favourite Italian recipe from one of my customers who just upgraded to a new Thermomix)
13. Potato Sciacciata recipe from In the Mix 2, a Tuscan version of focaccia with potato in it.
14.Spaghetti Carbonara recipe from the Thermomix Basic Cookbook.
16 & 17 (home made) Potato Gnocchi with Pork & Fennel Ragu – A Nico Moretti recipe from his cookbook Delicious Journeys.
18. Osso Bucco – I make the sauce in the Thermomix & seal the floured Osso Bucco meat in a pan & then baked in the oven with the sauce for 2 hours 🙂
19. Orechiette Con Broccoli – another Nico Moretti recipe from his Delicious Journeys cookbook. I cooked the sauce in the Thermomix & the pasta & broccoli in a big pot.
20. Chicken Cacciatore recipe from The Basic Cookbook
21. Meatballs in Tomato sauce with mushrooms. I added mushrooms to the recipe from The Basic Cookbook. We have made it many times at my customers Thermomix Cooking experiences (The meatballs are steamed over a tomato sauce)
22. Italian Hot Chocolate
22. Ciabatta
23. Torte Pasqualina – I accidentally didn’t get the recipe right lol!! I cracked all my egg into the mixture & then realised I was supposed to keep some whole lol!!
24. Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni
25. (Recipe from one of my Italian Customers) Sylvia’s Almond Bocconcini.
26. Minestone Soup
27. Tajarin with truffle butter & truffled egg yolk 🙂 Recipe from the truffle cookbook by Rodney Dunn – I just thermofied the recipe where I could 🙂 I used the truffle I bought from Duncan Garvey Perigord Truffles of Tasmania ❤️
28. Gnocco Fritto, deep fried bread. I made the dough in the Thermomix 🙂
29. Roman-Style Semolina Gnocchi.
30. Pumpkin & Blue Cheese Arancini
31. Red Wine Risotto (I didn’t like this recipe 🙁 )
32. Hazelnut Chocolate Spread 🙂 (Recipe in the Basic Cookbook)
33. Chocolate Ravioli with Orange & Apricot Sauce – A Joseph Vargetto recipe from Dani Valent Cooking.
34. Sundried Tomato Focaccia
35. Limoncello
Ingredients top up from the Italian Pantry
36. Homemade mozzarella cheese
37. Raviolo with ricotta & truffle infused egg yolk
38. Ricotta filled ravioli with burnt butter truffles & thyme
39.Squid ink pasta
40. Squid ink pasta with prawns in a spicy tomato sauce
41. Quattro formaggi and walnuts (4 cheese pizza)
42. Classic Calzone
43. Napoli Potato Cake
44. Torta Caprese
45. Stracciatella Ice Cream
46. Grissini
47. Chicken Involtini with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
48. Pizza Bianca, made so many times for Thermomix Cooking Experiences 🙂
49. Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with Burnt Sage Butter & Spinach
50. Bolognese Sauce – we make this all the time but I kept forgetting to take a photo of it!!
Time to celebrate!! I finished cooking my 50 Italian style recipes just 2 weeks before I will arrive in Lake Como Italy!! This is my new Thermomix model 5 called Bimby (Italian name for Thermomix) I earned this Thermomix while earning my trip to Italy & also sold my 400th Thermomix in that period too! I’m saying Saluti with a glass of Prosecco – Italian sparkling wine 🙂 Thanks everyone so much for all your support for my Thermomixing!!
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