A Pretend Chef

I found the recipe for this Italian crowd pleaser in an edition of Australian Gourmet Traveller and since then I've prepared it every year, usually during winter. It feeds a small army and is perfect for a family gathering washed down with a nice Chianti. It's a labour of love but well worth the effort. If serving for a dinner party I start prep in the morning. This recipe is re-written directly from the one published in the May 2006 Australian Gourmet Traveller (p. 107) and I have slightly tweaked it to my preference. Serves 8-12 people. Ingredients 500 gm bucatini or spagetti pasta, cooked 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled 2 cups cooked green peas 2 cacciatore sausages thinly sliced 2 balls of fresh mozzarella, sliced 150 gm grated parmesan cheese 1 cup of tomato passata  1 beaten egg with a tbs of milk added For the pastry 500 gm strong plain white flour 125 gm cold unsalted butter, chopped 2 tbs caster sugar 1 tbs extra virgin olive oi...

My regular grocery and coffee stop is Fratteli Fresh in Danks Street, Waterloo ( http://www.fratellifresh.com.au/ ). It's been my Saturday morning ritual for years now and I, like many people, am a fan of Cafe Sopra , upstairs above the fruit & veg area. I just picked up the new recipe book published by Vogue; Seasonal Kitchen. The book is a collection of recipes from Sopra's head chef, Andy Bunn . I like the recipes laid out based on seasonality. Here's the first one I've tried from the "Summer" section...Yes I know it's Spring, so I got in a little early! Recipe Crumbed veal with peperonata di mandorlata Recipe by Chef Andy Bunn Cafe Sopra Fratelli Fresh Ingredients 4 x 200g veal cutlets 3 eggs 3 cups of milk 200g plain flour 280g fresh white breadcrumbs 200g grated Parmigiano Reggiano Butter for shallow frying Extra virgin olive oil H alved small lemons to serve P eperonata di Mandorlata 6 red capsicums 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and f...