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Paola Lovisetti Scamihorn

A native-born Italian - "D.O.C." – Paola has lived and worked abroad for nearly a decade. Cooking has always been her passion; she always likes to experiment with different tastes and textures, tingeing from the Italian culinary culture to create her own personal recipes, however trying to remain faithful to the authentic Italian traditions, flavors, and ingredients. She started her blog “Passion and Cooking” (www.passionandcooking.com) in October 2012 to showcase my recipes and give her readers a sampling of the true Italian lifestyle, through traditional cooking

Keep summertime flavors alive in your desserts: Peach crumble is a delicious spoon dessert composed of a crunchy topping that hides a heart of soft and juicy peaches. The crumble is an English dessert, in fact "crumble" is also a verb meaning to reduce to small pieces (crumbs), and is made of fruit covered by a "crumbly" layer of sweet dough.  The...

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Goat milk jello is a lighter version of the well known Italian dessert panna cotta.  Typically it is served with berries, caramel or chocolate sauce, fruit coulis and because of its great versatility it is possible to create a different topping every time. It is up to your creativity.  Summer is the season of apricots in Italy, so I prepared a deli...

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Zucchini flowers in beer batter are an excellent aperitif to accompany a refreshing drink. The delicate zucchini flowers, beautiful to look at and delicious to taste, can be used in different recipes. They are very versatile, excellent in risotto, with pasta, filled with ricotta and, if you like, as a delicious appetizer.  The Cocoon beer batter, w...

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Risotto with beer, mortadella and pistachios … if you’re looking for something a little different to eat – delicious and not too difficult – then you might want to try this special recipe.  This is a nutritious and tasty first course that juxtaposes the slightly sweet and rich flavor of mortadella with subtle acidity of Cocoon beer, produced locall...

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Do you like both traditional tiramisù and lemon? This is the dessert for you, fresh and fragrant, especially in the summertime. Originally a recipe from Campania, where the lemon trees of Sorrento and Amalfi, with their intense citrus flavor, are the real cuisine stars.  Tiramisù is prepared with fresh mascarpone cheese (see homemade mascarpone), l...

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Let’s celebrate spring with delicious and nutritious salad. Peas are part of the legume family. They have an impressive nutritional profile being rich in antioxidants, good carbs, protein and fiber but relatively low in calories. They are a good source of energy. Asparagus, belonging to garlic and onion family, shares the same diuretic properties....

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Lasagne, one of the most popular Italian dishes, has a long and interesting history and  traces its origin to the ancient Greeks. Lasagne with pistachios pesto is a delicious vegetarian dish, something to try!  Bronte Pistachios, from a small village in Sicily, are smaller then other pistachios but tastier and with a brilliant emerald color!  Pista...

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Love, sweetness and spiciness together? Yes it is possible with this cake prepared with chocolate and hot chili pepper, covered with strawberry coulis. Chocolate is seductive and slightly mysterious; it has been called the “food of the devil”. Chocolate and love result in the same good feelings and sensations in the brain. Hot chili pepper increase...

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This is a great autumn-winter dish when kale is in season. It is tasty and healthy side dish or main dish for a light meal. This is a perfect vegetarian/vegan recipe but omnivores love it too. Chickpeas are legumes with a remarkable nutritional profile: good source of vegetable protein, vitamins, minerals (iron, magnesium and potassium), and fiber...

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Casoncelli, also known as casonsei in the local dialect, is a typical first course of Lombardy, in particular in the cities of Bergamo and Brescia. Casoncelli is a kind of stuffed fresh pasta, shaped like a wrapped candy. The filling varies depending on where you are: in Brescia, it’s traditionally made of leftover beef and fresh salami (pasta di s...

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Gnudi is a typical Tuscan dish made with spinach or erbette, ricotta, Parmesan cheese and served with butter and sage or tomato sauce. The term gnudi comes from the Tuscan dialect which means "naked" and emphasizes the "nakedness" of these dumplings compared to ravioli, which are instead covered with a layer of pasta. It is an easy and simple recip...

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Who can resist truffles? Not me! Risotto with truffle is a classic first course, easy and quick to prepare, a dish that will certainly impress your guest. The simplicity of the ingredients is enhanced by the flavor of truffle. This is something you can prepare for a special meal with friends and family. Like most authentic Italian recipes it’s dece...

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