Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo dishes up a taste of Italy with these delicious recipes
Whether you're after something light and healthy or sweet and fruity, these Italian-inspired meals will go down a treat - buon appetito!
WHO says Italian food has to be unhealthy?
Gino's latest recipes are anything but bad for your insides...
Couscous salad with olives, asparagus and Grana Padano
Serves 4
Prep time 10 minutes, plus 10 minutes standing
Cooking time 10 minutes
Cals 502
Sat fat 5g
*350ml vegetable stock
*250g couscous
*100g asparagus tips
*1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into thin strips
*10 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
*50g pitted black olives in brine, drained and roughly chopped
*50g Grana Padano, coarsely grated
*4tbsp fresh chives, chopped
For the dressing
*6tbsp extra virgin olive oil
*2tbsp red wine vinegar
*1tsp English mustard
1 Pour the vegetable stock into a medium lidded saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the couscous and stir. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and leave to stand with the lid on for 10 minutes. Uncover and fluff the couscous up with a fork, then set aside to cool.
2 Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to the boil. Drop in the asparagus and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and drop into cold water – this keeps them crunchy and retains their green colour. Drain and chop into 2cm pieces and put into a large bowl.
3 Add the pepper, tomatoes, olives, Grana Padano and chives to the asparagus. Set aside.
4 To make the dressing, pour the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and mustard into a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Pour the dressing into the bowl over the vegetables.
5 Add the cooled couscous and stir together. Serve on a large platter with a few cold beers.
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
Pizza with courgettes and balsamic glaze
Serves 4
Prep time 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting
Cooking time 15 minutes
Cals 439
Sat fat 10g
*2tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
*200g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
*1 x 7g sachet fast-action (easy blend) dried yeast
*1 large courgette
*2 x 125g reduced-fat mozzarella balls, drained and cut into small cubes
*2tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
*4tbsp balsamic glaze
1 Brush 2 medium baking trays with oil and set aside. Put the flour, yeast and a pinch of salt into a large bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in 140ml warm water and the extra virgin olive oil. Mix to create a wet dough (use the handle of a wooden spoon so you don’t get sticky fingers).
2 Turn the dough on to a clean, well-floured surface and work it with your hands for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into 2 balls and place in the centre of the oiled baking trays. Brush the tops of the dough balls with a little oil and cover with cling film. Leave at room temperature to rest for 30 minutes.
3 Meanwhile, trim and discard the top and bottom of the courgette. With a sharp knife cut the courgette into really thin discs, or use a mandolin if you have one, as it will make this job much easier. Set aside while you preheat the oven to 210ºC/190ºC fan/gas mark 7.
4 Once rested and still in the baking trays, use your fingertips to push each dough ball out from the centre, creating two round discs about 22cm in diameter.
5 Scatter the mozzarella evenly over the pizza bases and sprinkle the parsley on top. Lay the courgette discs over the mozzarella and parsley, slightly overlapping, to create a circle effect. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper over each pizza.
6 Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, until golden and crispy. Drizzle over the balsamic glaze and serve immediately.
Spiced grape cake with orange zest
Serves 10
Prep time 10 minutes
Cooking time 45 minutes
Cals 329
Sat fat 6g
*75g salted butter, softened
*150g light muscovado sugar
*2 medium eggs
*Grated zest 1 orange
*1/2tsp nutmeg
*1tsp ground cinnamon
*50ml semi-skimmed milk
*120ml olive oil
*150g plain flour
*1tsp baking powder
*150g red seedless grapes, halved lengthways
*2 heaped tbsp demerara sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 170ºC/150ºC fan/gas mark 3 and line a 20cm round loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment.
2 Whisk the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl until creamy and well combined. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Add the orange zest, nutmeg and cinnamon, pour in the milk and olive oil and whisk to combine.
3 Tip in the flour and baking powder and give it a final beat.
4 Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and evenly scatter over the grapes. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool.
5 Once cool, remove from the tin and slide on to a serving plate. Serve with your mid-morning coffee or afternoon tea.
Wrapped salmon with dijon mustard and mascarpone sauce
Serves 4
Prep time 10 minutes
Cooking time 18 minutes
Cals 335
Sat fat 10g
*1 courgette, trimmed
*400g skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
*40g salted butter
*100ml hot vegetable stock
*1tsp Dijon mustard
*50g reduced-fat mascarpone
*1tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
*½tsp garlic salt
1 Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan/gas mark 6. Using a potato peeler, slice 8 wide ribbons from the courgette lengthways and set aside.
2 Lightly season each salmon fillet with salt and wrap 2 courgette ribbons around each fillet. Transfer the wrapped salmon to a baking tray measuring about 25 x 35cm and evenly dot the butter over. Transfer to the oven and bake for 18 minutes.
3 Dice the remaining courgette and put into a small saucepan. Add the vegetable stock, Dijon mustard, mascarpone cheese, dill and garlic salt and stir all together. Place the saucepan over a low heat and gently cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Make sure that the sauce doesn’t boil otherwise it will split.
4 Remove the salmon from the oven and arrange on a serving platter. Pour the mascarpone sauce over and around salmon.
5 Season with black pepper and serve immediately with mashed potatoes.
Recipes from Gino’s Healthy Italian For Less by Gino G’Acampo (Hodder & Stoughton, £20) out Thursday.
Photography © Tamin Jones
For more Gino recipes, why not try these warming Italian meals.