Francesco Mattana

This is one of my favourite Sardinian breads - this is Su Mustazzeddu 🙌 The consistency of the bread is a crossover between a pizza and a focaccia and it’s topped with beautiful roasted tomatoes with garlic and basil. It has a delicious crunchy, golden crust and it’s super easy to make, which makes it perfect for those who have never made bread before. You can also top it with aubergine, peppers or courgettes. I tried this for the very first time while taking a walk in a little town in the south-west of Sardinia and I wanted to make a fool-proof recipe so I could replicate it any time I wanted 👌 The story also goes that the Sardinian nuns invented this dish during periods of poverty so they could bring something more nutritious to the poor than just simple bread, making it another great example of a delicious cucina povera recipe. This is one of the recipes in my new cookbook Eat Like A Sardinian, Live to 100 and I cannot wait for you all to make it. 💙 You can pre-order your copy via the link in bio 📘👆 I’m so grateful to everyone who has already pre-ordered it as you’re helping the book get seen, stocked and supported. If you haven’t ordered yours already and you are able to pre-order it now that would mean a lot (and you don’t have to pay until publication!) Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website (link in bio). Makes 4 focacce 320ml water 2g fast-action dried yeast 330g semolina flour (semola rimacinata), plus extra for dusting 170g ‘00’ flour, plus extra for dusting 13g fine sea salt 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing 4 large tomatoes, chopped into 2cm pieces 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced 15g basil #focaccia #italianfood #vegan #bread #tomato

Nothing beats serving your own homemade basil pesto with some freshly made potato gnocchi! 🙌 These pillowy gnocchi are a proper comfort food and they pair perfectly with a light basil pesto or a simple tomato sauce 🌿 The process of making this whole dish is easy, fun and therapeutic to do and a winner every single time. You have to give it a try. Top tips: 👉 Use old potatoes as they will have less water which is better for the dough (and a great way to use leftover potatoes!) 👉 Let the potatoes steam dry for 5 minutes after boiling. This is a crucial step before making gnocchi because it removes excess moisture. 👉 Stop kneading the dough as soon as it comes together - otherwise it will get too sticky and you’ll end up adding too much flour 👉 Don’t put too much pressure on the dough when rolling out the shapes - just lightly press and roll. Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website. Serves 2 Ingredients For the gnocchi: 500g of old or starchy potatoes 1 whole medium egg 175g 00 flour plus extra for dusting 40g grated Grana Padano cheese (optional) For the basil pesto: 30g basil, leaves picked and stalk discarded 60ml extra virgin olive oil 30g pine nuts, lightly toasted 1 garlic clove, skin removed 50g grated Grana Padano cheese A touch of lemon juice #gnocchi #potato #pesto #healthyfood #comfortfood

This is how to make pasta e fagioli 🫘 This classic cucina povera recipe is comforting, creamy and perfect for the cold weather. It's naturally vegan and packed full of vegetables and legumes, which are so good for you. This is literally a no-guilt pasta! It's also a great way to use all that leftover pasta at the bottom of the packets. Ideally all the short shape pasta! To get that creamy texture, the trick is to take a few spoonfuls of the sauce and blitz them before adding this back to the sauce. I hope you love it as much as @Chris Baber did!! 👌😊 Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website. Serves 2 1 carrot 1 celery ½ onion 2 sun-dried tomatoes 300g tin borlotti beans 1 level tbsp tomato paste 1 sprig rosemary 500ml vegetable stock 10g parsley Extra virgin olive oil Fine sea salt 150g pasta mista (mixed short pasta) #beans #vegan #italianfood #healthyfood #comfortfood

This is how to make Gnudi - naked ravioli! 🙌 If you love spinach and ricotta, you’ll love this "pasta without the pasta" from Tuscany. Served in a delicious butter, sage and lemon sauce they are light, comforting and delicious. They can also be served in a simple tomato sauce. 🍅 Before cooking them, keep them in the fridge on a bed of semolina for at least 1 hour so they hold their shape well when cooking. You can also make them in advance as they keep well in the fridge for a few days. 👌 Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website. Makes 4 portions 400g spinach 200g ricotta 1 small egg 50g Grana Padano or parmesan cheese 120g 00 Flour Durum wheat fine semolina for resting the gnudi 90g butter 2 sprig of sage 1 lemon Fine sea salt Freshly ground pepper #spinach #cheese #ricotta #tuscany #butter

There's less than ONE week to go until our first online cooking class!! 🌟 Thank you to everyone who has already signed up, some classes are almost fully booked which is absolutely amazing!👏 And we've just added two brand new classes and even more dates for March and April! 👇 You can now choose from five unique classes: 🙌 Master The Art of Pasta Making 🇮🇹 Italian Family Favourites 🌞 A Taste of Sardinia 🍝 A Taste of Rome 🍋 A Taste of Sicily For those who haven’t heard yet, last month I launched my very own online Italian cookery school where we’ll be making beautiful fresh pasta, preparing your Italian favourites, baking bread and practicing our knife skills. And because they’re online, you can join from wherever you are in the world. The classes will be live and interactive and we’ll cook together and have fun! Then at the end of each one you’ll have a delicious meal to enjoy and recipes you can make over and over again. If you love my recipes and you want to make them with me in real time - or you just want a nice activity to do with your family and friends from the comfort of your own home, these classes are for you! I can’t wait to cook together very soon ❤️ Book now or find out more via the link in bio. 👆 📸 Images are by @jimmylazergram , who also shot the beautiful photos in my new cookbook, Eat Like A Sardinian, Live to 100. #onlinecookingclasses #italiancooking #learning #cookingschool #cookingclass

How to buy - PASTA! 🍝 Having been born and raised in a Southern Italian family and having worked as an Italian chef for many years, I’ve been eating and cooking pasta for a very long time. Whether it’s fresh or dry, homemade or shop-bought, there really is an art to the perfect pasta dish. It's one of the most famous Italian foods all around the world and in Italy it’s a very important part of the diet because in a plate of pasta you can get all the nutrients you need by simply changing the sauces, toppings and ingredients each time. But the quality is very important and a question I get asked a lot is "which one is the best dried pasta?". There are so many great companies that make incredible dried pasta out there, so instead I’m sharing with you a few key points for you to recognise and choose the best pasta you can find when you go shopping. Remember these 3 key things: ☝️Colour ☝️Texture ☝️The cooking process I hope this will help you next time you are stuck in front of a massive shelf of pasta and don’t have any idea which one to choose! And if you want to learn even more about pasta, you can find my blog "All You Need To Know About Pasta" in the link in my bio. #pasta #italiancuisine #italianfood #learning #bestpasta

This is my Live to 100 Minestrone 💙 This dish is comforting. delicious and packed full of vegetables and legumes. It’s also a great example of why Sardinia is one of only five Blue Zones in the world and why people here are more likely to live to 100 years old! This, of course, is because of many factors, but one in particular is our diet which is full of simple, seasonal, local ingredients. Even today, minestrone is still something that we eat very often. My advice would be to use my recipe as a guide but try to make it seasonal and make it your own, just like we do in Sardinia. Sometimes, to add some carbs, we also add fregula, a type of pasta similar to giant cous cous. You can find this recipe as well as over 90 authentic Sardinian and family recipes in my new cookbook Eat Like A Sardinia, Live to 100 💙 You can pre-order your copy via the link in bio 📘👆 I’m so grateful to everyone who has already pre-ordered it as you’re helping the book get seen, stocked and supported. If you haven’t ordered yours already and you are able to pre-order it now that would mean a lot (and you don’t have to pay until publication!). Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website. Serves 4 100g dried borlotti beans or 250g tinned borlotti beans 100g dried chickpeas or 250g tinned chickpeas 1 onion 2 celery sticks 1 large carrot 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling 2 garlic cloves 3 sun-dried tomatoes 15g basil 15g parsley 3 large tomatoes 1 large potato 4 large Savoy cabbage leaves 40g pecorino or 4 tablespoons Pangrattato Fine sea salt and freshly Ground black pepper Fregula or any small pasta shape (optional) #minestrone #liveto100 #healthyfood #comfortfood #sardinia

If you are a garlic lover, then you'll love this recipe! 🧄 It's called Pici all’Aglione and it's a traditional Tuscan pasta dish. Aglione stands for a particular type of garlic similar to what in English is known as elephant garlic. It's sweeter in favour and isn't as pungent which is why local people say you can enjoy this dish even on a date! This type of garlic can be tricky to find if you don't live in Italy so I wanted to show you how you can make it using regular garlic! By slowly cooking the garlic in oil, the result is a mellow, sweet garlic that is also easier to digest. The hand-made pici, almost like thick spaghetti, are easy to make with no equipment needed and are the perfect pasta shape to pair with this rich garlicky tomato sauce. Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website (link in bio) Serves 2 For the pasta dough: 200g semolina 90ml warm water Pinch of fine sea salt For the tomato sauce: 4 large garlic cloves 100ml white wine 400ml passata 10g fresh basil Fine sea salt Extra virgin olive oil #cucinaitaliana #vegan #veganfood #garlic #italianfood

Malloreddus alla Campidanese is a signature dish from Sardinia! 🍝 This pasta originally comes from the Campidano area in the south of Sardinia but it's now eaten all over the island and is often prepared for special occasions or for a Sunday meal to share with all the family. So it made sense that for @leisoledelgusto 's yearly event to celebrate Sardinian gastronomy I would share this recipe with you all. It represents our island's long tradition of pasta making, it's Sardinian comfort food at its very best and this dish always transports me straight back home. AD The Gnocchetti Sardi or Malloreddus, are made with durum wheat semolina, a grain that has been grown in Sardinia for centuries and is closely linked to our peasant and pastoral traditions. Malloreddus are much more than an ingredient, they're a labour of love. Each ridged shell is shaped through a simple movement that has been passed down through generations and give the pasta it's unique texture, character and history. The sausage meat is seasoned with fennel seeds and white wine and left to marinate overnight. The Sardinian saffron, grown in small plots of land has an intense aroma and golden colour that brings together the sweetness of the sausage ragu and the earthiness and nuttiness of the durum wheat semolina in the pasta. These ingredients come together to create a ragu that is full of our unique Sardinian flavours, with the comfort of a slow-cooked sauce! Here are the ingredients 👇 Serves 4 1 white onion, finely chopped 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 500g fennel sausage 100ml Vermentino or a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc 800g of tomato passata 15g fresh basil Pinch of ground saffron threads 200ml water 400g Gnocchetti Sardi or Malloreddus Grated pecorino, to serve #leisoledelgusto2025 #manichetrasformanolasardegna #cucinaitaliana #pasta #italianfood

In Italy, lentils are eaten on New Year's Eve as they are considered a symbol of good fortune for the coming year 🍀 But I also love this comforting vegan dish all year round as it is a true feel-good recipe that’s both delicious and very good for you. It’s a great way to introduce more legumes into your diet and lentils are so nutritional, packed with plant-based protein, fibre, iron and minerals!  I usually soak the lentils the night before or for at least 3-4 hours prior to cooking. It’s not necessary as they cook relatively quickly but it makes them easier to digest. I recommend using brown or green lentils as I found them perfect for this dish and they cook in about 40 minutes.  I have served the ragu with pasta but you can also serve it on its own as a lentil soup with some toasted garlic bread!  Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website (link in bio) Makes 2 portions 1 large carrot 2 sticks of celery 1 large brown onion 1 tbsp tomato paste 400g tin of crushed peeled tomatoes or chopped tomatoes 3 sun-dried tomatoes 1 sprig of rosemary 1 sprig of sage 2 bay leaves 100ml white wine 10g dry porcini mushroom 200g green or brown lentils 200g of linguine #vegan  #veganfood  #meatfree  #italianfood #lentils

Here’s my quick and easy Chocolate Tiramisu 🙌  This dessert is probably one of the most famous sweet treats not just in Italy, but all over the world. Today I'm sharing my version, which is perfect for Christmas time. No fuss, zero stress, just layers of coffee-soaked sponge, silky mascarpone and dark chocolate. There are no eggs so it comes together more quickly and more people can enjoy it. You can even make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for two days. I promise you that everyone will fall in love with it! Buon Natale! 🎄 Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website (link in bio) Serves 4 14-16 savoiardi biscuits   400g mascarpone  130ml single cream 130g 70% dark chocolate (110g for melting and 20g for garnish)   150ml coffee  20ml marsala, amaretto or coffee liqueur (if not using, add an extra 20ml of coffee)  50g caster sugar 1 and ½ tsp vanilla paste #tiramisu #christmas #festive #italianfood #sharingiscaring

This Christmas let's make traditional Italian biscotti! 🍪 Cantucci are almond biscuits from Tuscany and they can be made even last minute, without any special tools. They’re also great as a last minute edible present! The recipe is so simple for an amazing result. They are usually served at the end of a meal with coffee or a sweet wine such as vin santo or marsala but they are also great with a cup of tea or hot chocolate. You can add chocolate, orange and hazelnuts for a festive twist! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone! ❤️ Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the fully written recipe on my website (link in bio) Makes around 10 - 12 biscotti Ingredients 200g of 00 flour 100g of sugar 2 tsp of honey 100g of whole almonds (½ crushed, half whole) 6g of baking powder 2 medium eggs 1/2 Zest of an orange 1/2 Zest of a lemon A nice pinch of salt A tsp of vanilla extract #cantucci #biscotti #biscuits #cookie #christmas

I’m launching my very own online cookery school! 👨🏻‍🍳🙌🇮🇹 After 12 years as a chef and 6 years teaching both in-person and online all over the world, I understand the challenges people face in the kitchen. That's why I've created something to help you start cooking with confidence. My classes will be live and interactive, we’ll cook together and have fun! Then at the end of each one you’ll have a delicious meal to enjoy and recipes you can make over and over again. We’ll be making beautiful fresh pasta, preparing your Italian favourites, baking bread and practicing our knife skills. And because they’re online, you can join from wherever you are in the world. There are three different types of classes to choose from at the moment in January, February and March and we will be adding more throughout the year. You can also email to request private classes or corporate events and there are gift cards and certificates available if you want to treat your family and friends this Christmas. Plus, to celebrate the launch, anyone who books a class before the end of the year can get 10% off using the code EARLYBIRD. If you love my recipes and you want to make them with me in real time - or you just want a nice activity to do with your family and friends from the comfort of your own home, these classes are for you! I can’t wait to cook together very soon ❤️ Book now or find out more via the link in bio. #learning #italianfood #cookingclass #sharingiscaring #skill

Risotto alla Milanese with slow-cooked beef cheeks is a restaurant quality dish that's easy to make at home. It's comforting, rich and perfect for this time of year, when you want to make something special for family and friends. My friend Andrea Mura has shared this recipe from his restaurant @Il Gattopardo in London 🙌 Here are the ingredients 👇 Or you can find the fully written recipe on my website (link in bio) Serves 2 For the beef cheeks: 600g beef cheeks 1 onion, roughly chopped 2 small carrot, roughly chopped 2 small celery stalk, roughly chopped 1 heaped tbsp tomato paste 500ml dry red wine 1 bay leaf 1 sprig thyme 8 juniper berries Extra virgin olive oil Fine sea salt Freshly ground black pepper For the risotto: 360g Vialone Nano rice (or carnoroli or arborio) 1 small onion 60g unsalted butter 100ml dry white wine 1.6L vegetable stock 1 tsp saffron threads 60g Grana Padano Extra virgin olive oil Fine sea salt Freshly ground black pepper #italiancuisine #risotto #comfortfood #saffron #milan