Summery Italian Recipes with Diane Seed

Before the publication of The Top 100 Pasta Sauces back in 1987, the average Brit was mostly oblivious to the culinary crimes that were being committed to Italian food, content to chuck watery bolognese on top of overcooked, unsalted, poor-quality pasta, with maybe a parsley leaf on top for garnish, if you were lucky. Today however, our love affair with Italian cooking has deepened to the point of obsession, with television chefs extolling the virtues of simple, fresh ingredients and rustic home cooking a la Italia from morning to night. Before your Jamie Olivers and Gennaro Contaldos however, there was Diane Seed. An English home cook with a deep passion for the regional flavours of Italy, the release of her book The Top 100 Pasta Sauces was the culmination of years spent immersing herself in the country's rich culinary history, and its vast success represented a turning point in Britain's relationship with the cuisine. For the first time, cooks were confronted with the idea that 'the more the better' was not a true adage when it came to pasta sauce, and that no matter how fancy the packaging looked, that two day old 'fresh' supermarket pasta was no match for a good packet of dried De Cecco.

In person, Diane is a still visibly fired by her love for not only the food of Italy, but for the unique historical and cultural space it occupies as a bridge between civilisations of the East and West, Ancient and Modern. Her enthusiasm is infectious when she talks about the influence of Middle Eastern gastronomy visible in the evolution of Italian cuisine, and her working knowledge of the various regional techniques and flavours is truly remarkable in its depth. Such expertise has not gone unnoticed by her Italian peers, and many line up to speak of her with great praise and affection, something rarely achieved by foreign chefs in a country fiercely proud of its gastronomic heritage. Alfonso Iaccarino, owner of two Michelin starred ristorante Don Alfonso is rapt by her 'Sensitivity for the food and for Italian culture', while Antonio Carluccio is equally delighted by her 'Great knowledge of Italian food'. She tells me of her time cooking in Italy, and her astonishment at how much knowledge had been lost by the ordinary Italians she met. Her face betrays her continuing disbelief as she tells me of her struggles getting Italian home cooks to stop putting tomatoes in the fridge! It was this unique ability to tell Italians how to cook Italian food that earned her the affectionate nickname of 'La Signora Inglese', or 'The English Lady', and she has travelled the country simultaneously learning and teaching ever since. Today, Diane continues to give critically acclaimed cooking tours throughout the Mediterranean and further afield, in which she blends astute historical knowledge with her natural teaching style, showing you how to cook little known regional specialties and much loved classics while grounding you in the culture of the area. 

Diane was kind enough to prepare some dishes for us to enjoy that perfectly capture the sunny, vibrant spirit of an Italian summer. First up, a light yet satisfying zucchini salad that encapsulates the Arab influence on much of Italian cookery, with its delicious blending of nuts and fruit in savoury dishes. To follow, a delicious dish of meatballs filled with rich, zesty lemons is typical of the cuisine found on the Amalfi Coast, a region famous for its sumptuous citrus fruits. She left us with one emphatic piece of final advice, something we could all do with remembering when we find ourselves fretting over mid-week pasta presentation: "If pasta looks pretty it would have tasted better ten minutes before!"

Zucchini Salad

1/2 kilo small zucchini

50 g pine nuts

50 g seedless raisins

3 Tea spoons olive oil

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

2 Tea spoons lemon juice

Salt and black pepper

 Slice the zucchini into thin discs and fry quickly in heated olive oil. After a few minutes add the pine nuts and as they begin to turn colour stir in the raisins. Remove from the heat and season with minced garlic, finely-chopped mint, salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Serve room temperature.

Amalfi Lemon Meatballs (Polpettine)

 500 g lean veal

 50 g fresh bread crumbs from fine white bread

 50 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 30 g pine nuts

 Grated peel two medium lemons

 15 ml lemon juice

 1 egg

 Chopped parsley

 Salt

 Black pepper

 Oil to fry

These meat balls are usually served with a little  fresh tomato sauce. In a food processor mix together all the ingredients to make a fine paste. If the mixture seems too dry add a little more lemon juice. Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before rolling into small balls about 4cm in diameter. Flatten slightly with your thumb then fry them in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides. If you use tomato sauce it should only be a spoonful for each "polpettine" or you will drown the delicate flavour.

The Top 100 Pasta Sauces is available from Roullier White, and you can find it in our cookery books section, here. 

To find out more about Diane's cookery tours and discover more of her acclaimed food writing, check out her website, here. 

Many thanks to Diane Seed for her time and the delicious food!