Let’s Start Cooking!…
(All Recipes have Gluten-Free Options)
Welcome to Menu Mistress…
I love cookbooks and have an extensive collection! The idea of Menu Mistress is to share recipes from these books that I’ve tried and tested. This blog is essentially for people who love food but don’t have the time, energy or patience to find that winning recipe – that’s the job of Menu Mistress! Naturally I also enjoy eating out, so I’ve turned my hand to restaurant reviews too – check them out here!..
(Recipes are updated every week – scroll down and sign up at the bottom of this page to receive a weekly reminder)
July 2026
Summer holidays!..
I’m off to Italy soon, and so pasta has been on my mind! This month I’m sharing two pasta recipes. Both are super simple, so you won’t have to slave over the stove for too long. Let’s hope we can also enjoy them al fresco…
Menu one is Salmoriglio & Seabass Linguine. I hadn’t heard of Salmoriglio until recently; simply put, it’s a Sicilian sauce made from dried oregano, olive oil, garlic and lemon. In this recipe from the cookbook ‘The Farm Table’, Julius Roberts combines it with Sea Bass to create a delicious, super-quick dish. Menu Two is Casarecce with Lemon, Olives & Parsley. Athena Calderone created this recipe for her cookbook, ‘Cook Beautiful’, it’s her take on a pesto sauce. It’s delicious, more robust than a classic pesto and all the better for it!
Enjoy your summer… I’ll be back in September with more recipe inspiration!..
Menu One
Salmoriglio & Seabass Linguine (Serves 3)
Salmoriglio is a Sicilian sauce which is dried oregano, olive oil, garlic and lemon. In this recipe from the cookbook ‘The Farm Table’, Julius Roberts combines it with Sea Bass to create a delicious, super-quick dish. It’s particularly good on a summers evening. The only downside of this recipe is that it only serves three people so you might want to double it!..
300g linguine (gluten-free if required)
300g fresh seabass fillets, skinless
A bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
For the Salmoriglio:
2 cloves garlic
120ml olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon (about 60ml)
A generous pinch of dried oregano
A pinch of chilli flakes
- Put all the ingredients for the Salmoriglio in a food processor and whiz until smooth.
- Meanwhile cook the linguine according to the packet instructions until al dente.
- Whilst the pasta is cooking cut the sea bass fillets into small pieces. Place the fish into a bowl and season well with salt and pepper.
- Just before the pasta is ready, place a shallow pan over a medium-high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and add the fish. Toss it in the oil and let it sizzle. When the fish has begun to turn white, add the drained pasta and a little splash of the pasta water and the chopped parsley. Finally, add a generous amount of salmoriglio (not all of it), mix well, taste, adding more sauce if needed and seasoning.
- Eat immediately, with extra sauce at the table for anyone who wants a splash more.
Menu Two
Casarecce with Lemon, Olives & Parsley (Serves 4)
Athena Calderone created this recipe for her cookbook, ‘Cook Beautiful’, it’s her take on a pesto sauce. It’s delicious, more robust than a classic pesto and all the better for it. Whilst big on flavour it requires very little time at the stove!..
55g hazelnuts, blanched
1 large bunch of parsley, chopped (about 65g)
280g Nocellara green olives, stoned and roughly chopped
2 large lemons, grated zest and juice
120ml extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons and more to drizzle
455g Casarecce pasta, or another short pasta shape such as gemelli or fusilli (gluten-free if needed)
3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 anchovy fillets, depending on your taste, finely chopped
100g grated ricotta salata, plus shavings to serve
¼ teaspoon finely chopped habanero chilli or green chilli, finely chopped
Aleppo pepper for serving
Sea salt and black pepper
- Firstly, spread the hazelnuts on a lined baking tray, place in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 10 minutes, until lightly lightly golden.
- Roughly chop the toasted hazelnuts and place in a bowl, toss with a generous drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the parsley, olives, lemon juice,, zest and 120ml olive oil. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, until al dente. Drain, reserving 120ml of the pasta water.
- Mix the garlic and anchovy together so that they form a paste. In a large frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic-anchovy paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low.
- Pour the drained pasta into the frying pan. Add the grated cheese and reserved pasta water and toss until the cheese is evenly distributed. Stir in the parsley and olive mixture and toss until the pasta is evenly coated.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve topped with the toasted hazelnuts, chopped chilli and a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper.
A Little Bit of Housekeeping…
To find all the recipes from my blogs go to the Recipes page where there is a link to print them off.
Oven Settings – All my recipes presume that you are cooking with a fan oven, increase the temperature by 20’c for conventional ovens without a fan.
‘Staple Side Dishes’ – when you see this note beside a recipe, it indicates that I have previously published this side dish on Menu Mistress. I have re-published it so that you don’t have to trawl through my old recipe blogs to find it – Menu Mistress is about making your life in the kitchen easier!
Gluten-Free – I eat gluten-free, so all of my recipes have gluten-free options, although I must stress that if you have an allergy please double check all ingredients. If flour is used you can substitute it with gluten-free flour (I use Dove’s Free From range) and likewise with other ingredients such as pasta or soy sauce, you can use gluten free options.
Most of the recipes on Menu Mistress are courtesy of the creativity of cookery book writers, old and new. The recipes are an ‘amuse-bouche’ of those available in their books. Please go to my Cookbooks page for more information.
Music to Cook to….what I’ve been listening to in my kitchen!….Click on this link to listen to my playlists (listen without judgement – it’s just a bit of fun!)
Any feedback or recipe ideas? Leave your comments at the very bottom of this page… or feel free to contact me personally here!…
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