5 Big Mamma Group Recipes Worth Trying

Use a mandolin to cut the courgettes into 3mm thick round slices. Sauté them in piping-hot sunflower oil in a frying pan until they start to turn golden brown, then set aside.

Place the spaghetti into a saucepan of slightly salted boiling water for as long as required. (Be aware that you have to taste pasta to know whether or not it’s cooked.) Stir the spaghetti occasionally. While the spaghetti is cooking, quickly put the egg yolks, pecorino and pepper into a bowl large enough to hold the entire dish. Once the spaghetti is cooked to your satisfaction, remove it from the heat and drain.

Transfer the cooked spaghetti straight to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Grind some more pepper on top, add the fried courgettes and place the bowl in the centre of the table.

Stir and serve. Don’t dawdle – this dish needs to be eaten hot. And, above all, leave any cream out of sight, well away from this recipe and your worktop, just in case an Italian happens to pass by.

A minute to spare? Arrange some dried flowers and nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc) in a strip along the entire length of the table. It will look pretty, and the nuts can even be nibbled away at the end of the meal. If you don’t have any flowers or nuts to hand, then opt for some crisps. After all, is there any real difference between a rose petal and a fried potato petal? It’s the thought that counts.

The day before you demonstrate your mastery of Italian cooking, place the two burratas in the fridge, uncovered, in a colander set over a bowl. Leave overnight. The idea is to dry them out.

On the big day, dip the burratas in the flour until they are well coated, then dip them into the egg. Repeat this, then dip them into the breadcrumbs.

Brown the burratas in very hot sunflower oil. Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until you obtain a smooth paste. Leave to cook for 1 minute.

Without taking the pan off the heat, add the milk then whisk to eliminate any lumps. Add the nutmeg and allow the mixture to simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper then set the béchamel aside at room temperature, ready to be used later.

Roll out the pasta dough to obtain a sheet 3mm thick, then cut it into sections matching the size of your baking dish. And what if they’re too big to handle? In that case, cut them into 3 – you can stick them back together in the dish later on. Put your sheets of pasta into salted boiling water for 2 minutes then immerse them in a bowl of iced water for a further 2 minutes. Put a tea towel on the worktop, lay the pasta sheets on top and gently dry them. Skip this stage if you’ve opted for dry sheets – simply put them straight into the dish, without cooking them.

Give it some love, to make everything even more exquisite. Spread a thin layer of béchamel on the bottom.

Cover this with pasta (as if you were spreading a miniature bedsheet). Mix the rag. with the rest of the bechamel and then fill the dish with successive layers of pasta, ragu and Parmigiano. Repeat this a maximum of 4 times, ending with Parmigiano on top.

Put the dish into the oven for 25-30 minutes, initially at 160ºC Fan/180ºC for the first 20 minutes, then at 140ºC Fan/160°Cfor the final 10 minutes. If you think that the top of the lasagne is browning too quickly, cover it with a sheet of aluminium foil.

All done! Leave to rest for at least 20 minutes. It is very important to allow the lasagne to sit, otherwise it will turn into a soup.

Cook the rigatoni in a saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. In another saucepan, brown the shallot in the melted butter.

Deglaze the shallot pan with the vodka. Add the tomato sauce and cream, and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes.

Roughly drain the pasta (putting aside a little of the cooking water) and add it to the saucepan with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, you can add half a ladleful of the cooking water. Grind over a little pepper and, if you’re fond of greenery, sprinkle over some chives, too – this is truly a disco recipe!

Arrange the pistachios on a baking tray and put them into an oven heated to 160°C Fan/180°C for 10 minutes. The idea is to make them lovely and golden. Once they are ready, remove the baking tray and set aside.

Now turn to the preparation of the coulis by putting 100g of the pistachio paste, the icing sugar and the condensed milk into a bowl. Combine them to obtain a smooth, glossy cream. Set aside.

Put the Baileys into a bowl with the water (at room temperature) then pop the bowl into the fridge. Whisk the egg whites and the granulated sugar in another bowl using an electric hand mixer (or a hand whisk, if you’re feeling fit). You’re aiming for an even consistency.

Add the mascarpone and the cream then whisk some more, until the mixture is as smooth as an Olympic ski run. Add the remaining 80g of pistachio paste and beat some more, this time using a rubber spatula.

Now dip your sponge fingers into the cooled bowl of Baileys, on both sides, then arrange them side by side in a baking dish (designed for around 6 people). Pour half the cream and some of the coulis on top. Scatter over some toasted pistachios, then repeat with a new layer of both the cream and the coulis, finishing off with a lovely crust of toasted pistachios. Put this naughty treat in the fridge for at least 4 hours (all good things come to those who wait).