I got the idea for these savoury muffins from this blog . I tweaked the recipe a bit and added some more bits and bobs – caramelised onion, peppadews and some more fresh herbs. This is a great basic savoury muffin recipe that you could add a couple more things to – try chopped marinated peppers, mushrooms, wilted spinach, parmesan or dried chilli.

Makes 12 muffins

• 200 g crème fraîche
• 4 free-range eggs
• 1 T baking powder
• 4oo ml plain flour
• a pinch of salt
• 50 g crumbled feta cheese
• a couple of chopped sundried tomatoes
• Six finely chopped peppadews
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• a tablespoon each of finely chopped fresh basil and chives
• One sprig of fresh thyme, finely chopped

Fry the onion over a low heat in some olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of brown sugar and cook further until caramelised (about 10 minutes). Remove from the heat and chop finely when cooled.

Mix the crème fraîche and eggs, then gently fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the feta, peppadews, caramelised onion, sundried tomatoes and herbs. . Mix just enough to bring the ingredients together. Spoon the mixture between into muffin cases and bake in a preheated 200˚C oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden.

I love homemade pizza, and nothing beats a homemade pizza cooked in a proper pizza oven. I made this in Italy, with beautiful Italian tomatoes, seasonal summer veggies and fresh mozzarella. Bliss.

For the dough:

• 1 kg strong white bread flour
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 2 x 7g sachets dried yeast

For the tomato passata:

Fry a crushed clove of garlic in a slug of olive oil. Add a tin of good-quality Italian chopped and peeled tomatoes and simmer slowly until reduced. Add a tablespoon or two of chopped fresh basil and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Toppings:

My favourite pizza toppings are thinly chopped mushrooms, courgettes and aubergines, balsamic-and-garlic-reduced red peppers, goat’s cheese, fresh basil and rocket and cherry tomatoes.

If you’re cooking in a pizza oven you need to start heating the oven up at least three hours before you cook. In a conventional oven, whack the heat up to 220 C. Cook the pizza for about 12 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

This is one of the best things I cooked in Italy (if I do say so myself). I love baked cheesecake, especially when it’s light and fluffy. This one is reminiscent of a souffle in its fluffiness. There are such beautiful apricots in season in Italy, so I couldn’t not cook something with them. If you want to make this and it’s not apricot season, I reckon other stone fruit would work well – try plums, nectarines or peaches. I do love the tangyness and the bright orange of the apricots though.

For the base:

• 170g crushed digestives (I used an Italian brand – wholewheat with bits of dried fruit)
• 125g melted unsalted butter
• 12 apricots, cut in half and stones removed
• 30ml sugar
• 750ml water

For the filling:

• 500g ricotta
• 80ml cream
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 4 eggs, separated
• 80g sugar

For the base, mix together the biscuits and butter and spread across the base of a cake tin. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for an hour or two.

Meanwhile, poach the apricots in the sugar and water on a low heat until the apricots start to soften and the skin wrinkles (should be about 10 minutes).

To make the filling, mix together the ricotta, cream, lemon zest, sugar and egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Fold in gently into the ricotta mixture. Lay the apricots, cut side down, on top of the biscuit base. Cover with the filling and bake in the oven at 180C for an hour.

Another of my Italian favourites – tomato bruschette. Nothing tastes more of summer than this antipasto – hints of garlic, ripe sweet tomatoes, fresh basil and lashings of olive oil. I could eat these every day in summer. For some reason, they taste better in Italy than they do at home. I think it’s something to do with the tomatoes – they just seem to have more flavour. I think bruschette are best when made in summer with fresh, ripe tomatoes rather than ones that have been in cold storage and taste a bit bland.

All you need to make tomato bruschette is a French baguette or ciabatta, which you slice, rub with a cut garlic clove, and toast under the grill (I love those charred grill lines). Cut up loads of tomato, and mix with lashings of good quality olive oil and a handful of roughly chopped basil. Pile the toasted bread up with the tomato mixture and that’s it. Simple and delicious.

Ok, here’s another aubergine recipe. I can’t get enough of these Italian aubergines! I had this starter the other night on the Amalfi Coast, and it was absolutely delicious. I know Italians are big on their involtini (rolls of beef with cheese inside) but I had never tried a vegetarian version. These aubergine rolls have provolone (the local Amalfian cheese) inside, which imparts a lovely smokey flavour. They really couldn’t be easier to make – there’s a bit of frying involved, and then not much else.

I got this recipe from the chef who made the beautiful involtini in the photo. He didn’t speak any English and my Italian’s not great, but I think I got the gist of it!

Serves 4

• 2 aubergines, sliced thinly
• 200 g provolone cheese
• A few fresh basil leaves,shredded
• A small handful of cherry tomatoes

Fry the aubergine in batches until golden. (If you want to be good, you can grill it instead).

Cut small pieces of cheese and fill each slice of aubergine with a roll of cheese and a few shreds of basil. Roll them up like cigars. Place a slice of cherry tomato on top of each roll and then bake in the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese is oozing out.