This rice paper galette turns mixed-color tomatoes into a centerpiece: rice paper sheets are coated in beaten egg (two per galette — the double layer holds its shape), spread with seasoned cottage cheese, layered with red, yellow and green tomato rounds, folded at the edges and baked 20 minutes at 200 °C, then glazed with balsamic while hot. Light crunch, creamy cheese, jammy tomatoes. Makes 2 galettes; serves 4.
Roasted cherry tomato pasta lets the oven make the sauce: 600 g of whole cherry tomatoes roast at 200 °C for 30 minutes with a whole garlic head (bottom cut off), thyme and a generous pour of olive oil, then the roasted garlic squeezes out as a sweet paste and hot spaghetti stirs straight into the blistered tomatoes. Sweet, garlicky, with a rich jammy finish. Serves 3.
Tortilla de patatas turns 2 eggs and 2 potatoes into a golden, layered dinner that slices like a cake: 3 mm potato rounds are soaked, dried and slow-fried with onion and garlic until completely soft, folded off the heat into paprika-seasoned eggs (one egg per potato — that ratio is the whole point), then set in a small pan — 10 minutes covered, one committed flip, 5 more minutes. Serves 2.
Batter-style onion focaccia with no kneading: blend 100 g of Parmesan to crumbs, mix with 250 g of flour, 350 ml of water, rosemary, salt and pepper, fold in four ice-bathed chopped onions, spread on a baking sheet, dust with corn flour and bake 30 minutes at 180 °C. Golden, crispy and the whole house smells like an Italian bakery. Serves 6.
No-knead ciabatta from five ingredients: mix 350 ml of water, 2 g of dry yeast, 20 ml of olive oil, 450 g of flour and a teaspoon of salt with a spatula, let it rise in the fridge overnight, fold once with oiled hands, divide into six rustic pieces, rest 30–40 minutes and bake 15 minutes at 250 °C. Bakery crust, zero kneading. Makes 6.
Restaurant-style egg fried rice is about removing water at every step: cook the rice with equal parts water (1 cup per 1 cup of rice), fluff it and let the steam out, drain the watery egg white through a sieve, fry the eggs first, then the rice in one thin layer on a blazing-hot pan, and run the soy sauce around the hot edge. When the rice starts to crackle, the last moisture is gone — it's frying, not steaming. About 35 minutes with the rice, serves 2.
Creamy sunset noodles are ready in 10 minutes: steep instant noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes while you blend 200 g of cottage cheese, 100 g of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, 2 tbsp of Parmesan, 30 g of olives, fresh basil, garlic powder and 70 ml of water into a smooth coral-colored sauce, then toss to coat. Serves 2.
Pasta alla Norma is Sicily's classic eggplant pasta, ready in about 45 minutes: simmer a tomato sugo over a soffritto with basil stems, sieve it smooth, fry salted eggplant sticks until golden and glaze them with honey and vinegar, then toss rigatoni with the sauce and a Parmesan–pasta-water cream. Serves 2.