4 recipes for an Italian dinner with friends - Juls' Kitchen (2024)

Although I spend most of my day in the kitchen – to test recipes, photograph them, write about food, but above all to wash dishes, to cleanand to clear up all the messI makeeven whenI try to be organized – I still geta chill of excitementwhen I turn onthe burnersbecause there are friends fordinner. I as as thrilled aswhenI was allowed toinvite a friend forlunch after school. I stillstudy the menu splurging ondetails, I foretaste the momentwhen we will sitaround the table sharing those dishes I had in mind for days.

I love to entertainguestsat home, whether for a cozy dinner inside, for a lunch in the garden or for an afternoon tea with cake and cookies. I discovered this fondness for entertainmentearly on, when I was still living with my parents. Slowly I would carve out some spacefor me in mum’s menù, introducing one or two dishes that I could manage from start to finish, often a dessert or a side dish, the mostmistreated courses in my family. Nothing could match the thrill of bringing to the table something that wouldcompletely depend on me. In those moments I could finally recognizethat I was giftedwith acreative talentthat I could not express otherwise. I was theprotagonist of a small miracle, asuccessful alchemy of smells and flavours.

Duringthe summer I would invite my friends over and I would claim the table in the garden hours in advance, dancing in the kitchenwith the usual clumsiness and disorganization typical of the beginnings of every aspiring chef.While my friends were already sittingat the table with hopeful expressions, I would be still juggling in the kitchen in between pots and pans, enjoying little or nothing ofthat dinner I had waited for so long. Thosehitches could not cloud my enthusiasm, and while I was up late cleaning up piles of dishes and cookware, I was already dreaming about the next dinner, painting it in bright colours.

Fast forward a couple of years and I finally learnt to handle dinners with friends, asI realized the importance of simplifying the menu and choosing recipes whichcould be madein advance, even better if they could improve while resting. I left asidethose dishes which required hours of constant effort and attention and the vanity to surprise at all costs. I have embraced with transport a new philosophy that focuses on the pleasure of spending time with friends: I prepare the fooda few hours in advanceor choose dishes that look after themselves, I washpots and bowls that are no longer needed, and when it’stime fordinner Ialmost feel like I am a guest myself.

I became a lively supporter of meat which required a long marinade before a quickcooking, of stews, lasagna, meatballs in tomato sauce, steaming soups which only required a last minute decoration with croutons, bean and cerealsalads.

Some weeks agoSamuraisent me aboxwith their products – all made with natural wood – to dresswith creativity an ordinary recipe that you would cook on a daily basis. It looked like a good excuse to throw a dinner party with friends, one of those dinners I really love: a pinch of organization, a bunch offresh ingredients, some help from the pantry but, most importantly, simple, tasty food prepared in advance to be shared with calm and joy.

I came out of the pantry hugging a dozen jars: green and black Sicilian olives, the tomato paste I made during summer, baby artichokes in olive oil from the last season, spices and seeds I always forget to have, as they have this tendency to hide behind packets of pasta and bags of beans.

This menu wasborn shuffling the cards: some ingredients fished out of the pantry, treasuredthere over the months to preserve seasons, aromas and memories, and a few fresh ingredients that you can purchaseat the last minute or that you will most likely already have in the fridge. You will also needfresh parsley and lemon zest for the olives, chicken breast, mozzarella di bufala, prosciutto crudo, eggs, butter and cream.

Playing with these ingredients I prepared a dinner for four people with two appetizers, marinated green and black olives with lemon zestand coriander seeds and skewers of buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto and artichokes, a main of a clever version of chicken cacciatora and as a dessert alemon and poppy seed pound cake.

But let’s go step by step. If you starta few hours in advance, you will find yourself at the table without effort, without having to do anything but grilling the chicken skewers at the very last minute.

Marinated green and black olives with lemon zest and coriander seeds

On a cutting board collectsome parsley, the lemon zest, a touch of chili and a clove of garlic. Chop finelywith a knifeand inhale the aromas. Resist the urge to start eating, you’ll need to be patient. Scrape into the olives, add the coriander seeds, drizzle with your best olive oil, give it a stir and set aside for a few hours.

Italian appetizerwith baby artichokes, prosciutto crudo and mozzarella

Does your heart skip a beat when, dining out in an Italian osteria, they bring you a platter of cold cuts and cheese? Mine does. The sinuous ribbonsof prosciutto, the milky curves of a mozzarella, the tiny bowls of glistening vegetables preserved in olive oil, winking at you from the board. In this case, buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto and baby artichokes arenicely aligned on a skewer. Quickly grill thebaby artichokes for a few minutes on a hot grill until they acquire the fullflavour and aroma of a summer barbecue.

Chicken cacciatore skewers

Thischicken is worth a digression. The chicken cacciatore, slow-cooked pieces of chicken ina thick garlicky tomato sauce, embellished with a handful of black olives, is one of those dishes that mark indelibly my childhood memories, along with the pieceof bread I would use to mop that rustic sauce and perfectly clean the dish.

These skewerswink at those memories. Cut the chicken breast into pieces and marinate for a few hours with tomato paste, chopped garlic and olive oil. When the chicken turnsthe colour of a summer sunset, preparethe skewers, alternating the meat with pitted black olives. You will need just a couple ofminutes to grill the chicken and give it that smoky sweet taste of summer tomatoes cooked long enough to becomea thick sauce. Lick your fingers without shame.

Lemon and poppy seed pound cake

This pound cake is as classic as you can imagine, a reassuring mix of lemon zest and poppy seeds. How I love poppy seeds, they make everything more cheerful, just like when you spotvanilla seeds in the whiteness of apannacotta.

Bake the cake until golden and lightly moist inside. You caneither serve the cakein its familiar round shape, coveredwith a dark chocolate ganache, or cut it into cubes and make it more eye catching. Either way, you are going to close yourdinner on a sweet citrusy note.