Rachel Roddy’s salad of hazelnuts, gorgonzola and honey dressing | A kitchen in Rome

Recently, I listened to the Italian chefs Niko Romito and Salvatore Tassa in conversation about Italian food culture, and in particular the role of the trattoria. During the warm conversation, Romito, who is one of Italy’s most visionary chefs and whose Ristorante Reale in Abruzzo has three Michelin stars, spoke about the first time he ate at Tassa’s Nu’ Trattoria Italiana dal 1960 in Acuto, which is in the province of Frosinone about an hour south of Rome. Romito recalled the homely atmosphere and Tassa as an old-school host: welcoming, communicative and the conduit (which didn’t sound pretentious when he said it) between local traditions, producers and those who came to eat. But Romito also described a dish of onions, simply braised, but of such goodness that he couldn’t stop thinking about and imagining them. In fact, Romito credits those onions as being the starting point for one of his own most well-known dishes: “absolute” onion broth with parmesan-filled pasta and toasted saffron

How to turn store cupboard grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruit into a brilliant nutritious loaf – recipe | Waste not

Today’s rich, nutritious and no-knead bread is a cornerstone of my weekly routine. Every Saturday, I make a simple rye bread dough, and gather whatever grains, nuts and seeds need using up – from forgotten millet to that last handful of brazil nuts – and soak them overnight. By Sunday lunchtime, the house will be filled with the homely aroma of fresh bread emerging from the oven.When my daughter won’t eat anything but a slice of toast, I want to know she’s still being nourished, so I’ve raised our nutrient baseline by reformulating the recipes for our everyday staples – that is, bread, pasta, porridge and even cakes – with whole grains, omega-rich seeds and nutrient-dense ingredients such as moringa powder. Of course, every family has its own tastes and comfort foods, so these changes need to be gradual

Cheaper imported chicken and beef increasingly seen in UK supermarkets

Cheap chicken and beef from Australia, Poland and Uruguay is on the rise on UK supermarket shelves, according to the National Farmers’ Union, as supermarkets look for money-saving options.The NFU regularly monitors supermarket shelves and notes that Morrisons is now selling raw chicken from Poland in its poultry aisle. Chicken in Poland is generally produced to different standards from those in the UK, and is cheaper as a result. Morrisons requires that for its UK chicken, poultry must be kept at a maximum stocking density of 30kg/m2, giving the chickens more space to roam. In Poland, this is up to 39kg/m2

The secret to good coleslaw | Kitchen aide

What’s the trick to great coleslaw?Chris, Paignton, Devon“Coleslaw is such an under-rated salad,” says the Guardian’s Felicity Cloake, whose latest book, Peach Street to Lobster Lane, was published last week. “Familiarity breeds contempt.” (As do those claggy tubs you get in supermarkets.) The whole point of coleslaw is that the veg has to be crisp, which is why Cloake shreds rather than grates the cabbage (a mandoline or food processor is helpful here). “That will leave it less mushy

Georgina Hayden’s recipe for gigantes with ’nduja

If a Greek and an Italian had a love affair, this would be the outcome: creamy, tomatoey butter beans pepped up with fried ’nduja for a bit of spice. Served with lots of parsley and crusty bread, this is a meal in itself, but the beans would also work brilliantly as part of a meze. It’s the summer tomato dream.Prep 10 min Cook 40 min Serves 43 tbsp olive oil2 onions, peeled and finely chopped3 carrots, peeled and sliced3 celery sticks, trimmed and slicedSea salt and black pepper 90g ’nduja2 tbsp tomato puree 2 400g tins butter beans (or a 700g jar), not drained ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped200g cherry tomatoes on the vineCrusty bread, to servePut a large, shallow casserole or deep, large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the oil, onions, carrots and celery, season generously and fry, stirring often, for five minutes

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for harissa and gnocchi-topped fish pie | Quick and easy

I love fish pie, and gnocchi, and harissa, so what could be better than a combination of all three? Particularly if it saves you 15 minutes’ boiling and then mashing some potatoes. Bookmark this for chillier summer evenings – I’m determined to eat as many meals as possible outside right now, and this will keep you warm when the temperature dips to an unseasonal sub-15C.Use your favourite type of fish, or add some prawns, if you like.Prep 15 min Cook 20 min Serves 4250ml milk 50g rose harissa – I like Belazu 100g cream cheese 1 tsp sea salt flakes 260g sustainably-sourced cod, or other white fish, cut into roughly 3½cm chunks260g trout, cut into roughly 3½cm chunks150g frozen peas, defrosted500g gnocchi (fresh or vac-packed)20g salted butter 100g cheddar, gratedPut the milk, harissa, cream cheese and salt in a large saucepan, turn on the heat and whisk until the cheese melts and is thoroughly incorporated. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a bare simmer – just the tiniest bubbles should break the surface, otherwise you’ll boil the fish