During the 2013-2014 academic year, I had the pleasure of meeting some pretty awesome people in Ottawa, at The Faculty of Law. These kind souls not only have brains (and beauty of course), but BOY can they cook!!!

Exams can be daunting and fast food can seem like the quickest and most inexpensive option. Before writing our Christmas exam, we got together on a Friday night and had a delicious Christmas themed party. A shout out to Dania and Matt for this lovely melted Brie charcuterie board.

🔝🔝🔝👍👍👍 I would say a fusion of 🇮🇹🇫🇷🇩🇪 and Canada of course🍁.

Joe Filice  never ceases to impress with his southern Italian (calabrese) culinary skills!! He is an amazing cook, and contributed traditional southern Italian calabrese ricette. Tiella is variation of lasagna with thinly sliced: potatoes, peppers, zucchine, melenzane (eggplant), sugo al pomodoro (tomato sauce), and breadcrumbs. Traditionally, in calabria, this was part of la “cucina povera” or “poor kitchen from the countryside.” However, as Italy’s economy picked up, the tiella became a sort of delight where fresh vegetables, meats and even pastas were added to the mixture. This was a way of serving many portions to large groups of people. 

Joe often compares tiella to ratatouille from our French cousins. One thing is for sure, you can never go wrong when thinly slicing vegetables using a Mandolin. *Tip from the chef* : always use homemade tomato sauce for best taste and a mandolin will allow for thin slices.

Ingredients:

**Joe suggests estimating the numbers (the number of vegetables is to your descretion), and cooking time. Be creative!

**Olive oil should be layered across an aluminum oven-proof tray or pyrex works best.

-zucchini

-eggplant

-potatoes

-red pepper

-garlic& onions

-homemade tomato sauce (homemade is always best) see other pages for tips on homemade sauce

Preparation includes thinly slicing the vegetables, and generously adding tomato sauce in between layers. Add parmigiano and breadcrumbs for extra flavour!

Example of a tiella from Calabria:

Sometimes, we’re in the mood to celebrate! Melisa and Andrew always have great suggestions for fine dining in the Ottawa area. Vittoria Trattoria on George street in the Byward market is one of their staple restaurants for casual drinks and a tasty Italian meal! Wood burning stove makes for great pizzas.

We had a dinner at Hy’s steakhouse in Ottawa, and ran into Supreme Court Judge Rosemary Abella! Great choice Melisa! If it’s good enough for a judge, it’s good enough for us!

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Last, but not least, Amanda has a love that I share for pasta!! Last year, in a 7 day week, I don’t think we went 3 days without enjoying bowl of pasta.  Her lasagna and homemade sauce is delicious. There were days that I could smell the cooking while walking home from school! She also made a delicious chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto (one of my personal favourites).

2 quick ideas for student- budget friendly meals:

1. Squash Risotto

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Follow me on Instagram! This is a great Fall or Winter Idea. All you need is a butternut squash, onions, risotto, and olive oil.

In a large saucepan, on low heat, fry some chopped onions and olive oil. Then add in one cup of risotto arborio and “toast it” on low heat, using a wooden spoon.

Then in another pot, boil water and chicken broth. Once it reached a boil, with a ladel, add the broth to the saucepan with the rice and stir for about 30 min (on and off). You may need to add more water or broth until the rice is fully cooked and ready to serve!

2. 10 minute prep time Lemon Scaloppine

Purchase thinly sliced veal, and add it to a bowl in which you have added flour. On medium heat, fry the meat while squeezing fresh lemon over the meat. Add onions or garlic, salt and pepper.