Italy

Risotto is great comfort food. An added plus point: Because it’s naturally so creamy you don’t really need much oil or fat for cooking. You can make a risotto meal out of virtually any ingredients you have on hand. This recipe combines shrimp, lemon and spring onions but you can experiment with fish and mushrooms too. Add a handful of chopped chillies if you like it hot!

The Mascarpone cheese in this risotto adds an extra creamy taste.

Sautéed beans with all the Tuscan flavor to make your low GI diet more palatable.

Eggplant Parmesan is delicious and it is not out of your low fat diet if you follow this recipe.

Roasted vegetables in a salad with a dressing full of Italian flavor. Served with bread or over pasta, this salad is a balanced meal in a plate.

This rosemary focaccia is a vegan recipe.

Plenty of Italian flavors in this eggplant Parmesan. This recipe is so good there would not be leftovers.

This spiced aubergine pasta will please sophisticate palates.

Melon risotto can be prepared in the same way as butternut squash or pumpkin risotto. Substituting the traditional wine in a risotto with brandy gives this recipe a more interesting taste.