Nonna's Kitchen Review - Edinburgh

Nonna's Kitchen is an Italian restaurant in Morningside, Edinburgh. Until this visit I'd never been but I'd heard good things about it from a few people. It's smaller than I expected inside, but with modern decor and bright flowers on the tables, still with an Italian feel. I'd booked at the last minute and got an early table for a couple of hours, but on arrival the place was packed with a mixture of friends, families and couples. It was cosy and convivial, with a small army of waiters watched over by the matriarch who seemed to be in charge.

The Arancini

In addition to the main menu I was extremely impressed by the waiter who reeled off from memory a long line of specials, exquisitely detailed and with great knowledge of each dish. A lot of these included fresh seafood dishes for both starters and mains. From the specials we chose the Arancini for a starter, one of my absolute favourites. Risotto rice shaped into balls, filled with cheese, breaded and deep fried, they were served with a tomato sauce. This was both rich and fresh in flavour and the Arancini were perfect. The crumb was crispy, the rice hot with a creamy but not claggy texture. Inside the cheese oozed out and everything was set off nicely by the slight fragrance of a touch of basil.

For mains we chose one of the specials and one dish from the a la carte menu. The special Pumpkin Ravioli was served in a cream sauce with hazelnuts, very rich but delicious. The pasta was cooked well and filled with slightly sweet pumpkin flesh. The hazelnuts added a good bit of contrast and texture to the smooth pasta, filling and sauce. We also had the Pizza Quattro Formaggi. The base was a good one, thin and not too much crust. The cheeses were a mix of mozzarella, gorgonzola, taleggio and pecorino. The gorgonzola gave it a strong, gutsy taste but was not too overpowering and you could taste all of the cheeses individually. It was one of the best four cheese pizzas I've had for a while.

Pumpkin Ravioli

We didn't order any extras, desserts or coffee but we did have a decent bottle of the house white, and a complimentary small plate of fresh bread with butter, oil and vinegar was served after ordering. Service was excellent. As well as our waiter with the incredible memory, the wine was brought to us unopened to ensure it was the right one. It's little touches like this which impress and rounded the whole thing off to a most enjoyable evening. The dishes and ingredients were authentic and you can tell that a lot of care, effort and time has gone into making the place a cut above your average Italian. Two courses for two plus one bottle of wine and service came to £55 but we thought it was worth it for the excellent food and service. They also offer a short but decent lunch and pre-theatre menu.

Pizza Quattro Formaggi

 More details Nonna's Kitchen 45 Morningside Rd Edinburgh EH10 4AZ

Ballymaloe Day 37, February 29th - Pasta

It was mayhem in the kitchen today with everyone rolling out the pasta and cooking it to be eaten straight away. The cannelloni filling was straightforward enough but the pasta dough was a bit tricky, just a bit more liquid and it was too wet. Apparently the trick is to dip it into a bit of egg white till it is just right. After a bit more flour I managed to rescue it and kneaded the dough till it was soft and silky – like soft skin! I also ended up making the Tiramasu which was really tasty. I rolled out the pasta okay after a few goes at it, it should be thin but not the thinnest for this recipe. However some of the sheets stuck together when I went to cook it, I should have put them on separate trays after I rolled them out… Miraculously I managed to pull the dish together with my meagre amount of useable pasta. I also got my chocolate tart out of the tin.

Pastel Eggs

Chocolate Tart!

Tiramisu

Cannelloni

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In the afternoon the demonstration featured a wide variety of dishes. Rory prepared a Rack of Lamb, made Brioche, Tart Tatin, Dessert Soufflés and Mussels. There was also Ox Tongue, to be brined and cooked later in the week. Was a bit repulsive to look at to be honest! We won’t be cooking all these till Friday though, as Thursday we are on a school trip!

Ox Tongue

Ballymaloe Day 36, 28th February - Back in the Dairy

Week 8 already and I was still in Kitchen 1. My third week here, hopefully the teachers weren’t sick of the sight of me. This week we are only in the kitchen for three days as Thursday is the School Outing! In the morning I was up for half seven to milk the cows again. The mornings are much lighter now, I remember stumbling around in a field full of mud in the dark at the start of the course! The cows were herded in and we got the milk and separated it into milk and cream in the dairy. Here are some pics which I didn’t get before!

Mooo!

Separating the milk and the cream

Then back into Kitchen 3 for the morning’s cooking. I was making a salad with thin slices of pan grilled steak, onion rings and tarragon dressing. I also made a rich chocolate tart with very short pastry which I rolled out between clingfilm and carefully laid into the tin. The tart comes out the oven still liquidy and then the chocolate sets overnight. I also made some extra scones for practice, I put a bit of cinnamon in them and brushed the tops with cinnamon sugar.

Steak Salad

Cinnamon Scones

Chocolate Tart

In the afternoon there was a huge pasta demonstration. One of the teachers here used to work at the River Café in London and she is an expert at making fresh pasta of all shapes and sizes. There were all sorts: lasagne, cannelloni, tortellini, cappeletti, fettucini and so on, plus a real ragu, Tiramasu and loads of rich sauces to go with them. They have these professional sized pasta rollers here, sort of like a giant’s version of the ones you have at home. It all looked a feast and tomorrow I am making the Cannelloni filled with chicken and pork and a rich creamy sauce.

Pasta Fest!

Tiramasu