What I Cooked From Robert’s Fridge in Florida – A Mediterranean Twist

Today, I am cooking Smoked Ham and Mediterranean Vegetables, inspired by the fridge of one of my viewers, Robert, who lives in Florida. This is the very first episode of a new series here on TortellinoTime, where I cook directly from the ingredients in your fridge. Robert kindly sent me pictures of his fridge, and from his beautifully organised selection, I have created a delicious one-tray Mediterranean meal with smoked ham, potatoes, sweet potato, parsnip (as a substitute for yampee root), bell peppers, garlic, lemon, herbs, and tomatoes. This simple oven-baked recipe combines Caribbean inspiration with Mediterranean flavours, showing how we can create something tasty and colourful using what we already have at home.

If you would like me to cook from your fridge in a future video, you can:
📩 Email me your fridge pictures at: francesco.elia@hotmail.co.uk

📷 Share them with me in the TortellinoTime Community Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/969204991289737?locale=en_GB

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Ingredients (for 2 to 3 people)
200 g smoked ham (cubed, fattier side preferred for flavour)
200 g parsnip (or yampee root if available), peeled and cubed
200 g sweet potato, peeled and cubed
200 g regular potato, peeled and cubed
1 large red bell pepper (or 2 smaller ones), deseeded and cut into strips
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
1 head of garlic, peeled
150 g cherry or plum tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Fresh rosemary and sage (or thyme/oregano as alternatives)
Fresh basil (to finish)
½ lemon, juiced
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano, to finish
Black pepper, to taste
Salt, optional (the ham and cheese already provide saltiness)

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Peel and cube the parsnip, sweet potato, and regular potato into 1 cm pieces. Slice the peppers and onion, keeping them in slightly larger pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, garlic cloves, smoked ham cubes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, and sage. Mix well.

Spread everything evenly onto a lined baking tray. Roast for 20 minutes. Toss the tray after 20 minutes, then continue roasting for another 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and roast for a final 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven, finish with fresh basil, a squeeze of lemon juice, grated Parmigiano/Grana, and black pepper. Taste before adding any salt.

Serve warm, straight from the tray.

This is a colourful, flavour-packed dish that works beautifully as a complete meal, but you can also serve it alongside a fresh salad or crusty bread.

📌 Stay Connected

📷 Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/969204991289737?locale=en_GB

📩 Email: francesco.elia@hotmail.co.uk

If you would like me to cook from your fridge in a future episode, please send me your pictures.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction – Cooking from Robert’s fridge
00:31 Exploring the fridge ingredients
04:54 Choosing the recipe and substitutes
06:39 Preparing vegetables and smoked ham
11:34 Into the oven – roasting the tray
12:53 Adding tomatoes, finishing touches
16:15 Tasting and reflections
17:30 Final thoughts and invitation

Hi everyone, and welcome. I have to say I’m really 
excited, as it is the very first time I will be cooking from somebody else’s fridge. Robert 
— Robert lives in Florida, and he has sent me some pictures with the content of what is in his 
fridge. And Robert, your fridge is beautiful. It is really well organised and structured in such a 
way that must make cooking, plasma an ideal from any point of view. So let’s take a quick look 
inside Robert’s fridge, and then I’ll tell you what I’ve got in mind today. So, let’s start with 
the vegetable drawer. I can see that it’s got some cucumbers here, a sweet potato — nice large one 
— and some garlic. Some regular potatoes. Here, there are some Brussels sprouts. Robert, you 
also have covering knot, and that is some Serrano peppers, I think. He said he’s got one and a 
half in there. And here, this is interesting. This is a yampee root, and it’s a Caribbean tuber 
similar to one with the purple flesh inside. Here, Robert has sent me an additional picture — been 
really, really helpful. It’s starchy and earthy, a bit like cassava or taro, but with its own 
character. It’s not something we normally use in Mediterranean cooking, but that is the beauty 
of this experiment: to combine different flavours from across the world. And let’s move to the next 
shelf. So, this is water, which Robert mentioned he keeps as storage in case there is a power 
outage. Seems to me that in Florida there may be the odd storm, and obviously it’s being prudent. 
And look at this — these are all things. And if you, I’ll just make it bigger… if you look, there 
are olives from Castelvetrano. Castelvetrano is exactly where I come from in Sicily. And there 
are Nocellara del Belice olives. And I suspect, most probably, Robert will have paid a little bit 
of money for these because they are expensive in the UK. So I can imagine being more expensive 
in the States. But they’ve got a very strongish flavour, so you will like them if you like olives. 
But not just if you like olives — if you really, really like olives. And they are unique, and 
they’re actually exported all over the world. So, well there Robert, there you go. Great taste. So, 
let’s move on and look what else we’ve got. I can see that there are some bell peppers, some apples, 
and that is a pumpkin — a dark green calabaza, I think — and some beautiful smoked ham. Look 
at the size of that joint. I think I would be doing something with that, Robert. And just 
from this shelf alone I can see there are so many possibilities of flavours and colours. But 
let’s move to the door. And besides being very organised, it also looks very interesting. Robert 
sent me a covering e-mail, by the way, with his… and I’m going to read to you what he actually did 
say. And here, here we go: “The door left picture is straight lemon juice. I make lemonade in my 
insulated 4-cup throughout the day over ice — hot here in Florida. Also I have a Ninja Creami 
machine. I make lemonade in my Italian ice very often.” I did tell you, he’s definitely got taste. 
And then he added: “I also make a lemon ice and a mojito version, sometimes with alcohol. The next 
picture is a cold-brewed coffee. And most lately, the carton of pourable yoghurt is for mountain 
smoothies and frozen yoghurt Creamis. I have lots of frozen and fresh fruits. If you don’t have 
a Ninja Creami, I highly recommend one. I only buy ice creams maybe four times a year. Top shelf 
is yeast bread, chocolate-covered mint cookies, and bread-and-butter sweet pickles and 
radish.” So that is the extent of the fridge, although he did also add that in the back of the 
fridge, not necessarily visible in the pictures, he’s also got some other perishable food and some 
Grana Padano. I think Robert has been very kind to me, and it strikes me that from the interactions 
I have with him, and the comments that he leaves on the channel, he’s an incredibly kind person. So 
thank you, Robert, because you’re making my job so much, much easier today. So, I could actually go 
different ways. There are so many options. As an example, I could make a Mediterranean salad. 
I could use the cucumbers, the fresh lemon, and I could do some herbs, maybe add some 
of those tomatoes and maybe chopped onion, and those olives from Castelvetrano as an option. 
Another option is that I could use the peppers and the tomatoes and make a beautiful peperonata. I’ve 
actually made one of those on the channel before, if you’d like to look. Or just a simple 
pasta sauce, because there are beautiful tomatoes in there and some Parmigiano or Grana 
Padano. A simple pasta sauce, and away you go. I’m sure that Robert will have some pasta in his 
cupboard. But I like that today I have been able to marry something which is very Caribbean 
with Mediterranean flavours. And I really, really like the look of those yampee roots. 
However, I was not able to find any. I visited four different supermarkets. And having done my 
own homework and research, the best I could come up with was some parsnip. They’ve got similar 
texture and a similar flavour from what I read, so I will be using parsnip because I’m keen to do 
something which resembles the recipe I’ve got in mind. But if you have access to yampee root, 
please do use them. And if you do make this recipe, please let me know how you get on. So, 
what would an Italian cook, Francesco, make out of Robert’s fridge? I’ve got in mind a one-tray 
sort of meal, baked in the oven. So forgive me if I’m using parsnip instead of the yampee root, 
but I will be pairing it with some bell peppers, just like Robert’s got in his fridge. Some regular 
potatoes over here, and I’ve also purchased some sweet potatoes. Fresh lemon like Robert’s, and 
garlic. This is smoked ham, which I will be using. I will use some red onion — Robert mentioned 
that he’s got some red onions in the back of his fridge — and he had a combination of fresh herbs 
such as basil. Right. And some tomatoes. These are from our… and oops, just like in Robert’s 
picture. I’m not sure if they come from his garden — I suspect he might have purchased them — 
but they are tomatoes. So let’s make a start. And as I’m cooking out of Robert’s fridge, I’m going 
to make this recipe very simple and easy to cook. So I’ll start with my parsnip, and I’m going to 
be peeling it first. If you’re using anything else like yampee root, obviously do the same. The one 
thing I notice whenever I peel the parsnip is the beautiful flavour that comes up. And I did think 
to myself, why don’t I cook more often with it? Because actually, it’s really, really delicious. 
I think it’s one of those underrated vegetables, so I should be cooking more. And actually this 
is a great opportunity. But I’m slicing it into little pieces, long pieces like this first, while 
I go along. Now, when I cook the parsnip and the potatoes, I want them in very similar size, so 
I’m now chopping them in about 1-centimetre cubes. Something like this. And I’ve got a little bowl 
over here, and I’ll start collecting my vegetables together. I will be listing the ingredients 
and quantities in the description, as always, for the recipe I’m cooking today. But I would 
recommend that if you were to make more or less, depending how many people you’re cooking for, to 
keep it proportional. So what I mean by that is I am broadly cooking the same amount in weight. So 
I’ve got a couple of hundred grammes of parsnip, and this is a couple of hundred grammes of sweet 
potatoes, and I’ll do exactly the same with my potatoes, which are over here. I’ll go about 
sometimes. So yeah, I’ll go get little potatoes straight from our garden. I’ll peel them, and I’ll 
chop them in exactly the same size as my parsnip and the sweet potato, so that they all cook at 
the same time. And then we’ve got potatoes done, and I’ll move on to the peppers next. I’ll do what 
I normally do with peppers — I’ll remove the white pith and all of the seeds from inside, just like 
this. And I’m going to cut them in strips like this, but not too thin, as this will be cooking 
for about 40 minutes. I want to make sure that at the end of the day I find some peppers, so 
I’ll keep them a little larger. I’m going to be using a large one and a little one. The 
little one is from our garden, by the way. You will not be surprised to learn that 
this smells considerably better than the red supermarket one. Homegrown for you. I’m really 
glad that Robert has got some in his fridge, as this will really complement the backdrop. It looks 
absolutely beautiful. But like I’ve done with the rest, I’m leaving them relatively big. This is 
an entire head of garlic from Julia’s vegetable patch. I have washed it and removed all of the 
unnecessary stuff, skin included. And I’m now moving on to my choice of herbs, and I’m assuming 
that most people will have some herbs of some kind, either fresh or dried. So I’m using today a 
combination of fresh sage, which I’ve picked from the garden, and also some fresh rosemary. And I 
like it. I’m adding it at the beginning today, because I want some of the flavour to come out 
earlier on. And I will be adding some basil at the end, once everything is cooked. You can substitute 
the herbs that I’ve got here with thyme or with oregano if you like, or a mixture of everything 
— entirely up to you. But I’m just giving them an initial mix to see what it feels like, and it’s 
beginning to look really nice. My joint of smoked ham is not as glamorous as what is in Robert’s 
fridge, but I’m not going to be using a lot, so this is perfectly OK. And I will not be using 
all of this. I will need about a couple of hundred grammes. This is 750 grammes, so if I chop it over 
here… Actually, I want some of the fatty area, so if I go over here, I’ll just remove that. 
And just like I’ve done with the potatoes and everything else, the aim is to make some cubes. 
So I’m going to be slightly more generous in terms of size because this is likely to shrink 
more in the oven, so I’m making them anything between 1.5 to 2 centimetres big. Something like 
this. There you go, look. And the reason why I decided to take the fattier side is because this 
obviously will release some beautiful flavour. So, my vegetables are back, and I can add everything 
together. I’m leaving the salting for later, as I’ve got some smoked ham, which is already very 
salty, so I’ll decide at the end if I need it. I will be adding, but I’ll start by adding a 
little pepper first, olive oil — because without saying, as I suppose, this is a Mediterranean dish 
— and one of my favourite vinegars, which gives a truly Italian nasing nature: some balsamic. There 
you go. Hands in, and I mix everything together once again. Big enough tray for what you’re 
cooking. This is baking paper, which always try to use. It keeps the bulkiness of the dish, and also 
prevents your vegetables from getting stuck to the bottom of your oven tray. And I find that actually 
using a mixing bowl to do this is considerably easier than putting all of the vegetables in your 
baking tray and then mixing them together. You can see that the olive oil and all of the herbs have 
actually spread themselves equally, and all I need to do now is to ensure that the vegetables are 
spread on an even tray and ready to go in. I did tell you it was simple and easy. They’re ready to 
go in the oven. Temperature up to 200°. It doesn’t matter if it’s fan-assisted or conventional oven — 
the same for this sort of dish. They’ll be cooking for approximately 40 minutes, and after 20 minutes 
I’ll give everything a good toss so that they cook throughout and properly on both sides. And then in 
the last 10 minutes, I’ll get them out, I’ll show you, and I will be adding some of my tomatoes 
on the top. I’m not adding them now, otherwise they’ll go to nothing. And then at the end, once 
I get them out, I will be adding a little bit more of my fresh basil and also a little bit more olive 
oil, and the lemon — partially that, of course, later. So I’ll see you in about half an hour. 
And the weather has really turned here in the UK in the last half an hour. It’s now absolutely 
pouring down with rain — late August and September weather here. So I’ve given them a toss after 20 
minutes, as I said I would. After 10 more minutes, I can add my little tomatoes from our garden. Of 
course you can use any tomatoes you like — cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes, anything you’ve got 
available. But as I said before, add them now, not at the beginning. Otherwise they will be 
reduced to nothing. So they can go back in, 10 minutes, and they’ll be ready. Every time I open 
this door I get a… facial. And the magic moment has arrived here. The smell coming from the gammon 
is something else. Actually, it’s really nice. And I call it gammon, but I think it’s also smoked 
ham, depending where you are in the world. Yeah, it’s lovely. Now let me tell you something. I have 
been looking at my jar of olives, and they’ve been looking at me, and I’ve been looking at them, and 
they’ve been looking at me. I wasn’t going to be using any, but having thought about it, I thought 
why not actually? Because they’re definitely a Mediterranean touch. So this is a last-minute 
decision to add my olives. I’ve purposely decided not to put them in earlier because they can be 
quite strong in terms of the flavour they release. And for us at the moment, everything is really 
hot, and they will release some of their beautiful flavour as they are here with lots of herbs. And 
like this they will not be overpowering the dish, and they will be an additional Mediterranean 
flavour. So olives, if you like. And let’s be honest, Robert has got olives in his fridge. So, 
our next is going to be my lemon, and all you need here is just half a lemon. Not more than half, 
otherwise again you will be overpowering the dish. And this is a beautiful lemon. I’m just going to 
go old school today and just squeeze it on top, just like this. As I said, half a lemon is 
plenty. Wonderful. Look at this. Parmesan or Grana Padano — mine is Parmigiano, Robert’s is Grana. 
They’re very similar. So I’m not gonna go mad, I’m just making sure that I cover the surface 
of all of my vegetables, just like this. And that’s amazing. And last but not least, loads 
of fresh basil. You can use parsley if you like, you can use anything you’ve got available. 
But if you use basil you will definitely give this a true Mediterranean flavour. So I would 
recommend basil. There you go, look. Lots of it. And I did say that I was going to be salting this, 
and I haven’t salted it yet. But I want to see what it’s like first, because the gammon will 
provide a good degree of salt. And the cheese, absolutely. So this is really, really nice. Smells 
amazing. And then you can see what I mean with the tomatoes. Look — can you see? They retained their 
shape, but they cooked, and they’re still doing the job that they should be doing. So I’ll go for 
that fork, and we can try some. I’m looking for the parsnip first, actually, to see what this is 
like. Yeah. What was that something? Parsnip. Oh, that’s good. Oh, I just got the second wave of the 
parsnip. It’s delicious. The next thing I want to try is the gammon. I want to try that on its own. 
And actually I was right — you don’t need to add any salt, because the gammon and cheese have 
salted everything beautifully. No need. Yeah, yeah. Really good. And the parsnip also — 
parsnip is the reconciliation with Caribbean food, because we could not find what Robert has in 
his fridge. It’s good, isn’t it? Lovely. We will leave this to cool down slightly, and we will eat 
it warm. I’ll put it back in the oven actually, and I will leave it to cool down progressively. 
But you can also eat it when it’s piping hot, because actually it’s one of those dishes that 
you can — as long as you blow — you can definitely taste it. Well, I’m very pleased, and I’m really 
glad that I went ahead with this mini-series, because I would never have cooked anything 
like that if I didn’t see Robert’s pictures. By the way, Julie is very impressed with the 
neatness and tidiness of your fridge — also impressive. And I have to confess, Robert, 
I’m the same. Yes, very. When we go shopping, this is my job — to put stuff away in the 
fridge. Yeah, that’s… For all the bags, that fridge — you stuff out in, and then he 
likes to put it all away. Yeah, well, Julie has this habit of just leaving everything in the 
net and just throwing it in. And it’s one of those things. Make this and let me know how you get on. 
And obviously if you find the right ingredients, even better. I will be interested to see what 
it’s like and what you think. Arrivederci, grazie, thank you Robert. And if you want to send 
me a picture of your fridge, please do so. You can put it on my Facebook page — I’ll put a 
little link in the comments in the description of this video. But also you can e-mail it to me: 
[email protected] . I’ll put a little link also in the description of the video and also 
text on this video. So, arrivederci. Ciao ciao.