For a long time, one of my favourite food blogs has been Keep Calm and Fanny On!, in which we are introduced the to the wonderful 1970s world of the British TV cook, Fanny Cradock. For those of you that don’t know her, Fanny was like a terrifying caricature of Julia Child, who corralled the […]
Mozzarella in carrozza: deep fried cheese sandwiches (recipe) Read More »
We’ve been waking up to temperatures of about -4°C at La Madera this week, proving that the Mediterranean climate is an extreme one. So, while we wait for the return of the 38°C days we experienced last summer, it’s time for winter comfort food: and here’s some from my childhood, pasta e fagioli, or as they say
Pasta e fagioli: pasta and bean soup (recipe) Read More »
Farro can refer to wheat from three different plants: triticum monococcum, triticum dicoccum, and triticum spelta. These are usually referred to as farro piccolo, farro medio, and farro grande (small, medium, and large) due to the size of their grains.
Quick guide to Italian ingredients: Farro Read More »
Watch me make peposo, an amazing Tuscan winter warmer stew. This dish originated with the workers in the terracotta factories of Impruneta, near Florence, back in medieval times. Like them, I use a traditional terracotta pot, but you could make this in a slow cooker, or a normal dutch oven. Nowadays, some people add
Peposo: Tuscan beef, black pepper, and red wine stew Read More »
0, 00, 1, or 2? Italian flour can be confusing. Put it all straight with this quick guide. Once, I thought I knew flour: plain, self-raising, strong, wholemeal—each with their own uses, each with their own consistencies. And then I moved abroad. It was while shopping in Switzerland that I first noticed alarming range
A quick guide to Italian flour Read More »
When I started this blog, I decided to call it Chestnuts and Truffles because these are the two major local products here in this corner of Tuscany. In fact the name Marrone di Caprese Michelangelo, (marrone being a cultivated chestnut) is protected in Italy with a DOP status. I could easily have called it Chestnuts
Zuppa di marroni al tartufo: Chestnut and truffle soup Read More »
