Legend has it that two gods once competed for the patronage of an Ancient greek city, and the people decided to choose based on what gifts the gods would offer them. The sea god, Poseidon, offered them the gift of water, essential for life. The goddess Athena offered them the gift of a single […]
Quick guide to Italian ingredients: Olives Read More »
Christmas comes but once a year, but it’s a little known fact that in Italy, children get two bites at the panforte. Another festival, with huge similarities to the festivities on the 25th December, occurs just twelve days later. On the night of the 5th January, Italian children hang up their stockings at the end of the
In Italy, Christmas comes twice a year 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 »
Tramezzino, the diminutive of ‘in the middle’ is the Italian word for sandwich. Said to have been coined by the early-twentieth-century poet Gabriele d’Annunzio, the word is used to refer to sandwiches made with white pancarré bread, again said to have been invented in the Bar Mulassano in Turin. Notwithstanding their Piemontese origin, the
Tramezzini Veneziani: street food from Venice (recipe) Read More »
The magic of Florence is legendary. The city, with its red-tiled roofs fills the wide valley of the river Arno, straddled by the ponte vecchio, literally paved with gold shops. The enormous cupola of the duomo, also red-tiled, has given Florence one of the most recognized skylines in the world, to rival, Paris, London, New York, but
Florence at Christmas: a photo essay Read More »
I remember it coming as quite a shock, a few years ago,  when discussing what to have for lunch with my English partner that my suggestion of pasta was met with an incredulous, ‘but we ate that yesterday. We can’t have it every day. It will get boring.’ For me, having been brought up on an
Quick guide to Italian ingredients: Pasta secca Read More »
