This recipe is from Puglia. To fully understand Italian cuisine, it’s important to note the major difference between it and, for example, French cuisine. French cuisine is the cuisine of the chef. Home cooks spend a lot of time trying to live up to the creations and recipes coming out of the important restaurants […]
Melanzane ripiene della nonna Checchina: Puglian stuffed eggplants Read More »
This recipe is from Veneto. As promised in the last post, here is a recipe for azime dolci, the Venetian jewish cookies I tried in the ghetto at the weekend. Pane azzimo, is the Italian for unleavened bread and these are called azime because they too are unleavened. And like pane azzimo, they are traditionally
Azime dolci: Venetian passover cookies (recipe) Read More »
The 15th and 16th centuries saw a shameful period of what would now be called ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Europe. In 1492, all jews were expelled from Spain and soon other southern European states followed suit. Similar expulsions from England and France in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries had concentrated Europe’s jewish communities in Spain, Portugal, the
Dolci ebraici veneziani: Venetian jewish pastries Read More »
This recipe is from Veneto. This recipe complements my previous post on Radicchio tardivo di Treviso. It’s a very common way of cooking it in Italy. The risotto takes on a lovely pinkish red colour thanks to the radicchio leaves and the gorgonzola adds a little depth of creamy flavour at the end.
Risotto alla Trevisana: Risotto with radicchio (recipe) Read More »
Radicchio tardivo di Treviso is an extraordinary looking vegetable, rather like a red and white octopus. Once cut, it is a kaleidoscope of red and white leaves which are extraordinarily beautiful. Grown in the provinces of Treviso and Venice, this plant now has protected name status from the European Union. It differs from other
Quick Guide to Italian Ingredients: Radicchio Tardivo di Treviso IGP Read More »
This recipe is from Tuscany. No sooner is carnival out the way than we have an excuse for another sweet blow-out: San Valentino, or Valentine’s Day. And in a country famed for lovers and romance it’s seen as a big occasion—notwithstanding the fact that the original Saint Valentine was Italian. It’s also the very beginning
Torta di semolino: semolina cake (recipe) Read More »
