In 1439, a council of the Greek and Roman churches was called at Florence. According to legend, during the meeting, the Bishop of Florence proudly served his local communion wine to one of the Greek bishops who proclaimed, ‘What lovely wine! It’s xantho! (yellow)’. The Florentines, mishearing the greek adjective as santo (holy), took this as a …
I’m delighted to present to you my first video recipe for Chestnuts and Truffles TV on YouTube. I really enjoyed making this video since I was able to go into a lot more detail about techniques, particularly with the pasta frolla, or shortcrust pastry, than you can in a recipe. You also get to see …
Crostata di Ciliegie: Cherry Tart – Chestnuts and Truffles TV 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 »
Assisi Assisi in Umbria is famous as the birthplace of Saint Francis, the Dr Dolittle of the Catholic Church, and the Patron Saint of Italy. It’s a perfect central Italian hill town where the modern suburbs have been confined to the plain below leaving the town itself its ancient aspect. The plain is sheltered by …
At the feet of Saint Francis: Saio Winery, Assisi Read More »
We all think we know Italian food. After all, there are plenty of Italian restaurants right down the road, right? Many of our big cities have got a ‘Little Italy’ and an Italian deli to die for. Travelling will tell us that Italian restaurants are the same the world over—except, that is, in Italy. Many …
Five things you didn’t know about Italian food … probably. Read More »
