I first visited Verona thirty years ago. I was in Venice having lunch with an aunt and two cousins who I had never met before. During the memorable lunch, which you can read about here, it emerged that my eldest cousin, Silvia, sang in the chorus at the Arena di Verona—a well-preserved Roman amphitheater where a […]
In Verona (missing Amy) Read More »
A recent ad on Italian TV said, ‘If Italy was a house, Emilia-Romagna would be the kitchen.’ Many Italians from other regions might throw up their hands in horror and rightly say, ‘but we have an amazing cuisine too!’ However, this demonstrates the reputation that Emilia-Romagna—the capital of which is Bologna—has as the foodie region of
In Bologna (with no spaghetti) Read More »
The other day I gave a lesson on how to make fresh pasta and I suddenly realized that I’d never written about how to make it on the blog. So this post is designed to put that right. I must confess that I didn’t learn how to make fresh pasta from my ‘nonna’, Zia Rita.
How to make pasta like a nonna! Read More »
One of the hallmarks of Tuscan regional cooking is that a lot of it makes use of stale bread. I recently wrote an article about it outlining some of the traditional soups and salads from the region all with stale bread as their main ingredient. However, it’s not just savory dishes which use it.
Pinza di Claudio: chocolate, nut, and bread cake (recipe) Read More »
This recipe is from Tuscany. Arista is one of the great classics of Tuscan cuisine. People often assume that, considering it is consists of roast pork loin, the name is related to the Italian arrosto, meaning roast. The truth couldn’t be more different and, as with most Italian dishes, there’s a story. Here
Arista: Tuscan roast pork (recipe) Read More »
Well, it’s almost Easter and time to break free of the restrictions of Lent and celebrate with all the wonderful Easter food we’ve been dreaming of. Here in the Tuscan Valtiberina, Easter is of particular importance, especially in the town of Sansepolcro, whose name means Holy Sepulchre, referring to the tomb of Christ. In
Easter in the Valtiberina Read More »
