Summer in Italy is a time for festivals. Up and down the peninsula, the sun brings communities out of their houses to join together in celebration of the many fine things Italian culture has to offer. How and what they celebrate is as varied as Italian cuisine, and just as regional. In the south […]
Running up that hill: the Palio della Vittoria Read More »
In the last two weeks I was really fortunate to have been invited to visit some vineyards by my friends at Ottimi Vini, an incredible wine shop in Sansepolcro. This week we were in the Montalcino region, famous for it’s stately wine Brunello. Made, like most Tuscan red wine, from Sangiovese grapes, Brunello is blessed
L’Osteria di Porta al Cassero, Montalcino: review Read More »
For every zucchini grown, there is a beautiful saffron flower. Unfortunately in many countries this is allowed to die and never gets seen: in Italy, they are picked and eaten as a delicacy in themselves.
Torta ai fiori di zucca: zucchini flower quiche (recipe) Read More »
For the stranger to Tuscany, one thing that needs getting used to is the bread. The local bread, known as pane sciocco, is made without salt and to many foreigners taste is bland at best. The other problem with it is that it goes hard very quickly and bread bought from the bakers in the
Panzanella: quick lunches #2 Read More »
This is an incredible time of year, with fruit and vegetables seeming to come into season with the frequency of trains arriving at Santa Maria Novella station in Florence. This week, it’s the turn of cherries. I have two small cherry trees at La Madera which yielded enough fruit for a cake, but a friend
Torta alle ciliegie: Cherry cake (recipe) Read More »
Nothing illustrates the regionalism of Italian food better than the fact that, despite Sarah Palin-like, being able to see Umbria from my Tuscan bedroom, until last Monday I had never heard of torta al testo, their ubiquitous and delicious flatbread.
Torta al testo: Umbrian flat bread (recipe) Read More »
