Bigoli in salsa: Venetian pasta (recipe)
Bigoli in salsa is the only really traditional Venetian pasta dish. Made with simple ingredients from the Venetian lagoon it’s packed with umami. Follow my instructions to Venetian heaven on a plate.
lent
Carnival in Venice
Tomorrow, 27 January 2018, is the official start of what is probably the most famous carnival in the world, the Carnevale di Venezia. Soon the calli and campi will be full of people, mostly tourists and mostly French, sporting costumes ranging from the outlandish to the opulent, and posing for photographs evocative of the final century of …
Pinza di Claudio: chocolate, nut, and bread cake (recipe)
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. …
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Easter in the Valtiberina
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 …
Torta di semolino: semolina cake (recipe)
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 …
Fritole venessiane: Venetian carnival fritters (recipe)
In Renaissance Venice, the period from 26 December until Ash Wednesday was one of chaos. The city was full of parties, festivals, but also of general misrule and often violence—tolerated by the authorities as a way for society to let off steam and a way to ensure good order for the rest of the year. …
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