recipes

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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Arista: Tuscan roast pork (recipe)

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

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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

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Spring in Venice and a hoppy risotto: a quick guide to bruscàndoli.

This article is about the Veneto.   It’s been four months since I wrote my article about my return to my poor neglected Venice, and I’m happy to report that since then I’ve been a regular visitor. And it’s been really interesting to see the way in which the mood of the city changes with the

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La Colomba Marietta: Italian Easter cake (recipe)

  This recipe is from Tuscany. The colomba is to Italian Easter what the panettone is to Christmas. The name, which means dove, comes from its shape, representing the Holy Spirit, who in the New Testament of the Bible appears in the form of a dove. Like the panettone, the colomba is ubiquitous in the

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Polpettone alla Madera: Tuscan meatloaf (recipe)

This recipe is from Tuscany. Polpettone, aka meatloaf, is one of the dishes I remember my mother preparing as a child. She in turn, had been taught to make it by my real nonna, who I never met since she died before I was born. My mother’s polpettone was delicious, roasted in the oven with

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