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pastciccio di tortellini

Pasticcio di tortellini: tortellini pie from Modena

3 Comments / aperitivo, Bologna, contorni, Emilia-Romagna, flour, Information, ingredients, lunch, pasta, pastry, primi, recipes, regions, secondi, side dishes, stories, wine /

Ever since I came back from Modena, I’ve been dreaming of this pie. Having grown up in England, I love big, traditional, English pies such as pork pies and the game pies you see in TV costume dramas weighing down many a seventeenth-century table. This is the closest thing I’ve found in Italian cuisine to

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Hugo Spritz: elderflower and prosecco cocktail (recipe)

9 Comments / aperitivo, Arezzo, Caprese Michelangelo, drinks, history, Information, ingredients, lemons, recipes, regions, stories, Tuscany, vegan, vegetarian, wine /

  At this time of year the hedgerows around Caprese Michelangelo turn white with what seem to be bunches of tiny snowflakes. Luckily they are not since subzero temperatures in May would not be welcome. They are in fact fiori di sambuco or elderflowers. As well as looking pretty, they have a sweet, delicate fragrance that you’d wish

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Sarde in saor: Venetian sweet and sour sardines (recipe)

12 Comments / antipasti, aperitivo, drinks, flour, history, Information, ingredients, lunch, pranzi presti, recipes, regions, salad, seafood, Veneto, Venice, wine /

I came to this dish very late, which is a surprise since it is one of the classic dishes of Venetian cuisine, and a pity since I have been missing it all my life. From just before my teenage years until adulthood, I wouldn’t touch fish on principle since I knew I didn’t like it, despite

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Pick me up in Treviso

18 Comments / aperitivo, biscotti, cakes, desserts, dolci, drinks, flour, history, Information, ingredients, lunch, pranzi presti, primi, quick guide, recipes, regions, restaurants, rice, risotto, stories, vegetables, vegetarian, Veneto, wine /

  Located only 27km as the crow flies from Venice, Treviso has always lived in the shadow of the campanile of San Marco. For most of its life, that was a good thing. Its proximity to the capital of the great Venetian Republic meant that the government ringed it with a great defensive wall and

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

16 Comments / antipasti, history, Information, ingredients, primi, quick guide, regions, rice, risotto, stories, vegetarian, Veneto, Venice, wine /

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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