Puntarelle: Quick Guide to Italian Ingredients
Puntarelle (cicoria di catalogna / cicoria asparago) is an Italian winter vegetable forming part of traditional Roman cuisine.
winter
Winter sun, a castle, and a restaurant review
A walk along a sunny beach, a visit to the fairy-tale castle of Santa Severa, and a wonderful fish lunch. What could be better in November?
Monte Bianco: recipe
Although on a misty end-of-winter day like today you wouldn’t know it, La Madera is on the slopes of a mountain called Alpe Faggeta. A respectable height of 1,510 metres (4,954 feet) makes it taller than Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the United Kingdom. This appenine hill, however, would be dwarfed by the …
Lasagne bianche ai noci: lasagne with white ragù and walnuts (recipe)
White ragù—Italian meat sauce without tomatoes—is one of my all time favourite dishes. I learnt it as a teenager from my Italian step-grandmother in her kitchen in Venice. She was noted for her ragù and people were forever asking her how she made it but, of course, she wouldn’t tell. But one summer morning while …
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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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Pasta e fagioli: pasta and bean soup (recipe)
We’ve been waking up to temperatures of about -4°C at La Madera this week, proving that the Mediterranean climate is an extreme one. So, while we wait for the return of the 38°C days we experienced last summer, it’s time for winter comfort food: and here’s some from my childhood, pasta e fagioli, or as they say …