One of the great pleasures of being on my own, which I have been for the last ten days or so, is that I can eat whatever I want whenever I want…
Browsing Category
Italy
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Fave, aka fava beans, aka broad beans, are what’s most prominent on Tuscan tables at the moment, whether eaten raw–piled on a plate, shucked at the moment, and served with soft, young,…
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These are the bulbs of wild hyacinths, tassel or grape hyacinths to be precise, Muscari racemosum. They are treasured in Puglia where they’re harvested in the wild in late winter and early…
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Lacinato or Tuscan kale is what we call it in the U.S. where it’s relatively new for cooks and gardeners alike. But in Tuscany cavolo nero has long been a staple of…
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I took a long-long-long subway ride up into what seemed like the outer reaches of the Bronx yesterday for lunch with the gang at Gustiamo.com, importers of some of my…
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I discovered a 3-liter tin of 2009 olive oil (our own pressing) when I was cleaning out the cantina last week. Unaccountably it had disappeared into a dark corner and stayed there,…
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Friends who are diabetic (Type I) are coming to stay at Villa Campestri next week. We wanted to do a special menu–no pasta, no bread, but still very Tuscan–to fit their dietary…
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Salvatore Denaro, a great Sicilian-Umbrian chef, joined our Tuscan cooking classes at Villa Campestri (Speaking Tuscan in the Kitchen/AmorOlio May 2012), and gave us a whole new repertoire of very beany spring…
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Yes, I know, it’s too late for Easter but today is Pasquetta in Italy, an official holiday (banks and post offices closed, no newspapers) when by ancient tradition people consume the leftovers…
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The vegetable everyone loves to hate? In my book it’s not lovely green broccoli, or Brussels sprouts cooked briefly so they’re still slightly crisp in the middle, or even sweet potatoes, as…
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Nowadays, the Tuscan olive harvest arrives at its mid-point in early November. That’s a change from the way it used to be. When I first started paying attention to olives and oil,…