We are in the shadow of the autumn equinox, and the cold is starting to make itself felt. Just like that, the seasons are turning, and there’s something so damn groovy about the change. I relish the colder months in Italy. It is quiet and calm, and the sheer illustriousness of the place can be […]
Marsala Poached Pear and Almond Cake Read More »
So, after 3 months of summer holidays, Italian schools are back this week. My kiddo is starting Superiore, high school, so bittersweet, where-did-the-time-go, wow these kids are ready to fly kinda excitement. Another gush of excitement has me feeling boosted this week, as we’ve seen a dip in the mercury, and summer’s sweltering days are
Mushroom, Pancetta and Taleggio Pinsa Read More »
My sister Mary is a great one for “cracking” things. Not codes, or plates, or cups, but more like fun things, open – cracking a beer, cracking the champers, cracking open a packet of crisps, cracking open a box of magnums etc. So, when I heard the story of how the delicious Ligurian street food
Chickpea Flatbread Read More »
Like so many days throughout summer, I’m thanking those clever Sicilians today for showing us the way to transform ice into granita. The story goes like this: the Arabs brought a sugary drink known as sharbat to Sicily during their domination, to which the locals added lemon, honey, fruit juice, or rosewater together with
Our exceedingly generous, green thumbed, pensioner neighbour marched by earlier today with a crate load of tomatoes from his garden. He was off distributing his red jewels to another neighbour, and then another. While I snapped the moment in my memory, I was sorry I didn’t have my camera with me. A blisteringly hot
Marinated Buffalo Mozzarella and Tomato Salad Read More »
It is news to no one that Italians are particular about their coffee. “Il galateo del caffe” or, Italian coffee etiquette is serious business. I have gotten myself into trouble licking spoons, using the wrong spoon, stirring my caffe’ clockwise, stirring it anti-clockwise, stirring using a movement that swished the caffe’ from the bottom to
If fingers can be called giddy, mine are, as I type this post on pasta matta. A lean and salty pastry, it makes a delicious casing for a glut of savoury tarts and pies, known throughout Italy as torte salate. I confess I am a total flirt when it comes to pastry. Over the years,
Roasted Capsicum, Onion and Pecorino Romano Tart Read More »
Between the jigs and the reels, I’ve been feeling rundown lately. And repeatedly, I’ve been told that it’s bresaola that I need. And so, today’s lunch – a fantastically, simple salad of Bresaola and Rocket. Also, a super tasty one. For anyone in the dark, bresaola is a cured meat from Lombardy in the
Bresaola and Rocket Salad Read More »
A few things happen with passion in Italy in spring. One, is feverish house cleaning. Another, a house blessing by the parish priest. Another again, eating broad beans, also known as fava (pl. fave) or baccelli. The cleaning and the priest’s blessing it turns out are linked, with the spring cleaning coming first. This came
Broad Beans, Pecorino and Salami Read More »
Like a lot of families that live around the port of La Spezia, my husband’s family came and settled here. Both his mother and his father’s families were from Tuscany. And although his parents had both passed away before Massi and I got together, I feel like I kinda know them through stories. What I
It’s spring but for some reason, I’m finding myself reluctant to say goodbye to the winter this year. Well, at least to her smashingly bright, fruit and veg, and in particular, to Sicilian blood oranges. I seek them out as I am totally under their spell. And, it seems I am not the only one.
Blood Orange and Rosemary Cake Read More »
It’s spring, and the first of the zucc’s are hitting the markets, and they’re making me hungry. My idea for today’s lunch – pinsa romana with zucchini and goats’ cheese. Before moving to Italy, I had never heard of pinsa romana, a doughy and friable alternative to pizza. Wonderfully crunchy on the outside and soft of
Zucchini and Goats’ Cheese Pinsa Read More »
It’s more than a week since Easter Sunday lunch and yet, we are still hoeing in to the traditional dove shaped Colomba di Pasqua. Cut into chunky slices, warmed and served with a generous coating of crema pasticcera, Italian custard cream, this mild sweet bread is elevated into a smooth and richly rewarding indulgence. The
Italian Custard Cream ( to have with leftover Easter Colomba) Read More »
It is almost Pasqua, Easter so, all things chocolate are on my mind. Cake especially. Also, I’ve been remembering the year when Massi won an enormous Easter egg in the village of Manarola where he worked. In Italy, Easter eggs are typically large, hollow (ie mega delicate), and are wrapped so ostentatiously as to triple
Chocolate Marsala Cake with Caffe’ Latte Crema Read More »
I came inside today, armed with a whopper of a fennel that my elderly, yet sprightly neighbour had dug up and given to me. Apparently, it was “a plump, male fennel, bound to be sweet and tasty”. Huh? While I had noticed a difference in fennel shapes before, the gender bit, was news to me.
Fennel and Blood Orange Salad Read More »
In the nearby village of Portovenere I remember there used to be a pestomat installed by the waterfront. Like other ATM machines such as the bancomat or postamat that supply euros after hours, the pestomat ensured that pesto, the beloved, Ligurian, pasta sauce was available 24/7. The pestomat (a type of refrigerated vending machine), was stocked
Pesto alla Genovese (off season version) Read More »
Massi questioned the other day, if I was getting dressed up, to go and meet the leafy selection at the fruit and veg mercato. It sounds absurd, but when I considered it, I knew that my husband was right (annoying in itself). I was getting dressed up. In particular, for the radicchio. It is
Radicchio Salad with Blood Orange, Gorgonzola and Pine Nuts Read More »
I wanted to make something delicious to mark the 83rd birthday of my mother, Stella. She is one inspirational, wholehearted, phenomenally generous, clever, funny and, just all out wonderful woman. Although we are on opposite sides of the world, she in Australia and I am in Liguria Italy, I couldn’t let her day pass without cake.
Lemon, Ricotta and Almond Cake Read More »