Saltimbocca in Italian means ‘jumps in the mouth’, and you’ll understand why once you taste them! Saltimbocca are made from veal, slices of Prosciutto Crudo and sage. It is a classic Roman recipe and one you’ll find in most restaurants in Rome. Few ingredients are …
‘Visciole’ are sour cherries often used in tarts in Italy, particularly in Rome. Crostata di ricotta and visciole is a dessert that belongs to Roman Jewish traditions, and if you ever pass through the Jewish Ghetto in Rome, you really should make sure that you taste …
I’ll admit that I hated Brussels Sprouts as a child, always leaving them last on my plate. Had we had them roasted though, we may have been a bit more enthusiastic about eating them. In fact, I’ve decided that roasting Brussels Sprouts with some salt and olive oil is the only way I’ll be eating them from now on. Although a quantity for the Brussels Sprouts isn’t really necessary to write, I’ve put the amount so you can work out the corresponding amount of Olive Oil.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil over high heat, and add some salt.
Add Brussels sprouts and cook for 2 minutes, and no longer. Drain and transfer to a bowl lined with kitchen towel, removing any excess moisture.
Transfer the Brussels sprouts to a bowl and add olive oil, smashed garlic cloves and season with salt and pepper. Stir everything around to ensure Sprouts are covered with Olive Oil and seasoning.
Transfer to a baking dish, placing Brussels Sprouts cut sides down, along with the garlic. Roast until browned and tender, about 15 – 20 minutes.
My friend Linda from The Beehive tells me that her family love to eat their Brussels Sprouts with chestnuts! Her husband boils or roasts the chestnuts, the sautès them with the Brussels Sprouts in oil, salt, garlic and chilli. He adds a little water, covers the pan, and allows them all to simmer and cook together for about half an hour!
I love making soups and obviously that means I also love to eat them. Apart from being a great comfort food, they can be easy to put together and it’s often a great way to camouflage a stack of vegetables from fussy children. The finer …
Valentines Day is a great excuse to bake something decadent for those you love, and you don’t have to limit yourself to just spoiling your partner, or lover….. Valentines Day is a day to demonstrate your love and gratitude to all your loved ones, be that children, parents, …
A wonderful recipe to use up day old rustic Tuscan style Italian bread is Pappa al Pomodoro. It’s also the perfect time of year to talk about this recipe because it’s the ideal recipe to take advantage of the many varieties of glorious plump red tomatoes that are abundant in all the markets during the hot summer months.
Pappa al Pomodoro is a “poor” dish of Tuscan cuisine. The peasant origin of this first course is testified by its ingredients; stale Tuscan bread, tomatoes, garlic, basil, Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. In Arezzo this dish is traditionally prepared by using onion instead of garlic, and yet in other recipes both onion and garlic are used. So, while the ingredients may be simple, they must all be of top quality.
Tuscan bread is usually unsalted, and the reason behind this dates back to the 12th century. The rulers of Pisa were at odds with the rulers of Florence, and cut off their supply lines from the coast. This made salt prohibitively expensive. The Florentines, unwilling to cave to the pressure, simply began making their bread without it, and this is now a tradition that continues today.
The Italian word Pappa translates to mush, or baby food and that pretty much describes the consistency of the finished product; a dish that can be eaten at any age. But with amazing tomatoes, fresh basil and high quality olive oil, the flavor is anything but boring.
If you ask a Tuscan the recipe, their answer will vary depending on where in Tuscany they are from and usually, each different origin will add secret touches all a little different from each other. Pappa al Pomodoro can be eaten hot, lukewarm or cold, and is always best served with a generous drizzle of Tuscan extra virgin olive oil to give it extra flavor.
Ingredients
Struffoli is a sweet dish traditionally from Napoli made up of marble sized deep-fried pieces of dough, which are then covered in honey. They are usually enjoyed at Christmas or Easter time, but can also be eaten during carnival celebrations, held in February in Italy. Personally I find them …
There is a wonderful food store across the street from where I live that sells bags of very addictive Italian Red Wine Biscuits. They are much smaller and thinner than when I make them, but eating one just leads to you reaching for another and …
Continuing with Italian carnival traditions, this recipe is a classic, especially in Tuscany. Think of that delicious rice pudding you would have as a child, and imagine it rolled into balls, fried, and covered in sugar. That’s the best description I have to describe these delicious treats which I would also class as an italian ‘comfort food’. When I used to live in Pietrasanta, a naughty breakfast during carnival time would be hot ‘frittelle di riso’ with my cappuccino! 
This recipe is easy to follow, just make sure you take your time cooking the rice. The rice used for this recipe in Italian is called Riso Originario. It’s characteristics include having a grain that is small, round, with a high starch content. It is best for sushi, soups and especially for desserts. You can use any white starchy rice though, and the rice ideally needs to be cooked the night before you plan to make your frittelle. Not everybody rolls the rice mixture into flour before frying them, but it helps keep them together and especially helps have perfect balls. (Note that in most places, frittelle aren’t all perfect and uniform in size or shape).
*Alternate recipe would be to add sultanas (previously soaked in port) or candied peel to rice mixture once it’s cooked.
It’s coming up to Carnival time and bakeries in Italy have trays of ‘chiacchiere’ in their windows. Think a pastry that is thin, crispy, fried and covered in icing sugar….. I knew that would get your attention! We would have these when I was growing up …