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The Florentine
Italian cuisine relies heavily on seasonal vegetables and one of the stars that brightens up winter menus is cavolo nero (black cabbage). There are a couple of myths that should be cleared up right away. First, it’s not black. It’s really a very deep
Potato tortelli with Tuscan pesto Tortello Prepare dough with 5 eggs 250 gr of semola flour 250 of flour 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil Let it sit for 30 minutes Boil the potatoes, peel, and mash with a fork. Chop garlic into thin slices, add
Cod with black cabbage and chickpeas 1 kg of cod 2 bunches of black cabbage 400 gr of chickpeas Olive oil and pepper How to prepare: Flour the cod and put in oven pan Cook with oil in a pan until the cod is brown Boil the black
Pannocchie pasta filled with lobster served in a light zucchini sauce with its flowers Serves two 120 g of fresh hand made pasta cut into disks 120 g of boiled lobster pulp 20 g of zucchini flowers 45 g of zucchini 50 g of fresh ricotta cheese 60
Filet of dried salted cod wrapped in radicchio with a saffron cream sauce Serves four 1 800 gram filet of cod (unsalted) 1 basket of radicchio leaves 3dl of fish stock 25 grams of corn starch 1 teaspoon of saffron pistons from the Tuscan/Florentine hills Salt, pepper, extra
Rosemary cod fillets in crust of potatoes with shaved Livorno tomatoes and spicy raisin sauce Serves four 500 g softened dried cod 2 large potatoes Sprig of rosemary Extra-virgin olive oil 8 red tomatoes 1 small bundle of parsley 1 small bundle of chives 1 clove of garlic &
Pasta with chickpeas Serves four ½ pound (200 g) dry chickpeas (or a 450 g can), soaked overnight 2 cloves of garlic 125 g of pasta (ditalini or similar) ½ medium onion Sprig of rosemary 2/5 cup (100 ml) olive oil ½ cup (6 tablespoons) chopped tomatoes Salt
Here comes the rainy, cold, damp weather that clings to Florence for most of the winter. And with it comes the ever-present threat of colds and sore throats. There are many things you can do to ward off a cold or minimize the effects of one you already
Few things are as uniquely American as the feast of Thanksgiving. Regardless of where Americans are that day, most cannot help but remember past meals. With memories comes the attempt to try and recreate Thanksgiving, despite the difficulty of finding the distinctive ingredients. Creating a Thanksgiving celebration in Florence requires
Although I love the song that made them famous in the USA, there’s a lot more to chestnuts than just roasting. Just ask any Tuscan cook. In fact, the old Italian saying, ‘polenta saved the north, fish saved the south, and chestnuts saved the center’, refers
I come from a Venetian family where the imperative of every meal was to create the perfect bite. For my mamma, it meant getting up at five in the morning, while my five siblings and I were still asleep, to make homemade tortellini filled with a minced paste of delicious
Even though the lazy beach days of August are now behind us, there’s still a bit of summer left on our Tuscan tables. The last of the eggplant bounty will linger into September and it’s a wonderful way to gently bridge the gap between the lightness
Summer is around the corner, and we can all feel it. Flowers are everywhere at this time of year, and I’m not speaking only of gardens or window boxes. In Italy, they grace tables as well. At a recent dinner, after admiring the stunning roses, wisteria and
My first memory of eating an artichoke is an image of my mother showingme how to bite down on the leaf and pull it through my front teeth. I must have been very young, because myteeth marks were tiny compared to the others in that great heap of discardedleaves
For cooks, one of the true pleasures of life in Italy is the bounty of beautiful fruits and vegetables that are so readily available throughout the year. I am always fascinated by the artfully arranged displays set up by vendors, particularly those on street corners. My local ambulante di frutta
The holidays evoke an inevitable urge to cook, not that I ever need much to be inspired here in Florence. I am almost thankful that there is no Thanksgiving here in Italy, as the feasting rites of Christmas almost put me under the table. In this country, food always seems
When November approaches, umbrellas crop up all over Florence. I asked Elena Galluzzi, a busy Florentine who runs a family hotel here, what she likes to cook this time of the year. Her answer? ‘Hearty bean soups and stews,’ she said, ‘a truly traditional
The beach house is closed for the season. The rientro is complete and everyone is back in the city where school and work schedules once again dictate the rhythm of daily life. What’s the first thing a Tuscan cook thinks about in autumn? That’s the question
One story places all the blame on the Pisans. In fact, an old Tuscan proverb declares, Meglio un morto in casa che un pisano all’uscio, which roughly translated means ‘Better a death in the family than someone from Pisa on your doorstep’. This epitomises the rivalry
Cynara was a beautiful girl, with hair the color of ash (from the Latin word for ash Cinis-cineris), and Jupiter fell desperately in love with her. You know how Jupiter was. When he fell in love, he just wanted the girl and tried every trick to conquer her, despite
The next time you walk past that white bulb with the green fronds at your grocer’s, stop and appreciate that it is one of nature’s marvels. It is both an ...
I love Carnival in Tuscany. From the tiniest village party to the huge street parade in Viareggio, tricksters and costumes abound. Tiny children parade on Sunday afternoon along the Arno River dressed as Zorro or little princesses, while older kids run around spraying colored threads from cans and launching confetti
