Zuppa di funghi e castagne (mushroom and chestnut soup) is a Tuscan autumn soup of woodland mushrooms and chestnuts. You simmer them in stock, blend a little of the soup to thicken the broth, and finish each bowl with raw olive oil. A Perfect Autumn Soup This Tuscan mushroom…

Zemin is a chickpea, chard and dried mushroom soup from Liguria. It starts with a slow soffritto of onion, parsley, carrot and celery in olive oil, then the porcini and a big pile of chard go in. Once the chard has wilted, you add the chickpeas and stock and let everything…

Pasta con castagne e funghi is an autumn dish of fresh egg pasta ribbons with chestnut and forest mushrooms. Each Autumn, chestnuts and mushrooms grow in abundance in Italy’s forests and woods. They come into season at the same time, and are often foraged together. Chestnuts and mushrooms are perfect companions,…

Coratella alla Marchigiana is a lamb offal dish with white wine and herbs from the Marche region of central Italy and then finished with beaten egg and grated pecorino (a hard, salty sheep’s milk cheese). The offal used is the full pluck of a young lamb – heart, lungs, liver,…

Orata alla ligure is a dish of pan-fried sea bream fillets with Taggiasca olives and toasted pine nuts, served with potatoes. It is one of the characteristic fish preparations of the Liguria coast. The dish is built on two ingredients that define the region’s cooking: olive taggiasche (Taggiasca olives, small…

Spaghetti mare e monti is a pasta dish of squid and wild mushrooms – two ingredients that come from opposite ends of the Marche landscape. Marche’s Adriatic coastline and the Apennine hills sit within an hour and a half of each. And this dish is a great example of…

Ciambotto is the fish stew of Puglia’s Gargano coast — the one that’s been on the tables of Vieste, Manfredonia, and Peschici for as long as the fishing boats have gone out. Twenty-two kilometres offshore, the same dish turns up on almost every restaurant menu across the Tremiti Islands.…

Ragu alla marchigiana (Marche-style meat ragù) is a slow-cooked sauce. You make it by combining three meats – minced beef, minced pork, and chicken giblets. Then you cook it in a tomato base with white wine and a small bunch of herbs. And as the name suggests, it comes…

Orate all’Anconetana (Ancona style sea bream) is whole sea bream, marinated in white wine and herbs, then grilled over charcoal and served with a cold sauce made from anchovies, hard-boiled egg, bread soaked in vinegar, garlic, and olive oil. It’s a lovely summer dish and perfect for the BBQ.…

Calamari in zimino is a calamari and chard stew from the Ligurian coast. Squid rings cook slowly with chard, white wine and tomato. The base is a soffritto of onion, celery, garlic and parsley. As it cooks, the chard breaks down and the sauce thickens. You finish with maggiorana (marjoram) and serve with…