Pear and gorgonzola risotto (Risotto con Pere e Gorgonzola) is a creamy, fragrant dish that comes into its own in Autumn, when pears reach their best. Pears and gorgonzola have long been friends, as the fruit’s sweetness balances the cheese’s saltiness. Gorgonzola can only be produced in specific…
I grew up on Heinz tinned baked beans. Proper tinned ones, straight from the microwave, on white toast. So the first time I made Tuscan baked beans from scratch, I wasn’t expecting much. Just beans, tomatoes, garlic, and sage? But they were completely different — savoury, silky, and…
I ate this Tuscan Wild Boar Ragù dish at a restaurant in Florence. It was so good – the sauce darker and richer than anything I’d ever made at home. And I kicked myself for not asking how it was made. Undeterred, I emailed the restaurant and asked…
These Italian rosemary potatoes (Palate alla rosmarino) taste great and they go very well with almost any meat based main course. Especially in the Autumn and Winter months, when Secondi typically have more robust flavours. These Italian style potatoes are one of the easiest Italian side dishes to…
Stinco di maiale is a traditional recipe from Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. This northeastern region in Italy is famous for its mountain cooking and Central European influences. Here, pork knuckles are slow cooked until tender, with crisp golden skin and rich, savoury flavour. It’s similar to the Austrian Schweinshaxe. But the Friulian…
Trippa con Patate alla Calabrese is a spicy tripe recipe of tripe with potatoes. It comes from the heart of Calabria, one of Italy’s spiciest and most tradition-rich regions. This Italian tripe recipe has been cooking away in the Calabrian hills for generations. Tripe and potatoes simmering gently in spicy…
Pappa al pomodoro is a rustic tomato and bread soup from Tuscany. This humble Tuscan dish turns stale bread and ripe tomatoes into a rich, velvety soup. It’s simple, hearty, and packed with flavour. And of course, like most Tuscan recipes, it wastes nothing. It ‘s a real…
Asparagus risotto (risotto agli asparagi) is one of Liguria’s best springtime dishes. It’s fresh, creamy, and packed with seasonal flavor. In Liguria, people wait all winter for tender green asparagus to show up at the markets. When it does, they turn it into a dish that celebrates the…
Trippa all’Aretina (Arezzo tripe) is a tripe dish that is cooked in a meat ragù, finished with lemon zest and juice. It sounds like two separate meals collided in the best possible way – and that is more or less what happened. Arezzo sits in the south-east of Tuscany,…