When I was a child in the late 1960s many homes, including the one of my Umbrian grandmother, didn’t have an oven and took their bread to the bakery for cooking. Easter was an especially busy time, with women preparing Torta di Pasqua, a leavened cheese bread traditionally served for our hearty Easter breakfast. In… Continue reading Torta di Pasqua, an Umbrian Easter bread
Now it’s time to start writing about food again. This is one of those recipe I make during cooking classes when we want to explore how to transform simple ingredients into a sumptuous meal. Admittedly truffle is not “simple” but you might still have a jar from your holidays in Umbria or Tuscany. If not, omit and the results will be delightful nevertheless.
Do you already make spinach pie? If you don’t, you must hurry as this is the simplest one-dish dinner you can make besides a plate of pasta. I learned the original Serbian recipe from my artist friend Natasa Karanovic when we were living the bohemian life in the country of windmills and houseboats. Ah, the… Continue reading hot-water pastry spinach pie
I fell in love with colored pasta this summer. May be because I have had so many adorable children taking part at our cooking classes. They love surprises. I have had giggling babies who obviously did not cook but seeemed to enjoy every minute of the action. One slept peacefully in a sling on the… Continue reading green ravioli with zucchini, ricotta, lemon-butter and honey
COLOMBA PASQUALE FATTA IN CASA. You may not be the most beautiful dove but you have a sweet, buttery heart. You may not be not the softest but I have made you with stone-ground artisan flour, organic sugar and eggs, homemade candied orange peel and only 1/4 teaspoon yeast. I’ve made you with love and all the necessary… Continue reading Traditional Italian Easter dove bread
Every time I make meatloaf I have to think of my friend AnnMarie. A sophisticated American-Italian from New York, she told me that her mum would serve meatloaf only to family. Apparently she did not consider it presentable to guests due to its lack of elegance. The remark caused a certain level of worry as… Continue reading broccoli meatloaf
I spent my youth in a huge house overlooking my hometown Perugia. My parents where civil servants and in their free time took care of the large garden, the olive trees and the pets. To be precise, my father took care of breeding the pets and my mother fought against the proliferation of pets. We… Continue reading chicken alla cacciatore a.k.a hunter style “in bianco”
