The northern coastal city of Genoa offers so much to delight prospective visitors – not least the selection of renowned (and lesser-known) food and drinks that hail from this area. Here are a few local specialities to try… Photos by Jon Palmer […]
Balsamic vinegar is the lifeblood of Italian cuisine, and one of the nation’s most valuable exports. Here, we taste seven of the best… Casanova two-year-old Balsamic Vinegar of Modena From Puglia Shop Online Price £5.45 for 250ml You know it’s going to be a good balsamic when you see the sediment at the bottom of the […]
Rachael Martin continues her story of what living in Italy has taught her about food, moving on from pasta and risotto to polenta… The days get colder, wild mushrooms are picked and chestnuts roasted. Pumpkins have made their way into shops and risottos. Then autumn is about to give way to winter and Christmas is […]
These cozze e ceci make a delicious starter dish to share with the whole family. Serve with crusty bread to get every bit of flavour from the juices! Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 small red onion, peeled, finely sliced 1 garlic clove, peeled, crushed 150ml dry white wine 1kg mussels in their shells 450g cooked chickpeas 1 tbsp chopped […]
This torta di semolino all’arancia is a delicious, moist cake just waiting to be eaten! Make this as a sweet treat over the weekend – perfect with a cup of tea. Semolina cake with orange syrup Ingredients: 2 large free-range eggs 220g caster sugar 80ml light olive oil zest of 1 orange 250ml orange juice […]
Rachael Martin on what living in Italy has taught her about food: from pasta to risotto and beyond… The first time I made my Italian boyfriend a dish of pasta, he took one mouthful and looked at me. Horrified. Pasta without salt, way up the list of the seven deadly culinary sins as any Italian […]
This apple cake or torta di mele is absolutely divine and a good way to use up those leftover apples! Apple cake/ Torta di mele Ingredients: 4 large apples (1kg) juice of ½ a lemon 2 medium free-range eggs 150g brown sugar 100g wholewheat flour, sifted 100g plain flour, sifted 150ml milk 2 tsp baking powder 3 tbsp […]
This linguine with spicy prawns or linguine con gambrel picanti is a fantastic dish for a midweek meal. Make this for your family this week – you can make it as hot or as mild as you like! Linguine with spicy prawns Ingredients: 320g linguine pasta 400g fresh prawns, shells removed, deveined 2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed […]
Hailing from Emilia-Romagna, the clue is in the name: Parmigiano Reggiano is the ‘king’ of Italian cheeses. We tried seven savoury samples to find our favourite. Parmesan enjoys Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, meaning that similar hard cheeses from other regions – and of varying quality – cannot use its name. As a rule, […]
From shipwrecked sailors in Norway to the tables of Vicenza, Julie Carbonara tells the extraordinary tale of baccalà all vicentina. My mother was a good, plain home cook but fish was not her strong point, which is why Fridays were not my favourite days. You see, in the deeply religious, Catholic Italy of my youth, you were […]