Making Tracks, Part 3: to Lake Como

Two decades ago Rachael Martin arrived in Italy, exploring the country by rail and dreaming of rooms with a view. Twenty years, one Italian husband and two kids later, she still has the memories of those first voyages of discovery… Photos by Rachael Martin I start off in Lecco, at the southern tip of Lake […]

Frittata

This no-fuss Italian omelette recipe uses asparagus, potatoes and cheese, but the beauty of the dish is that you can include pretty much any ingredients you fancy… The frittata is simply an Italian version of the omelette. It’s a no-fuss dish, with no hard and fast rules when it comes to adding fillings. It’s the […]

Homes in Abruzzo

Abruzzo is spacious and unspoilt, and has some of Italy’s best-value property – it’s little surprise that the market is hotting up right now By Fleur Kinson. Photos by Getty   Halfway down the eastern side of the Italian leg, Abruzzo confidently unfurls between the high Apennines and the blue Adriatic. This is a region […]

Spinach lasagne

Green spinach pasta is probably the most popular and widely used flavoured pasta and this lasagne from Mario Matassa is a great way to showcase its charms… Spinach (spinaci) is one of the best-loved of all Italian vegetables and finds its way into many different dishes. Part of the reason for its popularity is its […]

Cuttlefish tagliatelle with spicy squid sauce

Cuttlefish is very popular in Italian cuisine and its ink can be bought in small packets in supermarkets or Italian speciality stores – here’s a great recipe to showcase its flavour Cuttlefish (seppia) is very popular in Italian cuisine. In the past the ink sac of the cuttlefish was used by artists, thereby giving its […]

Chocolate pappardelle with wild boar ragù

Love pasta? Adore chocolate? It turns out that the two can be deliciously combined – Mario Matassa shows us how in this meaty recipe that’s bursting with flavour Serves 4 Preparation time 50 minutes, plus resting Cooking time 2 hours 45 minutes Cinghiale (wild boar) is one of the most prized meats in Italian cuisine, and every time it […]

Tomato spaghetti with tomato and mozzarella sauce

Give pasta a glorious colour and add a Mediterranean kick to the flavour using tomato purée… Mario Matassa’s spaghetti recipe shows you how! It should come as no surprise to hear that we Italians eat more pasta than any other nation in the world. The International Pasta Organization estimated that Italians eat on average 28kg […]

Making Tracks, Part 2: to Rome

Twenty years ago Rachael Martin arrived in Italy, exploring the country by rail and dreaming of rooms with a view. Twenty years, one Italian husband and two kids later, she still has the memories of those first voyages of discovery… Photos by Rachael Martin   “What can I get you?” the woman on the other […]