La Buona Tavola

Every year I plant fava beans in my garden and I ask myself, “why?!” The plants take a lot of room in the garden (though they shoot up really quickly, which is fun), the yield is small, and the effort …

The numbers of exports of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese has risen of 13.2% last year, the biggest rise in a decade, the Parmigiano Reggiano consortium. The report said the rise had been achieved despite the “continued problem” of foreign imitations of …

For an afternoon snack, an accompaniment to an after-dinner glass of wine, or tidbits for surprise guests, these biscotti are perfect. Not too sweet, and great for dunking, these little cookies bear a distinct resemblance to Sicily’s famous Biscotti di …

Even if the sweets associated with Italian Easter—colomba, Sicilian marzipan lambs, yeast breads with colorfully dyed eggs baked into them, to name the most familiar—are a memory soon after the holiday, one cake that is emblematic of the season persists …

Springtime is well underway here in Los Angeles! Flowers are fully in bloom mode; the few trees that lose their leaves are leafing out (most poor deciduous trees have difficulty knowing when to lose their leaves and then leaf out …

Every two years Genoa hosts the Pesto World Championship. Hundred competitors from all over the world will prepare Genovese Pesto exclusively with a pestleand mortar, using only traditional, authentic and genuine ingredients. The competition is open to everyone: professionals and …

When I was growing up, I watched my mother poach, roast, bake, or grill the fish my father caught on his weekend expeditions to Long Island’s Montauk Point. Some of the tastiest fish were those that other fishermen tossed back …

It was in a little restaurant in the hills of Tuscany where I tasted my first sformato, a light and savory Italian custard or flan.  The word literally translates to ‘unmolded’ and is great fun to pronounce, especially after a …

Good gardeners always prepare for what the future will bring them. Now is the time to prepare for those succulent asparagus spears that will appear in the spring. Of course, you can grow asparagus from seed but that will take …

The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Bari has launched an extra-virgin olive oil identification system to help tackle fraudulent production and to recognise quality oil, the project’s organisers said on Thursday.   The so-called “In Oleo Veritas” is a tracing …