Food

Together with artichokes, zucchini flowers are considered to be a great delicacy in Italy and are used in a variety of dishes. They are especially wonderful served fried or baked as an appetizer. If you have your own vegetable garden, …

Naples has her sfogliatella, the North plays with the Teutonic idea of krapfen, but Rome… Rome has the maritozzo.  You look at it and it’s perfect: golden and shiny, sliced in a half, its creamy filling perfectly levelled all at …

Many years ago, when I was living in the town of Pietrasanta, located on the coast of northern Tuscany, a friend visited from London. Sitting down in a local trattoria, she asked the waiter to surprise her with something traditional. …

I consider myself privileged, as in my family we had the best of two worlds in terms of food. I was born and raised in Umbria, a region famous for superb quality ingredients such as olive oil, truffle, fabulous prosciutto …

Eggplants are a summer staple in our home. I don’t cook eggplants in winter as they are likely to have been grown in a greenhouse, and I find them generally to be spongy and slightly bitter. Here in Umbria, field …

I could become vegetarian any moment of my life, save for a few foods which I passionately like. My mom’s stuffed involtini rolls, a slice of well-aged prosciutto di Norcia and our family’s cotolette served with a green salad and …

While common beans originally come from the Americas, broad beans (fava) have been a staple of European cuisine for thousands of years. In addition to their importance as a food crop, fava beans were considered sacred in ancient Greece and …

Passignano sul Trasimeno is the Portofino of Umbria, minus the glamour. A cone of gelato in your hands is practically obligatory for the ritual passeggiata along the shores of Lake Trasimeno. My fellow Perugians flock to the village on Sunday …

Artichokes, named carciofi in Italy, are edible flowers belonging to the thistle family. They are as iconic of Italy as the Colosseum, the cliffs of Positano, pizza and – of course – a ride in a FIAT 500. To my …

My love for pizza fritta (fried pizza) dates back to the years of high school. One of my best friends’ dad was from Naples and he would make it quite regularly: tales about how good it was were legendary. My …