Food

  Puglia is the hot vacation destination for food lovers traveling to Italy, and it is no wonder. The land of Trulli houses and semolina is also home to some of Italy’s most wonderful pasta traditions, among them stracenate, small …

What’s the difference between a pizza made by a pizzaiolo and a frozen one? According to Coldiretti, if all the ingredients are made in Italy, the pizza is going to be as authentic as any other. Indeed, giant Italpizza and a …

The Romans will be breaking hearts this April. Artichoke hearts, that is, to give to festivalgoers at their annual artichoke festival. The “Sagra del Carciofo Romanesco”, will occur the weekend of April 12-14 in Ladispoli. Lazio. First celebrated in 1951 …

The heart of the holiday season has passed, but there is still some celebrating to be done and special meals to be enjoyed.  By now we are all looking for lighter desserts, something out of the ordinary.  Try a wine …

A few years back, I was on a mission to visit as many of the islands of Italy as I could.  I still have quite a few to go but managed to visit Sardinia, Capri, the Aeolian islands, the little …

Risotto, once the province of the finest Italian restaurants and saffron, once the province of royalty come together to make one of Milan’s signature dishes, risotto allo zafferano.  Starch, wine and broth are transformed into the color of monk’s robes …

Spring is here, but that does not mean we have to leave hearty ragus behind.  I decided to make spinach garganelli and sauce them with the ragu.  The handmade garganelli make this dish special enough to serve at any celebration …

Artichokes. Fava beans. Asparagus. Peas. Ramps. Spring’s glorious bounty is finally here after a long winter of turnips, potatoes, rutabagas and butternut squash. Don’t get me wrong – I love my root vegetables in the dead of winter but one …

I grew up calling these beans garbanzos.  But they have several names, chickpeas and ceci among them.  They are widely consumed in middle eastern countries and India and have long been a staple in Italian cuisine where they are served whole or …

When the editor of this newspaper invited me to contribute articles about food, I was pleased to accept. Here, I can feel liberated to write about my passions and prejudices knowing that I am among kin. My audience will, I …