Food

Il Peposo, also known as Peposo del Chianti or Peposo alla Fornacina, is a deeply delicious beef stew from Tuscany which was traditionally prepared by kiln workers of the Chianti region. The men spent long hours by the kiln making terracotta tiles and …

For centuries, Umbrians have considered game a great delicacy. Besides the more famous wild boar, you might find pheasant, pigeon, or guinea fowl taking the center stage in the menu of an exclusive dinner.  On the other hand, visitors are often surprised …

Here in Umbria spring does not want to arrive this year: it’s cold and wet. The countryside however, is dotted with marvelous flowers. Wisterias and lilac adorn edges and walls, cherry and almond trees look like heavenly clouds. Poppies make …

Bread may be the one Italian food staple that most visitors don’t seem to envy. Over the years I’ve heard all ki Please consider that Italy has hundreds of kinds of bread, most unique to each region. Sardinia offers thin …

Don’t ask an Umbrian to be on a diet after the holidays. We rural folks don’t do diets, especially if they don’t include pork and a glass of red wine. And besides, the Umbrian winter is too boring for salads. …

Every time I make meatloaf I have to think of my friend, AnnMarie. A sophisticated American-Italian journalist from New York, she told me that her mum would serve meatloaf only to close family. Apparently, she did not consider it presentable …

I like to think that pasta is in the Italian genes – we consider it the mother of all foods. Pasta is a prominent memory in many moments of our lives. That tiny star-shaped pasta in your baby soup. Using …

The whole world seems to have a pretty good idea about what a focaccia is. Is a very thick Italian flatbread, right? And what about pizza? Easy! It’s a thin flatbread! Well, as a matter of fact, it’s not so …

One usually associates Roman cuisine with hearty and robustly flavored dishes and, by and large, the image holds true. But there are some exceptions, like today’s offering: stracciatella, a light, and delicately flavored “egg drop soup.” Stracciatella is utterly simple and—if you have …

If you consider Italy’s ancient culinary tradition, it’s quite astonishing that the recipe for tiramisù is not 500 years old. I actually remember my first tiramisù, when it became popular in the early 1980s. Classic coffee tiramisù had just been …