Exactly three months ago today I was travelling to the UK for work and to see my two grown up daughters and grandson Rex. A few weeks earlier I’d returned from a work trip to The Philippines which I’d combined with an opportunity to learn about some of the delicious but entirely unfamiliar dishes of…
Category: Europe
Elderflower cordial
Foraging is one of my new favourite things. There is something immensely satisfying about returning home from a walk with a handful of beautiful flowers or leaves and turning them into something delicious. In the last few weeks I’ve made pesto from wild garlic and sugary fritters from the flowers of the acacia tree. This…
Fritta di acacia
Whilst walking in the Italian countryside this weekend I noticed just how many beautiful, creamy acacia flowers there are hanging in bunches from the trees that line the roadsides. Maybe it was the lockdown and the slower pace of life with which its come to be associated, maybe it was the burst of Spring sunshine…
Wild garlic pesto
Last week the Italian government announced that we would be free to take our exercise in the mountains for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown began on 9th March, which meant a trip this weekend to the foothills of the Italian Alps just a few kilometres from our home. The weather wasn’t great but…
Pizza ortolana con pesto
When my children were young I used to make pizza almost every week. We lived in the Welsh hills and there wasn’t a pizzeria for miles. My son Dylan would take the orders, scribbling down the selected toppings of household members, whilst I kneaded the dough. It became something of a weekly family ritual. Since…
Cinzia’s tiramisu
Last weekend I had an online cookery lesson with Cinzia in Florence booked through Travelling Spoon. Cinzia taught me how to make a delicious ravioli with zucchini and garlic sauce but at the same time she also had me making tiramisu. My kitchen is very small and I struggled at times to find sufficient bowls…
Ravioli with zucchini and garlic sauce
Although I live in Italy and have eaten (and loved) Italian food almost all my adult life, I’ve never actually tried to make my own pasta. Today I put that right with thanks to an online cooking lesson with Cinzia in Florence booked through Travelling Spoon. Together we made ravioli stuffed with ricotta and nutmeg…
Lockdown cauliflower cake
So this week my friend and mentor Jenny shared an old Ottolenghi recipe which means that cauliflower is back on the menu again! This is somewhere between a savory cake and a quiche made with both eggs and flour. I particularly like the fact that this dish can be sliced up and put in the…
Cauliflower, leek and Gorgonzola cheese
Here in Northern Italy we are heading into week four of our COVID-19 lockdown and after a busy work week of project management and video calls it’s nice to be able to spend some time in the kitchen cooking up some veggie comfort food. I made this dish with a Romano cauliflower which is truly…
Polenta with pumpkin, mushrooms and sage
So this was a difficult week for everyone but perhaps especially for those of us living in Italy who, over the course of just a few days, lurched from facing ‘red zones’ in the North to complete ‘lock down’ as the country battled to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). For me personally it meant…
Ese ne tekrema 