Posts
In 2020, it will be 250 years since Australia was ‘discovered’ by Captain James Cook. We now know that the land mass was already inhabited with more than 500 Aboriginal tribes. In fact, humans had been here for more than 60,000 years. The First Nations have a tradition of using fire to burn vegetation. Known…
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Film director, Federico Fellini, created such masterpieces as La Dolce Vita (winner of the Palme d’Or in 1960), and 8½ (listed by Sight & Sound as the 10th greatest film of all time). And four of Fellini’s films appear in the BBC Culture’s poll to find the 100 greatest foreign-language films. Fellini Museum This year Rimini will celebrate 100 years…
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Capital of Culture Parma is the Italian Capital of Culture in 2020. Throughout the year, events will be held all around the university city in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region. Happy as a pig… Tastebuds should be tingling as soon as you arrive in the ‘Food Valley’ where the pig (il porco) is king. Who hasn’t…
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Cooking Science and the Art of Eating Well In La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangier Bene (1891), Pellegrino Artusi considered the scientific role of food in well-being. Was his interest sparked by a near-fatal visit to Livorno in 1855? After eating a bowl of minestrone, Artusi suffered terrible stomach pains. Days later he discovered…
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Swoon over Chianti’s rolling hills covered in serried vines and bordered by pencil-thin Cypress trees. Explore exquisite medieval walled villages, and luxuriate in ancient spas, then release your inner gourmand with fine Tuscan DOP food and wine. A tip: when eating out, or buying produce, look for the DOP (denominazione di origine protetta) label. Only…
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Tuscany’s DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) is the ‘protected status’ label applied to Pecorino cheese, Prosciutto ham and Chianti olive oil. The DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) labels are applied to wine, and are intrinsic to Italian heritage food and wine. In ‘Food Heroes‘, Georgia Pellegrini explores…
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For a cheap, delicious, spicy, warming, hearty and healthy winter soup, this recipe for pumpkin soup is an absolute winner. And it only takes 15 minutes to make! Add chilli for heat, and turmeric as it’s an excellent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Don’t peel the pumpkin as it contains plenty of vitamin D (essential at this time…
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It’s a fruit. You’ve never heard of it? Not surprising as it’s one of the rarest fruits in the world. However, thanks to the inclusion of pompia in various Sardinian desserts and liqueurs, the fruit survived. Its scientific (and pretty accurate) name is Citrus monstruosa. But it could just as easily be known as Citrus…
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Warning: this basil pesto bears absolutely no resemblance to any pesto you’ve even eaten from a jar. The traditional pesto of Genoa is tangy (basil, garlic), nutty (pine nuts), salty (Pecorino) and fabulously slithery (plenty of extra-virgin olive oil). 40gm basil leaves (ideally home-grown) 120gm Pecorino cheese (or similar, such as Parmesan), grated or cut…
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