Fine food & wine under the Tuscan Sun
Swoon over 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 food and wine. A tip: when eating out, or buying produce, look out for the DOP (denominazione di origine protetta) label, which is […]
Italian Heritage Foods – Tuscany DOP
Georgia Pellegrino’s excellent book, ‘Food Heroes’ (2010), examines the importance of traditional methods of growing and preparing foodstuffs. One of my favourite chapters is the one about the centuries-old tradition of dry-curing meat: US Food Standards v. Italian Tradition In 2002, in the interests of food safety, the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) introduced measures […]
Pumpkin Soup
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 […]
Pompia
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 […]
Pesto alla Genovese
Warning: this basil pesto bears absolutely no resemblance to any pesto you’ve even eaten from a jar. It’s 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 into small chunks 1 clove […]
Sardinia
When D H Lawrence visited Sardinia with his wife, Frieda, back in 1921, they weren’t much impressed. Food was scarce, and they found little to eat but cabbage and bread. Some ‘hotels’ were little more than shacks, and yet in Sea and Sardinia he wrote: ‘This land resembles no other place. Sardinia is something else. […]
Estonia
Thanks to its position between East and West, Estonia has often been a battleground. Over the years, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Sweden and Poland have all fought over it. In 1906, when the country was under Russian rule, Louis Kahn’s family moved to the United States. Kahn was five years old. He went on to become one […]
Emilia Romagna
Bologna, Parma, Modena… just some of the fabulous foodie places to visit in Emilia Romagna. One of the best food festivals of the year is Forlimpopoli’s Festa Artusiana. The festival is a celebration of the life and works of Pellegrino Artusi, the ‘Father of Italian cuisine’. In Artusi’s La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangier Bene (Cooking […]
Genoa
One of the best reasons for visiting Liguria (capital, Genoa) is the wonderful food. With its long coastline, the region is renowned for its excellent seafood. Then there are regional products like foccaccia, farinata (a delicious chickpea pancake), Albenga artichokes, salt cod, and, of course, pesto. Pesto championships On 16 April, the capital of the […]
Japan
Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the busiest cities in the world – all neon lights and skyscrapers – but hop on a bullet train and within a couple of hours you could be relaxing at an onsen (hot spring) in a green tea bath, in the middle of a forest, with nothing […]