There are tears of joy, sorrow, disappointment, anger, crocodile tears and even chopped vegetable tears. These are traditional tears, a subtle alchemy given by chopped onions, wooden cutting board and a sharp knife. Before blenders there was this ancient ritual of hand-made battuto - vegetables minced by hand on a cutting board that year after year [...]

Posted in Books, Vegetarian Recipes 13 Comments »

A year has passed since I received the first e-mail with the subject proposal by Francesca from Food Editore. I was sitting in the car in a parking lot lit only by street lights, it was almost eight o’clock in the evening and I was waiting for a friend to have dinner out together. There were [...]

Posted in Books 26 Comments »

I met Sarah a few years ago, when Emiko introduced me to her agriturismo, Poggio Alloro, a few kilometres past San Gimignano. I fell in love instantly, I could not find words to describe how peaceful and soulful that corner of Tuscany was. Yet today here we are again: a book, a recipe and my [...]

Posted in Books, Pasta, Tuscan Recipes 22 Comments »

I tend to make lists of things, books, songs and movies to keep a precarious order in my mind. Your top 5 romantic movies, for example. Easy as drinking a glass of water: Pretty Woman, Nottingh Hill, Dirty Dancing, Sleepless in Seattle and Four weddings and a funeral. I did the same with the books [...]

Posted in Books, Other, Summer 19 Comments »

When Domenica asked me to take part to the Food bloggers pasta party to celebrate the launch of her brand new book, The Glorious Pasta of Italy, I was deeply honoured and excited. Why? Just have a look at Domenica’s blog, at her light-hearted yet professional recipes, at her enjoyable and sensitive writing, at her positive [...]

Posted in Books, First course, Pasta, Summer 17 Comments »