Salvia fritta - fried sage leaves

Very few know how exciting fresh sage can be. It is undoubtedly unique chopped and mixed with mashed onions and breadcrumb to flavour the dull turkey or scattered among roasted potatoes with sprigs of rosemary for a truly Mediterranean spirit.

In Siena we fry it. Can you eat raw sage?!? Yes you can, no worries. Sage is not toxic. In fact I remember the many times my mother extolled the many virtues of salvia officinalis...

Sage, or salvia (from *salvare, to save) acts as an anti-inflammatory, relieves soar throat or tooth ache, calm stress and even improves memory. I bet you won't throw away your salvia now..

Carciofi alla Romana - artichokes in Rome

I always come back energized every time I have been in Rome. It might be the chaos, the nonsensicalness of the traffic, the cloud of smells and colours, the power of hidden flavours. What astonishes me every time I pay a visit to my favourite European city is the conscious awareness of being Italian.