Torta Pasqualina for my secret guests

It is always interesting to see that what we might consider a banal or unexciting dish turns out to be a real revelation for others.

Last Thursday I was drawing up the menu for Friday Saucepan&Suitcase secret supper and I lingered for quite some time over the recipe of this savoury tart - I was not sure whether my guests would have found it that appealing, after all it is simply a pastry case filled with ricotta and spinach and stuck in it a few hard boiled eggs that appear now and then.

But I am glad I went ahead with this idea. Easter was not such a long time ago and it is after all one of the most popular dishes we make in Italy for this kind of celebrations, particularly if the weather is good enough to let us have a picnic.

Torta Pasqualina, "Easter pie", is originally from Liguria, the horn shape region next to France, but can now be found anywhere in Italy. Almost every table features one of these simple pies which carry strong symbolic ingredients, like eggs, together with local springtime produce, like spinach and beets. It is perfect the day after and that is why it suits un "pranzo al sacco", lunch in a bag, i.e. picnic.

German poppies

I would warmly recommend a weekend in Berlin if you have a bit of time in your hands. The city burst with life and changes. The last time I went it was a huge building site with a neat demarcation between West and East. Today cafes, art galleries, and bars are dotted everywhere. I walked and walked (and walked) all day long zig-zagging the main historical buildings and museums and stopping at the most attractive bakeries for a deserved rest.

 

East is probably the most charming area with its corners of forgotten history and sleepy buildings. The Ampelmann (literally "traffic light man") gives you the ok to cross the busy roads and grab your Berliner wurst or  the traditional but southern Pretzerl that appear at every corner lurking passers-by.

Le frittelle di San Giuseppe for Father’s Day

March has always been one of my favourite months. Winter is almost over, days are slowly growing longer, and there is no pressure of any kind for presents (be it Christmas or Valentine's Day).

But there's also another reason to love March: the frittelle di San Giuseppe. On 19th March, the first day of Spring equinox, every family in Italy celebrates the day of Saint Joseph or Fathers' Day, la festa del  Papa'. In many towns, particularly in the countryside, bonfires are lit to sign the end of the cold and the dark and, in the north of Italy, leftover rice kept in larders during the Winter are used to make little cakes to celebrate the day and break Lent.

Top 10 (or so) Gourmet Corners of Siena

Lately I have found more and more people who have stopped in Siena having even skipped Florence, which is quite surprising being in the classic triangle of "Venice - Florence - Rome". I am delighted to hear that many find Siena prettier than our neighbour guelfa.

Without sounding over-biased, there are certainly smaller hoards of tourists (or at least they manage to blend more with the bricks and the locals)  and the atmosphere is pretty unique. So I thought to compile a list of the best gourmet places which might help all those of you who would like to go back or are planning a trip soon to Siena.

Just in case you doubt my local nose and taste-buds living 600km away from it, I have done my thorough research and checked with a few affecionados who know everything about Siena, where to get the best ham and cheese, where to eat the crunchiest pizza or where to sip the best Vin Santo with a couple of cantucci.

Relaxing with some Norfolk cake

As soon as I see some sun and I feel like resting and unwinding the image of Norfolk with its golden deserted beaches springs up to my mind. What I love of that place is the peace and quiet you can always find. You could walk for hours without meeting a soul and even when you do a mild nod and gentle smile are enough.

Inevitably our number 1 destination is always Wells-next-the Sea. There is still an old fashion atmosphere in that village with its traditional butchers, bakers, and shell shops along the main (and only) road. And the line of children fishing mini crabs with their tiny strips of bacon.

My ABC of Travel

Mette of Italian Notes has kindly asked me to participate in the "My ABC Travel" Series. Being so non-technical it took me three rounds of emails to understand what I was supposed to do. But here it is!

The interiors of Rome

Rome is famous for many things and I don't need to list them. But one thing some people might not be familiar with is its offals, also called "quinto quarto", the fifth part left from the four parts of the animal thus everything else other than the front and the back. These include tripe, lungs, hearts, liver, tail, brain and tongue.

 

(I would like to reassure vegetarians who by now have been taken by convulsions that other type of dishes are also available in Rome like artichokes and courgette flowers - see one of my previous posts. So don't feel disgusted and give up with the idea of eating in Rome!) .

Christmas in the land of the fairies

"And another Christmas is over" as my grand-mother would have said. I always feel quite sad about it. Our tree looks so nice that I might be considering the idea of keeping it till Easter (in my sister's style). But I guess it would simply be wrong - and very weird.

On the contrary of most English people who take their decorations down today, we celebrate the 6th January being Epiphany, the day the Three Kings, who got slightly lost or were very slow, arrived to the manger and gave their gifts to Jesus. In some parts of Italy in fact this is the real day when presents are exchanged - whilst Christmas is only dedicated to food and drinking.

 

A Danish scent of cinnamon

First of all: a belated Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you had a good time eating, drinking, and dozing off. We cooked non-stop for almost a week and everything is now gone! 


The cooking marathon though was only one of the reasons why I disappeared just before Christmas. We also went Copenhagen and soaked up its festive atmosphere and met up with my friend Mette of Italian Notes who cooked a wonderful Danish Christmas meal just for us! But more about this at my next post. 

A Scottish Christmas carol

Dear readers,

I am still alive. I  had not been kidnapped by aliens or lost the use of my hands. Simply far too busy and with so many things to prioritize. Tut, tut, tut....blog writing = top priority. I know, I know but the reality is that these wonderful little posts don't pay the rent or buy Christmas presents - unless you, devoted readers, wish to make a donation....;-D

But I am now back ready to face Christmas and the Italian invasion, as well as presents, turkey, crackers, puddings....and so on and so forth...

If English food is neglected, Scottish food is practically unheard, with the exception of salmon, haggis, and whiskey, which is a real shame as Scots culinary traditions are lost in the midst of antiquity. I admit it, it is all rather heavy but would you not go for a juicy and fatty piece of meat rather than a Mediterranean tomato grilled with herbs that might well refresh you and help your tan but won't warm up your freezing bones?

 

This cake, "Clootie Dumpling",  is a variation on the most known English Christmas pudding - or who knows, perhaps it went from North to South rather than the other way round...after all weren't English invading its northern cousins?