Cucina Conversations: Fagioli grassi for Carnival
Calabrian proverb: Those who marry are only happy for a day, but those who slaughter their pig are happy for an entire year. It was January 16, the eve of Saint Anthony Abbot’s Day. The family…
A pignatta for Christmas and some lentils to inaugurate 2017
I got lots of lovely presents this Christmas. There was the gorgeous waxed canvas handbag with leather trimming that doubles as a camera bag from TP. Friends, colleagues and students gave me some handmade cards…
Of pigs and panissa
Traditionally, winter is pig slaughtering season in Italy. These days, since the majority of Italians no longer live in the countryside and can easily buy pork and other meats from their local butcher or supermarket,…
Borlotti bean soup and the cult of cucina povera
I am an incurable mangiafagioli or ‘beaneater’. Really though, what is wrong with admitting your passion for one of healthiest, most nutritionally dense foods on the planet? Fibre, protein, folate and iron are just a…