I wrote this piece quite some time ago – but I recently came across a picture of Paolo and it brought me back to that day spent making pizza with him – a day that is etched into my mind…. Paolo sadly passed away in 2015. Pizza with Paolo The heat is intense –… Read More Pizza with Paolo T.
There’s a stillness and quite in the hills above Osunti….it feels like a familiar blanket draped around tired shoulders. The earth is dark, red and volcanic, its unkempt and rugged. There’s a distinct lack of any ‘rank and file’ which is other-worldly and welcome…. … during the occasional day-dream you forget that this is part of… Read More Figs…… and what to do with them.
When you cook with Italians – you don’t actually cook, you’re life gets flipped upside down, you kinda get shunted around, snarled at a lot and prodded with wooden spoons and elegant fingers. I am a dude in a woman’s realm here and I’m ridiculously……..hopelessly….. out of my depth…………. My Italian family live in the… Read More Melanzane parmigiana…The Mafia and an Italian Kitchen
So I’m just back from 10 days in Puglia – Southern Italy – my Sister’s home and my second home! I’ve been back and forward to Italy for the last 30+ years and during that time I’ve had the honor to cook, be cooked for and most recently be invited to work in a… Read More Stuffed Tortelloni – this is pasta work for the advanced!
I spend about 4 weeks in Italy every year and each time I am taught something incredible by my Italian relatives in Puglia – literally standing over Nonna Macchitella’s shoulder as she deftly creates incredible Southern Italian classics. These bad boys will knock your socks off – Gnocchi or ‘little lumps’ are an amazing alternative… Read More Herb and cheesy Gnocchi
The Bicycle Thief 