Creamy Trentino soup with pearl barley and speck : orzetto alla trentina

Orzotto alla trentina

Here is a soup recipe with pearl barley. It is a specialty from Trentino Alto Adige, where my husband comes from. Of course, there is some speck in it, a very special sort of smokey bacon that is so tasty! This Lire la suite

Lilly’s culurgiones, Sardinian ravioli with mint and potatoes

Culurgiones Sardinian ravioli

We had a wonderful time at B&B Monte Lora in San Vito where we had a cooking demonstration with Lilly: we learnt how to make culurgiones, Sardinian ravioli with mint, potatoes and pecorino cheese.   The dough is made with Lire la suite

Chwa, Moroccan lamb roast with cumin tomato sauce

Rôti de chwa d'agneau et sauce tomate au cumin

Do you remember my Moroccan roomies from Barcelona and their amazing spicy recipes? Harira soup, Moroccan chicken, mint tea… Here is another of their recipes: lamb chwa. It is perfect for Easter time. And I think it would be so Lire la suite

Turnip greens fusilli

Fusilli aux fanes de navet

Have you ever heard about broccoli rabe? In Italy, they call it broccoletti in Rome, cime di rapa in Apulia, rapini in Tuscany, mazzareddra in Sicily and friarielli in Naples. It is a green vegetable with bitter taste leaves and buds that look like small broccoli buds. Lire la suite

Adobo marinated pork belly glazed and grilled on the barbecue

Another great recipe from my Tao expeditions in the Philippines. We tasted an incredibly melting-in-the-mouth and savoury meat at the Tao farm’s Kantina in the North of Palawan island. The pork is first simmered for hours to become tender, then marinated Lire la suite

Slow cooked duck with coconut milk and lemongrass

Here is a dish I tasted in the Philippines during my Tao expedition. It was our last night in the remote islands ; we stopped in the sheltered paradisiacal Tapiutan island and slept in a base camp with no running Lire la suite

Deep fried artichoke

This is an Italian specialty, from Rome particularly (carciofi alla giudia). Italians are artichoke lovers. Simply deep fried and served hot with a pinch of « fleur de sel », it is a great and very-easy-to-make starter. I just love it! You Lire la suite

Baccalà alla veronese (Verona style cod)

Baccalà alla veronese is a typical dish from the Verona area made of dried cod stewed in a white wine sauce. It is traditionally served with the famous polenta made of corn semolina. Here is a family recipe from my Lire la suite