Porchetta – An Italian Food Classic

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Italy, Recipes

Porchetta Van at Greve-in-Chianti

Porchetta – An Italian Food Classic One of the joys of cuisine in Italy is finding mobile food vans selling hot Porchetta, especially on weekends and national holidays. I recommend that you ask if there’s a van visiting nearby wherever you stay in Italy. It might be at a market or village celebration. Sometimes the regular vans are pitched on the …

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Lockdown Linguine – A Recipe for Social Distancing

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Recipes

Lockdown Linguine

Lockdown Linguine – A Recipe for Social Distancing Lockdown Linguine is a delicious, simple pasta recipe, which also happens to be brilliant with a bottle of white wine, and it only takes 10-15 minutes to make. It’s Italian-style, though I don’t know if there’s an Italian name for it.  Here it’s called Lockdown Linguine, as much for the alliteration as anything. …

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Tuscan Salad: Insalata di Fegatini di Pollo

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Recipes

San Gimignano Anteprima, Tuscan Vernaccia white wine

Tuscan Salad: Insalata di Fegatini di Pollo Here’s a simple Tuscan salad recipe that’s cheap, quick and easy. I first tried it in a restaurant in San Gimignano while attending their Anteprima, where the new Vernaccia wines are previewed and judged. However, it’s also available in many UK Italian restaurants. While the English translation is Warm Chicken Liver Salad, that simply …

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Fancy a nibble?

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Recipes

Fancy a Nibble?

Fancy a Nibble? While staying in Savoie in France, I discovered a genius cold hors-d’oeuvre that’s quick, cheap and easy. Here’s a colourful nibble that’s also brilliant with a wide range of wines, whether white, rosé, sparkling or sherry. What you only really need is a courgette, aka zucchini. My example of this is vegetarian, but it’s easy enough to create a …

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Seasonal Eating: soon time for Samphire

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Recipes

Fresh Samphire

Seasonal Eating: Soon time for Samphire I consider myself blessed to have a Fishmonger that turns up every week at the local market. When in the season, he includes a couple of handfuls of emerald green samphire for free. In Britain, Samphire grows naturally in muddy salt-water marshes and estuaries around the coast. It’s a seasonal delicacy, at its best …

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Recipe: Spaghetti alla Norma, a real taste of Sicily

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Recipes

Spaghetti alla Norma, Sicily

Recipe: Spaghetti alla Norma, a real taste of Sicily A big bowl of Spaghetti alla Norma is truly the essence of Sicilian cuisine. I first ate it in Ragusa many years ago. It’s a tomato and aubergine pasta heaven that forms a regular part of my diet. Hearty and healthy, it’s so foolproof to make that even I can do …

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Eat Amatriciana for Amatrice

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Food, Italy, Recipes, Travel

Amatriciana for Amatrice

Eat Amatriciana for Amatrice By now, many of us will have seen the devastation caused by the earthquake in Central Italy this week. The epicentre was close to the town of Amatrice. It’s famous for the Amatriciana pasta sauce central to Roman cuisine. To add insult to injury, Amatrice was preparing for its 50th annual festival celebrating their traditional dish this …

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