Polpette di pollo. Chicken Boulettes

I like meatballs because they give me the chance to combine different ingredients - herbs, spices, bread, egg, vegetables, cheese -, to play with different flavours and the final result is  never too 'meaty'. 

Zuppa castagne e cavolfiore - Chestnut and Cauliflower Soup

Here I propose an hearty soup for these cold days. Chestnut is one of my favourite winter ingredients I add to many recipes.  Nutritious and comforting, the chestnut soup could easily be served as a main course. 

Farinata di ceci - Flat Chickpea Bread with Rosemary

The Ligurian farinata, also know as cecina in Tuscany, is a thin and crispy flat bread, made of chickpea flour, water and oil. You eat it piping hot with chopped rosemary in Liguria and a simple twist of the pepper mill in Tuscany. 

Insalata fregola e ceci - Giant Couscous and Chickpea Salad

Our eating has changed in the last decade. Now grains and pulses combined with a variety of vegetables don't have to be 'sides' to meat or fish, but are regarded as a main course. 

Moreover, the range of uncommon ingredients we eat and we creatively combine - dried fruits, seeds and nuts in savoury dishes; pomegranate seeds and molasses in salads, specific varieties of chillies and spices in soups, risotto and pasta - has grown, making food more interesting and inventive.