Pollo in umido con spinaci, pinoli e uvetta - Chicken Stew with spinach, pine nuts and sultanas

Spinach is a popular ingredient in the Milanese cuisine. It is usually served as a side dish, either just boiled and dressed with oil and lemon, or sautéed, preferably in butter, and sometimes combined with sultanas and pine nuts.

Here in my recipe, I serve pine nut and sultana spinach with braised chicken as a main course, and I dress my dish with saffron and lemon. It is a new combination of traditional ingredients from my hometown kitchen.

Zuppa lenticchie e cavolo nero - Lentil and Cavolo Nero Soup

‘How do you create your recipes?’ people often ask me. ‘Never from scratch’, is my answer. The Italian kitchen shapes my taste and gives me the basics, while my curiosity broadens my repertoire. Different sources inspire my new recipes, such as tradition and contemporary trends, memories and practice, friends’ tips and stories, social networks and television, food magazines and books.
I like to play with ingredients, but without loosing the Italian taste. I feel lost and illiterate outside my own boundaries.