Panzanella tiepida - Tepid Tomato and Bread Salad

Panzanella is a summer salad from Tuscany, made with stale bread mixed with plenty of raw tomatoes, red onions, peppers and cucumber, basil, and dressed with oil and vinegar.

Riso integrale e lenticchie - Brown Rice and Lentils

Rice and lentils combine very well together and even better when you use the brown rice.

Uova in Purgatorio - Eggs in Purgatory

The Eggs in Purgatory is a traditional recipe from Naples, where the eggs are poached in a tomato and onion sauce. I like to make the dish a bit more interesting by adding other ingredients, such as olive taggiasche, crumbled goat cheese and plenty of basil. If you make it in summer, you will enjoy the unique sweetness of ripe tomatoes and of fresh red onions.

Insalata di melanzane e pomodori - Aubergine and Tomato Salad

Aubergines are sweet and tender in summer, becoming a perfect ingredient for a refreshing salad. They bring the best of Mediterranean flavour.

Panzanella

Panzanella is the Tuscan bread and tomato salad. We used to have it for lunch in Forte dei Marmi, in the hottest summer days. Refreshing and light, it is a typical dish from cucina povera that we can find in all the Mediterranean cuisines, with plenty of variations.

Our domestic panzanella was quite versatile too, as it had to satisfy a crowd with different tastes. The grown ups loved spring onions, cucumbers and even yellow peppers in their panzanella, whereas the children preferred the plain one, with just tomatoes, basil and rocket. To please everybody, panzanella was always served in different versions. 

Pomodori ripieni - Stuffed Tomatoes

In London, summer comes and goes. Today it was summer and I made one of my favourite summer dishes: tomatoes stuffed with rice.

Testaroli al pesto

Testaroli are an ancient dish from the Lunigiana region, a valley between Tuscany and Liguria. Simply made of flour and water, they are pancakes that turn into a delicious pasta, dressed with pesto.

Melanzane Rosse di Rotonda con Pasta - Red Aubergine Pasta Sauce

I discovered the red aubergines from Rotonda - a village in Basilcata - in London. I had never heard of them before. They are so beautiful that I kept them for days in the center of my dining table before deciding to cook them. 

Bruschetta

Bruschetta comes from the Italian  bruscare, which means “roast over coals”. In Tuscany, thick slices of farmers’ bread were lightly toasted, rubbed with garlic cloves, seasoned with salt and pepper, and then drizzled with the new crop olive oil. 

Sometimes, fresh chopped tomatoes were served as topping. 

Minestra Farro e Ceci - Farro and Chickpea Soup

Farro and chickpeas are two ingredients already popular in ancient Roman cuisine. Combined with tomato comfit, they turn into a tasty and colorful soup, enjoyable at the end of summer. Serve with plenty of fresh herbs.

Pizza

I made pizza on Saturdays for years since we moved to London in the early 90s. My son loved it as it was a reminder of his roots and gave him the pleasure of conviviality. 

I prepared the dough in the morning and thanks to our double oven, I was able to serve pizza for a crowd of children and grow-ups. We made many new friends around our pizza Margherita. We kept it simple, without olives, anchovies, capers, in order to please everybody. 

Insalta Quinoa e Pomodoro - Quinoa and Tomato Salad

Quinoa is an ancient staple food from the Andes, but a new entry on Western tables. In London quinoa has become increasingly trendy over the last few years. Rich in proteins, minerals and fibres, it’s a gluten-free crop, which looks like a small grain or a tiny lentil, but is neither a cereal nor a pulse. Something in between. It is the perfect, healthy ingredient to accompany any vegetable, meat or fish.