Caponata di carciofi - Artichoke Caponata

Caponata is a Sicilian aubergine dish, made from cooked vegetables (onions, celery and tomatoes) seasoned with capers, olives and pine nuts, in a sweet and sour sauce.

I buy two bunches of artichokes today at the market, they looks so fresh, and I decide to make a winter caponata, using artichokes instead of aubergines.

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.

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. 

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.

Vellutata carote e albicocche - Carrot and Apricot Veloute'

To celebrate the apricot season up in the mountain, I made up a carrot veloute' with the fresh apricots I picked from the tree.

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. 

Ribollita

Last chance to prepare ribollita, the traditional Tuscan soup, mainly made with cannellini beans and cavolo nero and served with stale bread. The cavolo nero will be shortly out of season.
This is my family recipe, an inspiration for this popular soup. In fact, our ribollita slightly changed every time we cooked it, according to what we had in the pantry.
However, we always stick to two main rules: we always use dried cannellini, soaked overnight. The tinned ones have no taste and no consistency. We combine cavolo nero with Swiss chard, which brings a sweeter taste, curbing the tangy cavolo nero. 

My One-off Friday Soup

I always cook a soup on Fridays and always a different one, as I prepare it with any vegetables left over in the fridge. I enjoy the feeling of inventing a dish with just what I have, without wasting anything. No recipes on Fridays, just the pleasure of cooking what I like. 

Zuppa d’orzo e lenticchie – Pearl Barley and Lentil Soup

This is my midweek soup, which could last until Friday for my husband and I. We do not get bored as it improves and changes in consistency and flavour every day. 
The combination of pearl barley, lentils and pancetta transforms the dish into a rich comfort food meal. 
Savoy cabbage and leek are essential to sweeten this winter dish. 

Zuppa di pesce a modo mio – My Fish Soup

On Saturdays, I buy my fish from a stall in the farmers' market, where I enjoy going early in the morning in order to get the best choice. Yesterday the fish looked wonderful so I decided to make a fish soup, a simple and quick one with a mixed of firm-flesh fishes plus few prawns. I picked up a wild sea bream and two mullets the fishmonger cleaned for me and I kept the bones and the heads for the stock. 

Minestra lenticchie, zucca e spinaci - Lentil Squash and Spinach Soup

Today I feel like having a soup, a good soup. I will make it with three main ingredients: lentils, butternut squash and spinach. 

Vellutata Ceci e Castagne - Chickpea and Chestnut Veloute

Foto di Giulia Verdinelli

I would put chestnuts everywhere, from soups to desserts,  from meat to fish dishes. 
Here I propose a veloute' recipe I start serving in autumn. It is a delicate and nutritious dish, the perfect comfort food for short and wet days. 

Matuffi

October: time for matuffi.