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Category Archives: peasant cooking
I Found my Apulian Fava
Surrealism is a near daily overly used and, worse, largely misunderstood term. When you walk into London’s Queen’s Club, past three shiny patent leather black Maybach’s into a simple dining room overlooking immaculate tennis courts to meet Peppe Zullo – that’s surreal. Maybach’s stand for vulgar … Continue reading
Posted in Alcohol, Alliums, Archaeology and Food, Aubergine, Blue Collar Gastronomy, Eggplant, Food of the Ancients, Ligurian, melanzane, Origins of our food, peasant cooking, Pugliese, Real Italy, Southern Italy, Terroir, The Moors
Tagged 'Burnt Flour', 3000 year old olive trees, An Appetite for Puglia by Christine Smallwood, Antonio Tomassini, Apulia, Cacioricotta, Crema di Fava, Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome, Farina Brucciato, Grano Arso, Mosto Cotto, Olive Oil, Orcchiette (Little Ears), Peppe Zullo, Primitivo di Salento, Puglia, Pugliese, Rosario Didonna, Taranto, Wild Chicory
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The Monogamous Fowl of the L’Aude
Guinea fowl have intrigued me for more than their flavour since I first encountered them en-masse in the L’Aude region of SW France – I could have written ‘en-floc’ (read below for why). We used to rent a house there … Continue reading
Posted in Chicken, Great Chefs, Guinea Fowl, peasant cooking, Simple Food, South West French Cuisine, Terroir
Tagged Blue Collar Gastronomy, Castelnaudary, Edith Piaf, Guinea Fowl, L'Aude, Lauragais Farmers' Cooperative, Les Agrumes, Maize, Melon, Michel Guerard, Pintade, Quail, Sun Flowers
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Happy Birthday, Mr Anthony Blake – Food Photograher par Excellence
Today is a very special day for true gastronomy. One of the world’s finest food photographers – in my view – celebrates his 82nd glorious year today – and he’s down in his Devon farmhouse nursing a sick, injured dog. His … Continue reading
Posted in Blue Collar Gastronomy, Chicken, Food travel, Great Chefs, London Dining, peasant cooking, South West French Cuisine, Terroir, Venice
Tagged Albert Roux, Anne-Sophie Pic, Anthony Blake, Cucina Venziana, Freddy Giraudet, Gary Rhodes, Gascony, Gino Santini, Great Chefs of France, Jacques Pic, Michel Roux (Snr), Michelin Stars, Paul Bocuse, Robert Fresson, Roger Verge
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Eureka. I found ‘Fregola’ in Lewisham, London
The thrill of finding something entirely new is high octane. Amongst the pulses, grains and bagged rice on the bottom shelf of Gennaro’s, sweet ristretto con medicino in hand, I fell onto ‘Fregola’. Pasta not Strawberries Not a strawberry (fragola), but an … Continue reading
Posted in Best Pasta, Blue Collar Gastronomy, Food of the Ancients, Food travel, Ingredients, Nonna's Cooking, Origins of our food, Oysters and Shellfish, peasant cooking, Real Italy, Salad, Techniques, Terroir, The Moors, Tomato Sauce for Pasta
Tagged Cagliari, Clams, Fregola, Fregula, Gennaro's, Nonna's Kitchen, Sardinian Cooking, The Moors
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Falling in Love Again – with Tomato Puree
For years I never used tomato puree, preferring instead to reduce cans of chopped Italian tomatoes – or fresh, on those rare occasions you can find them sun ripe and in sufficient quantity. In these past few months tomato puree has re-entered … Continue reading
Fennel is Escargot-ville
On welcome wet afternoons in the Lauragais in the far off days that were the 80s, when 3-4 week summer holidays were both possible and civilised – and wet afternoons a rarity unless the weather was stormy - we began to … Continue reading
First, Steam your Confit
This piece is a bit random. A kind of memory fall-out, allow me a madeleine moment gently prompted by Tilly from Spectator who mentioned how much she liked my stuff posted already on the magical Sud-Ouest – Musketeers, Cathars, Crusaders, open rugby and Spanish … Continue reading