What a strange summer this is turning out to be.
On the one hand, it feels as though it has not really begun yet. It is a feeling I share with many friends who, like us, work in tourism and hospitality. Spring got off to a good start, then things slowed down, and the usual summer rush never came. I keep waiting for that moment when everything speeds up and the days begin to tumble one into the next, though I already know it will not happen this year. For us, the busiest period will be in September and October. Perhaps, after years of saying that these are the best months to discover Tuscany, someone finally took us at our word.
On the other hand, though, it feels as if I have been living in summer forever. Perhaps it is because we went on holiday to Salento as early as the end of June, or because ohe heatwaves have followed one another without respite. By now, the days have settled into a precise rhythm, at least when there are no cooking classes: closing the windows and shutters during the hottest hours, turning on the fans, putting everything off until the evening, when at last we can breathe again. The ingredients filling the kitchen, my sun-tanned skin, and that tiredness that comes after weeks of heat all make me feel as though grape schiacciata must be just around the corner.
But it isn’t. There are still full weeks ahead of us, moving from a cooking class to an afternoon spent working on the translation of Vegetables the Italian Way, from a morning clearing out nonna’s house to a session in the kitchen testing new recipes.
Livia still has a couple of weeks of summer camp ahead of her. Then August will come, followed by the first half of September, when she will settle into the same slow countryside summers I knew as a child.
I hope her enthusiasm for this hot season will eventually rub off on me: her love of ice lollies, of running barefoot across grass turned yellow and brittle by the sun, of afternoons spent in the half-light watching a film, waiting for the temperature outside to drop enough for us to venture out again.
Perhaps, through her eyes, I will rediscover a little affection for summer, a season that seems to grow slightly more demanding with every passing year.
What has not changed, though, is my love affair with summer vegetables.
I love the colder seasons, when the warmth of the stove is not only comforting but sometimes even necessary to thaw numb fingers; when the windows mist up as a soup simmers gently; when Sunday lunches stretch lazily into the few sunlit hours of the afternoon, with little cups of piping-hot espresso left on the table among breadcrumbs and the last slice of cake.
And yet nothing quite compares to the freedom of stepping into the vegetable garden, picking a few tomatoes, a cucumber and a couple of eggplants, and improvising dinner.
This is what I love most about summer: its free-spirited nature, with few rules to follow. Meals take shape around whatever the garden offers — or the market, or the fresh produce section of a supermarket — and whatever I happen to find in the fridge, where I always keep a few things ready that only improve as they sit: roasted peppers, grilled eggplants, feta marinated with herbs and spices and, lately, marinated tofu too.
These are ingredients already halfway to becoming dinner. Add some bread, or brown rice, a slice of pizza rossa, a salad, a handful of fresh herbs, and the meal almost comes together by itself.
When I do have to cook, I like to do it with a purpose, thinking ahead to the next few days.
I set aside a couple of hours, preferably on the coolest day of the week, towards the end of the afternoon, in the dim light of the kitchen. I turn on the oven and make use of every shelf: peppers and cabbage roast side by side, while a soup I will later eat cold simmers gently on the stove and, on the front burner, I brave the heat of a cast-iron griddle pan as I cook thinly sliced eggplants.
After a couple of hours, I am ready for a shower. Then I open every window, let in what little breeze has finally begun to stir, and enjoy the satisfaction of a fridge filled with vegetables already prepared, ready to become salads, cold pasta dishes, complete meals or side dishes over the following days, with hardly any more cooking required.
The three recipes I am sharing today, available to paid subscribers, are the ones that have been carrying me through this July, and that I have made again and again during these days of relentless heat: a fresh and versatile barley panzanella, easy to adapt to whatever you have in the fridge; a zucchini and basil soup, which can be made ahead and served warm or cold on the hottest days; and roasted hispi cabbage, crisp around the edges and tender at the centre, a side dish I often make during our summer cooking classes.
They are three simple recipes designed around the idea of cooking once and eating well for several days.
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Barley panzanella
It is almost a paradox for a Tuscan household to run out of stale bread. And yet, between the generous bowls of panzanella that are always so popular during our cooking classes and the almost restaurant-sized quantities of breadcrumbs we use to stuff vegetables
Zucchini and basil soup
Much like the fennel soup I made at least once a week throughout the winter, until my friends at the market pointed out that fennel season was well and truly over, this recipe is almost disarmingly simple.
Roasted hispi cabbage
I am almost certain you have already seen it piled on market stalls or tucked among the vegetables at the supermarket, without knowing what it was called. My farmer friends explained that this cone-shaped cabbage, sweeter and crisper than the round variety, is known in Italian as
What about you? Is there something you always keep in the fridge during the summer? One of those dishes you make once and then eat for days? Tell me about it in the comments: I am always looking for new ideas to help me through the heat.
Before I say goodbye, here are a few things to read, listen to and cook, from the newsletter archive and beyond.
Speaking of not cooking, here is the gazpacho recipe by Julia Moskin from NYT Cooking that I make every summer. Apart from good, ripe tomatoes, the essential ingredient is olive oil. Lots of it. The recipe says it serves 8 to 12, but the six of us polished it off without any trouble today.
And speaking of cabbage in summer, just this morning I came across the latest newsletter from Lulu, from Good Food, Managing Editor of Good Food, devoted to cabbage—especially the summer variety known in the UK as hispi, which is simply a slightly elongated, pointed cabbage. “Cabbage is an all-year-round star veg. It’s easy on the wallet, goes a surprisingly long way, and can be used in a multitude of recipes.” Packed with links!
A Year in a Tuscan Cooking School: July. July is a month of celebrations, birthdays, colours, fresh salads, plenty of vegetables, seasonal fruit and wild herbs gathered from the fields.
If frying does not put you off, try the Calabrian peperonata that my friend Maria Rosa, from the bakery in Colle, taught me to make. It is a summer dish of fried peppers, potatoes and aubergines. Like the best things in life, it only gets better with time.
Roasted eggplant salad. I’ve been making this roasted eggplant salad on repeat during our summer cooking classes. It might even win over the eggplant skeptics, those put off by their texture or flavour, which might turn too greasy, bitter, tough, you name it.
Another summer favourite is macedonia, an Italian fruit salad I often make during cooking classes and prepare for summer gatherings with friends. You might want to read Monica Campagnoli’s newsletter about macedonia, and please make it for your next summer dinner party!
I was a guest on the latest episode of Maggie Hoffman’s podcast, The Dinner Plan. We talked about our latest book, Vegetables the Italian Way, and what I cook in summer, between cooking classes and family dinners; how I plan my grocery shopping; and just how much I love my pressure cooker! She shares the recipes for Parmigiana Bianca di Zucchine (White Zucchini Parmigiana) and Rigatoni al Sugo di Verdure Estive (Rigatoni With Summer Vegetable Sauce).
And one last thing, if you are dreaming of Tuscany… We partnered with The Genuine Experience to design a seven-day experience in Tuscany (April 6-12, 2027): expect market mornings, hands-on cooking, Tuscan hill towns, and slow days spent between countryside, coast, and the Italian table. Learn more about our Tuscany at the Table experience here.
It’s a tough summer, dear Giulia, for many different reasons. But, like you, my love for summer vegetables resists. Thanks for the mention; it’s always a pleasure to read your newsletter. W la macedonia, I think it's a gem among the Italian summer desserts.
I’ll definitely try this soup! Earlier this year, I made up a Crema de Calabacín — Cream of Courgette Soup with Bleu Cheese that I had enjoyed at a Spanish restaurant I like. I enjoy these kinds of dishes so much. I should do a post specifically on puréed zucchini soups! 😂