When I was a child, I used to hasten time.
It was summer, and I was already thinking about the moment when I would go back to school. I would buy my diary, the notebooks and a new set of pencils well before I needed them, just for the pleasure of keeping them on my desk, for weeks. I was an enthusiastic pupil.
At the first Autumn rainy days, when a scarf and an extra jumper would suffice, I would take my heavy winter jacket from my wardrobe, as it meant that Christmas was close, very close. Better to be prepared with the right clothes.
Many foreign friends told me that they consider this a very Italian habit, as we tend to dress by the season, rather than by the actual weather. Guilty, Your Honor.
Fast forward to the timid March sun, and I would feel Spring blooming inside me. I would abandon that heavy winter jacket, catch a cold and go immediately back to the jacket in a few days.
I was anticipating time, hastening the seasons, eager to see what would come next.
Cooking taught me to live in the season.
When I started to visit the farmers’ market more often, I realized the importance and the beauty of living the season.
Winter is made for bitter leafy vegetables, artichokes and cabbages, for soups and stews, for bowls crammed with citrus fruits, warm woollen jumpers, and an extra scarf. There’s no point in hastening the season and buying boxes of strawberries that taste like water. It is more sustainable, affordable and satisfying to buy what is in season. Food tastes better and costs less.
Respecting the season creates anticipation, as you know that Spring is behind the corner with its asparagus and tender green peas, with fava beans and baby artichokes. You can wait for that, rejoicing for the time being in caramelizing fennel bulbs in the oven, tossing radicchio with a citrusy vinaigrette or stir-frying bitter leaves with olive oil, garlic and chilli pepper.
I collected here for you 10 recipes from the blog archive to enjoy February, its winter weather and its seasonal vegetables.
Ten recipes to cook this month
Lasagne alla Bolognese. Four elements distinguish lasagne alla Bolognese from other lasagne, typical of the Italian gastronomic culture: fresh green egg pasta, made with spinach; ragù Bolognese, made with beef and pork, simmered for a long time; béchamel sauce and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Ricotta and kale gnudi. There are two crucial ingredients here which can help you ease the anxiety while waiting for your kale gnudi to float to the top: ricotta and cavolo nero, the Tuscan kale. Use well-drained ricotta and squeeze very well the cooked kale. Once you make this, they will be your next success in the kitchen.
Tagliatelle with romanesco broccoli and burrata. The main protagonist is romanesco. You can substitute it with cauliflower or the more common broccoli. However, I find that this wonder of nature, the romanesco, so wonderful in its fractal conformation, also has the most delicate texture and creamy taste compared to the other cruciferous. As for the burrata, the fresh Italian cheese from Apulia that looks like mozzarella with a filling of creamy deliciousness, it can be replaced with stracciatella or small pieces of mozzarella torn with your hands.
Bean and pasta soup. Of the many pasta and pulse dishes in the Italian culinary tradition, something that unites the whole peninsula, from North to South, pasta e fagioli, the comforting bean and pasta soup, is perhaps my favourite. It is as basic in its preparation and ingredient list as it is rich and complex in its taste.
Ossobuco alla Fiorentina, braised veal shank. In Tuscany, we braise it in tomato sauce, with a generous base of battuto – minced vegetables such as onion, carrot, and celery. Serve it with a spoonful of soft polenta, some boiled potatoes, or only a loaf of bread, which will serve both to mop the sauce on the plate and to spread the marrow on it.
Cannellini bean and chicken salad, with pickled giardiniera and radicchio. First make a chicken broth, then with the chicken meat make a salad that sits in between winter and spring, between the soothing comfort of beans and shredded chicken and the freshness of radicchio and pickled giardiniera. It reminds me of those spring days that are still cold, with a sharp wind but a clear sunny sky.
Potato and artichoke gratin. The potato and artichoke wedges cook well covered with breadcrumbs and grated pecorino cheese, which have been soaked in water and olive oil and infused with Mediterranean aromas. It has the smell of home, of days perched in between winter and spring, the comfort of a dish made with simple ingredients which, together, become a soulful meal.
Sausage meatballs cooked in stewed beans. Fagioli all’uccelletto are perhaps one of the most iconic dishes of Tuscan cuisine: it has beans and sausages, cooked together over a gentle heat until the beans become creamy and the sausages do not release fat and flavour. I turned sausages into meatballs, I added crushed fennel seeds, I cooked everything together, then I invited some friends over.
Farro and ricotta tart. This farro tart reminds me of my mum’s favourite rice pudding cake. Still, it hides some surprises: a crumbly shell holds a creamy farro filling, softened by some fresh ricotta, to which I added the grated zest of an orange, to give it a citrusy hint, and a handful of chocolate chips. Yes, chocolate is always a good idea, especially when paired to orange. You can bake it as an afternoon snack, though it would be hard to resist a slice of this tart even for breakfast, or at the end of a family meal on a Sunday.
Tuscan bomboloni. Tuscan bomboloni are typically filled with our crema pasticciera, the thick Italian custard. Unlike krapfen, they are filled once fried: you will need a pastry bag or a decorating syringe, with a thin and round piping nozzle, so that you can easily pierce the bomboloni while they are still warm and fill them with your favourite filling. You can fill them with your favourite jam or compote, with thick custard or chocolate custard, but, please, eat at least one of these bomboloni just like it is, empty, freshly fried, generously sprinkled with sugar, light and airy, with its delicate aroma of lemon.
Are you in the Southern Hemisphere?
Let me tempt you with pasta with tuna, parsley, basil and capers, tuna loaf and stuffed green peppers from the South of Italy.
Cookbook update
At the moment, we’re busy testing and re-testing recipes - baking, kneading, braising, whipping, frying, tasting, and repeat - polishing the book index and falling in love with dishes that go directly into our family cooking repertoire.
I often have a special assistant in the kitchen, who’s ready for her first taste of real food.
Join our virtual cooking classes
We are missing the people we used to meet during our market tours and cooking classes. We had to figure out a new way to share our passion for food, to virtually meet all the food enthusiasts who gave us so much through the years. This is why we launched a virtual Tuscan cooking class on Udemy, an online learning platform.
Tuscan Cooking Class
Traditional recipes, pantry staples and ideas to add to your cooking repertoire.
Learn to cook:
Chicken liver crostini, Fried sage leaves, Tagliatelle, Ricotta and spinach tortelli, Potato gnocchi, Tuna and tomato sauce, Roasted pork loin, Stuffed roasted turkey breast, Roasted lamb, Tuna stuffed round zucchini, Tuna loaf, Fresh peas with garlic and pancetta, Almond biscotti, Olive oil cake, Shortcrust pastry dough, Jam crostata, Shortcrust sandwich jam cookies, Shortcrust Tartlets, Robinia flower fritters.
Includes:
19 step-by-step cooking demonstrations
a PDF with ingredients, tools and instructions of each recipe
free access to upcoming new recipes
lifetime access
Cost: €34,99. Join us here.
[New!] Vegan Cooking Class
Join our course with traditional, authentic recipes, belonging to the Tuscan cooking tradition, that are, at the same time, naturally vegan. It also includes gluten-free options.
Learn to cook:
Chickpea flour cake, Hand-pulled fresh pasta pici with rye flour, Panzanella (tomato bread salad), Pappa al pomodoro (tomato bread soup), Ribollita (bean, Tuscan kale and bread soup), Grilled vegetables, Stewed green beans, Castagnaccio (chestnut flour cake).
Coming soon: Gluten-free potato gnocchi, Sugo finto (herb and tomato sauce), Aglione sauce (garlic tomato sauce)
Includes:
19 step-by-step cooking demonstrations
a PDF with ingredients, tools and instructions of each recipe
free access to upcoming new recipes
lifetime access
Cost: €29,99. Join us here.
I signed up for classes but haven't begun to take them as yet. Your baby is beautiful. I wish you happiness and success.
A very welcomed letter for February! Thank you Juls for this. Within it I found a recipe my grandmother used to make (Bomboloni) and I am so eager to try it. Your adorable baby is so lucky to have you as a mom. Stay well!