I felt a lot of pressure on the first monthly newsletter of the new year. What will bring the new year? Which are the new resolutions? Are there new exciting projects? Given the unprecedented year we just lived, I don’t feel like making predictions, let alone plans for the future. I want to turn the page, start afresh and keep working with dedication on what makes us feel good.
There will be a new post soon on the blog about the word we chose to guide us in 2021, as it feels less restricting than writing down resolutions and a list of goals for the year.
Do not expect detox recipes, but bright dishes made with seasonal fruit and vegetables: citrus fruit, artichokes and Tuscan cavolo nero are the stars of the 10 recipes I chose for you to cook in January.
You’ll also find a monthly book update, to keep you posted about the next cookbook we’re working on. A quick behind the scenes, curiosities and an honest account of what means writing a book during the pandemic.
This monthly newsletter also brings with it some news. As you have noticed, we changed our newsletter platform. After a few productive years with Mailchimp, we moved to Substack, as this will grant us more freedom to grow, a closer relationship with you, and, in the future, a premium Newsletter. But, for the moment, nothing changes for you. You’ll still receive this newsletter once a month, and the quick and fresh newsletter to notify you when there’s a new post on the blog.
We’re curious to hear your thoughts. You can hit reply and write to us, or, in this new format, you can even leave a comment directly.
Ten recipes to cook this month
Let’s celebrate the citrus season, with its brightness, the joy they add to cold winter days, the liveliness they lend to rich dishes or the depth of flavour they give to the simplest salads. The following recipes show how I use them when I’m not munching on clementines directly from a paper bag coming home from the market, juicing oranges and bergamots in the morning, or zesting a lemon in a cake batter. Along with citrus fruit, January is also the month of cavolo nero, the Tuscan kale, and artichokes.
Artichoke carbonara. Peel the stems until you expose the soft white part inside – if you haven’t ever tried this part of the artichoke, you’ll be surprised, as the stem is where all the flavour is! – and slice them thinly in rounds. You’re going to use the artichoke stems as they were guanciale, or pancetta, in a wintery vegetarian carbonara. If you can not find artichokes with a firm stem, use the artichoke itself to make the carbonara.
Cavolo nero salad with walnuts and oranges. It is mandatory to dress it in advance and massage the cavolo nero thoroughly, to make it more tender and digestible. Make a vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper and a dash of aceto balsamico, pour it over the salad and toss it until perfectly seasoned. Finish with a handful of finely chopped walnuts. Just before serving, drizzle with honey.
Homemade tagliatelle with cavolo nero pesto. The combination of cavolo nero and nuts works magnificently in a winter pesto. Sturdy cavolo nero stands in for summery basil leaves, while a handful of almonds is a suitable replacement for more expensive pine nuts. The result is a dark green, nutty, and slightly bitter pesto that you can toss into a bowl of spaghetti or tagliatelle for a quick weeknight meal.
Paccheri with rabbit ragù. I call it a ragù, a meat sauce, even though it is made without tomato sauce and with a kind of meat you would typically eat pot-roasted, fried or even alla cacciatora, with meaty black olives. Rabbit is a common courtyard animal for families in Tuscany. We usually cook it almost weekly, and even for children, for their first attempts at eating solid food. It makes a tasty, white meat sauce for a Sunday meal, an alternative ragù with the zing of lemon zest and the richness of lardo.
Orange and pancetta Guinea fowl. It is a less noble dish than duck à l’orange, a more familiar and hearty dish. This recipe allows you to impress your guests with a minimal effort because it is easy and fun to make and has a rich taste, a gorgeous taste of holidays given by smoked pancetta and orange, a fruit able to dress up any dish.
Fennel and orange salad. A fennel and blood orange salad is my winter go-to side dish, especially when the main course is either grilled fish or pork chops. When I forget that I have a meal to prepare, this salad welcomes other ingredients and becomes the main dish. My favourite addition is crumbled feta cheese, but I like to add anchovies, herrings, or buffalo mozzarella, too.
Chocolate and clementine olive oil cake. It is an uncomplicated cake, comforting as a friend’s hug or a cup of tea in the afternoon. It has a soft and almost wet crumb, with a thin crisp crust. You can serve it with a dusting of icing sugar, which adds even more charm to its rustic look.
Lemon bundt cake. You mix the cake up in five minutes, then for one hour it fills your kitchen with a festive citrus smell. Do not lose yourself in dreams, though, the cake will disappear quickly, slice after slice: it’s buttery and bright, perfectly balanced. If you have some cake left – alas, I’m not so sure of this – it will be a perfect breakfast on a Monday morning, the kind of start that still retains the memory of the weekend.
Mixed citrus marmalade. This mixed citrus marmalade is balanced and cheerful. You taste the sweetness, the bitterness, an incomparable freshness and the lemon acidity. It makes you love it, and for this reason, it is perfect as a gift because you can enjoy it on toast for breakfast, as a filling for a sponge cake or as an ingredient to glaze a piece of pork.
Candied orange peels. In this article, you will find a detailed procedure to candy your orange peels at home. Then you’ll be able to use in panforte, in cavallucci, and also in a simple citrus pound cake, or you can cut them in strips and cover with melted chocolate. Consider having a pot with peels and syrup on the stove for about ten days: the positive side is that your kitchen will smell incredibly fresh and citrussy for days.
Are you in the Southern Hemisphere?
Let me tempt you with a raw tomato sauce for pasta, a simple arugula pesto, a spicy tomato jam for cheese, and a ricotta and peach cake.
Cookbook Update
As promised, this monthly newsletter will also be where I’ll keep you updated on the cookbook project. We signed a contract with Artisan Books at the beginning of the summer and worked enthusiastically on the index before Livia was born.
Today I want to tell you about a trivial but fundamental tool, that is where I write all my recipes. I’m one of those who still need paper and a pen to feel like they are working on something, to dignify what I’m doing, and keep track of thoughts and ideas.
This is why, as soon as we signed the contract, I bought a notebook. I spent a fair amount of time searching for the perfect notebook: not too small, after all, it had to contain a yearlong project, not too big, as I had to fit it in my bag when travelling (ah! if only).
It’s pink, with flamingos and an inspiring quote: stand tall, darling. I felt as if it was the perfect notebook for this project.
Mindful of the previous cookbooks we had worked on, I knew I needed a place to collect ideas, recipes, notes, and first drafts. I had lost too many recipes written on the back of an envelope to pin all my hopes on good luck. So now, every time I’m testing a recipe or researching the origin of a dish, that notebook is with me. Two months have passed since we started working on the book, and it is already brimming with recipes, sheets of paper, double or triple testings. It’s with me in the studio kitchen, when I’m cooking two or three recipes simultaneously. It’s with me at my desk, next to a lit candle, when I’m trying to focus on writing. It’s with me in our small kitchen in our apartment, when the cookbook recipes become lunch or dinner, when tested in a regular kitchen, as part of a family meal.
Writing a cookbook is an enormous project, but it consists of daily activities and stolen moments. Having a notebook where to collect all the words, the ingredients, the ideas, is a relief: you can empty your mind at the end of the day, and you instantly feel lighter.
Are you a pen-and-paper person, or do you prefer to entrust your first drafts to your computer?
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.