Cooking with an Italian accent

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 The best way to understand the Tuscan pastry art is to have a walk in Siena with an open mind, following the trail of spices, paying attention to the colours and to the ingredients of the baked goods arranged in the shop windows of bakeries, cafés, and pastry shops. The Tuscan pastry art isn’t show stopping, elegant, refined or elaborate, as you would say of the French patisserie or oven of the Southern Italian pastry art of Sicily and Naples. In this episode, we will delve into the Tuscan pastry art, discovering how seasonal it is, how strongly related to Cucina Povera, and how it shows a lasting influence of Medieval and Renaissance ingredients, spices, and traditions. So now listen to the episode, join the conversation online, and enjoy this little taste of Tuscany sweet treats. Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 In today’s episode we’re travelling southward, towards the heel of the boot of the Italian peninsula, Salento. Today’s guest is Nina Gigante, a wellness, food, and travel journalist, and a qualified holistic nutritionist. While we were in Salento to visit Tommaso’s family, I was continuously texting Nina to have advice on where to go, shop, and, guess what, eat. Thanks to her tips we discovered my favourite brioche in Salento. In the following conversation, you’ll hear us talking about what is home for Nina, what she likes about Mediterranean cuisine, and what to see, where to eat, and what to buy in Lecce. Nina will also give us a tip to visit a less known turquoise lake surrounded by a Martian landscape right there, in Salento. So now listen to the episode, join the conversation online, and enjoy this little preview of what a holiday in Salento feels like. Learn more about Nina Gigante here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nina_giga Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 In this episode of Cooking with an Italian Accent, we travel to the mountains to visit my friend Vea Carpi. She is a cook, a farmer, a sourdough baker, and passionate about wool. She has a maso up in the Trentino mountains and an agritourism with her family. We are both from Tuscany, but we met there, in her farmstead, where we were greeted as part of her family. We attended one of her sourdough baking courses and learnt about her life in the mountains. In the following conversation, you’ll hear us talking about bread and wool, and what they have in common, about Alpine cuisine and local ingredients, about sustainable tourism in the Alps, and day trips to Valle dei Mocheni. So now listen to the episode, join the conversation online, and enjoy this little preview of what a holiday in Trentino looks and tastes like. Learn more about Vea Carpi here: Web site: https://www.masdelsaro.it/en/homepage/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mas_del_saro/ Vea’s book, Pasta Madre: https://masdelsaroshop.bigcartel.com/product/la-mia-pasta-madre-il-pane-i-dolci-la-vita-in-montagna-ed-raetia-2020 Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 In this episode of Cooking with an Italian Accent, as promised, we have a guest that will guide us through one of the most beautiful Italian regions. This region recently filled your imagination with postcard-like maritime views, bowls of trofie al pesto and Vespa rides thanks to the latest Disney Pixar movie, Luca. Today we’ll go to Liguria. Today’s guest is Enrica Monzani, known online as A small kitchen in Genoa, food writer, soon cookbook author, and cooking class instructor in her beautiful hometown, Genoa. We talk about Liguria, Cinque Terre, and other Ligurian hidden gems, about recipes and anchovies, lots of anchovies, about Genova and its street food. Enrica also gives us a little anticipation about the cookbook she is writing: mark your calendar because you’ll want that book. So now listen to the episode, join the conversation online, and enjoy this little preview of what a holiday in Liguria tastes like. Learn more about Enrica Monzani here: Web site: https://www.asmallkitcheningenoa.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asmallkitcheningenoa/ Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 This is the first episode of our second season, a special summer edition, a short collection of 4 episodes. In this episode of Cooking with an Italian Accent I switched role and asked our friend Valentina Dainelli, known on line as ToomuchTuscany, to be the host of this conversation: I felt it would have been much more interesting for you than listening to a soliloquy. The occasion is my 40th birthday, and we had a little online celebration. We talked about recipes and cakes, about Livia, about our job and how the pandemic affected our business. Then, we moved to talk about Tuscany and sustainable tourism, one of the main themes of this special edition. I’m sharing my favourite destinations for a quick trip, and a few tips to better enjoy Tuscany. - Join our newsletter here: https://julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe - Join our on-line cooking classes here: https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscan-cooking-classes/virtual-tuscan-cooking-class - Learn more about our in-person cooking classes here https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscan-cooking-classes Books we mentioned: - Dan Barber, The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food. Recipes mentioned in this episode: - Roasted Pork loin: https://en.julskitchen.com/main/meat/arista-roast-loin-of-pork Learn more about Valentina Dainelli here: Web site: https://www.toomuchtuscany.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toomuchtuscany/ Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 In this episode of Cooking with an Italian Accent we celebrate the spring season, its produce, with asparagus, fresh peas, fava beans and monk’s bears. We celebrate fresh herbs, one of my favourite ingredients in the kitchen, and the magic of foraged wild flowers, like robinia flowers and elderflowers. This is also the last episode of the first series of Cooking with an Italian Accent. We’ll take a break to work on our cookbook, and we’ll be back during the summer with a special edition, a short collection of 4 episodes to celebrate together the season of In the meantime, you’ll find us on our blog, on Instagram and you’ll receive updates from us thanks to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany. Join our newsletter here: https://julskitchen.substack.com Recipes mentioned in this episode: - Robinia flower fritters - Elderflower syrup - Elderflower panna cotta - Fried sage leaves - Pan di ramerino - Pan co’ santi - Wild fennel potato salad - Two recipes with agretti - Barley risotto with fava beans Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 In this episode of Cooking with an Italian Accent I’m going back over our past 12 years of blogging, and I’ll share with you the reasons why we still believe in blogs, and why we love it so much. I’m also sharing my tips to maintain a long-term relationship with your blog: - Write about something relevant for you. - Be authentic. - Show up consistently. - It is ok to take some time off. - Be patient. At the end of this episode, I’m also introducing our new project, a weekly subscription-based newsletter. Join our newsletter here: https://julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 In this episode of Cooking with an Italian Accent I’m sharing why I love risotto, and why I find it is a therapeutic recipe. When making risotto, let your senses guide you. Risotto is also a perfect example of the physical theory of everyday cooking, The Time-Work Continuum, shared by Mark Bittman in 2014. I’m also sharing the recipe for a seafood risotto, just to show you how all the elements are in a perfect symphony. The seafood risotto comes close to a seaside trip in terms of satisfaction and sheer happiness. You have the salt, fat, acid and umami in one dish, your seafood risotto. Recipes mentioned in this episode: - Seafood risotto https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/rice-cereals/seafood-risotto - Roasted tomato risotto https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/rice-cereals/roasted-tomato-risotto - Risotto with apples and smoked trout https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/rice-cereals/risotto-with-apples-and-smoked-trout - Wild asparagus risotto https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/rice-cereals/wild-asparagus-risotto - Butternut squash risotto https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/rice-cereals/pumpkin-risotto - Barley risotto with fava beans https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/rice-cereals/barley-risotto-with-fava-beans Links and books mentioned: - Elizabeth David, A book of Mediterranean food - Elizabeth David, Italian food - Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat - Mark Bittman, When cooking, invest time. Or work. Not both. Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 From the last episode of this podcast, a few things have changed. Summer has gone, leaving space to a bright, mild Tuscan autumn, and now it is winter, well, it’s Christmas in a few hours. On August, the 28th, we welcomed Livia, our baby girl, into this world. It has been long, exhausting, and emotional beyond words. The old life, the 2019 life, seems so far away for more than one reason. I barely remember how it was before, as so many things happened that turned our life upside down. Food, as always, has been the red thread through the multiple levels of change, the key to understand those changes, and to make memories indelible. Food played a memorable role also into my labour and during the first hours as a new mum. In this episode I talked about all the best food memories, the dos and don’ts of pregnancy and motherhood, food wise. I’d be curious to know which are the rules, the dos and don’ts of pregnancy and motherhood, food wise, in your culture, and which was your experience, either as a new mum or as a close friend or relative taking care of a new mum. Recipes mentioned in this episode: - Pesto: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/fresh-pasta/pesto-ricotta-lasagna - Baked apples: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/baked-apples - (Artichoke) carbonara: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/pasta-first-course/artichoke-carbonara Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 Before a well-deserved pause to welcome our baby girl into the world, and to get used to a completely new life, I’m so happy to share the latest episode of Cooking with an Italian accent, a conversation I had a few weeks ago with Irina Gergescu about her cookbook, Carpathia. I like how she intertwines recipes, traditions and superstitions, like when she mentions garlic, or when she says that eating horseradish before Easter will bring you health all year round, or when she explains that Romanian people welcome official guests with bread and salt, the first to celebrate an alliance, the latter for prosperity. We talked about the Romanian sense of hospitality, how she grew up Bucharest under the communist rule, about Romanian cuisine, typical ingredients, the unique tradition of borş and ciorbă, coffee and desserts. Learn more about Irina Georgescu here: Web site: https://www.irinageorgescu.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irina.r.georgescu/ Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 In today’s episode we’ll be talking in details about the pound cake, known as quattro quarti in Italian. This is probably the cake I make more often, especially in its version made with extra virgin olive oil, the most appreciated during our cooking classes, but also the one I rely on when I don’t have a clear idea on what to bake. The original pound cake contained one pound each of eggs, sugar, flour and butter. Hence its English name, pound cake, and its French or Italian name, quattro quarti, four quarters. What you need is therefore a scale to weigh the eggs, with their shell. The weight of the eggs will then give you the amount of sugar, flour and butter to use. Listen to the episode to learn how to adjust the four ingredients to make endless variations to the basic recipe. Discover more on the blog: https://en.julskitchen.com/podcast/episode-41-everything-about-pound-cake Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 We reached the 40th episode of our podcast "Cooking with an Italian Accent"! So it's time to celebrate and to recap what we’ve done so far in these 15 months spent together, what you liked the most, why we love this podcast so much and how it perfectly integrates in all that we do. We’ll talk also about who we are, what we like and what is going to happen soon in our lives! Join us for a little celebration! Read more: https://en.julskitchen.com/podcast/episode-40-get-to-know-us-better

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 oday we are talking about cookbooks. When I was organizing my cookbooks on the bookshelves, I rediscovered some favourites from the past that needed some more love, and realised there are cookbooks that I barely opened after the initial I-desperately-need-this-book enthusiasm. So, I thought I would share some of my favourite cookbooks here on the podcast, as you might find them interesting, too. Today we’re talking about cookbooks on Italian cuisine, but do not expect the last cookbooks published by new famous food writers, we’re going back to the past: in this episode, we will talk about Pellegrino Artusi, Ada Boni and Paolo Petroni, with plenty of recipes from the blog to experiment. The recipes we mentioned in this episode: https://en.julskitchen.com/podcast/episode-39-three-books-about-italian-cooking-you-must-have Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 Juls’ Kitchen is a family business. Tommaso and I work together to teach classes, develop recipes for clients, taking photos, producing the podcast, and writing the blog and the newsletter, along with cookbooks and articles. It has its highs and lows, but this is our job, and career. We do not have a backup plan, and, to be honest, after the hard work it took to get where we are, I do not want to change my job, as this is what brings me joy, what I am good at. That’s why we had to rethink our offer to change it according to the completely new situation. I am sure we will be back teaching classes in our studio in the countryside, meeting people at the local café to begin the market tour, working for clients and brands to create recipes and organizing workshops and gatherings, but for the moment, we had to find a compromise. A compromise which is revealing itself rewarding, fun, and something we will keep for the future in our business plan! This is how our virtual cooking class was born. In this episode, I’ll tell you more about it, I’ll share some behind the scenes of our tutorials and I’ll share also some projects for the future. You can join our virtual Tuscan Cooking Class here > https://www.udemy.com/course/tuscan-cooking-class/?couponCode=TUSCANMAY27 Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 This is a special episode with a dear friend, Regula Ysewijn. We met in London in 2011, at the Food Blogger Connect, and since then we’ve become best friends, supporting each other through life and work endeavours. Today we’re here to celebrate her new cookbook, Oats in the North, Wheat from the South. This book is Regula’s love letter to British baking, and to Britain, its bakeries and shops, its traditions and ingredients. We’re talking about what it takes to write a cookbook with a solid food history background, something she is an expert about, but also about how geography and weather influence the baking traditions of a country. We’ll talk extensively about buns, the afternoon tea ritual, oatcakes and griddle cakes, but also a very special wedding cake from Britain. Learn more about Regula Ysewijn here: http://www.missfoodwise.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missfoodwise/ Order her book here: https://amzn.to/3bupvSJ Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 One of the few positive aspects of this eternal lockdown is that I had the chance to learn new recipes and techniques. Usually, I am too busy trying to respect deadlines, juggling cooking classes and assignments, so I just play it safe. Week after week, I cook those old reliable recipes that are part of my cooking repertoire. Comfort comes from repeating a ritual, a set of flavours. But where is the excitement of learning a new dish? Of discovering a new technique? This feeling of excitement and adventure probably is not shared by everyone who is approaching cooking for the first time. If you have to learn to cook as an adult, because your family was not very much into cooking, or because you discovered this curiosity towards food just at a later stage, you might have the same question in mind: and now, how do I learn to cook? Being also a cooking class teacher, I’m often asked to share my tips on how one learns to cook. And this is the theme of today’s episode, where you will find also some tips from friends who are cooking class instructors and food writers. Our virtual Tuscan cooking course on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/tuscan-cooking-class/?couponCode=TUSCANMAY27 On the blog: - Citrus pound cake https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cakes-pies/citrus-pound-cake - Easy tomato sauce https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/pasta-first-course/pasta-with-tomato-sauce - Spezzatino, beef stew https://en.julskitchen.com/main/meat/florentine-beef-stew - Peposo, red wine and black pepper beef stew https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscany/black-peppercorn-beef-stew-peposo - Tuscan ragù https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/pasta-first-course/my-tuscan-ragu - Carbonara https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/pasta-first-course/artichoke-carbonara - Focaccia https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscany/tuscan-schiacciata-with-walnuts Listen also our episode about a Tuscan pantry here: https://en.julskitchen.com/podcast/episode-23-a-tuscan-pantry Thanks to: - Enrica Monzani @asmallkitcheningenoa - Paola Bacchia @italyonmymind - Domenica Marchetti @domenicacooks - Judy Witts Francini @divinacucina Two very useful online tools to convert grams to cups: - Grams To Cups Conversions: https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/conversions/grams/grams-to-cups-conversions - Baking conversion tools: https://www.weekendbakery.com/cooking-conversions/ Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 I didn’t think my way of cooking would change much during the lockdown. I thought I was already quite organised, with a well-stocked pantry, responsible in using my ingredients and leftovers and creative when it comes to improvising. Yet, in more than a month of lockdown, I noticed some changes that made me reflect on my approach to cooking. First of all, now I am cooking mainly for the two of us: this is the first time since we’re together, it feels very intimate. In this episode, we will talk about how I reorganized my pantry and my freezer, about the importance of planning ahead and focusing on what you have, rather than on what you are missing, with recipes along the way. I’d be curious to know if the lockdown changed your way of cooking and of organizing your pantry, fridge and freezer, which are the recipes you’re making more often and if you’ve learnt something new. Our virtual Tuscan cooking course on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/tuscan-cooking-class/?couponCode=TUSCANMAY27 On the blog: - Semolina gnocchi: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/roman-style-semolina-gnocchi - Spinach and ricotta pie: https://en.julskitchen.com/vegetarian/torta-pasqualina-my-mums-spinach-and-ricotta-pie - Spinach and ricotta ravioli: https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscany/spinach-ricotta-tortelli - Pappa al pomodoro: https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscany/best-pappa-al-pomodoro - Pasta with tuna sauce: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/pasta-first-course/pasta-with-tuna-sauce Listen also our episode about a Tuscan pantry here: https://en.julskitchen.com/podcast/episode-23-a-tuscan-pantry Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 There are two different aspects of comfort food: on one side, there’s the food that gives you comfort and pleasure when you eat it, like pappa al pomodoro, on the other side, the many foods that give you solace, a respite from the news, from heavy thoughts, from comparison, when you cook them: just think about bread. In this episode, we will explore different comfort foods, related to childhood memories or to personal achievements, from pappa al pomodoro to chicken meatballs, from rice pudding to risotto. I think comfort food is also extremely influenced by culture, as often we tend to consider comforting what we know better. That’s why I asked a few friends from all over the world to share with us which is their favourite comfort food. It will be like travelling from country to country, through the best and most comforting foods. Get ready to be hungry. On the blog: - Pappa al Pomodoro: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/soup/best-pappa-al-pomodoro - Chicken meatballs: https://en.julskitchen.com/main/meat/chicken-and-potato-meatballs - Rice pudding: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/rice-pudding-with-roast-quinces - Risotto: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/rice-cereals/pumpkin-risotto Thanks to: - Helen & Billie: https://www.instagram.com/miakouppa/ - Myriam: https://www.instagram.com/the_food_sister/ - Irina: https://www.instagram.com/irina.r.georgescu/ - Asha: https://www.instagram.com/ashafsk/ - Erny: https://www.instagram.com/ernythamrinyoga/ - Jenny: https://www.instagram.com/jlinford/ - Sarka: https://www.instagram.com/sarkababicka/ - Juliana: https://www.instagram.com/julianalopezmay/ - Costanza: https://www.instagram.com/cosnutritionist/

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 After 11 years of blogging, a love born by stirring a ciambellone on a kitchen stool with mum, 5 cookbooks, a podcast, countless projects never launched or lost along the way, and numerous dreams kept among the pages of a notebook, I keep asking myself what is food for me. I haven’t grown tired of writing recipes. For a while, I wondered if it was enough, if I wasn’t dumbing down a topic bigger than me. Then I realised that food is enough for itself and, at the same time, it crosses borders. Food has been an instrument of personal growth and self-affirmation, a lens through which I could discover the external world and explore my inner universe, sometimes all the more complex and multifaceted. Food is tradition: I better understood who I am through traditional recipes, those from Tuscany and those from Basilicata, where the southern branch of my family is from. Food is discovery. The work of food is a craftsman’s job, in which you progress with small steps, with perseverance, with a clear attention to beauty and detail. Craft is humble, more tangible than art, but it retains a human warmth, dedication and commitment. What is food for you? Does it have a special meaning, or a value? Or is it more related to planning, or enjoying? Is it a way to release your stress, or to affirm yourself? Or both, as in my case? On the blog: - Ciambellone: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cakes-pies/a-tuscan-bundt-cake - Crostata: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cakes-pies/whole-wheat-crostata-with-lemon-marmalade - Pappa al pomodoro: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/soup/best-pappa-al-pomodoro - Grandma’s lasagne: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/fresh-pasta/grandmas-lasagne - Meatball pasta bake: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/pasta-first-course/meatball-pasta-bake - Calzoncelli: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cookies/calzoncelli-chocolate-almond-christmas-cookies Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

Subscribe to our newsletter, Letters from Tuscany: https://julskitchen.substack.com/ Use this link to get 10% off for 1 year: https://julskitchen.substack.com/podcast10 Today buying good quality chestnut flour can be difficult, and it is certainly more expensive than it used to be. A good local organic stone ground wheat flour costs about 2€ a kilo. If you want to buy an organic, stone ground chestnut flour made with local chestnuts, that flour can cost from 10€ up to 15€ a kilo! It used to be the flour of poor people, of those who could not afford, or get hold of, wheat flour, and now it is considered a delicacy, as it is a gluten free flour, very nutrituous, rich in fibers, minerals and vitamins. Yet, chestnut flour is one of the most fundamental ingredients of the cucina povera, the peasant cooking, of the Tuscan mountains, from Garfagnana and Lunigiana, through the Appennino Pitoiese, down to Mugello and Mount Amiata, basically the whole mountain right side of Tuscany, from north to south. In today’s episode, we will explore the local traditions and recipes related to chestnuts and chestnuts flour, from bread to pasta, to castagnaccio and necci. Discover more stories and recipes in my latest cookbook "From the Market of Tuscany": https://en.julskitchen.com/cookbooks On the blog: - Castagnaccio: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/castagnaccio-chestnut-cake - Necci: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/necci-tuscan-chestnut-pancakes - Pecorino and chestnut risotto: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/rice-cereals/pecorino-and-chestnut-risotto - Potato, porcini and chestnut soup: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/soup/potato-porcini-and-chestnut-soup Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb