

Pad Fregene
Yes I know this title is not funny unless you are from Roma (Roma, I miss u!) Fregene is where the Roman people go to eat spaghetti with seafood. So, in a very nostalgic moment triggered by 5 months without seeing my Italian family, and also by the amazing fact that I finally got the hot fishmonger's number and was able to ask for fish delivery, I wanted to do spaghetti with cockles. Plain simple spaghetti with cockles, white wine, parsley, and if you feel adventurous some le


Un matrimonio napoletano
Antonino Canavacciuolo's recipe of the Napoli version of the lasagna got me intrigued, so I waited for the first Sunday to make it, with pretty good outcome I have to say. Photo did not come out great but trust me. Everything works to fill these long days of forced loneliness I guess... but have anti-acid at hand because it is not for weak stomachs! Speaking about loneliness, this is a feeling that I got to know in these last months, and way before the confinement started. It


Fifty shades of pesto
I am a genius in combining leftovers in the fridge, a GENIUS! This is a 5-minute recipe, just what I need in my very busy quarantine days... but then on the other hand, yeast is nowhere to be found, so it is not like I should have made a 48-hour maturation pizza instead :( Alicante people, I want to look at you in your eyes and ask you exactly what are you doing with all the fresh yeast, because pizza is not the best plate you have in your menu, as far as I know, and coca doe


The liver of my heart
Well well well, amongst the quarantine pleasures there is more space and time to cook -> photograph -> write in the blog, and since today is Easter Sunday, a quite unusual and nostalgic one, I am going to take a stroll down memory lane and remember through food one piece of my life as a kid. So, my family comes from all around Italy but the strongest link outside Rome has always been my mother's uncle in Gubbio, a charming town in the hearth of Umbria (which is the heart of I


The game theory
When I was a nerd physics student, game theory was something very cool that was going to make us losers condemned to poverty (aka a career in research) appealing to banks and companies. Now that I have a career in research, the game theory is how to explain to others my excitement when planning a meal combining random things in the fridge. It’s totally a game! And the reward is the smile of my flat mate S when he tries the stuff I cook. So yesterday we went to our usual Satur


The perfect scone
I have spent a lot of time in UK lately, I have to admit, mostly against my will :) S really wanted me to see Scotland, which is an amazing country, but it is missing two things which are very important to me on holiday: good weather and good food. Actually, not entirely: the seafood was amazing! And the scones. The first morning in Glasgow we had breakfast in a cafe near the hotel and there it was, the cheddar and chives scone, perfectly baked, soft, indulgently cheesy, in o


Fettuccine "seas and mountains"
This is the Italian take on the "surf and turf" :) The fact that I was able to do this recipe is a sign that I am very lucky, as far as geography is concerned: where I live I can find great fruits of the sea AND great fruits of the earth (Alicante rules!) I am in the middle of a transition moment job wise, where I will need to make important decisions about my professional future. This thought makes me inevitably think about the importance of all the different things that add


Pasta e patate, as my mother does
Beside a nice, heartwarming recipe and a nice picture, today I also want to share the story that is behind this recipe, that comes from the very hands of that wonderful creature that is my mother. Milano, a few years ago, with a douchebag ex boyfriend of mine, one of the first meals I ever prepared. I wanted to impress him and I asked for my mother's recipe, which I followed to the letter, and I was very surprised to taste the result: it was just excellent! Just by chance of


Radicchio: a bitter sweet symphony
Oh god, so much time without posting on the blog, so many great recipes done, photographed, eaten and, well, forgotten :) But... I have a good excuse: I was extremely busy buying&renovating my house, and the daily amount of "art time" I am allowed has been all spent on picking furnitures, wallpapers, drawing sketches, and then back and forth on lunchbreaks from work to the building site for quick visits at every new tile that was placed. A huge amount of work but an even grea


The Roman Broccoli, and happiness
We all agree on the fact that something that comes from Roma can only be delicious :) In writing the title, I do not know why, I thought about my relationship with the idea of happiness. I think the connection is in the word Roma, that immediately triggers memories of childhood, affection, feelings, and how things have changed since I moved out of my parent's place. And here it comes the word happiness. I am very scared by the word happiness, or better, I am scared of saying