Cooking with an Italian accent

In this episode of Cooking with an Italian Accent, I’m asking you to skip Florence on your next trip to Tuscany.

I’m sharing my two cents on tourism and overcrowded destinations, but I would love to know your thoughts on this, as well.

We talk about travelling during the low season and your option to slow down and enjoy the provincial life of a small town. 

We introduce our immersive three-day seasonal cooking masterclass: https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscan-cooking-classes#threeday

Our Colle Val d’Elsa foodie guide: https://en.julskitchen.com/other/travel/where-to-eat-in-colle-val-d-elsa

So now listen to the episode and join the conversation online on our newsletter Letters from Tuscany on Substack: https://julskitchen.substack.com/p/why-im-asking-you-to-skip-florence

Find me online >> Newsletter: www.lettersfromtuscany.com | Blog: www.julskitchen.com | Instagram: https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ 

Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb  

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Cooking with an Italian Accent, after a year of absence, I tell you a little bit more about the things that have happened:

- This podcast is not dead, it is just on a break.

- Our newsletter on Substack, Letters from Tuscany, is where most of our writing and recipes will live from now on.

- For the past two years, we’ve been working on a new cookbook, Cucina Povera, The Italian Way of Transforming Humble Ingredients into Unforgettable Meals. It will be released in April 2023.

So now listen to the episode and join the conversation online on our newsletter www.lettersfromtuscany.com on Substack.

Preorder our cookbook Cucina Povera here.

 Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ 

 Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

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 Tuscna sweet treats.

Recipes mentioned in this episode:
- Schiacciata con l’uva: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/grape-focaccia
- Pan co’ Santi: https://en.julskitchen.com/bread/pan-co-santi
- Cenci: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/carnival-fried-dough-the-tuscan-cenci
- Rice fritters: https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscany/italian-carnival-rice-fritters
- Schiacciata alla Fiorentina: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/schiacciata-alla-fiorentina-a-sweet-flatbread-for-carnival
- Quaresimali: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cookies/quaresimali-florentine-cookies-for-lent
- Pan di Ramerino: https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscany/pan-di-ramerino
- Schiacciata di Pasqua: https://en.julskitchen.com/tuscany/tuscan-schiacciata-sweet-easter-bread
- Necci: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/necci-tuscan-chestnut-pancakes
- Castagnaccio: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/castagnaccio-chestnut-cake
- Scarpaccia: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/a-tuscan-sweet-zucchini-cake
- Alchermes: https://en.julskitchen.com/drink/home-made-alchermes
- Zuccotto: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/tuscan-zuccotto
- Zuppa Inglese: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/zuppa-inglese-as-afternoon-break
- Cantucci: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cookies/tuscan-biscotti
- Cavallucci: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cookies/cavallucci-tuscan-cookies
- Ricciarelli: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/ricciarelli-siena-almond-cookies
- Panforte: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/tuscan-panforte-a-spicy-cake-from-siena

Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/

Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

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

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

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

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

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

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

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

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

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

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

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

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe

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

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julskitchen.substack.com/subscribe