Simple vegetable stock

A decent stock is essential for many dishes, such as risotti and slow-cooked dishes. Vegetarians will be pleased that most stock used in Tuscany is vegetable stock.

Artichoke sauce for pasta

Artichokes can seem daunting - what to do with all those leaves??!! But once you have conquered the fear, this nutritious and delicious vegetable will become a favourite.

Carciofi alla romana – braised artichokes

These make a tasty little side dish or aperitif.

Cannellini beans with tomato and herbs

Literally the name means “in the manner of little birds”: this is the way that small birds were cooked up when they were brought home from a morning’s hunting. Cannellini beans are so much nicer...

Sicilian orange and fennel salad

The most refreshing of winter salads, this sounds a little odd, but is wonderful!

Simple zucchini (courgette) pasta sauce

When the zucchini glut is upon us, we have this a couple of times a week. It’s light but fragrant and satisfying.

Panzanella ~ Tuscan bread and tomato salad

This is a great dish to make a couple of hours in advance in the summer, to have ready waiting for you in the fridge when you get back home. It is light yet satisfying.

Pasta and bean soup

Since Italian cuisine is so regional, there are dozens of versions of this delicious, hearty soup. In Tuscany, white cannellini beans are used.

Sugo finto – A meatless ragu

This is a poor man’s meat sauce: the vegetables are cut finely to simulate a ground beef texture and the result is very tasty indeed.

Stuffed artichokes

You can use the filling here to fill other vegetables, such as peppers, zucchini etc.