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.

Arista -Tuscan-style roast pork

this is one of the classic tuscan roast meat dishes, herby and succulent.

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.

Torta salata di verdure – Italian vegetable quiche

Use what you have around! Italians love quiches and love using all sorts of leftovers in them. A classic is sautéd spinach with plenty of nutmeg.

Pollo ai semi di finocchio
Chicken with fennel seeds

An aromatic, original twist on a simple dish.

Zuppa inglese

This dessert often gets translated as “trifle”. It is a layered dessert like trifle, but is as far as one can get from the jelly and sherry of British offerings.

Polpettine di patate
Tuscan potato croquettes

The flavours of the nutmeg, garlic and parsley really stand out in this simple peasant side dish/appetizer.