zuppa di fave e piselli al profumo di limone e menta – lemony, minty pea and broad bean soup

Posted on May 16, 2018 by hungryenglishman — Leave a reply

“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May”, as one amateur meteorologist who had an admirable way with words once wrote. And it’s certainly a windy-sunny-rainy May here; definitely not winter, but not quite summery either. Just the sort of weather that leaves you wanting fresher food, but something with a bit of warmth. This soup perfectly fits the bill: quick, simple and full of the bright green freshness of spring, but comforting at Continue Reading →

zuppa di vongole e fagioli – bean and clam soup

Posted on January 27, 2018 by hungryenglishman — 1 Comment ↓

First things first: this is surprisingly delicious. Surprisingly for my children, anyway, whose initial reaction was: “What on earth is that? Beans with clams? What possessed you to do such a thing?”. Within seconds, they had fallen silent, apart from the sound of soup being greedily slurped up. I rest my case; try it. This is not specifically a Sicilian dish, but both legumes and clams are harvested/caught here, so I’m appropriating it. It is Continue Reading →

zuppa di zucca – pumpkin soup

Posted on January 13, 2016 by hungryenglishman — Leave a reply

I wanted something simple. I wanted something quick. I wanted something that would make me feel virtuous after the excesses of Christmas. But I didn’t want something that tasted virtuous. That would have been going too far. I also needed a way to use up the huge slice of pumpkin that had been lurking menacingly in the fridge for days. Pumpkin is a very popular vegetable in Sicily, although despite this it crops up in Continue Reading →

macco al finocchietto – fava bean soup with wild fennel

Posted on April 9, 2015 by hungryenglishman — Leave a reply

I won’t even pretend I’m normal, whatever that means. I’m the kind of person who wakes up in the morning and says to himself “I’d love a shepherd’s pie tonight”, and then spends the rest of the day imagining cooking and savouring it, evoking the aromas, picturing the spoon breaking through the crispy potato crust, then watching the rich gravy slowly ooze out to invade the plate like a dark, viscous sea (told you I Continue Reading →

cuccìa – wheat and legume soup for St. Lucy’s Day

Posted on December 14, 2014 by hungryenglishman — 2 Comments ↓

Yesterday was St. Lucy’s Day, and traditionally that means cuccìa here in Sicily. There are two versions – sweet and savoury, although the sweet one is much more widespread, and the savoury version has practically died out (which of course is one of the reasons I decided to cook it, albeit with a rather cavalier approach to the ingredients, as you will see…). Either way, the basis of the recipe is wheat, and wheat berries Continue Reading →

zuppa di fave – fava bean soup

Posted on December 3, 2014 by hungryenglishman — 1 Comment ↓

There’s something about autumn, with the nights drawing in, that makes me yearn for rustic food. Really rustic food, the sort of stuff I could imagine people eating in front of an open fire in some draughty cottage a couple of centuries ago. Yes, very Thomas Hardy, I know, very Woodlanders. Although if Thomas Hardy’s characters had eaten a bit more of today’s soup, maybe they wouldn’t have been so unbearably miserable the whole time. Continue Reading →

zuppa di zucchina spinosa – chayote and potato soup

Posted on November 23, 2014 by hungryenglishman — 2 Comments ↓

Never heard of chayote before? Well, neither had I until today. That’s not to say I haven’t eaten it, though. You see, this is a vegetable (botanically speaking, a fruit) I discovered here in Sicily. “Chayote for dinner today, kids!” is not something I seem to remember my mother calling out, so for me it’s always only been zucchina spinosa. I’ve never needed to know what it’s called in English before now. If you want Continue Reading →