In North American or northern European settings, those who observe Easter will feast with friends and family on the evening of Easter Sunday, following a long Lenten fast. And this is generally when the festivities and Easter contemplations end. Not in Italy, however. On Easter Monday, it’s as if they have chosen to celebrate the resurrection of Christ one more time, breaking out Cuddura di Pasqua yet again after the dawn of this new day.
Hey good looking! Whatcha got cooking? How’s about cooking up ancient bread with me?… There has been a particular theme that has consistently presented itself during my research this summer, and it’s called ‘continuity’. In archaeology, continuity is a term used to connote the unbroken or consistent existence, operation, or […]
Okay, before I even start with a brief historical introduction to this recipe I am going to start by telling you to take a deep breath and open your minds and hearts to potatoes on pizza. First of all, as North Americans or Britons or anyone else that lives outside […]
Last summer was one of the greatest summers that I’ve ever spent in Rome. I had the pleasure of working at an archaeological site, Monte Testaccio, in Testaccio, excavating and cataloguing thousands of amphorae potsherds with ArchaeoSpain and CEIPAC (University of Barcelona). More importantly, however, I had the pleasure of working […]
A time-honoured recipe for Calabrian Ricotta Balls – Polpette di Ricotta Calabrese, just like nonna used to make.
The culinary use of lemons is often limited to garnishes, desserts or liqueurs. But this citrus fruit can do so much more than simply flavour water and liquor and it was eating and cooking in Ravello, Italy that taught me this. The Amalfi Coast isn’t just home to beaches, sun […]
When I think of potatoes I think of comfort food: warm, soft heaps of boiled and buttered mash meant to stick to the ribs and keep us warm through the winter. The potato has long been looked at as a dull but comforting side-dish with little flavour that is best […]
I had the pleasure of sampling cicoria (pronounced chi-ko-rea) for the first time when I was in Rome last summer. At first sight on the table, to North Americans, cicoria would seem like swiss chard or spinach but it is far from it, I assure you! It has a mild bitter flavour that […]
When I think of potatoes I think of comfort food: warm, soft heaps of boiled and buttered mash meant to stick to the ribs and keep us warm through the winter. The potato has long been looked at as a dull but comforting side-dish with little flavour that is best […]
When I met my husband, one of the first things he told me about himself was that he was from a large Italian family that appreciated food. He told me that his mother, Helen Monaco, had raised him and his nine siblings cooking from a repertoire of Italian recipes that was comprised […]
This recipe is a smaller take on the popular Italian Christmas fruit-bread, Panettone. ‘Personal Panettone’, I call them, or Panettoncino if you want to be linguistically correct! These little darlings are not only simple to make, they also make great Christmas projects for the children and a terrific gift for […]
This recipe is for the popular, and incredibly tasty, Italian Christmas fruit-bread: Panettone. These fruit breads are not only simple to make, they also make great Christmas projects for the children and a terrific gift for friends and family. The history of Panettone itself is a varied one: This popular […]
About the author:
Farrell Monaco is an award-winning Classical archaeologist and food-writer whose research centers on food, food preparation, and bread in the Roman Mediterranean. She writes regularly on the role of food and food preparation in Roman daily life on her site, Tavola Mediterranea, and publishes in both English and Italian. Farrell has also written exclusively for Atlas Obscura and BBC Travel. Her work has been featured prominently by National Geographic, Popular Science, The Atlantic, the BBC, The Guardian, The Economist, Esquire Magazine, SAPIENS Magazine, Verve Magazine, Saveur Magazine and Milk Street. In November of 2020, Farrell co-produced, wrote and presented a video on the history of the date palm fruit with The Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA).
