Some steps into traditional Tuscan cuisine

written by Ilaria Gelichi

You may probably think that everybody in Italy loves cooking and that every Italian has excellent skills in the kitchen. Well, you probably would be wrong. Not all Italians are good cooks, but a feature they surely have is being very exigent regarding what they eat.

I was one of these Italians, who really enjoyed eating but had no idea how to cook roast meat. Then, in the last years, something changed. I have been “infected” by a friend with the passion for cooking. Since then, I started my experiments with food, especially cakes and desserts in general, the preparation of which gives me great satisfaction.

Well, this same friend invited me to the launch of a book, a few months ago. It is written by a friend of her, Giulia, who owns a very popular food blog, named Juls’ Kitchen (http://en.julskitchen.com/). Born in Tuscany, Giulia tells us about her deep bond with regional recipes and guides us in exploring traditional dishes through landscapes and childhood memories. In the book you can find delicious recipes, explained with particular attention to details and ingredients.

I was very impressed by Giulia’s pinolata senese, a typical cake from Siena with cream and pine nuts. She prepared one for the launch of the book and it was delicious. So try this book if you want to learn how to prepare a pinolata, and you will also learn a lot about traditional Tuscan cuisine. And if you don’t speak Italian good enough, no problem: an English edition is also available.