Category: Emanuele’s Kitchen

Emanuele is Italian Connection’s food and wine expert, and personally seeks out the authentic Italian food and top regional wines that are a hallmark of Italian Connection’s tours.  An Italian native and former restaurant owner, he takes food and wine seriously and often prepares sumptuous picnics or delicious lunches to share with our guests on tour.  He personally tastes all the wines he recommends and travels with his own wine glass that is larger than normal.  When not on tour, we share the Italian tradition of a family lunch every day, when Emanuele  prepares simple healthy dishes  of Italian food. Here are some of his recipes of authentic Italian food that that you can cook at home.

Maremma Peasant Soup

Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen

The classic peasant dish of La Maremma is acquacotta- which literally translates to “cooked water.” It is said that this soup goes back to the times of the charcoal makers – i carbonari – that worked during the cold winters. Every bit of food that was traded for charcoal went into a soup pot of […]

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Pasta with Trapani-Style Pesto

Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen

This dish is traditionally made with busiate, an oddly shaped pasta from the town of Trapani, but impossible to find elsewhere. Taste it on our Splendors of Sicily tour. At home, you can use fusilli. Ingredients 1 pound of pasta 6 ripe tomatoes 1 clove of garlic (Trapanesi like this dish reeking of garlic, we […]

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Spaghetti Con Zucchine

Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen

The mild climate in the Cinque Terre means it is not only great for walking, but has a long growing season, too. A light Ligurian olive oil is used as a main ingredient in this dish, perfectly coating the pasta to slippery perfection, raising the status of the humble zucchine to new heights.  Of course, you can use […]

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Tuscan Bread Salad

Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen

This delicious salad makes a refreshing lunch on a warm summer’s day. Enjoy it in the shade of a 13th century castle on our Tuscany Hilltowns tour, where the jade-green olive oil makes this peasant dish simply sublime. Ingredients 8-10 slices of stale country bread, preferably unsalted 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 red onion, […]

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Sicilian-style Chicken

Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen

This unusual dish is full of the exotic flavors of Sicily, echoing the island’s turbulent past when various rulers—Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Spanish to name a few—left a strong imprint on everything from architecture to Sicily’s remarkably varied cuisine. Perhaps Emanuele will make this for us on our Walking & Cooking in Eastern Sicily tour, but in […]

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Etruscan-style Rabbit

Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen

The hearty flavors of La Maremma blend with the echoes of the ancient Etruscans in this earthy dish, perfectly paired with the deep red Morellino di Scansano. Ingredients 1 onion, chopped fine 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 7-8 black olives, pitted and sliced 1 tsp capers, packed in salt 1 cleaned rabbit, cut into pieces (about […]

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Polenta Al Gorgonzola

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Piedmont is known for its wonderfully malodorous cheeses as well as ethereal white truffles, both of which you can sample on our Piedmont Vineyards & Lakes tour. When you don’t have any truffles, this simple dish will satisfy with its strong flavors and can stand up to a powerful piemontese wine. Ingredients 12 oz. (330 grams) yellow cornmeal, preferably […]

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Warm Spicy Olives

Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen

On our Savoring Sicily tour, you taste olive oil the moment it is pressed, an amazing culinary experience that also cures chapped lips. Beautiful gnarled olive trees and lush citrus groves are ever present on this tour, and this simple recipe uses both to produce a tasty antipasto. Ingredients 32 large black olives 1 clove garlic, peeled 1 […]

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Spelt Soup

Posted In: Emanuele’s Kitchen

Our hosts at the Palazetta del Vescovo, Paola and Stefano, are an accomplished cook and sommelier, and have created a peaceful haven for relaxing in the countryside.  They’ll teach us about traditional Umbrian cuisine on our Walking & Cooking Tour in Umbria as well as great food presentation, while making sure we taste the best of Umbria’s impressive […]

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