sinking in

Sometimes you leave the dishes for a bit to long, other things too. Hello. I have decided that a good way of keeping up here, is to link up to my weekly column in The Guardian every Friday at this time, so 4 0′ clock Roman Time.

The column is now called A Kitchen in Rome, but my faithful sink still features from time to time. The plan is that I also include things here that I didn’t have space for in the column, a recipe I mention in the article perhaps, another picture, or something I forgot. In fact let me start straight away by noting that in today’s column I talk about Roman Misticanza, a mixed salad of wild greens and herbs. An hour or so after submitting my column, I came across a paragraph in a book from the 1970’s which suggests adding large peeled grapes to the misticanza. It find this idea thoroughly lovely. I can imagine the sweetness of the grapes – big, crisp greens one that burst between your teeth – contrasting with the bitter leaves. I also want to further mention a book I refer to in the Column, Gillian Riley’s Oxford Companion to Food. It is my constant companion, always open on my desk as a reference book and source of inspiration. Informative, illuminating and witty it is an irresistible book. If you love Italian food and culture, I highly recommend it.

More housekeeping, I now have a new website. It is very basic, bare bones really, but it is a place in which I can gather everything together, practical things about the book, events and workshops I am doing. It also means this blog, updated intermittently but faithfully, can be kept for stories and recipes. I will be writing more about Sicily in the coming months, as soon we are about to decamp to A Kitchen in Gela so I can work on my second book, the working title of which is Two kitchens. The house in Gela has a terrific sink, Vincenzo’s grandmother’s sink, which I enjoy standing at very much (even though I could do with being 6 inches shorter).

But for now, back to A kitchen in Rome. This week’s column is all about Wild greens, and not so wild greens. You can also scroll back and read some of the 26 columns of you like, my favourite of which is about lemons.

More soon.