An aphrodisiac is an ingredient, a substance or a dish that is meant to enhance lust and passion. The desire to do so is supposedly as old as humanity. The word aphrodisiac comes from the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, who would carry a number of mysterious love potions at her belt – aphrodisiacs. The... Continue Reading →
This is the English version of an article by my husband Manoocher (photos) and me published in the Spring Edition 2019 of the National Geographic Traveler Magazine Italy. Between low dry-stone walls, among the majestically twisted centenarian and even millenarian trees of the all-surrounding olive groves, we are meandering along the bent roads from the Apulian... Continue Reading →
I did it: I started a Youtube channel for historic cuisine. In the following weeks I will upload more videos featuring a selection of ancient recipes ranging from Mesopotamia to the Middle Ages. My idea is to present historic recipes in a way that they can be reproduced at home, in normal household kitchens with... Continue Reading →
Our article (photos by Manoocher & text by Ursula) about the great culinary traditions of the Valle d'Itria has just been published in the Spring Edition 2019 of the National Geographic Traveler Magazine Italy (in Italian). In edicola: Il nostro articolo sulle grandi tradizioni culinarie della Valle d'Itria è stato pubblicato nella rivista National Geographic Traveler (Primavera... Continue Reading →
I just joined the @vawaa_ family! VAWAA (Vacation With An Artist) offers mini apprenticeships with master artists and craftspeople all over the world. You can now book a VAWAA workshop with me and learn about historic cooking for four days. Find out more at https://vawaa.com/artists/ursula-historic-cooking-italy/. Look out for the winter solstice special!
I've been preparing a historic dinner from Ancient Rome, based on recipes from Apicius' cookbook De re coquinaria, with lots of good and organic ingredients from our own soil. Starting with conditum paradoxum, a sweet, wine-based aperitif, some Roman bread baked with bay leaves, moretum - a herb and garlic cream cheese, eggs in ovis... Continue Reading →
This year's wine harvest for a refreshing blend of Bianco d'Alessano, Verdeca and Malvasia bianca. An extraordinarily humid summer and some ugly hail have caused quite some damage, especially as we like to keep fungicides to an absolute minimum. But that's nature. We have to do some more work sorting out bad grapes. Cat Frodo... Continue Reading →
It is unclear why the water in which this fish is simmered is considered to be crazy. It might be due to the chillies that give this dish a spicy tang, or due to the fact that the water is actually mostly wine. These considerations apart, this dish is a simple and extremely easy recipe... Continue Reading →
A medieval dinner featuring Apulian ingredients: A meat and mushroom pie, crepes with chicken cooked in spiced wine with apples, vegetables, fire roasted onions with verjuice and olive oil, cheese, pears poached in red wine, and bread baked from home grown wheat. Not to forget the wine, of course.
