Osteria di Passignano, March 21

The Osteria is in the Antinori family owned Abbey - Badia a Passignano. Opened in 2000 with Marcello Crini at the helm and Matia Barciulli in the kitchen, the restaurant earned its first Michelin star last year. Its ethos is to showcase classic Tuscan cuisine, ideally complemented with Antinori wines.

Dinner was very good. Some dishes did not quite hit the mark, in particular it was a shame that the pasta lacked the delicate, silken quality that one would expect. As well as accolades, the pressure that is often associated with Michelin Guide awards can become an unhealthy influence on restaurants, for guests and staff alike. There is a long, hard road marked out for those wishing to rise through the ranks to achieve the celebrated three star status, but the stigma associated with losing just one star can be detrimental to a future success.

This is what I ate:

Le Nostre “Frattaglie”
Panino al Lampredotto
Animelle Croccanti
Millefoglie di Lingua e Verza

Our Interpretation of Offal
Lampredotto Sandwich
Crunchy Sweetbreads
Millefeuille of Tongue and Savoy Cabbage


Taglierini al Profumo di Timo, Colatura di Acciughe,
Briciole di Pane e Crema di Cavolfiore

Thyme Flavoured Taglierini, Anchovy Essence,
Breadcrumbs and Cauliflower Cream

Agnello di Latte:
Il coscio Stufato con Crema di Sedano Rapa
Il Carré in Crosta di Erbette con Flan di Asparagi

Milk Fed Lamb:
Stewed Gigot with Celeriac Cream
Herb Crusted Rack with Asparagus Flan

Goccia di Gelato di Lamponi
e Vin Brulé in Gelo su Succo di Ribes

Raspberry Ice Cream Tear
and Frozen Mulled Wine on Redcurrant Juice

Osteria di Passignano
Via Passignano 33
Loc. Badia a Passignano 50028
Tavarnelle Val di Pesa (FI)
Tel./Fax +39 055 8071278
Website: www.osteriadipassignano.com

Marinella's octopus salad

Marinella lives in Sardinia. She comes to Corzano e Paterno every spring to help with the holiday cottages on the farm and your stay is not complete without her octopus salad.

An octopus is a terrifying thing to behold in the raw flesh.

If your octopus is fresh it should be frozen first to tenderise the meat. Put it in the freezer the day before, then leave it in the fridge overnight to thaw. Some fishmongers sell frozen or thawed octopus which is cheaper and a little less work.

The recipe below will serve four as a main course with crusty bread to soak up the juices, or up to eight as a starter.

1kg octopus, frozen then thawed
plenty of salt
a fat clove of garlic, crushed
a handful of parlsey leaves, roughly chopped
juice of half a lemon
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
75g pitted black olives
3-4 tender stalks of celery, depending on their size
4 medium tomatoes
salt and papper

Fill a large pan with water and bring it to the boil. Salt it heavily so it tastes like seawater, then add the octopus, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

Remove the octopus and allow it to cool enough to handle. Cut the whole thing into large chunks the size of a good mouthful. You can use every part except the tough beak. Dress the octupus while it's still warm with the garlic, parsley, lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. Leave aside to marinate.





While the octopus cools, put the black olives into a new bowl. Cut the celery into pieces roughly the same size as the olives. Slice the tomatoes in half, use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds, then chop them into pieces a similar size to the celery. Add everything to the bowl with olives and toss together with salt and pepper.

When the octopus is cool add the vegetables, not before as they will cook and become mushy. Mix everything together one last time and you're done.



The Corzano e Paterno villas are available all summer long, if you're interested take a look at www.corzanoepaterno.it.

While you're here you can visit the dairy, eat unimaginable amounts of the cheese they produce and taste their delicious wine. If you mention my name when booking I might get brownie points (hmmm... and maybe some cheese?) from the Gelpke family.

Our favourite picture of the trip is of Rupert, who was very fond of the octopus.

Trattoria Mario, March 19

Florence for lunch at Trattoria Mario. Its a tiny room with less than 10 tables covered in green checkered laminated cloth. We had excellent trippa fiorentina, tender soft tripe in a meaty tomato sauce with the consistency of silk, spiked with pepper. Bollito misto wasn't bad either, slices of boiled tongue and beef, parsley and olive oil sauce, piquant pickles to add sparkle.

The bill, including a carafe of red wine, salad and water came to just 20 euros.



Signs on the wall separating us from the chefs read as follows:

Qui si mangia insieme a quegl'altri dal 1953
Communal eating since 1953

L'osso della bistecca si ciucca con la mani
Eat your steak-bone by hand

01/03/1953 La bistecca si coce come ci pare!!!
The steak is cooked however the hell we want!!!

Noi i'brodo coi dado un si fa!!!
Stock cubes have no place here!!!

Noi i'congelatore un ci s'ha!! Qui non s'adopra la panna!!
We don't have a freezer!! We don't use cream!!

Trattoria Mario

Via Rosina 2r
angolo Piazza del Mercato Centrale
50123, Firenze, Italia

Tel: 055 – 218550

Web: www.trattoria-mario.com

A sauce for artichokes

I am in Italy. It is the artichoke season and the Mercato Centrale in Florence offers a bewildering number of varieties. Should we choose the carciofi Romani from Sicily, tightly budded globes the size of an orange, only edible after long slow cooking? Or the thorny purple petaled Morellino artichokes from the Tuscan wildlands of Maremma, teardrop shaped and tender enough to eat raw?

We bought Morellini, removed their tough outer leaves, cut off their spiny tops and boiled them for about 20 minutes in salted water with half a lemon. You can also add the stalks, but peel off the tough fibrous skins first, once softened they are equally delicious. Cover all the cut parts with lemon juice while you work to stop them going black.

Here is the recipe for a sauce:

1 hard boiled egg
1 tin of anchovy fillets
a large bunch of parsley, chives, fennel and tarragon
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
125ml natural Greek yoghurt
grated zest of half a lemon
juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper

Purée all of the above until you have a sauce with the consistency of thin mayonnaise. Adjust the olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve as a dipping sauce for hot artichokes petals, hearts and stalks.