Torta di Mele (apple cake), from Guido's Nonna's cookbook

Cooking guests learning Torta di Mele during Chef Guido's cooking class

My favourite Italian cookbook is called 'Il Talismano della Felicita' (The Talisman of Happiness) and was written in the 1920s by a Roman lady called Ada Boni. Her cooking lessons were favoured by the Roman aristocracy of the time and her book is a true bible of Italian cuisine. This recipe for 'Torta di Mele' comes from an early edition of 'Il Talismano', which I inherited from my grandmother. It is deliciously moist, because the apple slices are 'sunk' inside the cake mix. Locally grown apples have just come into season. They are so juicy and full of flavour  I often make this cake when we have friends over for afternoon coffee.

torta di mele (Guido's grandmother's apple cake)

TORTA DI MELE
100g of butter, 135g of sugar, 2 eggs, 135g of flour, 12g baking powder (not if you use self-raising flour), bread crumbs, 1 and a half to 2 apples (depending on size), icing sugar, a pinch of salt.

Mix butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth. Mix in 2 egg yolks, then add flour and baking powder (you can use self-raising flour instead). Add a pinch of salt to enhance flavour. Add 2 firmly whipped egg whites. Grease a cake tin with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Pour cake mix in the tin. If the mix is too thick you can add some milk or some plain yogurt. Cut apples into thin slices push them vertically into cake mix, so they will stand upright. Bake for about 40 min. at 150 C. Pronto in Tavola!

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Foraging with Guido - wild mustard.

From the same family as rocket (arugola) and a wild relative to broccolini, broccoli, cabbage and many others from the 'brassica' group, wild white mustard is flowering now in Italy. It can be added to a salad or eaten by itself with olive oil and salt. Delicious and full of natural goodness!

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Chicken Cacciatore (Pollo alla Cacciatora)

Pollo alla Cacciatora

 Super simple and absolutely delicious....

Chicken Cacciatore Pollo alla Cacciatora - Serves 6

Ingredients: 1.2 kg  of chopped organic chicken, rosemary, sage, bay leaf, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, salt, pepper, white wine, olives .

Method: Gently fry the finely chopped vegetables in extra-virgin olive oil until onion is translucent. Roast the garlic until golden and then throw it away. Brown the chicken separately in another pan. Add browned chicken, herbs, tomatoes and olives (optional) in the same pan. Add a little white wine and let it reduce. Add salt. Let chicken cook on low heat in a covered pan. Serve hot, with a fresh salad on the side.
Buon appetito!

For more information about Guido's Day cooking classes and Convivio Rome Italian Cooking Holidays, contact me on info@conviviorome.com

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Olive Harvest in the Sabine Hills, near Rome, Italy

What a great time of year to visit the Roman countryside and especially the Sabine Hills. The Sabina region, just 40 kms north of Rome is famous for it's extra virgin olive oil and with over 2,5000,000 trees squeezed into hilly terrain you can understand why it is so important. The olive farmers make sure that the quality of the olive oil is at its best by picking the olives just as they are turning from green to black in colour. This is when the anti-oxidants are at their highest. The olive producers really concentrate on quality, not quantity and the Sabine Hills are now 'alive with the sound of music' of olive pickers. It is an exciting time to visit.

Olive picking with crates of olives already picked

We, at Convivio Rome, run Half Day Olive Tours all year round, but if you happen to be in the area in late October to early December, this is the time where olives are picked. You can understand how labour intensive olive picking is, when seeing it in action.

Olive harvest in progress takes teamwork

The olives need to be picked and taken to the local 'frantoio' olive mill, within 24 hours to ensure the quality of the extra virgin olive oil remains high.

Being an eighth generation Roman, means that even as a child I was taught by my parents and grandparents the importance of the Sabine Hills for it's D.O.P. extra virgin olive oil. I remember travelling with my family through the Sabine Hills to renew our supply of the famous Sabina extra virgin olive oil, and other local produce, to take back home to Rome. 

The olive trees are full with olives ready to be picked

We operate Rome Olive tours all year round, to discover more:

http://www.conviviorome.com/olive-tour.html

Or contact me, Guido, at Convivio Rome on info@conviviorome.com

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Autumn Equinox: What foods are in season in Italy

Autumn Equinox 'equinozio d'autunno' is celebrated on the 23rd September, this year, with the hot Summer months coming to an end and Autumn beginning. On these days, there are almost equal amounts of day and night, ( in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres) which is where the word equinox — meaning "equal night" in Latin — comes from. After the Autumn Equinox peaks, the days will grow shorter and the nights will grow longer.

View from our home terrace and cooking school in Autumn

Growing up in the city of Rome, we always knew what was in season, by watching my father, mother and grandmother preparing meals for our family. My grandmother used to teach me and my brother that each season brings new fruit and vegetables that are perfect for the weather, your health and your next round of seasonal recipes.

Moving from Rome to the nearby countryside in the Sabine Hills has made me even more aware of the changing seasons and what fruits and vegetables are coming to an end and what will soon be produced.

As I write, our Summer garden is still producing it’s last tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini and I have just begun to plant our winter vegetables in our home permaculture garden. So I will keep you posted as to the next harvest. I will also do a lot of foraging in the winter months ahead as there is so much to gather that just grows wild in our immediate countryside.

persimmons, locally called 'Caki'

Here’s a list of just some of the more popular fruits and vegetables in their peak, or coming into season in Italy: broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cavolo nero, celery, fennel, garlic, leeks, peas, pumpkin, spinach, plus olives (to be harvested in October/November), apples, blackberries, pears, grapes ( harvested in September and made into wine), prickly pear (fichi d’India), and persimmons ( locally called ‘Caki’) and chestnuts (where you will see and smell being roasted everywhere over an open fire).

Olives still ripening on our own olive trees

I hope I have ‘wet your appetite’ for some more seasonal recipes to come. Wishing you all a Happy Autumn Equinox directly from my home in Italy
Buon equinozio d'autunno

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Rome olive tours

Italian Day Cooking Classes near Rome

Convivio Rome Italian Cooking Holidays

My Italian permaculture garden is wild

For all of you who have visited us for an Italian cooking class, cooking holiday or wine tour or olive tour,  you know that I have a passion for foraging and for my permaculture garden. Over the years, I have had to battle snails, slugs, porcupines, wild boar and badgers, a broken drip irrigation system, plus soil that is filled with rocks and clay.....but finally, talking to the local farmers and getting everyone's advice on how to 'conquer' and work in harmony nature.....this year my permaculture garden  is going wild! It is producing more tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini than I know what to do with.

What a great sense of satisfaction, to have my permaculture garden producing so much that I can share my produce with neighbours and friends.

We use our own produce and source our ingredients locally for our Italian cooking classes. So you could not get more local and fresh than this. As I say to our guests "my permaculture garden does not look pretty...but it sure produces the BEST tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchinis, plus zucchini flowers ( or whatever is in season at the time) I have ever tasted!"

We also offer a selection of local produce: including meats, pecorino cheeses, local breads, olives and salad made of our own tomatoes and cucumbers straight from our garden, during the last stop of our Rome Olive Tours and Rome Wine Tours.  Just to give you an idea that it is not just us appreciating the quality of my organic homegrown produce.....I want to tell you a story of 'J'.. I hope 'J', one of our guests on a recent Rome Olive Tour, does not mind me telling you, ....but he said that he hated tomatoes, all tomatoes......that is until he tried some of my tomatoes, fresh from our garden..... and guess what, he LOVED them so much that he said he did not want to leave Italy, and if he had to leave to return home....that he would be back to visit us! Wonderful, we look forward to his return!

For more information about our Italian Cooking Holidays, Italian Cooking Classes, Rome Olive Tours and Rome Wine Tours, please contact me on info@conviviorome.com

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Roman artichokes - Carciofi alla Romana.

preparing Roman artichokes with Chef Guido

Artichokes are a favourite ingredient in Roman cuisine. They are now in season and available at farmer's markets around our region. There is a specific variety of artichokes that is grown in the Roman countryside. These artichokes are so tender they can be eaten raw with salt, olive oil and lemon juice, if picked when they small.
A very traditional way to cook artichokes is 'alla Romana'. Roman style. You need a type of wild mint called mentuccia, which only grows in central Italy. It has small, light green leaves with lighter spots on them and a very strong smell and flavour. It is collected from the fields, although the best one grows out of old walls. If you can't find any mentuccia (that is if you don't live in Italy!) regular mint will do. Here is the recipe.

Carciofi alla Romana

Carciofi alla romana (Roman style artichokes)
Serves 4: 4 artichokes, extra virgin olive oil, fresh mint, fresh lemon, garlic, salt & pepper.

Chef Guido's Tip: Rub your hands with fresh lemon juice before you start to prepare your artichokes. This will prevent your hands being 'blackened' by the artichoke 'juice'.

Method: Prepare the artichokes by disposing of all the tough leaves and by peeling the bottom part and quickly rub half a lemon on them, which will prevent them from darkening. Stuff the artichokes with mint leaves, a little chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Put them upside down (stalk up) into a pot just large enough to contain them, pour a quarter of a glass of olive oil and half a glass of water on them. Cover the pot and let cook until tender (the amount of time really depends on the type of artichokes). Buon Appetito!

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Foraging in the Rome countryside

Foraging for wild herbs and vegetables is an ancient art, here in the Sabine Hills. It's a great way to integrate the vegetables you grow in the garden. My favourite is 'rapacciola' or 'ramolaccio', which essentially is a type of wild broccoli and it's closely related to radish as well. Part of the brassica family, rapacciola is delicious just boiled, then pan-fried with olive oil, garlic and salt. The leaves, the new shoots and the buds are cooked, while the tiny root can be eaten raw, thinly sliced and with a little olive oil on top. A great alternative to cultivated broccoli varieties, the rapacciola is full of good nutrients and vitamins.

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Discount Offer on your Convivio Rome Italian Cooking Holiday - Video

Book BEFORE February 28, 2019 for 10% discount OFF

your

3 & 5 night Convivio Rome Italian Cooking Holiday

Live-like-a-local in an ancient Italian village, #cookingclasses, #olivetours, #winerytour + much, much more. The medieval village of Toffia, with just over 1,000 residence is a #hiddentreasure near #Rome in #Italy. All accommodation and all/most meals are included in your Italian cooking holiday package.

Learn more, email us on: info@conviviorome.com

Website link: www.conviviorome.com

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https://www.

Convivio Rome Italian Cooking Holidays WON!

We are so excited and proud to announce that we WON! 

We won, we won, we won ..... the Luxury Travel Guide Award 

for 

COOKING HOLIDAY OPERATOR OF THE YEAR – ITALY

"The Luxury Travel Guide Awards champion the very best in their respective fields; therefore to come out on top is truly an achievement you should be proud of. We are delighted to pay tribute to and commend all those who have excelled in the industry. This year has seen an unprecedented number of shortlisted companies, providing strong competition in every category."

Thanks to all who voted for us and have continued to show support over the years.  
We have great plans for 2019 and 2020, and would love to get you involved! 
from Guido and Sally, 
Convivio Rome

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The beautiful Sabine Hills captured - Guido's story.

Sabina, the Sabine Hills, a non-touristy area close to Rome, is quintessential Italy.

Every time I look out from my kitchen window, I am captured by the magic of this ever changing view I have before me. The vast expanse of agricultural land, medieval hilltop villages, ancient monasteries, olive groves, change in clarity and colour within one day and with the seasons.

View of our home, olive grove and valley below

I fell in love with the Sabine Hills ('Sabina') area when I was a child. When I was young, my father used to take me around the Roman countryside on weekend excursions to locate the finest cheeses and wines. Baskets of fresh ricotta were prepared in front of us by the local shepherd and loaves of wood-fired sour dough bread were bought hot from the bakery. It was an incredible education. 

Sunset as seen from our home terrace in the Sabine Hills

These experiences led me to return to this area to buy a home, in the medieval hilltop village of Toffia, to settle with Sally, my Australian wife, and our daughter. We have been living here in the Sabine Hills for over 13 years, and my passion for this region lead me to share this area with guests from all over the world. We have been offering Italian cooking classes and cooking holidays, wine tours and olive tours, within this area since we moved here, opening our family home in hope that you too, will be captured by the magic of this beautiful  and non-touristy countryside that is only 40 minutes away from Rome, yet feels like worlds away. 

Selected images from Instagram : conviviorome.Italy

More information about our Cooking Classes, 3 and 5 night Italian Cooking Holidays , Half Day Olive Tours and Half Day Wine Tours, in the Sabine Hills can be found on the following websites. If you wish to ask me anything about this beautiful area or any of the activities, experiences or holidays we offer, please just contact me: info@conviviorome.com

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Instagram Page for more inspiration

Free E-Booklet Recipes for 5 Minute Pasta

La Ribollita - perfect winter soup

Ribollita soup, thanks to Taste for this image

It's finally winter here and this is the perfect time for comforting soups, such us Ribollita ('boiled again'), so called because it's even nicer you have it heated up the day after. It's a very traditional dish in Central Italy and it's sometimes called Acqua Cotta ('cooked water'). I made Ribollita yesterday and had it today for lunch with a bunch of friends. Delicious! Here is the recipe. You'll need a big pot.

Ribollita (serves 6 or more)
800g of fresh borlotti or cannellini beans (or 300g of dried borlotti or cannellini beans), 400g of fresh, ripe tomatoes or tinned tomatoes, 1 black cauliflower (almost impossible to find!) or 1 quarter of a regular one, 1 quarter of a cabbage, 500g of beet (similar to spinach but milder flavoured), 1 carrot, 1 celery stick, 1 red onion, parsley, basil, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, parmigiano reggiano (parmesan) cheese.

If you are using dried beans, they need to be soaked for 24 hours, then boiled in 2 litres of water, a pinch of salt and a little olive oil. Finely chop the onion and fry in oil until translucent, then add tomatoes, beans (if fresh with 1 litre of water, if dried add with its own cooking water). Chop all the remaining vegetables roughly and add the to the soup. Add salt and boil for at least two hours. Add more water if necessary. Serve in a bowl on top of a slice of toasted country bread. Finish off with parmigiano, a little olive oil, pepper and chopped parsley and basil (if available). E' Pronto!

For more recipes: Guido's FREE recipe e-booklet '5 Minute Pasta'

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Toffia, Toffia, Toffia: my discovery of this medieval village in the heart of the Sabine Hills

Many of our cooking guests, ask me, Why Toffia? How did you discover Toffia? Why did you choose to settle here? Yes, it is a beautiful medieval hilltop village close to Rome, but is it also one of many in the Sabine Hills....so again, why Toffia?

Toffia, dates back to 930AD and is perched on a ridge. Absolutely breath-taking

My Story: Being born and brought up in Rome, and living on the northern side of Rome, my family used to travel to this area for excursions to purchase the famous Sabina DOP extra virgin olive oil, the cured meats and the wonderful arrange of pecorino (sheep) cheese. So my introduction to the Sabine Hills started when I was young and always related to the wonderful quality food that was found in this region.

The beautiful and very green Sabine Hills, peaceful and relaxing, great for country walks

My discovery of Toffia came later when I took Sally,  who later became my wife, on excursions to rediscover the wonders of Sabina and the Rome countryside. On one of these many excursions we stopped to visit the historic centre and to enjoy a pizza making festival. I always had fond memories of that day, and how the village seemed so alive and the locals so friendly.

Toffia has many food and music festivals from May to October

So eventually, when we were looking to purchase a home near Rome, we settled on Toffia. We bought an apartment in the heart of the historic centre, near the main church, perched on one of the higher parts of the historic village, with amazing views over the olive groves, mountains and unspoilt valleys below. It was just magical.

View from our home, your accommodation, in Toffia

Spectacular views over unspoilt valleys from Toffia

We now use our home as accommodation for our 3 and 5 night Italian Cooking Holidays, in hope that our cooking guests will also discover the magic of this ancient Italian village, only 40 kms from Rome.

Toffia is one of the most unspoilt, lively and better kept medieval hilltop villages in Italy. It is conveniently situated between Rome and Umbria and is full of  ancient restored palazzos, churches and small piazzas  from which it is possible to admire sweeping views of olive groves and vineyards in the surrounding valleys. As other villages in the region, Toffia’s beauty has not been yet discovered by mass tourism and retains all its authenticity.

Toffia

Toffia was built in 930 AD on a ridge and it raises dramatically above two very green valleys. In medieval times two rival Roman aristocratic families, Orsinis and Colonnas, fought over Toffia for centuries. Our accommodation, Casa Convivio Rome, stands on the side once ruled by the Colonna family! Toffia is within Sabina or Sabine Hills, a region famous for its excellent 'DOP' olive oil. Many festivals, including art and music festivals, are held in Toffia between May and September.

Toffia, inside the historic centre

When you join us for a 3 or 5 night Convivio Rome Italian Cooking Holiday: We offer a free pick up and return service from our local train station, called Fara Sabina-Montelibretti

View from our Cooking School and home over the Sabine Hills, near Rome

General Information on Toffia
Travel times and transport to Rome: 
- By car: 35 minutes to the Rome's ring road (metropolitan area) via A1 motorway or 50 minutes to the very centre of Rome (Spanish Steps).
- By car and train (park and ride): 15 minutes to Fara Sabina Train Station, then 37 minutes to central Rome (Tiburtina Station).
- By bus from Toffia + train:  about an hour in total.
Travel times to Umbria:
-  By car: 30-40 minutes to the Umbrian "border".
Services in the village: mini supermarket, post office, pharmacy, doctor's studio, butcher shop, hardware store, theatre, infants and primary school, free afternoon child care, linen shop, library.
Theatre: it's set in a restored former 14th Century church and offers regular performances, live music, cinema, art exhibitions, poetry reading and various courses.
Just in case, you never wish to leave: The following courses and classes are available at the theatre: yoga, ceramic, dance, theatre, music classes for children and adults.
Sports field (covered): available for different sports, including free volleyball and football classes for children.
English speaking community:  The authenticity and natural beauty of the Sabina region and the village of Toffia and its close proximity to Rome have recently started to attract a small number of English-speakers as full-time residents and holiday makers.

Convivio Rome conduct 3 and 5 night cooking holidays in Toffia, all year round. For more information: http://www.conviviorome.com/cooking-holidays/your-cooking-holiday.html

5 night Cooking Holiday Dates for 2019

3 night Cooking Holiday Dates for 2019

Planning ahead: If you are planning a trip in 2019 or 2020 and cannot find suitable dates, please contact us via email on: info@conviviorome.com

Convivio Rome also conduct One Day and Half Day Italian Cooking Classes, Half Day Olive Tours and Half Day Wine Tours.

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