Recently on a trip to the Franco-Suisse Jura mountains we enjoyed a memorable afternoon at La Boissaude, an isolated farmhouse-restaurant just a stone’s throw from the summit of Mont D’Or and the Swiss border. We were there to try the local melted cheese speciality called la boîtes chaude, a whole Vacherin du Mont D’Or cheese melted with a little white wine and served…
We’ve been making our signature CRACK since the day we opened at La Petraia. These addictive crackers have become quite popular over the years. I’ve shared the recipe with countless guests who now make their own at home and some people have even tried to persuade me to start a cracker business. I think this could…
I’m crazy about legumes. For years we have been growing our own and for years I’ve been saying its time to stop. They are relatively cheap to buy after all, and extremely labour intensive to grow. Especially because at Petraia we dry them on the plant and harvest each pod only when it is perfect. This…
Like all the baking I do this bread is semi-sweet and made with honey instead of sugar. It has just enough sweetness to highlight, not overwhelm all of the other ingredients. The result is a really interesting cake with complex and balanced flavors. I use honey because, unlike sugar, honey adds not just sweetness but flavor too. Especially if you choose a varietal honey like…
Verbier, Zermatt, Crans Montana, Davos, Klosters, Gstaad, Saint Moritz….. These are all famous Swiss alpine resorts, hangouts for the rich, the famous, and lots more. But Switzerland is littered with smaller resorts little known outside the country, or sometimes even their own Swiss canton. These places have much to offer anyone contemplating a winter alpine vacation. They are usually free of the…
Yesterday was a root day in the biodynamic calendar so we harvested the last of our beets, carrots, salsify, swedes, turnips and parsnips. The garden is pretty much empty now, ready for its winter rest. There is just enough hearty brassicas and some kale to sustain us till early spring. Yesterday we dug up roots…
Gelatin made from bone broth is one of the essential ingredients in my kitchen. I make mine using pork. Having raised pigs for years I’ve learned to appreciate the way pork gelatin enriches so many things. It adds body and hearty flavor to ragu, stews, anything braised. I use it to make my favorite head cheese…
The Valtellina, unlike many other alpine regions, is not a place whose glory is immediately apparent. Nor does its sheer natural beauty shock or take one’s breath away. But it is well worth a visit. This valley reveals its majesty slowly and like an acquired taste delivers rich rewards for those travelers willing to…
As promised in my post about Poschiavo here is the recipe for the delicious cheese stuffed buckwheat crepes we enjoyed for lunch at the lovely Hotel Albrici. In the Swiss canton of Graubunden where I tried them the crepes were made using stone-ground buckwheat flour from the Mulino Aino I’d visited that same morning. They were…