‘La Cucina Povera’ – some of
you may have heard this old Italian saying before, but to understand it’s true
meaning you’ll first need to know it’s roots.
Since Mt. Vesuvius popped its
load in 79AD drowning Pompeii in black ash, families would have to ‘creatively’
manage their food stocks. The notion of La Cucina Povera was born here. Here’s
a Pompeian/Roman recipe for basic Worcestershire sauce made by Heston B...
We’ve
seen similar examples of this during the Great War. Food was scarce and
restrictions brought in by governments to minimise panic buying meant that
citizens had to look elsewhere. Any available land was turned into allotments,
families and communities rallied together to provide for each other.
Today
we face a similar ‘tightening of the purses’, not to the extent of the examples
above, but we are looking to save some money wherever we can. Perhaps looking
back to our ancestors we could learn a thing or two! Maybe we should all be
growing our own!
Most
recently there has been a TV cooking show that has not only inspired me, but
also touched many hearts across the UK. The experienced duo that front the
programme not only dish out stunning weekly recipes but their jovial and
passionate ‘food affair’ makes for some excellent TV. Of course it’s the ‘Two
Greedy Italians’ Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo. For me, they have
brought the ideology of La Cucina Povera to their cookbooks, TV shows and
restaurants, but perhaps today it’s a different message.
La
Cucina Povera is about great food which is kept simple, uses fresh and local
produce and above all delicious! Good food doesn’t need to be expensive, which
is what Italian food is all about.
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