Even after Christmas, baked apples with cinnamon and raisins taste wonderful, for example on cold winter evenings in front of the fireplace.

Today we have an Umbrian variant with pears for you, of course another recipe from Mamma Ornella, prepared and photographed by Amira.

We are starting our fourth week of quarantine today and we feel so priviledged to be healthy and to live in a remote place in the countryside.
But the continuing tragedies with losses in so many families in Italy and the whole world make it hard also for us to keep spirits up.

Therefore cooking and eating together is an important part of our everyday life in the "Decameron". We try to preserve this "momento conviviale" (the moment of being together) which is so wonderfully important in Italy.
It is helping us and hopefully many other families in our country in these difficult times.

Our chef is Amira, who also takes care of our vegetable garden. Today she presents a traditional risotto recipe - with radicchio.

One of the specialties of Umbria are legumes: lentils, chickpeas and a variety of beans. They are used for an almost endless number of healthy and protein-rich dishes, which are part of the basic diet in Umbria. At La Rogaia we have our own, especially delicious version of a chickpea and chard soup.

When autumn is coloring the woods of Umbria and when you can hear the echo of the hunters calling  from hill to hill it is high season for the typical autumn dishes. And Mamma Ornella is in top form in her kitchen at La Rogaia! Here are a few samples from her cuisine ...