From the Pan

My earliest memories are of Mamma making polenta in a large copper pot over our open fireplace, which in those days she used all of her cooking. Mamma also cooked with the traditional soapstone pots and pans that have been made in Valtellina for centuries. These pots and pans were ideal for cooking over a fire, giving the same result to slow-cooked food that oven baking gives today – in fact, our word for pan-frying and slow-cooking on the stovetop, and share my favourite recipes here Follow the same tips as for baking, then pat food dry before frying, and use a clean, heavy-based pan preheated over high heat.