Agrodolce
Sweet and sour. Parts of Italy still use these medieval flavourings, often strongest in ex-trade routes to the east like Venice. Food is soused in vinegar and sugar, along with onions, pine nuts, grapes etc.

A prime example, and a Palmiro favourite, is ‘Sarde in Saor’, a Venetian dish of deep-fried sardine fillets layered with shredded onion slow-cooked in vinegar and sugar then chilled. It regularly sells out quickly when on the menu.

Amaretto
Apricot kernel liqueur, we use the Di Saronno brand in cakes and on ricotta and amaretti peaches.

Anchovies
Small, intensely flavoured fish fillets, preserved either in oil or in salt. If salted, they must be rinsed, de-boned and patted dry. Melt into butter or oil over a low heat and use as a sauce base to deepen flavours.

Baccala
Dried salt cod, also used heavily in Portuguese and Spanish cookery. It's mainly a pricey deli speciality in northern Italy. Served with grilled polenta, the brick-like fish is soaked 24 hours in slow dripping cold water, cooked and de-boned. Baccala combines well with tomato for ‘Visentina’ or cream for ‘Mantecato’; it is ‘poveri’ food that has become ‘ricchi’.

Balsamic Vinegar
A culinary cliché and source of great gourmandism. True Modena balsamic is boiled then aged grape juice. It attracts the same loyalties as wine, with vintages laid down up to and over 100 years attracting outrageous prices and awarded in dowries. To get some of the syrupy sweetness of a 50 year balsamic from a puny 2 or 3 year old bottle, boil it down, but be careful as burnt pans are bin jobs.

Basil
A summer herb, used in salads and pesto. There are many varieties and colours, from tiny thyme like leaves to salad monsters. Rip, don’t cut, the leaves, as they will turn brown quickly. Deep fry for a few seconds to make a transparent garnish.

Bruschetta
Thick slices of sourdough, pugliese or the nearest thing to country bread you can find, rubbed with garlic and grilled. Bruschetta is usually loaded down with tomatoes, marinated peppers…

Bottarga
Long, brownish dried roe of grey mullet or tuna. We get ours whole, hung on twine from relatives in Erice, Sicily. Classic use is simply with spaghetti, lemon, olive oil and chilli flakes.

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