Emiko Davies – författare

Uncover the recipes and stories from a largely unheralded region of Tuscany, the Silver Coast; a place of wild natural beauty, idyllic coastlines and crumbling hilltop villages. Its cuisine is rustic, peasant food, often cooked in one pot. 'Acquacotta', which literally translates as “cooked water”, is its most famous dish, a soup made of slowly simmered tomatoes, onions and poached eggs. There are countless variations, and every town has its own version. The Silver Coast is surrounded by thick, wild, forest-covered hills and twisted, ancient olive trees. This backdrop provides the ingredients for hearty soups and stews as well as lighter seafood and vegetable dishes. Acquacotta offers more than 80 recipes across five chapters divided by themes: Dal Bosco - food from the woods (including foraged and hunted foods); Dal Mare - from the sea; Dal Orto - from the vegetable patch; Dal Fattoria - from the farm (including legumes, grains, rabbit, poultry and eggs); Dolci - sweets, preserves and homemade liqueurs. All the recipes are photographed on location and interspersed with some glorious images of this secret part of Italy.

Sometime in the 1950s, Emiko Davies' nonno-in-law began the tradition of ringing in the new year with tortellini al sugo. He served it along with spumante and a round of tombola, and sparked a trend; up until the 1970s, you could find tortellini at midnight on New Year's Eve in the bars around the Tuscan town of Fucecchio.This is just one of the heirloom dishes in this collection, for which Emiko Davies has gathered some of her favourite family recipes. They trace generations that span the length of Italy, from the Mediterranean port city of Taranto in the southern heel of Puglia to elegant Turin, the city of aperitif and Italian cafe culture in the far north and, finally, back to Tuscany, which Emiko calls home. Tortellini at Midnight is a book rich with nostalgia, with fresh, comforting food and stunning photography. It is a book that is good for the soul.

"Florentine is a book that appeals both to my sense of nostalgia (I lived in Florence, working as a chambermaid, when I was 19) and my appetite... its gorgeous pictures of Florence, and snatches of Florentine life, but is far from being a coffee-table book: the recipes take you there just as evocatively." – Nigella Lawson

Torta della Nonna brings together 55 of the best Italian sweet recipes from Emiko Davies' books, Florentine, Acquacotta and Tortellini at Midnight, plus five brand new recipes.Across eight chapters, this stunning collection features classic well-known recipes, as well as family recipes passed from generation to generation.The 60 recipes include sweet Italian breakfasts (including Lemon and ricotta cake, Italian brioche croissants and Little custard and quince jam pies); classic treats from nonna's oven (Hazelnut cake, Chocolate and amaretti flan, Stuffed peaches); snacks (Rosemary and sultana buns, Sweet breadsticks, Strawberries and wine); biscuits (Red crown biscuits, Almond biscotti, Polenta biscuits); recipes for celebrations(Florentine cake; Honey and nut pastries; Chocolate-filled sponge roll); treats to eat with a spoon (Baked rice pudding; Coffee-laced ricotta; Zuppa Inglese); frozen treats(Milk gelato; Plum sorbet; Gianduia semifreddo); and five essentials any Italian cook needs up their sleeve.Alongside Emiko Davies' evocative storytelling and beautiful photographs, all shot in Tuscany, from Florence to the Silver Coast, Torta della Nonna will bring the sweet tastes and romance of Italy into your home.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARDS 2023Cinnamon and Salt is a collection of recipes, stories and photographs that invites you to beautiful Venice through its beloved cicchetti.Cicchetti (pronounced chi-ke-tee) are little morsels; think of them as appetisers, aperitivo or hors d’oeuvres – but cicchetti are undeniably, distinctly Venetian and a delicious nod to Venice’s casual way of life. In Cinnamon and Salt, Italy-based food writer Emiko Davies delves into the rich, multicultural history of Venice and its unique cuisine, detailing more than sixty classic and modern recipes, from fried to sweet and from small plates to drinks. Try sweet and sour radicchio, the legendary fried meatballs, or creamy whipped cod on squares of polenta. Indulge in Venetian soft-shell crab before moving on to rose petal jam and sugar-coated fritters. You’ll even find recipes for a spritz, a Bellini and a thick hot chocolate, and be let in on the secrets to creating your own authentic cicchetti.

Discover the cuisine of a secret part of southernmost Tuscany, known as La Costa D’Argento — the silver coast, in the second edition of Acquacotta.In this cookbook, Tuscan-based, Australian-born writer and photographer Emiko Davies has compiled and adapted her Italian family’s best-loved recipes from Capalbio, Monte Argentario, Giglio Island and inland to the hot springs of Saturnia and the ancient Pitigliano. It is a celebration of the region that's named for the shimmery salt-and-pepper sand along this part of the Tyrrhenian Sea, its rolling hills, long beaches, overgrown fig trees, rambling vineyards – and rich culinary history. The latest iteration of Acquacotta features a beautiful new cover and a vegetarian and gluten-free index that highlights a different side to Italian cuisine. In words and pictures, Emiko guides readers through the use of local ingredients, as well as sharing the history of rustic, storied dishes including scampi and potato soup, hand-rolled strozzapreti noodles, spinach and ricotta tortelli, chestnut gnocchi and the classic fig and chocolate bread, pagnotella. Plus, of course, the book’s namesake acquacotta, a quintessential Maremman peasant dish that captures the spirit of this special place.

Practically any home-cooked Japanese meal revolves around rice. It sits beside miso soup, pickles, tofu and a piece of grilled fish at breakfast. It soaks up the sauce in a comforting donburi bowl, or is wrapped in nori for the ultimate portable lunch – onigiri. And it's there for dinner, perhaps served with a pickled plum, some mild Japanese curry, braised fish or even a Japanese-style Hamburg steak. The everyday meals, cooked in the homes of Japanese mothers and grandmothers, is the food that Emiko grew up with. They're the dishes she makes for her own children: simple, satisfying food like tamagonogohan (stir fried egg and rice), soba noodle soup, Japanese curry, yakisoba, and miso soup, prepared with whatever seasonal vegetables happen to be around. Unlike what many people think, Japanese home cooking is not fiddly, nor time consuming. It's quick and remarkably simple, thanks to the Japanese philosophy that fresh, seasonal food doesn't need much to enhance its natural flavor.“Gohan to me means the everyday home-cooked meal. Nothing fussy. It’s quick and easy, but nourishing. A meal made with love.”

Essential Japanese pantry dishes from Emiko Davies, author of Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking. The Japanese Pantry is a follow up to Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking, Emiko’s tribute to her mother’s family and her soul food — Japanese home cooking. In The Japanese Pantry, Emiko explores the pantry items essential to Japanese home cooking. Simple, easy-to-find ingredients that can be combined with fresh produce and a few other basics like tofu, rice and noodles to create delicious and authentic Japanese food no matter where you are. Each chapter explores one of these essential ingredients – soy sauce, miso, rice vinegar, seaweed, sake, sesame and tea – including information about the history and production of these in Japan, as well as Emiko’s thoughtful and approachable recipes.In helping readers get to know these pantry essentials, Emiko hopes to give home cooks the confidence to make authentic Japanese dishes that are inherently simple and full of flavour.