Raffaela Delmonte's childhood in Italy was full of happy associations with food: helping her grandmother make crema pasticcera for merenda; unforgettable birthday parties; an apple cake reminiscent of holidays spent at Santa Margherita Ligure. Even as a little girl, Raffaela was deeply affected by flavours and smells - basil, myrtle and even the smell of snow.
'The Fragrance Of Basil' is a warm and affectionate memoir in which the author's passion for food becomes deliciously contagious to the reader. Full of unique but simple regional recipes, this is a book about local customs, songs and scenery, about an Italy that few of us know, and a memorable family that we grow to love.
