"Cuttlefish in the style of Venice." A popular dish in Venice of cuttlefish stewed in their ink with onions, wine and puréed tomatoes and served with grilled polenta.
"Serpent." A twisted, S-shaped flaky pastry from Macerata in the Marche made with ground almonds, sugar and lemon zest. It may be filled with fruit or chocolate.
Indian sesame seeds are cream-coloured, small and glossy. Chinese sesame seeds are black. Black seeds have a slightly stronger flavour. Before using untoasted seeds, either lightly toast, dry-fry or dry-bake in the oven until they begin to jump. In some parts of the United States these are called benne seeds.
Lovage. A large unwieldy herb. Pick the stems off the leaves, tie them and hang them to dry for about 3 days. When crisp, crumble the leaves and store. Good in hotpots. Lovage seeds are used mainly in Indian cooking, and are from a plant of the caraway family. The greenish-brown seeds are a little larger than celery seeds and have a strong aroma of rather coarse thyme. Oregano can be substituted.
