In A Stew Over The Rugby

How better to enjoy the Six Nations than with this delicious, homely dish?

LOVE is in the air. Valentine’s Day on February 14 is always a good excuse for a little romance. All those lovestruck love-birds out on their dates. Each year we see the couples getting younger and younger. My children will be starting soon! But if you’re not in the mood for romance there is another special event happening in February – the Six Nations rugby championship.

More importantly, Scotland play Italy at Murrayfield on February 2 and my heart, as far as rugby is concerned, belongs to Scotland. My brothers all played rugby. Three of them played much better than the other one, but he was good at everything else, so we forgave him. My son loves rugby but I can’t watch him as I cringe at the thought of any of the boys getting hurt, especially my beautiful boy. Well, I am an Italian Mamma after all.

Recently, I’ve started to listen to rugby games on the radio.

I think not being able to see the game makes the atmosphere feel more electric. I’m usually listening in the car, but for a Scotland versus Italy game, I think I’d better park!

Thankfully, we’re always super busy in our Edinburgh restaurants when the rugby matches are on. With a 67,000 crowd capacity at Murrayfield and sell-out games months in advance, everyone in the city gets the benefit. But if you’re entertaining at home I’ve got the perfect Italian Scots recipe for you – Italian stew. This is best made one or two days in advance and it’s one of those classic recipes where you have all the meat and vegetables you need in one pot, so no extra pans required and far less washing up. Accompany with red wine if Italy wins and beer if Scotland wins – both work well.

This has always been a family favourite of ours and when the boys came back from a rugby match my mother would often make this dish for us. In the 1970s, before the artisan bakery was in vogue, the closest thing we got to handmade bread was a Mother’s Pride loaf! We all used to fight for the thick door-stop end to soak up the juices. Now you can enjoy your stew with a fabulous sourdough

– or homemade focaccia if you’re happy to be baking and listening to the match on the radio.