One of my favorite dishes from our recent wine study trip to Emilia-Romagna was the Mezzi rigatoni con scarola, olive taggiasche, e salsiccia we enjoyed at Osteria la Baita in Faenza. This is not necessarily a typical regional dish, as … Continue reading Mezzi Rigatoni with Escarole, Taggiasca Olives, and Sausage
Garden peas are an intriguing seasonal ingredient. They are at their best when they are still small, tender, and sweet, but this window lasts only a day or two. When they are left to mature on the vine, the sugars … Continue reading Potato Gnocchi with Garden Peas, Zucchini & Ricotta
I had some pumpkin and sage in my fridge that needed to be used up. I thought they would make a great risotto, especially with the addition of some homemade pancetta from my freezer. This combination is a classic of … Continue reading Risotto with Pumpkin, Pancetta, and Sage (Risotto zucca, pancetta e salvia)
Earlier this year, while visiting the Northern Italian city of Padova, I spotted a dish on the menu I had never heard of: Lasagne ai tre carni. I always jump at the chance to discover new, authentic classics, and this … Continue reading Lasagne al Ragù Bianco (Lasagna with White Meat Ragù)
Risotto is the ultimate comfort food—not just when you eat it, but also while you make it. The gentle, rhythmic stirring isn’t complicated and can be a relaxing ritual, especially with good company or a glass of wine in hand. … Continue reading Risotto Verza e Salsiccia (Risotto with Savoy Cabbage and Italian Sausage)
Pesto alla genovese is one of those ingredients that is much better when made at home, even if you use a blender instead of a mortar and pestle. There are two reasons for this. First, almost all store-bought pesto contains … Continue reading Lasagne alla Genovese (Lasagne with Green Beans and Basil Pesto)
As part of our wine tour through Friuli, we had dinner at La Subida Trattoria al Cacciatore. The chef’s specialty is girini—his interpretation of a traditional local dish made by letting pasta batter drip into boiling water to form fresh pasta. What … Continue reading Girini (Crumbles of Dropped Pasta) with Rabbit, Samphire, and Cherry Tomatoes
Italians are very proud of their culinary heritage, and rightly so. There are even some traditional Italian dishes for which an official recipe has been established. This helps to preserve the traditional dishes in their original form. The most famous … Continue reading Ragù alla Bolognese (The Official Recipe)
Italians are very proud of their culinary heritage, and rightly so. There are even some traditional Italian dishes for which an official recipe has been established. This helps to preserve the traditional dishes in their original form. The most famous … Continue reading The New Official Recipe for Ragù alla Bolognese
We are spending the Dutch winter in the Australian summer, and this is the first time I am not cooking at home for Christmas. I have very limited cooking equipment in the camper, and when I did the shopping for … Continue reading Tagliatelle with Rock Lobster (Tagliatelle all’Aragosta)
Slow-roasting cauliflower means to roast it in the oven for 2 to 3 hours at 160C/320F. Then it gets a completely different texture, flavor, and color. We love slow-roasted cauliflower and I have already published several recipes on this blog … Continue reading Pasta with Slow-Roasted Cauliflower
Every year when Gambero Rosso announces the winners of the tre bicchieri (3 glasses) in their Vini d’Italia guide, I check if there are any wines that I would like to try. Only 400-500 wines win a tre bicchieri award … Continue reading Vermicelli al Sugo di Sgavajone
This ravioli dish is one of my favorite ‘battle horses’, an Italian term (cavallo di battaglia) for a dish that is always a success when I prepare it for guests. I also prepared this for my friends Robert and Melvin … Continue reading Meat Ravioli with Butter and Sage (Ravioli di Carne con Burro e Salvia)
This pasta dish was inspired by a fish stew from Burgundy called Pôchouse. The fish is poached in white wine and the poaching liquid is reduced together with fish stock and then turned into a creamy sauce by adding crème … Continue reading Fresh Pasta with Pikeperch and Cream
Pasta alle Cenere literally means “pasta with ashes”. This name does not refer to the flavor, but to the appearance of the dish. It is pasta with a sauce of gorgonzola (Italian blue cheese), black olives, and cream. Freshly ground … Continue reading Ravioli alle Cenere
Lazio, the Italian region of which Rome is the capital, has four famous simple classic pasta dishes with similar ingredients: Recently my friend Melvin pointed out that there is a fifth one called Zozzona, which I had never heard of … Continue reading Pasta alla Zozzona
Pasta with meat ragù is one of the best known Italian dishes around the world. Each region in Italy has its own version. The most famous is Tagliatelle alla Bolognese. It is so famous in fact, that outside of Italy, … Continue reading Rigatoni Strascicati col Ragù (Pasta with Florentine Meat Ragù)
I created this dish to use up what was in my fridge — so I could also call it pasta svuotafrigo. I had some leeks, left over prosciutto, and left over ricotta that all needed to be used up. I … Continue reading Pasta with Leeks, Prosciutto, and Ricotta (Trofie ai Porri, Crudo e Ricotta)
Ricotta and spinach are a classic combination in Italian cooking, especially as a stuffing for ravioli. It also works great with a ‘pink’ tomato sauce, which means a tomato sauce that is mixed with either cream or white sauce (besciamella). … Continue reading Spinach, Ricotta, and Tomato Lasagna (Lasagne di Magro)
For Easter dinner I wanted to enjoy a nice bottle of Barolo from the 2006 vintage, that I had acquired at the winery in 2010 and had been aging in my wine fridge ever since. It was easy to select … Continue reading Fresh Pasta with Beef and Porcini Mushroom Ragù (Tajarin al Ragù di Manzo en Funghi Porcini)
My friend Melvin had enjoyed Spaghetti V.G.P. at a restaurant in Sicily, and suggested we make prepare this. Pasta with vongole, gamberi (shrimp) and pistachios is quite common in Sicilian restaurants; it uses local ingredients and is a great flavor … Continue reading Spaghetti V.G.P. (Spaghetti with Vongole, Shrimp, and Pistachios)
Since I really liked the flavor profile of a Portuguese dish I made of rice with lobster and clams (Arroz de lagosta), I thought it would be nice to turn it into a risotto. The Portugese arroz is much more … Continue reading Risotto Astice e Vongole (Lobster and Clam Risotto)
Coda alla Vaccinara is a classic dish from Rome that is oxtail stewed in tomato sauce with lardo, wine, garlic, and the holy trinity of Italian stews (onion, carrot, celery). Some recipes include more ‘exotic’ ingredients like raisins, pine nuts, … Continue reading Ravioli di Coda alla Vaccinara (Oxtail Ravioli)
Italy has an almost endless supply of authentic regional recipes. I love making ravioli and there are already many recipes on this blog, both traditional and of my own invention. After the recent joy of making Tordelli alla Lucchese (from … Continue reading Casoncelli della Bergamasca (typical ravioli from Bergamo)
This recipe for pasta with pumpkin is from Campania and Calabria, where it is made using the local elongated variety of pumpkin called cocozza (cucuzza in Calabria). Since pumpkin doesn’t have a very strong flavor anyway, you can easily substitute … Continue reading Pasta with Pumpkin (Pasta e Zucca)
Italian cuisine is very regional. Italy has 20 regions that are further subdivided into 107 provinces. The provinces are usually named after the main city or town. Each province is proud of its culinary tradition and has its own piatti … Continue reading Tordelli al Ragù (Ravioli from Lucca)
I got the idea to combine a lemon risotto with clams from our dinner at Taverna Estia, where the dish was more elaborate and also included raw shrimp and pistachios. I had never prepared a lemon risotto before, which I … Continue reading Lemon Risotto with Clams (Risotto al Limon con Vongole)
At A Casa di Nonna restaurant in Pula in the South of Sardinia I enjoyed Fregola al ragù di pecora con vino rosso, which is fregula/fregola with a mutton ragù with red wine. Fregula is a Sardinian version of couscous, … Continue reading Fregula with Mutton Ragù (Fregola al Ragù di Pecora)
Manfrigole are comfort food from Valtellina, a valley in the North of Italy near Switzerland. I encountered them for the first time during the wine trip to Lombardia last fall, where we enjoyed them for both lunch and dinner. Manfrigole … Continue reading Manfrigole (Buckwheat Pancakes Filled With Casera Cheese)
The combination of mussels and potatoes is a classic one. For instance in Belgium as moules et frites (mussels with fries). In the Bistrot in Maddalena, Sardegna, Italy, we enjoyed a potato velouté with mussels. My version was inspired by … Continue reading Potato Velouté With Mussels (Vellutata di Patate con Cozze)
