It has been a while since I had last cooked a recipe from Biba Caggiano, my favorite cookbook author. Rabbit in piquant sauce is something I had prepared before more than a decade ago, and I remember the rabbit turned … Continue reading Rabbit in Piquant Sauce, Stovetop Braised or Sous-Vide (Coniglio in Salsa Piccante)
There are many versions of ragù alla bolognese that do not have much to do with the original from the city of Bologna. They may be tasty pasta sauces, but in my opinion they should be given another name such … Continue reading Ragù alla Bolognese: Pressure Cooked, Sous-Vide, or Traditional?
Ragù di Cinghiale is a famous pasta sauce made with wild boar meat and tomatoes from Tuscany and Umbria, served over a sturdy type of long pasta like pappardelle or pici. I’ve already posted a classic recipe for Pappardelle al Ragù … Continue reading Wild Boar Ragù Sous-Vide (Ragù di Cinghiale)
Sometimes fresh borlotti beans are available at the market in Amsterdam. The pods are so pretty that they look like they were designed by an artist. I had picked up some and decided to turn it into a minestra using … Continue reading Pasta and Fresh Borlotti Beans Soup (Pasta con i Fagioli Freschi)
A simple classic from Italian kitchens: spaghetti with sausage and cream. This comfort food is even more simple than pasta with sausage and bell pepper, or with porcini, sausage, and cream. And it can be prepared in the time it … Continue reading Spaghetti with Sausage and Cream (Spaghetti Salsiccia e Panna)
There are two posts about fresh pasta with mushrooms on this blog already: pappardelle with fresh porcini and pappardelle with dried porcini and fresh mushrooms. There are two reasons for yet another post. The first one is that during our … Continue reading Tagliolini ai Funghi di Bosco (Fresh Pasta with Wild Mushrooms)
Vitello tonnato is one of my favorite dishes. The combination of slices of tender veal with a tuna sauce is surprisingly delicious. I’ve posted a sous-vide version of Vitello Tonnato before, but in that version only the veal was cooked … Continue reading Vitello Tonnato Extremely Sous-Vide
This is food blogging how I like it best. Today I came home from work, cooked dinner while taking photos, less than half an hour later we enjoyed a simple but delicious and healthy meal, and another half an hour … Continue reading Pasta with Cabbage and Smoked Prosciutto (Penne Verza e Speck)
Blecs is a pasta shape from Friuli. Blecs are triangular, square or lozenge shaped fresh pasta, similar to quadrucci or maltagliati. I tasted them for the first time at Trattoria Ai Cacciatori in Friuli, where the blecs were made with nettles and … Continue reading Blecs with Nettles, Lamb and Crunchy Vegetable Ragù
Frico is a typical dish from the Italian region of Friuli in the North-East. It is made from potatoes and Montasio cheese. Sometimes also onions are included. I tried it the first time when Marina from Le Ricette di Baccos … Continue reading Frico
It is time for another quick pasta dish. One of those that takes about as long as is needed to cook the pasta. It took me 22 minutes to cook this dish from start to finish, including taking all the … Continue reading Pasta with Sausage and Bell Pepper (Fusilli Salsiccia e Peperone)
There is something fishy about this post. See if you can find out what it is while you are reading. I’ll reveal the mystery at the end… Many Italian pasta recipes will tell you to cook the pasta for a … Continue reading Spaghetti Risottati alle Triglie (Risotto-Style Spaghetti with Red Mullet)
Razor clams are shellfish with an unusual shape. Compared to vongole (clams) they are sweeter and slightly more chewy. The recipe for linguine with razor clams is very similar to that of spaghetti alle vongole. Just like other clams, the … Continue reading Linguine with Razor Clams (Linguine ai Cannolicchi)
When I saw a recipe from Le Ricette di Baccos with a zucchini ‘pesto’, I thought it would be great with fresh homemade tagliolini. This is a great summer recipe that requires minimal cooking, as the zucchini are raw and … Continue reading Tagliolini al Pesto di Zucchine e Pistacchi (Fresh Pasta with Zucchini and Pistachio Pesto)
In Italy a distinction is made between ristoranti, more formal restaurants, and trattorie, more informal restaurants with rustic food like grandma used to prepare it. The Gambero Rosso guide awards 1, 2 or 3 forks (forchette) to the best restaurants, … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Pretzhof
I love it when a reader reports about having tried a recipe from this blog, and even more so when they post a picture on Stefan’s Gourmet Blog’s Facebook page. Jev Kuznetsov did something similar, as he started with my recipe … Continue reading Risotto al Polpo e Chorizo (Octopus and Chorizo Risotto)
I use two rules for distinguishing a good Italian restaurant from a tourist trap. The rule in Italy is that the menu should have local dishes from the region (e.g. spaghetti alla carbonara is a good sign in Rome but … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Eatmosfera
Homemade ravioli can be considered to be my signature dish. These delicate parcels of deliciousness are not that hard to make once you get the hang of them, and the possibilities are endless. Since I haven’t posted a new recipe … Continue reading Ravioli al Prosciutto
Before we continue with another dish from our Thai feast, I’d like to share this very simple pasta dish from Rome with you that is perfect for the hot summer weather we are having. Spaghetti alla Checca is cold (or … Continue reading Spaghetti alla Checca
My friend Antonella took a sabbatical to be trained as a professional pastry chef in Italy. Upon her return, she baked acetani for us, wonderful almond-orange cookies that are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and have lovely aromas … Continue reading Acetani (Italian Almond-Orange Cookies)
Every time I browse the many cookbooks by Biba Caggiano I own, a recipe catches my eye that I haven’t tried before. In this case it was bucatini alle cipolle, a very simple pasta dish that makes the onions shine … Continue reading Bucatini alle Cipolle (Pasta with Onions)
Kees is working on the boat and I contribute by luring friends to help out by providing dinner. After a day of hard work, a baked pasta dish seemed like a good idea. This was also very practical, as I … Continue reading Baked Pasta with Ham and Peas (Pasta al Forno con Cotto e Piselli)
Calamari are mostly known as deep fried rings. They are especially delicious when you make them from fresh calamari. Calamari do not only consist of a body (that is cut into rings) but they also have tentacles. You could deep … Continue reading Linguine with Calamari Tentacles (Linguine ai Tentacoli di Calamari)
My favorite way of blogging is to cook something, eat it, blog about it right afterwards, and then read your comments. That’s what I did today. From the kitchen to the blog in a couple of hours. Risottos always take a bit … Continue reading Risotto with Cream of Shrimp (Risotto con Crema di Gamberi)
Lately I’ve been getting a lot of inspiration from three Italian food blogging ladies that I follow. Even though I like to experiment with different cuisines and techniques, Italian home cooking always stays closest to my heart. In this case … Continue reading Breaded Lamb Chops (Costolette di Agnello Impanate)
Have you ever heard of risotto alla bolognese? I had not. Or at least I couldn’t remember, because I found it in a cookbook by Biba Caggiano that I’d had for years. It’s not a traditional combination, but it it … Continue reading Risotto alla Bolognese
Pastiera is a traditional Easter cake from Naples, filled with boiled wheat, ricotta, and candied citrus. The wheat provides an interesting texture and also makes the cake quite filling. The candied citron, candied orange, lemon zest, orange blossom water, and … Continue reading Pastiera Napoletana
Cooking a delicious weekday meal can be as quick as it takes to cook the pasta. Thanks to my blogging friend Simona and her wonderful blog Grembiule da cucina, here’s another one. The combination of tomatoes and sundried tomatoes works … Continue reading Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Olives (Orecchiette con Pomodori Secchi e Olive)
Do you like to spend less time cooking? How about less than 10 minutes?! Veal scaloppine are delicious, and cook very quickly. There are many variations, like with marsala, or piccata, or saltimbocca. In this case the sauce is made … Continue reading Scaloppine all’Aceto Balsamico (Veal Scaloppine with Balsamic)
Sea scallops are one of my favorite foods. This quick and easy preparation makes them shine: they are pan-fried and then finished with a sauce of white wine, lemon, capers, and anchovies. The sauce is pretty hefty, but the scallops … Continue reading Scallops with Capers, Anchovies, Lemon, and Wine (Cape Sante in Padella)
