Italy is art, history, stunning landscape, warm and welcoming people – and food. An integral part of lifestyles here, as varied as the terrain and the hill towns, the culinary wonders of Italy vary region to region – and even town to town.
For about 6 persons Soon, peas will be ripe in the garden. Spring brings countless dishes offering peas as the culinary protagonist: risotto con piselli, pasta con piselli e prosciutto… and this is an interesting one. Ingredients: 1 head of lettuce… but NOT iceberg! Romaine or another sort, tender leaves About 2 1/2 cups of…
Ingredients: Large can whole Roma tomatoes or large can of sauce 2 or 3 garlic cloves 1/2 white or yellow onion Extra-virgin olive oil Aspargus, i bunch, cut into small pieces less than 1? each approximately (assuming you are not going out to your woods to hunt wild asparagus!) Parmesan Optional: chili pepper Optional: 2…
Late April/May is asparagus season here in Italy and the best of all are the wild asparagus (in fact, I will be heading for our woods today to hunt them). Now is the time to savor wild asparagus frittata (Italian omelette), risotto, soups and countless types of pasta dishes. If you are in Italy at…
Here in Italy, bowtie pasta is called farfalle (“butterflies “- have a look at them again and you’ll see the name fits!) Many restaurants serve “alla primavera” dishes, which generally indicates the predominance of springtime vegetables, such as asparagus, peas – though not always. In fact, in this recipe served by the Hotel Sole in…
Ingredients: (for 5) 1/2 white or yellow onion 1 cup or so tomato pulp, canned or fresh (if fresh tomatoes, only very ripe ones – Roma variety) handful of parsley 1 stalk of celery, finely-chopped handful of fresh basil 6 medium-sized potatoes, cut into tiny cubes 1/2 pound (approx) small, tube-shaped pasta extra virgin olive oil (q.b.! –…
NB I treasure the family recipes – passed on from mother and grandmother -which Ischia hotel-owner Gabriela has so kindly shared with me. Here are a few (with Gabriela’s generous permission). Please read my article to know more about beautiful Ischia. Ingredients: (for 5) 1 lb pasta – shell-shaped or elbow macaroni 2 anchovies handful of oregano…
Ingredients: (for 6) 1- 1/4 lbs pasta (or a bit less – use 1 lb of pasta for every 5 people) – use rigatoni or penne or bowtie pasta fresh peas (about 1- 1/2 c when shelled) fresh fava beans, if available (about 1 c. or more when shelled) 1 large onion, white or yellow olive oil –…
Signora Vincenza of the Sicilian Nebrodi mountains of Sicily (an area famous for its cultivation of pistachios) shared her recipe with me for this squisito pasta dish (and see “Volcanic Adventures” for more on Signora Vincenza and the area where she lives): Assuming you are not able to purchase pistacchio pesto at your local grocery store (!), try this alternative: Pulverize…
Ingredients (for 2 – 4) a couple generous handfuls of fresh basil (or more!) 2 garlic cloves a handful of pine nuts Extra virigin olive oil, q. b. (“quanto pasta” or “ as much as you need”) salt q. b. caprino cheese, q.b. (or use your favorite grated cheese if you do not have a goat cheese…
for 4 people Ingredients: 600 grams of pasta (about 1 1/4 lb) 50 leaves of basil 50 grams of pine nuts – about 1/4 c. (2 oz) 1 garlic glove 30 grams (about 4 T) of grated Parmesan cheese 30 grams of grated pecorino 1/2 glass of extravergine olio di oliva 2 small potatoes 100…