This elegant dish was inspired by something served at Aga in Italy during our recent vacation. First eggplant is smoked, then a broth is made from the eggplant skin and the eggplant pulp is reduced to become a filling for … Continue reading Smoked Eggplant Ravioli in Broth
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
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)
We are on vacation in an RV and are now camped near Venice. Most evenings we eat at restaurants to sample the local cuisine, but tonight we wanted to stay at the campsite and so I cycled to the local … Continue reading Linguine ai Moscardini (Pasta with Baby Octopus Sous-Vide)
We all know it’s good to eat lots of vegetables and we love eating pasta, so I am always looking for pasta dishes that include a healthy dose of vegetables. Runner beans are easily available in the Netherlands, but I’ve … Continue reading Farfalle Pasta with Runner Beans and Prosciutto, ‘Carbonara’-Style
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)
Samphire has been an easily available ingredient around here for years, but I haven’t been using it very often. As it is such a local ingredient to me, it had not occurred to me to use it in Italian cooking. … Continue reading Pasta with Jumbo Shrimp and Samphire (Pasta con Gamberoni e Salicornia)
Doesn’t this risotto have a great color? I had some carrots, some fish stock, and some canned tomatoes I needed to use up, and thus this risotto was born. The cod was a nice addition that I bought especially for … Continue reading Risotto with Cod, Carrots and Lemon
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)
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
Italian cooking is about the art of “less is more”. When I thought of this pasta dish, I thought the flavors of roasted cauliflower, boiled ham, and cumin would work well together. And they did! And I resisted the urge … Continue reading Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Ham, and Cumin
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
One thing I don’t like about fava beans is all the waste. The actual beans are only about 20-25% of the gross weight, and that is even before double-shelling them (i.e. remove the light-colored bitter membrane around the green tender … Continue reading Pasta with Fava Bean Pods (Pasta con Baccelli di Fave)
Each region of Italy has its own pasta shapes. One of the typical shapes of Sardinia (Sardegna) is fregula or fregola, made from durum wheat flour and water, and similar to cous cous. The store-bought variety is a bit like … Continue reading Fregula with Clams (Fregola con Cocciua Niedda)
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)
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
To celebrate the coming of Spring I wanted to create a dish with spring vegetables, and came up with these wonderful ravioli filled with baby asparagus, snow peas, peas, baby carrots, ricotta, parmigiano, and basil. Served with a fresh tomato … Continue reading Ravioli Primavera
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)
Fennel develops a great flavor when it is braised slowly until it lightly caramelizes and becomes mushy, and it pairs well with fish. In this case I chose whiting, and used the heads and bones of the fish to make … Continue reading Risotto with Braised Fennel and Whiting
Smoked eel and celeriac go very well together, and I’ve already posted about risotto and pasta with this combination. Even more refined are these ravioli stuffed with a creamy filling of celeriac and smoked eel, and served with a creamy … Continue reading Smoked Eel and Celeriac Ravioli (Ravioli di Anguilla Affumicata e Sedano Rapa)
This post was inspired by two of my blogging friends. The idea to use riso venere, black rice, came from ChgoJohn. Black risotto can be made in two ways: by using squid ink to make ordinary risotto black, or by using … Continue reading Black Risotto with Crab and Artichoke (Riso Venere con Granchio e Carciofi)
Calamarata is a pasta shape from southern Italy that looks like rings of calamari, and it is most often served with a seafood sauce. This fish ragù is very simple and can be prepared while the pasta cooks (provided that … Continue reading Calamarata al Ragù di Pesce (Pasta with Fish Ragù)
This pasta dish is quick and easy enough to serve for a weekday meal, and special and delicious enough for a dinner party. It takes less than half an hour to prepare, and only a few ingredients are required. The … Continue reading Fusilli with Smoked Eel and Celeriac
There are three things I don’t like about artichokes: (1) it is a lot of work to clean them, (2) they don’t go well with wine, and (3) you can only eat a small part of them and have to throw … Continue reading Artichoke Ravioli (Ravioli con Carciofi)
Each region of Italy has its own pasta shapes and pasta recipes. Valeggio sul Mincio, a town near Lago di Garda and the city of Verona, is famous for its Tortellini di Valeggio, tortellini made of pasta as thin as … Continue reading Tortellini di Valeggio
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