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)
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)
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
When I saw this original way to prepare zucchini as a side dish on the blog of my Italian blogging friend Bea, I knew I had to try it. I’m glad that I did, because it is absolutely wonderful. Zucchini … Continue reading How to Turn Zucchini into a Wonderful Side Dish (Contorno di Zucchine)
A piadina (plural: piadine) is a flatbread made from flour, lard, and milk or water, stuffed with salumi (prosciutto, mortadella, etc.), cheese and vegetables (such as arugula and tomatoes) and then toasted, from the region of Romagna. If you can find squacquerone, … Continue reading Piadina Romagnola
As every year, for my birthday I baked to treat my colleagues. This year I made a pound cake, almond cookies stuffed with amarena cherries, and an Italian apple cake. Other than Dutch appeltaart (the same as American apple pie), Italian torta … Continue reading Torta di Mele (Apple Cake)
Since I had some lovely homemade sausage, I thought it was time to try another Italian classic: ravioli filled with sausage and potato. Another version of sausage ravioli is with ricotta and spinach, the Bartolini version. As I wanted the … Continue reading Sausage and Potato Ravioli (Ravioli di Salsiccia e Patate)
For Christmas I got a meat grinding attachment for my stand mixer, and so I can finally make my own salsiccia. Italian pork sausage (salsiccia) is an important ingredient for many Italian primi piatti, like risotto al barolo con salsiccia, malloreddus alla … Continue reading Homemade Italian Pork Sausage (Salsiccia Fatta in Casa)
