Ceraudo is one of the best wineries in Calabria (the ‘foot’ of Italy). It produces wines in the Val di Neto IGP, mainly from local grape varieties pecorello for white and gaglioppo for red. They also have an agriturismo, which … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Dattilo*
The next stop in our culinary tour of southern Italy is La Locandiera in Bernalda, near Matera in the region of Basilicata. Gambero Rosso has awarded it tre gamberi (three shrimp), which is the highest rating for a trattoria. We … Continue reading Dining in Italy: La Locandiera
Moscardini are baby octopus, and it is not often that I can get them fresh in Amsterdam. And so when I saw them, I grabbed them at the market (this was before we left to Italy, but I am typing … Continue reading Pasta Shells with Baby Octopus (Conchiglioni ai moscardini)
There are many restaurants in Italy called Antichi Sapori (Old Flavors), but the one owned by Pietro Zito in Puglia (in Montegrosso, near Bari) is probably the most famous. We’ve already had the pleasure of eating there in 2008, and … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Antichi Sapori (Pietro Zito)
To my surprise I had not yet blogged my recipe for risotto ai frutti di mare. That needed to be rectified as soon as possible, and it is certainly no punishment to have to eat this. There are two important … Continue reading Risotto ai Frutti di Mare (Seafood Risotto)
A sweet spinach tart? Yes, really. It is delicious. I have discovered this original dessert from the North-Italian town of Reggio Emilia thanks to Simona who is from that region and has the wonderful Italian food blog Grembiula da Cucina … Continue reading Erbazzone Dolce (Sweet Spinach and Almond Tart)
Stefano Arturi is an Italian food blogger who lives in the UK and has blogs in both Italian and English. He always has interesting traditional recipes and does a lot of research about the historical background of recipes. Recently he … Continue reading Scarpaccia Salata (Savory Zucchini Cake)
My Italian blogging friend Paola has dedicated her food blog (in Italian) to recipes and tips to avoid wasting food. Her recipes are always simple and tasty, and I often take inspiration from her. Like in this case, when she … Continue reading Fusilli with Fava Bean and Saffron Ragù (Fusilli al ragù di fave allo zafferano)
Four years ago I thought I had perfected lobster ravioli, but meanwhile I have developed an alternate version that is at least as good (and is an even better pairing with high quality oaked Chardonnay). This version has more texture … Continue reading Lobster Ravioli with Bisque Sauce (Ravioli all’Astice)
There are already several variations of pasta with broccoli on this blog, but this version stands out because it is literally not much more than pasta with broccoli. Other than those two ingredients, there is only water, salt, pepper, and … Continue reading Pasta with Broccoli
In Italian spezzatino means a stew in which the meat has been cut into pieces. It can be made from many kinds of meat, and in this case I opted for turkey. Lean and tender meat like turkey breast is not … Continue reading Turkey in Tomato Sauce (Spezzatino di Tacchino)
This is what we had for dinner tonight and a perfect example of cooking with what you have on hand. In this case I had some leftover scallops and from the fresh vegetables that I had only the bell peppers … Continue reading Tagliatelle with Scallops and Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce (Tagliatelle Capesante e Peperoni)
When I think of artichokes, I think of salads and appetizers. And so a recipe by Paola really caught my eye, because she blogged about a stew of veal with artichokes, a dish from Genova called Spezzatino con i carciofi. … Continue reading Veal and Artichoke Stew Sous-Vide (Spezzatino con i carciofi)
Friends were coming over for dinner. He loves Burgundy wines, especially red. That goes well with meat dishes like Boeuf Bourguignon, but she doesn’t eat meat. What to prepare? Then I remembered the great pairing of a Chambolle-Musigny (red Burgundy) … Continue reading Tuscan Bean Soup (Minestra di Fagioli)
Pasta e ceci is typical Italian comfort food. Ceci are chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. As with all Italian home cooking, many variations exist. Some are with tomatoes, some without (in bianco). Some are more like a soup, with … Continue reading Pasta with Chickpeas and Pancetta (Pasta e Ceci con Pancetta)
Paola is one of my Italian blogging friends and she always has tasty simple recipes. Her motto is use leftovers as much as possible. Although in this case she did not present this as a way to use up leftovers, … Continue reading Pasta with Pumpkin and Pancetta
One of my favorite dishes is veal saltimbocca, veal cutlets with prosciutto and sage. The combination works so well, that I thought it would be nice to make a variation using veal breast. This cut of meat is more flavorful … Continue reading Veal Roulade with Prosciutto and Sage (Punta di Vitello con Prosciutto e Salvia)
This was our main course for Christmas: a roulade of venison backstrap with prosciutto, rosemary, garlic, and parmigiano, with a side of roasted celeriac puree and some deep fried kale. Made with beef this roulade is called Rosa di Parma, … Continue reading Venison Rosa di Parma
Yet another dish from our trip to Sardinia. We had brodo di cipolle e ravioli di percorino at S’apposentu, and this is my rendition of it. The dish is very tasty and elegant, yet only uses a few simple ingredients. … Continue reading Onion Broth with Pecorino Ravioli (Brodo di cipolle e ravioli di pecorino)
In part of Italy it is a tradition to have dinner on Christmas Eve (the 24th) rather than on Christmas Day (the 25th). The cena della vigilia often features fish, and after yesterday’s recipe from Veneto it is fitting to have … Continue reading Cod alla Vicentina Sous-Vide (Merluzzo alla Vicentina)
When we had dinner at Michelin-starred restaurant S’Apposentu in Sardinia (read about our experience there in my review), one of the dishes that I decided right away I wanted to try at home was an unbaked lasagna with a mutton … Continue reading Unbaked Lamb Lasagna
Food blogging has provided me with so much inspiration to try new dishes. This tasty risotto was posted almost a year ago by CampariGirl, a long-time blogging friend. This time of the year it seems that the only local fresh … Continue reading Risotto with Savoy Cabbage and Sausage (Risotto Verza e Salsiccia)
This way of preparing sous-vide braised venison was inspired by a recipe from Piemonte in Italy to braise beef in red wine (or more specifically, in Barolo): Brasato al Barolo. The traditional recipe tells you to marinate the meat in … Continue reading Neck of Venison Sous-Vide with Red Wine (Brasato di Cervo)
Dorgali is a town in the mountains on the east coast of Sardinia. We were staying at the seaside resort of Cala Gonone, but drove up to Restaurant Ispinigoli in the mountains to try the local cuisine. (If you ever … Continue reading Ravioli alla Dorgalese (Pecorino and Mint Ravioli with Meat Ragù)
Pasta is sometimes cooked in the way of risotto in Italian cooking, which means that it is cooked (or finished to be cooked) in stock. The pasta will take on the flavor of the stock, so this will give your … Continue reading ‘Risottoed’ Tagliatelle with Mushrooms (Tagliatelle Risottate ai Funghi)
Guess what’s in the photo? Celery? Look again, but more closely. It’s cardoon (“kardoen” in Dutch, “cardo” in Italian and Spanish, or “cardon” in French). It is closely related to artichokes, and that is also what it tastes like. It is … Continue reading Cardoon Gratin (Cardi Gratinati)
Coda alla Vaccinara is a classic dish from Rome: oxtail stewed in tomato sauce. It is usually served as a secondo, but you can also eat the sauce over pasta as a primo before that. Another less common variation is … Continue reading Conchiglie alla Vaccinara (Pasta with Oxtail Ragù Sous-Vide)
The nice thing about cooking vacation memories is that even after having returned two months ago, it still keeps the memories fresh. When I saw Spaghetti alla Carbonara di Mare on the menu of La Perla in Calasetta on Sardinia, … Continue reading Spaghetti alla Carbonara di Mare
We love risotto and make it quite often. The nice thing about this recipe for bell pepper risotto is that no flavor is lost because the bell peppers are cooked in the stock that will be used for the risotto … Continue reading Bell Pepper Risotto (Risotto ai Peperoni)
I did not have any cinghiale al mirto in Sardinia, but I did bring home dried myrtle berries. In Sardinia they may also use the greens and fresh berries, but those are hard (if not impossible) to come by here … Continue reading Wild Boar with Myrtle Berries Sous-Vide (Cinghiale al Mirto)
