Back in the day, this was the time of year for putting up summer produce to be enjoyed during the autumn and winter. Tomatoes would be home canned, either whole or as passata. Fruits like cherries would be preserved in sugar. Eggplant and other summer vegetables would be preserved sott’olio, … Read More
Cremolata di pesche (Peach Cremolata)
Perhaps due to Italy’s hot summers, Italian cuisine, especially southern Italian cuisine, offers a dazzling variety of frozen desserts. Gelato is probably the most popular type, but then there’s also sorbetto and granita as well. And each type comes in a wide variety of flavors. We’ve covered many of these … Read More
Melanzane imbottite alla napoletana (Neapolitan Style Stuffed Eggplant)
Eggplant might just be my favorite summer vegetable, and we’ve prepared it every which way on this blog: grilled, sautéed, marinated, breaded and fried and of course baked, as a classic parmigiana di melanzane. We’ve even shown you how to prepare eggplant as a chocolate covered dessert! But for some … Read More
Gamberoni alla griglia (Grilled Shrimp)
The Italian way with grilled shrimp, like most Italian grilling and indeed most Italian cookery, is simplicity itself. You marinate the shrimp briefly in fruity olive oil and lemon juice mixed with a few simple seasonings, then slap them on a hot grill for a few minutes on each side, … Read More
Risotto agli asparagi (Asparagus Risotto)
These days you can find asparagus in the market all year round but, for me, they signify Spring. I enjoy preparing this most noble and toothsome of Spring vegetables all sorts of ways: simply dressed with oil and lemon as an antipasto or side dish, puréed for dressing pasta or … Read More
Scarpaccia dolce viareggina (Sweet Zucchini Tart)
Now here’s something different you can do with zucchini: dessert! Believe it or not, the mild flavor of zucchini lends itself as nicely to sweet dishes as it does to savory ones. And this dish is the proof: scarpaccia dolce from the northern Tuscan coastal town of Viareggio. And no, … Read More
Polpette di bollito (Breaded Boiled Beef Balls)
One of the pleasanter dilemmas I face on a regular basis is what to do with leftover boiled beef. In all but the hottest months, making homemade broth is a Sunday evening ritual for me. With the advent of electric pressure cookers, it’s now more or less effortless, and homemade … Read More
Ciceri e tria (Pasta and Chickpeas)
Here’s a simple dish from Puglia, and more specifically from the Salento, at the very heel of the Italian boot. If you had to sum it up in a couple of words, you’d say ciceri e tria was pasta and chickpeas. And you’d be right, but you’d also be missing … Read More