If you’re looking for a quick and easy pasta dish, pasta con asparagi e gamberi, or Pasta with Asparagus and Shrimp, will certainly fill the bill. The asparagus and shrimp cook in the time it takes for the water to come to the boil and the pasta to cook. Dinner … Read More
Lampi e tuoni (Neapolitan Style Pasta and Chickpeas)
Pasta and chickpeas is one of those combinations that was just meant to be. You can find scores of renditions up and down the Italian boot, though mostly in the southern regions. Today we’re taking a look at Naples’ take on the dish which goes by the name lampi e … Read More
Pasta con le sarde
One of Sicily’s signature dishes, pasta con le sarde, or Pasta with Sardines, is also one of my personal favorites. I was lucky enough to enjoy it on its home turf a few years back, during a trip for a family wedding. Unfortunately, replicating this classic back here at home … Read More
Pasta con nduja
It’s funny how some recipes or ingredients that have been around forever suddenly become trendy and therefore “new”. So it’s been lately with nduja, that deliciously spicy spreadable pork sausage from Calabria. Dating from the 1200s, a few years back it suddenly started popping up everywhere on the internet and … Read More
Soffritto napoletano
We don’t often think about it, but meats also have seasons. Just as lamb is a talisman of the spring, autumn and early winter is pork season. In the days before freezers, it was the time of year when pigs were traditionally slaughtered. The colder weather acted as a natural … 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
Pici all’aglione
As I’ve pointed out many times over the years, one of the hallmarks of “fake” Italian cookery is its in-your-face use of garlic. Now of course garlic is a common ingredient in Italian cooking. But Italians generally use it with great discretion. A common technique, featured in this blog for … Read More
Ragù di lenticchie (Lentil Ragu)
As long time readers may remember, my very favorite pasta when I was a kid was Angelina’s austerely simple but delicious pasta e lenticchie (Pasta with Lentils). I liked it so much so that most of the time I’d prefer to eat pasta e lenticchie even over her extraordinary Sunday … Read More
