When temperatures reach astronomical highs as they have done lately, I often turn to salads for sustenance. To me, they’re the ideal hot weather food. Not only do you general serve them chilled or at room temperature, but they’re generally quickly thrown together and don’t involve turning on an oven … Read More
Timballo di pasta con melanzane
If you like pasta—and who doesn’t?—and if you like cake—and again, who doesn’t?—then you’re sure to like timballo di pasta, pasta baked in a mold then served as a kind of pasta cake. Italian cookery has some quite elaborate timballi di pasta, dating back to the days of the monzù, … 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
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
Cardi fritti (Batter-fried Cardoons)
Have you ever tried a cardoon? It’s a unique vegetable that looks like an overgrown celery stalk but tastes like an artichoke, to which, in fact, it is related. Cardoons grow easily in a temperate climate. In fact, they grown wild in California. But for some reason they have never … Read More
Sciusceddu alla messinese
Sciusceddu alla messinese comes to us from Sicily, and specifically from Messina, where this unusual primo piatto is a fixture on Easter dinner tables. It has all the hallmarks of an Italian Easter dish. It’s rich, meat centric—although the meat is usually veal rather than the more typical lamb—and enriched … Read More
Pasta con la mollica (Pasta with Breadcrumbs)
All over southern Italy, breadcrumbs were considered the “poor man’s cheese”. Those who couldn’t afford the luxury of the usual grated pecorino—or throwing away stale bread—would sprinkle toasted breadcrumbs over pasta and other dishes. Cucina povera in the literal sense. And yet, as it so often turns out, necessity gave … Read More
Insalata di polpo (Octopus Salad)
Octopus seems to be enjoying something of a boomlet in popularity at the moment. Until very recently I could mostly find fresh octopus only at specialty Spanish or Italian fishmongers, but these days it seems to be everywhere, even making an occasional appearance at the fish counter in my local … Read More