I first learned to make Strudel when I was living in Vienna, its birthplace. Strudel is also made in Italy, in particular in the Northeastern regions that were under Austrian rule, and most especially the region known to Italians as Alto Adige and to German speakers as Südtirol, which was … Read More
Risotto ai funghi (Mushroom Risotto)
Well, Autumn is well and truly upon us. We’re waking up to cool mornings and going to bed to downright chilly nights. And while our local farmers market is still full of peaches and tomatoes, a mushroom stand made its first appearance last week. Mushroom Risotto came immediately to mind. I love risotto … Read More
Beef Carpaccio: The Original Recipe
Beef carpaccio—known to Italians simply as carpaccio—is one of the most famous of Italian antipasti. But the version most people are familiar with—thin beef slices macerated in olive oil and lemon, adorned with arugula and shavings of Parmesan cheese— is actually rather closer to another dish, carne cruda all’Albese, a Piedmontese dish. … Read More
Pollo al vino bianco con funghi (Chicken in White Wine with Mushrooms)
I love recipes that combine meat (or fish) with vegetables like this chicken in white wine with mushrooms. In Italian cooking terms, it combines secondo and contorno in a single dish, and if you serve the dish with some good bread, it becomes a one-pot meal, especially appreciated after the … Read More
Baccalà mantecato (Baccalà Purée)
A not-so-distant cousin of Provençale brandade de morue, baccalà mantecato is one of the signature dishes of Venetian cuisine and a staple of those wonderful hidden-away Venetian bacari, or wine bars. The name of the dish comes from the verb mantecare, which is a culinary term meaning to ‘beat’ or ‘whip’ … Read More
Risotto al nero di seppia (Squid Ink Risotto)
Here’s another installment from the colorful world of risotto. Last week we featured green risotto, this week it’s squid ink risotto aka ‘black risotto’, made with cuttlefish and its ink. Ingredients Serves 4-6 250g (8 oz) rice (see Notes) Broth, preferably homemade, or water, q.b. 250g (8 oz) cuttlefish or … Read More
Fegato alla veneziana (Venetian Liver and Onions)
A good many people have an aversion to organ meats. Perhaps that’s because they are often not very well prepared—overcooking, which tends to accentuate the ‘mineral’ taste of organ meats and toughen their texture, is all too common. Or perhaps it’s just the idea of eating an organ, although why … Read More
Risi e bisi (Venetian Rice and Peas)
Sweet, fresh peas in their pods can be hard to find, but when I spotted some in a local market I grabbed them up to make a delicious Springtime dish from the Veneto: risi e bisi, or rice and peas in Venetian dialect. Although it resembles a risotto, the technique … Read More
