A perfectly round, thin-crusted pizza of the kind you can eat in the best pizzerie is a hard thing to make at home. It takes practice and talent to be a first-rate pizzaiolo, or pizza-maker. (I know because I’m trying to master the art!) But there is a simpler … Read More
Ada Boni: Il Talismano della Felicità
Writing only about two decades after Artusi, another giant of Italian gastronomy, Ada Boni, produced an even more monumental work entitled Il Talismano della Felicità, literally the “Talisman of Happiness”. Unlike Artusi, who was basically a talented amateur, Ada Boni was a professional food writer. In 1915, she founded a … Read More
Coda alla vaccinara (Roman-Style Braised Oxtails)
This is comfort food at its most comforting, one of the many humble but delicious dishes that typify popular cooking in the Eternal City: Roman-style braised oxtails. The Italian word vaccinara actually means “butcher style”. The tail is one of those cuts of meat that are known in Italian as … Read More
Spaghetti fatti in casa con pomodori al forno (Homemade Spaghetti with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes)
This dish of homemade egg pasta spaghetti with roasted tomato sauce is one of my favorite dishes from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Giuliano Bugialli. The sauce is simple to make and, if you use dry spaghetti (or store-bought fresh) the dish becomes extremely simple to execute. But if … Read More
Pellegrino Artusi, La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene
This is an Italian cookbook like no other. Artusi–it is quite common to call this book by the author’s name rather than its title–is to Italian cooking what Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire is to the French: indispensable. The author, Pellegrino Artusi, was born in 1820 near Forli, in the region … Read More
Chiocciole con salsiccia, piselli e ricotta (Pasta Shells with Sausage, Peas and Ricotta)
This was a dish I made up on the spot today, finding a stray single link of Italian sausage, some leftover ricotta and some frozen peas at the bottom of the freezer. The result was very good indeed—I thought I had stumbled on a new classic, until I check it … Read More
Pappa al pomodoro (Tuscan Tomato and Bread “Soup”)
In the days when freshly baked bread was a staple of everyday life, a plethora of recipes grew up for using leftover stale bread. This classic Tuscan recipe is, to my mind, the very best of the lot—pappa al pomodoro, literally “mush with tomatoes”. (Sounds better in Italian, doesn’t it?) … Read More
Arista alla fiorentina (Florentine Spit-Roasted Pork Loin)
Arista alla fiorentina, or Florentine Spit-Roasted Pork Loin, is one of the signature dishes of Tuscan cookery. And like so many Tuscan dishes, the dish is as simple as it is good. Ingredients 1 pork loin roast Olive oil, q.b. For the dry marinade: 2-3 cloves of garlic 2-3 sprigs … Read More
