Fettuccine Alfredo has a unique place in the multifaceted world of Italian cookery. The dish is famous in America and hardly known in Italy, but it is actually Italian, not Italian-American, at least originally. It was invented by Roman restauranteur Alfredo di Lelio, who—the story goes—invented it to suit his pregnant … Read More
Tagliatelle alla crema di asparagi (Tagliatelle with Asparagus Purée)
Spring is a special time of year. There’s nothing that lifts a body’s spirits quite like the green shoots and gentle sun of spring. And then there’s the wonderful produce that starts to appear in our markets—tiny peas, artichokes, slender green asparagus, fava beans in their hefty pods, plump strawberries… … Read More
Pasta alla capricciosella (Pasta with Squid, Mushrooms and Peas)
My nostaglia for Rome often brings me to a website and Facebook page called Roma Sparita or, literally, “Disappeared Rome”. The site features a entrancing combination of old photographs and prints of a by-gone Rome along with amusing poems written in romanesco, Roman dialect, in the style of Trilussa. I recently … Read More
Minestra di riso e cicoria (Chicory and Rice Soup)
Chicory (cicoria in Italian) is one of my very favorite greens. It brings back memories of Angelina for whom cicoria and escarole were almost daily staples. Maybe that’s why she lived well into her 90s… A great weeknight dinner option, the recipe for chicory and rice soup is very fast, … Read More
Linguine al vino rosso (Linguini with Red Wine Sauce)
As regular readers will know, I’m the traditionalist when it comes to Italian food. By and large, I stick with the tried and true. But every so often, an innovative dish comes around that attracts me, usually because, even if it’s not traditional, the dish feels so ‘right’ that it … Read More
Risotto all’indivia belga (Belgian Endive Risotto)
Risotto is one of my ‘go to’ dishes when I don’t feel like cooking anything elaborate. That may sound odd: risotto has a reputation for being a lot of work and easy to get wrong. And yes, when done badly, risotto can be a rather goopy mess. But it is … Read More
Sartù di riso (Neapolitan Rice Timbale)
When we think of Neapolitan cooking—and southern Italian cooking in general—we think of pasta and pizza. So it may come as a surprise that one of the most emblematic dishes of Neapolitan cooking is actually a rice timbale, the sartù di riso. The word sartù, the story goes, is an Italianized … Read More
Pasta e fagioli: The Authentic Recipe
Pasta e fagioli, or pasta and beans, which goes by the amusing nickname ‘pasta fazool‘ in Italian-American slang, is one of the most internationally famous dishes in the entire Italian repertoire. It is a victim of its own success, however, too often made badly—very badly—which is why I would never … Read More
