When you’re in a real hurry or just too tired to cook anything too elaborate, here’s a great solution: cacio e pepe, literally ‘cheese and pepper’, a pasta dish usually made with spaghetti, bucatini or—my personal favorite—tonnarelli, a kind of square spaghetti better known Stateside by its Abruzzese name, spaghetti … Read More
Spaghetti alla colatura di alici
If you’ve ever had occasion to read the 4th century Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria, popularly known as Apicius, you will have noticed that an ingredient called garum seems to make it into just about every savory dish, and even some sweet ones. Garum—a condiment made from fermenting fish—was a common ingredient back … Read More
Cannelloni ricotta e spinaci (Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni)
Incredible as it may seem, after nearly six years of blogging on Italian cooking—my blogiversary is coming up later this month—I realize I’ve never written a post about cannelloni. That’s an incredible omission, since cannelloni are probably the easiest stuffed pasta you can make. You simply roll square sheets of fresh … Read More
Pasta e patate (Pasta and Potatoes)
To many people the idea of pairing pasta and potatoes comes as a shock. Carbs with carbs? And in these carb-phobic times, it’s not only unheard of, it sounds down right unhealthy. Well, healthy or not, this iconic Neapolitan dish in true cucina povera tradition was born out of the … Read More
Columbus Day Special: Spaghetti and Meatballs
 Memorie di Angelina is dedicated to continental Italian cookery, but as long time readers will know, every Columbus Day we feature an Italian-American dish. This year’s feature: Spaghetti and Meatballs, which might be the most famous Italian-American dish of all time, a staple of ‘red sauce joints’ all over the … Read More
Bucatini alla pizzaiola
Most of us don’t much like to use the oven in the dog days of summer, but you might want to make an exception for bucatini alla pizzaiola, a delicious baked pasta dish that sings all the favorite flavor notes of southern Italy. It’s styled alla pizzaiola, literally “pizza style”, for … Read More
Pesto genovese (Genoese Basil Sauce)
I’m old enough to remember when pesto genovese, the Genoese basil sauce, was a novelty in the US. These days everyone knows about pesto, to the point where it’s become a stand-by, especially in the summer when fresh basil is everywhere. Truth be told, though, as common as it is, … Read More
Carbonara di zucchine (Zucchini Carbonara)
As a longtime resident of Rome, carbonara is one of my very favorite pastas, but in the warmer weather it can be a bit heavy. One way to lighten things up is to make a vegetarian carbonara: substitute the pancetta (Italian bacon) with a vegetable, in this case zucchini, which has … Read More