Fagioli e tonno, or White Bean and Tuna Salad, is just about as quick and simple a dish as you can make. If you can open a can, you can make this salad. And it’s easy to double or treble the recipe if you’re expecting more dinner guests, or you … Read More
Zuppa di cicerchie (Grass Pea Soup)
Yes, autumn is well and truly here. There’s a definitely chill in the air, the leaves are turning color, pumpkins have been placed on doorsteps, and logs are piled high on back porches, ready for the fire. I don’t know about you, but when the temperatures drop, I start to … Read More
Fave e cicoria (Fava Bean Purée with Chicory)
La cucina povera, or the cuisine of the poor, has become quite fashionable in recent years. Based on ‘humble’ ingredients (some of which have ironically become quite expensive) and simple cooking techniques, these traditional peasant dishes were born out of necessity. And yet they still appeal to us today, partly out … Read More
Salsicce e fagioli (Sausage and Beans)
Pork and beans were meant for each other—think franks and beans from the States or cassoulet from France, to take just two examples. Italians enjoy the combination, too, of course, as in the festive Cotechino with Lentils, or the rustic fagioli con le cotiche, or in this simple, everyday dish … Read More
Cicoria e fagioli (Chicory and Beans)
Chicory and Beans is one of those lean dishes that Angelina practically lived on weekdays. Like many good southern Italians, she was what we might call today a ‘flexitarian‘—living mostly on vegetables, saving meat for Sundays and other special occasions. Her lunch would often consist of chicory or escarole or some other … Read More
Farinata genovese (Genovese Chickpea Flatbread)
One of the iconic dishes of Ligurian cuisine, just as typical of the region as pesto, the chickpea flatbread known as la farina genovese deserves to be better known. It has a wonderful, mildly nutty flavor that marries well with just about anything you want to serve it with, but it is perfectly delicious … 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
Fagioli con le cotiche (Roman-Style Pork and Beans)
Tuscans are known for being the biggest bean-eaters in Italy, so much so that they are sometimes called mangiafagioli in Italian. But Romans are no slouches in the legume department, either. They love fava beans, of course, and they make a mean pasta e lenticchie, for example, even if the … Read More