In Italian Food, the 1954 book that introduced the English to real Italian cookery, Elizabeth David includes a recipe for petti di pollo alla fiorentina, or Florentine-Style Chicken Breast. She says it is a “lovely way of cooking a good chicken, and has a nice, extravagant air”. And indeed it is. But the … Read More
Calamari in zimino (Squid Braised in Greens)
If you’ve read our Glossary of Italian Cooking Terms, you’ll know that the term ‘in zimino‘ refers to a whole class of dishes in which the main ingredient (usually seafood) is braised in spinach or swiss chard. And perhaps no dish represents this class better than this one, calamari in zimino, from … Read More
Columbus Day Special: Chicken Scarpariello
Memorie di Angelina is a blog about the home cooking of continental Italy. But as our regular readers will know, every Columbus Day we feature an Italian-American favorite. This year our feature is the mysteriously named Chicken Scarpariello, or “Shoemaker’s Chicken”. While there is a traditional Neapolitan dish that goes … Read More
Agnello e piselli (Lamb and Peas)
I love second courses that pair meat and vegetable in a single dish. Not only is the combination invariably delicious, but it saves the cook from making an extra dish. In this speciality from Puglia and Campania, lamb—the ne plus ultra of spring meats—is paired with peas—one of the classic … Read More
Uova alla fiorentina, Bugialli’s Original Eggs Florentine
Delicious as it may be, the dish known in most of the world as Eggs Florentine —eggs sitting on a bed of spinach braised in butter, topped with mornay sauce and shirred in a hot oven— is, in fact, not Italian but a French invention. Some say it was invented … Read More
Garofolato (Roman Pot Roast)
Northern Italians may have their brasato, and Tuscans their stracotto, but Romans have their own version of pot roast, which they call Garofolato. The name comes from the exuberant use of cloves—garofalo in Roman dialect (vs. chiodo di garofano in standard Italian—to scent the dish. If you ask me, this may be … Read More
Cinghiale in agrodolce (Sweet and Sour Wild Boar)
Genuine Italian cookery generally has straight-forward taste profiles. As I’ve said before, one of the best ways to tell if a recipe is really Italian is to count the ingredient list: you should have your doubts about any recipe with over, say, seven ingredients; more than ten, and you should turn the page. Well, here’s … Read More
Verza stufata (Braised Savoy Cabbage)
With all the focus today on trendy vegetables like kale and Brussels sprouts, we tend to forget about good old fashioned cabbage. It’s cheap and tasty and—just like its more fashionable cousins—good for you. And while most people associate cabbage with northern European cooking, Italians enjoy cabbage, too. Braised Savoy … Read More