Here’s a wonderfully rich but yet light supper dish— Curried Steamed Mussels —from Belgium, the world capital of mussel dishes. With a crusty baguette to sop up the delicious sauce, you have a one-way ticket to culinary nirvana. Ingredients Serves 4-6 2 kilos (4 lbs) mussels 4 shallots, peeled and finely minced … Read More
Tagliatelle al tonno e panna (Tagliatelle with Tunafish and Cream)
Here’s a dish for iconoclasts: tagliatelle with tunafish simmered in butter, cream and parmesan cheese—a dish that violates one of the cardinal rules of Italian cooking: never mix fish and aged cheese. But this may be one of those exceptions that prove the rule, as the result is really very … Read More
Pasta al tonno (Pasta with Tuna Sauce)
Here’s a quick note on another staple weeknight dinner: pasta al tonno. Very fast and almost as easy as opening a can. Ingredients Serves 2-3 200g (7 oz) spaghetti, linguine, penne or other pasta of your choice For the soffritto: 1 or 2 garlic cloves, slightly crushed and peeled 1 … Read More
Whitefish brandade
Salt cod can be hard to find. It takes some considerable time to prepare and, plus, codfish stocks are dangerously depleted. So what is a brandade maven like myself to do? Well, I recently “invented” a new dish by using smoked whitefish–something you can fish in almost any grocery … Read More
Risotto alla crema di scampi (Risotto with Puréed Shrimp)
As I have mentioned before, Rome is not really risotto country. But there is at least one risotto dish that appears on almost every menu in town: risotto alla crema di scampi, or risotto with crayfish (or shrimp) purée. It is one of my favorite risotti, but I hadn’t … Read More
Seppie coi piselli alla romana (Roman-Style Braised Squid and Peas)
Strange as it may seem, squid and peas were made for each other. The sweetness of peas sets off the brinyness of squid perfectly. And the savoriness of a tomato sauce brings it all together nicely. This dish, as so many traditional Roman dishes, is really quite easy to make but … Read More