Abbacchio alla romana, Roman Style Roast Lamb, or abbachio alla cacciatora as it is called by Romans themselves, is perhaps the most iconic main course for Easter dinner in the Eternal City. The preparation is a simple pan roast in the Italian manner, with a twist. You cut up the … Read More
Arrosto di maiale con cipolline (Roast Pork with Pearl Onions)
While as we saw last week a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner is fish based, Christmas Day dinner is a carnivore’s delight. Capon is perhaps the most classic secondo (main course), but roast pork is also a popular choice. And an ancient one. The ancient Romans ate roast pork for … Read More
Soffritto napoletano
We don’t often think about it, but meats also have seasons. Just as lamb is a talisman of the spring, autumn and early winter is pork season. In the days before freezers, it was the time of year when pigs were traditionally slaughtered. The colder weather acted as a natural … Read More
Olive ascolane (Ascoli Style Stuffed Olives)
Olive ascolane—with their soft and savory meat stuffing surrounded by a crisp, breaded crust—are a speciality of Ascoli Piceno in the region of Le Marche, but they have become a staple on the tables of pizzerias in Rome, where I lived for so many years, and elsewhere in Italy. They are perfect for … Read More
Crostini di fegatini (Tuscan Chicken Liver Crostini)
Crostini di fegatini—bread slices topped with a savory chicken liver paste—are the iconic Tuscan antipasto. In this version from Giuliano Bugialli’s classic work, The Fine Art of Italian Cooking, the liver paste is flavored unusually with juniper berries, a touch that Bugialli says evokes the autumn hunting season. Whether or not … Read More
Trippa alla romana (Roman-Style Tripe)
Tripe was once a common part of the Italian diet, and no where more so than Rome. The inhabitants of the Eternal City are famous for their love of offal, which they jocularly call the quinto quarto, or the ‘fifth fourth’, a butcher’s term for those humble parts of the … Read More
Spezzatino di vitello con piselli (Veal Stew with Peas)
You might not know it from the weather around here, but spring is finally here. And one of the great delights of this time of year in Italy is the appearance of tiny young vegetables the Italians call primizie. While in this era of year-round asparagus the seasons are not quite so discernible in … Read More
Quick Note: Picchiapò
We’re an old fashioned household in many ways. In the cooler months, making broth is a Sunday afternoon ritual in our house. And from broth comes boiled meat, an old fashioned treat that most people these days have never tasted. If it sounds to you like hospital food, think again. Italian … Read More