We’re in the midst of strawberry season, that blessed time of year when you can buy strawberries from local farmers that actually taste like strawberries. Imagine that! Those berries are so sweet and juicy, you can enjoy them just as they are. But if you want to dress them up … Read More
Saltimbocca alla sorrentina
Chances are, if you know anything about Italian food, you’ve heard of saltimbocca alla romana, veal scallops sautéed in butter with prosciutto and sage, then simmered in white wine. It’s a simple dish, full of robust flavor like much Roman cookery. But not as many people know its southern cousin, saltimbocca … Read More
Spaghetti alle cipolle rosse e alici (Spaghetti with Red Onions and Anchovies)
What would the world be without onions? Along with their close cousins garlic and shallots, they seem to make their way into just about every savory dish. That’s certainly true of Italian cooking, at least. And yet, except maybe for onion soup, it seems onions are always the proverbial bridesmaid, … Read More
Tagliatelle carciofi e funghi (Tagliatelle with Artichoke Hearts and Mushrooms)
In many ways, we lovers of Italian food here in the US are lucky. The current popularity of Italian food means that you can find just about any kind of Italian pantry product you like, from everyday staples like imported pasta or canned tomatoes to relatively esoteric ingredients like colatura … Read More
Shrimp Scampi
This blog is dedicated to continental Italian food—the kind of food you’ll find in Italy. But as long time readers will know, around this time of year we feature an Italian-American recipe. This year’s feature is a popular dish with a funny name: Shrimp Scampi. Funny to those who know Italian, that … Read More
Barchette di sedano con gorgonzola e noci (Celery Boats with Gorgonzola and Walnuts)
I don’t know about you, but when I’m making a “major” meal in the Italian manner, I tend to focus on the primo and the secondo. More often than not, I pick up dessert at a local bakery. And the antipasto? Well, when I’m pressed for time—and that tends to be … Read More
Sugo finto (“Fake” Sauce)
Another of the many Italian dishes in the cucina povera tradition, sugo finto is “fake” because it is basically a meat sauce (sugo di carne) without the meat that was so unaffordable for most people not too far in the past. (It is also called sugo scappato, or ‘escaped’ sauce, for … Read More
Petti di pollo al burro (Butter-Braised Chicken Breasts)
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