I’m not a big meat eater, but once in a while I really enjoy a nice juicy steak. That said, I find steak just on its own, truth be told, a bit banal. But here’s a steak with a difference, tagliata di manzo al pepe nero. A tagliata, as you … Read More
Patate in tecia
It’s back to Trieste this week with a lovely side dish from the region of Friuli Venezia-Giulia. Chiara Giglio, a fellow blogger who hales from that fair city, left a comment on last week’s gulasch triestino post, mentioning that she liked to serve her goulash with a potato side dish … Read More
Taccole con pancetta e pomodoro
Snap peas, called taccole or piselli mangiatutto in Italian, are one of spring’s most delightful vegetables. Sweet, crisp and toothsome, they are very easy to cook. And, best of all, they don’t need that tedious shelling needed that fresh peas do. The specimens you’re likely to find in Italy (at … Read More
Broccoli strascinati (Dry Sautéed Broccoli)
One of things that most fascinates me about cooking is how a very slight change in technique, even using the same ingredients, will produce a very different end result. We’ve already explored on this blog the ripassare technique, perhaps the most common in central and southern Italian vegetable cookery, in … Read More
Scarola aglio e olio (Sauteed Escarole)
One of the oldest nicknames for the people of Campania was mangiafoglie, or ‘leaf eaters’, because they were known for their prodigious consumption of leafy green vegetables. It was probably a matter of necessity as much as preference back in the day. Wander around just about any open piece of … Read More
Straccetti di manzo con la rughetta (Beef ‘Rags’ with Arugula)
One of the most iconic dishes of Roman cookery, straccetti con la rughetta, or ‘little rags’ of beef with arugula, is also one of the simplest of all to prepare. The technique is quite close to an Asian stir-fry and, like a stir-fry, it takes literally only seconds to prepare. … Read More
Funghi trifolati (Sautéed Mushrooms)
This is one of the easiest and most versatile vegetable dishes in the Italian repertoire: funghi trifolati, or ‘truffled’ mushooms, so called because the thinly sliced and sautéed mushrooms are said to resemble that other, more highly prized tuber. I use two methods to make funghi trifolati, and both are … Read More
