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
Cavolfiore alla napoletana (Neapolitan-Style Cauliflower)
Here’s another quick and easy vegetable side dish or light supper: Neapolitan style cauliflower, known in Naples itself as cavolfiore con passi e pinoli. It may come as a shock, but this dish contains no tomato, giving lie to the notion that all Neapolitan dishes rely on that ubiquitous vegetable. Ingredients … Read More
Cipolline in agrodolce (Sweet and Sour Baby Onions)
If there were an ‘all purpose’ side dish, this might be it. Cipolline in agrodolce, in English ‘sweet and sour baby onions’, go with just about any meat dish, although it is particularly lovely with roasts. And, the best part is, it is quite simple to make and is even … Read More
Strozzapreti ai funghi (Strozzapreti with Mushrooms)
There are all sorts of mushroom sauces, some of which have made their appearance on this blog. The mushroom and tomato sauce, for example, that goes so well with dried pasta, or the mushroom cream sauce for gnocchi or even ox tongue. None of these are very hard to make, … Read More
Fagiolini in umido (Green Beans in Tomato Sauce)
While Sundays dinners at Angelina’s house were once-a-week, belly-busting, meaty affairs, she practically lived on vegetables during the week. This was long before vegetarianism or veganism went mainstream and she would not have thought of herself as a ‘weekday vegetarian’ or anything of that sort. It was just the way … Read More
Zuppa di scarola e fagioli (Escarole and Bean Soup)
Here’s a quick and easy dish, typical of the Campania region of Italy, that is a cold weather weeknight staple at our house: escarole and bean soup. Ingredients 1 small head of escarole, cut into fine ribbons 1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced 450g (15 oz) boiled or canned … Read More
Pasta e ceci (Pasta and Chickpeas)
There’s nothing so satisfying yet so quick and simple than the combination of pasta and some sort of legume–beans, peas or, in this case, ceci (chickpeas). And, as you probably know, the combination makes for a complete protein with plenty of fiber and no cholesterol. This kind of thing is … Read More
