Made with mixed spices, nuts and candied fruits, the Neapolitan cookies known as roccocò napoletani are vaguely reminiscent of our fruit cake, but, in my humble opinion, much more appealing in both in taste and texture. Roccocò are rather crunchy on the outside but, when properly made, soft and chewy … Read More
Scarola imbottita al forno (Oven-Baked Stuffed Escarole)
The people of the Campania region and its capital Naples are great lovers of leafy green vegetables. Even before they became famous for pizza and pasta, Neapolitans were so enamored of their greens that other Italians would call them mangiafoglie, or “leaf eaters”. That love of leafy greens has come … Read More
Spätzle di zucca (Winter Squash Spätzle)
Spätzle may be from southern Germany, but they also make these tiny dumplings in nearby Alsace, Switzerland and Austria. And in some parts of Italy, too, specifically the northeastern region known as Südtirol in German and Trentino-Alto Adige in Italian. The region was part of Austria until the First World … Read More
Peperoni sott’aceto (Pickled Peppers)
Back in the day, this was the time of year for putting up summer produce to be enjoyed during the autumn and winter. Tomatoes would be home canned, either whole or as passata. Fruits like cherries would be preserved in sugar. Eggplant and other summer vegetables would be preserved sott’olio, … Read More
Melanzane imbottite alla napoletana (Neapolitan Style Stuffed Eggplant)
Eggplant might just be my favorite summer vegetable, and we’ve prepared it every which way on this blog: grilled, sautéed, marinated, breaded and fried and of course baked, as a classic parmigiana di melanzane. We’ve even shown you how to prepare eggplant as a chocolate covered dessert! But for some … Read More
Risotto agli asparagi (Asparagus Risotto)
These days you can find asparagus in the market all year round but, for me, they signify Spring. I enjoy preparing this most noble and toothsome of Spring vegetables all sorts of ways: simply dressed with oil and lemon as an antipasto or side dish, puréed for dressing pasta or … Read More
Carciofi alla parmigiana (Artichoke Parmesan)
Everyone who knows about the Italian food has surely had parmigiana di melanzane, or Eggplant Parmesan. And it’s a dish that’s particularly dear to my heart. It was one of Angelina’s signature dishes and may be my single favorite thing to eat. But did you know that a parmigiana can … Read More
Cacciucco di ceci (Tuscan Chickpea and Swiss Chard Soup)
Those of you who know a bit about Italian cooking may recognize the name cacciucco. A speciality of Livorno in the region of Tuscany, cacciucco is one of the many fish soups that you’ll find up and down the Italian peninsula, and one of the most famous. I’ve been meaning … Read More
