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Cotolette di melanzane (Eggplant Cutlets)
We all know that breaded cutlets and chops, whether veal, pork, lamb or—that all American favorite—chicken, make for awesome eating. But did you know that vegetables can prepared as cutlets, too? And...
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Homemade Limoncello
Everyone likes limoncello. For me, just a sip brings back memories of summer and sand and seafood by the shore. The best limoncello exquisitely balances the pungency of lemon zest and the sweetness of...
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Caponata napoletana
Italian cookery can be confusing. As we’ve talked about before, it’s highly regional and even local, so much so that some people say that there is no such thing as Italian cuisine. I don’t agree, but...
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Spaghetti alla colatura di alici
If you’ve ever had occasion to read the 4th century Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria, popularly known as Apicius, you will have noticed that an ingredient called garum seems to make it into just about...
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Fritto misto di mare
There’s a saying in Italian: fritte son bone anche le scarpe, meaning “even a shoe tastes good when it’s fried”. Well, I couldn’t agree more, and seafood tastes especially delicious when it’s...
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Peas and Eggs (Piselli cacio e uova)
Columbus Day is right around the corner, and as regular readers know, that’s the occasion each year for us to feature a classic Italian-American dish. This year we’re sharing an old family recipe, one...
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Salsicce all’uva (Sausages and Grapes)
The use of fruits in savory dishes was once common place in Italian cooking, as it was in European cooking generally. Giuliano Bugialli, for example, tells us that the original duck à l’orange was a...
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Insalata di arance e finocchi (Orange and Fennel Salad)
It might be the season, but coming right on the heels of our recent post on Sausages and Grapes, today’s post once again features a mixture of sweet and savory ingredients. Whereas that post combined...
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Strudel di mele (Apple Strudel)
I first learned to make Strudel when I was living in Vienna, its birthplace. Strudel is also made in Italy, in particular in the Northeastern regions that were under Austrian rule, and most especially...
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Cacio e pepe, a Roman classic
When you’re in a real hurry or just too tired to cook anything too elaborate, here’s a great solution: cacio e pepe, literally ‘cheese and pepper’, a pasta dish usually made with spaghetti, bucatini...
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Impepata di cozze (Peppered Mussels)
Here’s a recipe that’s so simple you could call it a non-recipe: impepata di cozze, or Peppered Mussels. To make this Neapolitan classic, you simply steam mussels in their own juices with nothing but...
View ArticleJeanne Caròla Francesconi: La Cucina Napoletana
As I’ve written many times, Jeanne Caròla Francesconi (b. 1903, d. 1995) is my muse for Neapolitan cookery—apart from my grandmother Angelina, of course. And I’m certainly not alone. Often called the...
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Cicoria e fagioli (Chicory and Beans)
Chicory and Beans is one of those lean dishes that Angelina practically lived on weekdays. Like many good southern Italians, she was what we might call today a ‘flexitarian‘—living mostly on...
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Baccalà lesso (Boiled Salt Cod)
Lent—la Quaresima in Italian—is the roughly six week period on the Catholic calendar between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Traditionally a period of self-sacrifice and fasting, in the old days the faithful...
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Uova alla fiorentina, the Original Eggs Florentine
Delicious as it may be, the dish known in most of the world as Eggs Florentine —eggs sitting on a bed of spinach braised in butter, topped with mornay sauce and shirred in a hot oven— is, in fact, not...
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Vellutata di cavolfiore (Cream of Cauliflower Soup)
Here’s a dish that’s perfect for a spur of the moment meal, but is so beautiful and refined it could also serve as the starter for an elegant dinner: Vellutata di cavolfiore, or Cream of Cauliflower...
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Alici indorate e fritte (Fried Fresh Anchovies)
When they think of anchovies, most people, at least here in the US, think of salt-cured anchovy fillets packed in oil. If you’re a bit more au fait with Italian cookery, you may even know about...
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Ravioli nudi (Spinach and Ricotta Dumplings)
Ravioli nudi, or “nude ravioli”, also known as gnudi, malfatti, gnocchi verdi, or the more literal gnocchi di ricotta e spinaci—are dumplings made with the usual spinach and ricotta filling for regular...
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Agnello e piselli (Lamb and Peas)
I love second courses that combine meat and vegetable in a single dish. Not only is the combination invariably delicious, but it saves the cook from making an extra dish. In this speciality from Puglia...
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Asparagi all’agro (Asparagus with Lemon and Olive Oil)
Asparagus with Lemon and Olive oil, or asparagi all’agro, is one of those dishes that is so simple you might argue it hardly needs a recipe. But simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy or obvious. In...
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