Difficulty ••• Calories per portion 480 Ingredients (Serves 4) 8 tbsp. of Pesto (Basil sauce) 4 Potatoes (medium size) 200 g (7 oz.) String beans Fresh Basil Description This is a traditional recipe from Liguria. Obviously, we could go to the local store and buy a jar of Pesto, but since this is a blog [...]
Defining when and where pasta was originated would be a lifetime job. Wild einkorn and emmer, which have been known for roughly 75,000 years, are credited as wheat’s earliest ancestors. Chinese claim the discovery of millet spaghetti 4000 years ago, but we know that the presence of Einkorn can be documented in Neolithic pottery all [...]
Difficulty ••• Calories per portion 180/240 (depending on size) Ingredients (Serves 6 to 8) 400 g (14 oz.) Spinaches (raw and dry weight) 30 g (1 oz.) Butter 50 g (bit less than 2 oz.) Flour ¼ lt. (bit more than 1 cup) Milk 2 Eggs + 1 Yolk 50 g (bit less than 2 [...]
Difficulty •• Calories per portion 450 Ingredients (Serves 4) 4 peppers (2 red and 2 yellow) 400 g (14 oz.) Mix of Ground Pork + Ground Beef (equal parts) 100 g (3.5 oz.) Sausage (no casing) 1 Red Onion Milk (enough to moist the breadcrumbs) 1 Egg 40 g (1.5 oz.) Grated Parmesan Cheese 40 [...]
Difficulty •••• Calories per portion 500 Ingredients (Serves 6 to 8) 3.5 lbs. Topside Beef 1 bottle of Barolo (read description) 2 oz. Lard (read description) 1 Onion 1 Carrot 1 Celery rib 2 Cloves of Garlic 1 Bay leaf 2 Cloves Black Pepper corns 2 tbsp. Butter 2 tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Pinch of [...]
Difficulty ••• Calories per portion 670 Ingredients (Serves 4) 500 g (27 oz.) Potatoes 250 g Spinaches or Beet tops (whichever is seasonal) 250 g (9 oz.) Flour 1 egg (medium size) 1 pinch of Salt 130 g (4 oz.) of Gorgonzola (blue cheese) 2 tbsp. of Fresh Cream or 1 tbsp. of Mascarpone cheese [...]
Difficulty ••• Calories per portion 500 Ingredients (Serves 4) 750 g (27 oz.) Potatoes 250 g (9 oz.) Flour 1 egg (medium size) 1 pinch of Salt 6 round Tomatoes (not fully ripe) 1 oz. of Butter 2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese Fresh Basil Description Although dumplings and ragù (same meat sauce described in the tagliatelle recipe) is [...]
Difficulty •• Calories per portion 450 Ingredients (Serves 4) 400 g (14 oz.) Penne 2 lbs. ripe Plum Tomatoes (they make 12 to 14 oz. of Filetto di Pomodoro) 2 Anchovies (4 salt cured filets) 2 tablespoon Capers (salt cured) ½ cup Black olives (pitted) Fresh or dried Chili pepper 1 clove of Garlic 2 [...]
Difficulty ••• Calories per portion 460 Ingredients (Serves 4) 1 pint of Coulis (for use with pasta, use a little flour in it) 1 tablespoon of Aromatic Oil 400 g (14oz.) Linguine (spaghetti is fine also) 400 g (14 oz.) whole Crustaceous (with head and shell) 4 round Tomatoes Fresh Basil Chili pepper or ground [...]
Difficulty •• Calories per portion 440 Ingredients (Serves 4) 2 tablespoon of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 1 clove of Garlic Chili pepper (as liked) Parsley stems and few leaves 400 g (14 oz.) of Clams 400 g (14 oz.) of Spaghetti or Thin Spaghetti Description This is one of the easiest and tastiest dishes of Northern [...]
Difficulty •••• Calories per portion 580 Ingredients (Serves 4) Tagliatelle 400 g Flour (14 oz.) 4 eggs Ragù 1 carrot ½ Celery rib 1/2 Onion (medium size) 1 Bay leaf 300 g ground Beef (bit less than 11 oz.) 150 g unseasoned Tomato purée (5.5 oz.) ½ glass of Red Wine 2 tablespoon Extra-Virgin Olive [...]
Difficulty •• Calories per portion 430 Ingredients (Serves 4) 400 g (14 oz.) Spaghetti 3 tablespoon Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 2 cloves of Garlic 2 lbs ripe plum tomatoes (to make filetto di pomodoro) Fresh Basil Salt Description Out of all Italian 1st courses, if we should pick which pasta dish may represent the whole Country, [...]
Difficulty •••• Calories per portion 500 Ingredients (Serves 4) 2 tablespoon of Aromatic Oil made with garlic 2 cups of Carnaroli rice (Arborio would be the best choice if available) ½ glass of white wine 1 pound of fresh Shrimps (or frozen shrimps) ¼ gallon of Coulis Fresh thyme, basil or chopped parsley (optional) [...]
Difficulty •••• Calories per portion 480 Ingredients (Serves 4) 2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 2 cups of Carnaroli rice (Vialone Nano would be the best choice if available) ½ glass of white wine ¼ gallon of cold water A bunch of fresh asparagus Fresh thyme or basil (optional) ½ to [...]
Difficulty •••• Calories per portion 500 Ingredients (Serves 4) 2 tablespoon of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 2 Potatoes (medium-large) 2 Carrots (thick) 2 zucchini 1 Celery rib1 small Onion (optional) 400 g (14 oz.) Carnaroli rice (Vialone Nano would be the best choice) ½ glass of White Wine 40 g (about 4 tablespoon) grated Parmesan cheese [...]
Difficulty ••• Calories per portion 450 Ingredients (Serves 4) 2 tablespoon of Aromatic Oil made with 1 small onion 2 cups of Carnaroli rice (Vialone Nano would be the best choice if available) ½ glass of white wine ¼ gallon of Vegetable Broth 1 lemon skin (medium to big size untreated lemon) Fresh thyme or basil [...]
As it is a story tale that pasta came originally from China, rice was undoubtedly domesticated in the Far East. In northern Italy it has been the main cereal for centuries together with cornmeal (polenta) and recently, because of wheat allergies and gluten intolerance, it is often chosen as a substitute for pasta. In Italian [...]
2 tablespoon of soft Butter 2 tablespoon of Flour 1 pint of Milk Salt, white pepper and nutmeg as liked Description This sauce is the main ingredient of flans, lasagna and it plays a great role in presenting vegetables with nicely browned toppings. How thick the sauce will have to be depends essentially on what [...]
Plum tomatoes Pot of boiling water Bowl of cold water Salt Description In the summertime, when plum tomatoes are perfectly ripe, this preparation is the best for a quick pasta, tomato and basil. At that time of the year, I personally prefer it over regular tomato sauce since it is fresh and crisp and it [...]
¼ Of an onion 1 Piece of celery rib (a couple of inches long) 8 Plum tomatoes (San Marzano) Description This is the modern variation of the classic Artusi’s sauce. It is perfect when we need to save it and use it further on, but also whenever we need a light tomato sauce to be seasoned [...]
¼ Of an onion 1 Clove of garlic 1 Piece of celery rib (a couple of inches long) 8 Plum tomatoes (San Marzano) 1 tablespoon of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Salt, pepper, basil and parsley leaves to our liking Description This one is the classic recipe from Mr. Artusi (check the modern light version). We will use [...]
Some heads and shells from crustaceous (shrimps, prawns and so on) 1 Onion (medium size) 1 Carrot 1 Celery rib 1 Plum tomato ½ Glass of white wine 2 Tablespoon Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Few parsley stems Salt Description The name ‘Coulis’ might let us think about some fruity strained puree for a dessert, but the term, [...]
600 gr (about 1 pound and 5 oz.) Fish heads and bones 1 Leek 1 Onion (medium size) 1 Celery rib with leaves 2 Cloves of garlic 1 Bunch of herb mix: parsley, bay, thyme, dill, chives Some white pepper corns 1 Glass of white wine A pinch of salt Description This fish broth, [...]
2 Carrots 2 Celery ribs with leaves 1 Onion 4 to 5 Parsley stems 2 pounds of Chicken (no skin, no wings and no giblets) 1 gallon of water Salt Description Chicken broth is not just what we call comfort food; it is a great ingredient for superb pasta like ‘tagliolini in brodo’ or ‘cappelletti’ and it makes [...]
2 Carrots 2 Celery ribs with leaves 1 Onion 4 to 5 Parsley stems 2 pounds of Beef 1 gallon of water Salt Description There are certain meat cuts that are perfect for making Bouillon, so if we are not sure what to buy we can always ask the butcher. Tasty but lean Bouillon is fantastic as [...]