Category: Italian

At Least 39 Die as 2 Migrant Boats Sink Off Tunisia

TUNIS—At least 39 migrants died when two boats sank off Tunisia on Tuesday as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the Tunisian defense ministry said. The coastguard rescued 165 others, and searches for more survivors are still ongoing off the coast of Sfax, ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri said. All…


The 3 Italian Techniques You Need to Know to Make the Perfect Risotto

Risotto is one of the most classic, comforting, and recognizable recipes of the Italian culinary tradition. It finds its home in Italy’s northern regions, such as Piedmont, Lombardy, and Veneto, traditionally dedicated to growing rice. Risotto is one of those dishes that is usually considered part of a Sunday meal, a rich and celebratory food….


Radicchio Risotto

Use this recipe as a blueprint for any vegetable-based risotto. The best way to preserve the freshness of the vegetables is to cook them separately and add them halfway through the cooking of the risotto. For hardier vegetables such as radicchio, mushrooms, artichokes, or asparagus, briefly sauté them, just enough to wilt or soften them,…


Risotto al Nero (Squid Ink Risotto)

This seafood risotto is striking in appearance: pitch black thanks to squid ink, which also lends a distinctive briny flavor. The use of squid ink is common throughout the Mediterranean, from Venice to the coast of Tuscany to Spain, with its traditional arroz negro. In Italy, we commonly don’t associate fish with cheese—with a few…


Orzotto ai Funghi (Mushroom Barley Risotto)

Although rice is the grain of choice for risotto, you can also find recipes that use farro or barley, called orzo in Italian (not to be confused with orzo pasta). Orzotto, made with pearl barley, is common in Trentino Alto Adige, a region in the North of Italy. It’s especially creamy, while at the same…


US Youth Testifies He Stabbed Italian Officer in Defense

ROME—A young American on trial in Rome for the slaying of an Italian police officer has told the court that he stabbed the victim because he feared he was being strangled by a thug. Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and a friend from California, Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20, are charged in the murder of a Carabinieri paramilitary…


Italian Ambassador Killed in Congo While in UN Convoy

KINSHASA, Congo—The Italian ambassador to Congo and an Italian carabineri police officer were killed Monday during an attack on a U.N. convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups, the Foreign Ministry and local people said. The ambush on the World Food Program convoy that killed Ambassador Luca Attanasio and the officer…


How a Lost Manuscript Revealed the First Poets of Italian Literature

Imagine a world where we knew the name of Homer, but the poetry of “The Odyssey” was lost to us. That was the world of the early Italian Renaissance during the second half of the 15th century. Many people knew the names of some early poets of Italian literature—those who were active during the 13th…


Talks to Revive Italian Government Fail, All Eyes on President

ROME—Talks to revive Italy’s ruling coalition have failed, the small party that triggered the government crisis said on Tuesday, deepening the country’s political turmoil in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Former premier Matteo Renzi pulled his Italia Viva party out of the coalition last month, accusing Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of mishandling both the…


Pizza di Scarole (Escarole Pie)

Despite this recipe’s name, don’t expect a traditional pizza with tomato sauce and mozzarella. This classic regional dish, belonging to the Neapolitan tradition, is more like a stuffed focaccia or a savory pie, with a fluffy crust made with a potato bread dough. Escarole is the protagonist of the filling, its bitterness tamed by supporting…