Category: Italian

Grilled Radicchio Tardivo

Radicchio tardivo, with its slender, creamy white stalks and curly, flaming purple leaves, is the most spectacular specimen of the many Italian varieties, hailing from the Veneto region of northern Italy. Slightly bitter, it has a crisp, clean, wintery flavor, with a texture that is crunchy and juicy when raw and satisfyingly meaty when cooked….


The Case for Bitterness

The holidays have come and gone, as have the rich, stodgy foods of the season. When you’re surrounded by Christmas lights, decorations, and jolly music, all you crave are fatty meat stews, warming creamy soups, and decadent chocolate cakes. But now that the festivities are over, what are left are winter’s frigid temperatures, cold, clear…


The Case for Bitterness: Cooking With Bitter Greens, the Italian Way

The holidays have come and gone, as have the rich, stodgy foods of the season. When you’re surrounded by Christmas lights, decorations, and jolly music, all you crave are fatty meat stews, warming creamy soups, and decadent chocolate cakes. But now that the festivities are over, what are left are winter’s frigid temperatures, cold, clear…


Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa (Orecchiette With Broccoli Rabe)

Cime di rapa, turnip greens—also called rapini or broccoli rabe—are the most representative vegetables of the Apulian winter, piled on the market stalls and dinner tables of this Southern Italian region. They are the protagonists of a regional dish, orecchiette con le cime di rapa. The flowers and the most tender leaves are boiled along…


A Beginner’s Guide to Making Fresh Pasta

In my family, fresh pasta is for special occasions. Be it a holiday like Christmas or Easter, a family gathering, or a big dinner with friends, this is when we take out the wooden board, the rolling pin, and the pasta machine to make mounds upon mounds of golden, silky sheets of dough. Once you…


Fresh Pasta Dough

This is the basic recipe for fresh pasta that my grandma taught me years ago. There’s a golden ratio to follow that is extremely easy to remember: 1 egg and 100 grams of flour, half all-purpose and half semolina. Then scale up as needed. Makes enough for about 4 servings, depending on the recipe 100…


Lemon Tagliolini 

As much as I love a robust meat or game sauce, a summer basil pesto, or a rich cheese sauce, when it comes to enjoying good, homemade fresh pasta, I prefer a more delicate sauce. This one is fresh and lemony, with just enough cheese to still make it a comfort food. It is bright…


Grandma’s Lasagne With Béchamel and Tuscan Ragù

There are countless variations of lasagne throughout Italy. What they all require is a layering of ingredients and flavors: Paper-thin sheets of fresh pasta are usually combined with ragù, bechamel, and cheeses—from mozzarella to scamorza, to a simple dusting of Parmigiano Reggiano.  My grandma’s version calls for béchamel sauce, her Tuscan ragù, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano,…