Tag: Italian

Winter Minestrone

Minestrone is an Italian word that describes a soup made with a selection of diced seasonal vegetables, all cooked together until thick and flavorful. Every region has its own version: In Liguria, for example, they add a spoonful of basil pesto, while in Milan, there has to be rice in the mix. In Tuscany, we…


Making Your Own Italian Seasoning Couldn’t Be Easier

The one seasoning blend I reach for every week is a mixture of my favorite dried herbs. A sprinkle of homemade Italian seasoning adds flavor to roasted potatoes, simmering marinara sauce, juicy roast chicken, and more. Thankfully, making your own Italian seasoning couldn’t be easier. Simply mix together a few dried herbs already in your…


Lemon Risotto

Bright, creamy, and flavorful, this lemon risotto is all about showing off the citrus. Risotto takes a bit of time to make, but really it is a sensational dish and one that is always impressive to serve. It’s one of those classic recipes that turns simple, mundane ingredients, like rice and lemons, into an elegant…


Staff at BNP’s Italian Bank Stage First Strike Since 1990S

MILAN—Workers at BNL, the Italian arm of French banking group BNP Paribas, went on strike for the first time since the 1990s on Monday in protest at back office and IT staff cuts. Italian banking unions said the strike was “a great success,” adding that take-up had been solid. “The bank’s internal offices were completely…


The Makings of an Italian Christmas Cookie Tin: 3 Recipes to Tell the Story of My Family, Past and Present

I am a Tuscan born and bred country girl, from a family of people who love traditional food. Olive oil runs through my veins, and I love nothing more than pappa al pomodoro, our famed stale bread and tomato soup. I stock my pantry and my fridge with local beans, pecorino toscano, our typical unsalted…


Mostaccioli (Pugliese Spiced Christmas Cookies)

Mostaccioli are dense, dark, nutty cookies shaped like diamonds and covered with a chocolate glaze. The key ingredient to make traditional mostaccioli is vincotto, a syrupy cooked grape must (mosto in Italian, hence their name, mostaccioli), or vincotto di fichi, a thick, slow-cooked fig syrup. Both are very common in the Italian South, usually used…


Cavallucci Senesi (Sienese Walnut Cookies)

Among Siena’s most traditional Christmas cookies, cavallucci are not elegant or photogenic, lacking the bright colors, icing, and sparkling sugar we expect from a Christmas cookie. Nor do they come in Christmas shapes; they’re round and rustic, lightly flattened on the ends, floury and a bit lumpy. And yet, with that first bite full of…


Calzoncelli (Chocolate and Almond Christmas Cookies From Basilicata)

Along with cavallucci, calzoncelli are another fixture of our Christmas at home. They originate in Melfi, a southern town in Basilicata, my grandfather’s hometown. A bag of calzoncelli, no matter the size, never lasted longer than a couple days at home. Calzoncelli are small parcels with a paper-thin, brittle shell and a moist chocolate and…


A Twist on Traditional Italian Holiday Cookies

This crispy-on-the-bottom-and-chewy-on-the-inside gluten-free cookie recipe is a twist on a traditional Italian holiday treat, pignoli, or pine nut cookies. Look for almond paste—a mixture of ground almonds and sugar (available in tubes or sometimes tubs)—near other baking supplies in well-stocked supermarkets or specialty stores. Sweeter marzipan doesn’t work well in these cookies. Pignoli Cookies Active…


Cozy Food Alla Norma

Pasta alla Norma is a classic and timeless Italian dish, hailing from the Sicilian city of Catania. It features eggplant—lots of it—in a simple marinara-style tomato sauce. While the ingredients technically qualify it as a late summer dish, it can be prepared year-round, which is good news for us. For something so simple, the flavors…