Impepata di Cozze (mussels with black pepper) A’mpepata e’ cozze, as they call this dish in Naples, is in my opinion one of the great unsung heroes of Mediterranean cuisine. Considered cucina povera or the “cuisine of the poor” these molluscs were snubbed by the Godfather of Italian cuisine Pellegrino Artusi and were not mentioned at…
Tag: recipe
Fluffy fresh strawberry spongecake
Torta soffice con le fragole Sometimes (read: often) you just need cake. And a home baked cake is somehow just so much better than a shopbought one. Baking is relaxing, as long as it goes right, and fills the house with the most gorgeous smells that make it seem so much more like a home….
Pastries with ricotta
La sfogliatella from Campania If you ever go to Naples then there are a few must-tries. Obviously that includes pizza, espresso, spaghetti with clams and rum baba. There is one delicacy for which there is no translation into English however, and it is one of my absolute favourite sweets, and one of the best breakfasts…
Coffee liqueur
Italians like their liqueurs… and so do I. For the Italians, liqueurs are made to be sipped out of small glasses after dinner as a digestivo, ie. to help their food go down. You can get liqueurs made out of almost anything, but probably the easiest to make at home is liquore al caffé,…
Spicy bean and endive soup
Minestra di scarole e fagioli from Campania It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s miserable and dark. Yes, even in Southern Italy, it is December after all! All of this means only one thing… Soup! When you come home on one of those horrid winter nights after a long day at work there’s nothing better than a…
Roast potatoes with parmesan and rosemary
Patate al forno con parmigiano e rosmarino from Emilia-Romagna Roast potatoes. There really is nothing better… Soft, fluffy and light on the inside and perfectly golden and crunchy on the outside. This recipe from Emilia-Romagna, home of such delights as parmesan cheese, parma ham and mortadella (bologna sausage), adds a twist to this classic dish…
Veal and red wine hotpot
Spezzatino di vitello con vino rosso from Veneto I remember the first time I had this, just outside Venice in February. I was living in Milan at the time as a student, and some friends and I had decided to go to Venice carnival for the day – it was beautiful, full of swirling colours,…
Artichokes with lemon and black peppercorns
Carciofi al limone e pepe nero, Campania I love vegetables. I especially love to eat vegetables in season – they are cheaper, tastier and even better for you than their out-of-season counterparts. One of the great things about Italy is that people still remember when things are in season, and the greengrocers pretty much only…
Spicy Pumpkin Risotto
Risotto alla Zucca from Lombardy Tonight I went to my friend Isabel’s house for dinner and she made me a delicious plate of risotto with squash: This is true comfort food, straight from the cool (relatively) climes of Lombardy in the North of Italy, and with its deep, warm colour and slightly spicy sweetness it…
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