Melanzane fritte in pastella are slices of eggplant/aubergine dipped in batter and then deep fried until crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. With some basil and tomato dipping sauce this is a lovely appetizer, that could also … Continue reading Fried Eggplant (Melanzane Fritte in Pastella)
Flan di zucchine is a typical dish from Piemonte that we enjoyed at Due Lanterne in Nizza Monferrato. It is a savory flan (pudding) filled with zucchini and served with a lukewarm tomato salsa, basil, and extra virgin olive oil. … Continue reading Flan di Zucchine
Eggplant with mozzarella, basil, and tomato is one of my favorite flavor combinations. In this dish, veal scaloppine are added to make a luxurious dish that is worth of a special occasion. I’ve blogged about this dish before, but back … Continue reading Veal scaloppine with eggplant and mozzarella (Involtini di vitello con melanzane e mozzarella)
The first time I prepared this risotto it was very much an improvisation because I had some zucchini that needed to be used up, and I regretted not taking photos for the blog. But it was a good excuse to … Continue reading Risotto with Zucchini, Pine Kernels and Basil
Scarpaccia is a zucchini cake from the northern coast of Tuscany. There are two versions: savory from the town of Camaiore, and sweet from Viareggio. I had already prepared and blogged about the savory version, so now it’s time for … Continue reading Scarpaccia di Viareggio (Zucchini Cake)
When we were anchored in the Maddalena Archipelago, north of Sardinia, in an area that is known as the Piscine Naturali di Budelli, I thought it would be appropriate to prepare pasta with mussels and cherry tomatoes for dinner. Because … Continue reading Cooking on board: Pasta with Mussels, Cherry Tomatoes, and Basil
This is not the first recipe I’ve posted for eggplant and mozzarella, and it probably won’t be the last because they work really well together. What makes this version special is that the eggplant is smoked. I served this as … Continue reading Smoked Eggplant with Mozzarella (Involtini di Melanzana Affumicata)
Although I have been to Sicily a number of times and I have tasted local dishes there like caponata, pasta con le sarde, arancini, and busiate, I had never heard of melanzane abbottonate until I read about them on Stefano’s blog. … Continue reading Sicilian Stuffed Eggplant (Melanzane abbottonate)
Eggplant is a prominent ingredient in Italian cooking, and it is prepared in many ways. These eggplant balls are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a lot of flavor, and are a great vegetarian appetizer or … Continue reading Eggplant ‘Meatballs’ (Polpette di Melanzane)
Cilento is an area in the south of Campania, and when I was there I enjoyed a dish called Ciambotta alla Cilentana. There are many versions of ciambotta, but here it is potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, and tomatoes. It reminded … Continue reading Ciambotta alla Cilentana (Campania’s Ratatouille)
Eggplant with tomato and basil are a classic combination. At La Tavernetta the eggplant was cooked in charcoal, which gave it a nice smoky twist, and the tomato was cooked slowly to intensify its flavor. As I didn’t feel like … Continue reading Smoked Eggplant with Buffalo Mozzarella and Tomato Confit
Stefano Arturi is an Italian food blogger who lives in the UK and has blogs in both Italian and English. He always has interesting traditional recipes and does a lot of research about the historical background of recipes. Recently he … Continue reading Scarpaccia Salata (Savory Zucchini Cake)
It is really too warm to be cooking, especially to turn on the oven, but after hardly anything new for weeks I really felt like cooking something. The recipe for this filling is pesto-inspired, with basil, pine nuts, parmigiano, and … Continue reading Zucchini Stuffed with Pine Nuts and Basil
You can’t see it very well in the photo, but inside that rolled up eggplant under the melted mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce is a juicy piece of monkfish. Parmigiana di Melanzana is one of my favorite dishes: eggplant baked with … Continue reading Monkfish alla Parmigiana (Coda di Rospo alla Parmigiana)
It doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort to cook a delicious meal. This quick pasta dish was inspired by Simona’s insalata di pasta, salmone e pomodori. Her version was made with canned salmon and uncooked tomatoes … Continue reading Pasta with Salmon and Cherry Tomatoes
If it’s too hot right now to turn on the oven where you are, save this recipe for later, because it is easy and delicious. Cod, potatoes, and tomatoes are all cooked together in the oven with garlic and herbs … Continue reading Baked Cod, Potatoes, and Tomatoes (Merluzzo, Patate e Pomodori al Forno)
This is what I had for dinner tonight (followed by a secondo of chicken breast). Spiralized Zucchini (also known as zoodles) is so well known as substitute for real pasta, that we’d almost forget that it is also really good … Continue reading Spaghetti with Spiralized Zucchini
Spaghetti with a sauce made from fresh tomatoes is the only dish that I prepare quite often, but has not appeared on this blog yet. There are two reasons for that: one is that I thought it wouldn’t be interesting … Continue reading Spaghetti with a Fresh Tomato Sauce (Spaghetti al Pomodoro)
When you make crème brûlée, you will have a lot of leftover egg whites. On the master of cook I saw this recipe for a ‘pizza’ made from egg whites with a tomato sauce and tuna. In Italian it is … Continue reading Egg White ‘Pizza’ With Tuna
How about insalata caprese for dessert? Most of us love the famous combination of tomato, buffalo mozzarella, and basil as a savory dish. But it is also delicious as a dessert with the basil transformed into ice cream. The technique for … Continue reading Basil Ice Cream with Tomato Confit, Mozzarella and Balsamic Syrup
It is time for another quick pasta dish. One of those that takes about as long as is needed to cook the pasta. It took me 22 minutes to cook this dish from start to finish, including taking all the … Continue reading Pasta with Sausage and Bell Pepper (Fusilli Salsiccia e Peperone)
Before we continue with another dish from our Thai feast, I’d like to share this very simple pasta dish from Rome with you that is perfect for the hot summer weather we are having. Spaghetti alla Checca is cold (or … Continue reading Spaghetti alla Checca
My favorite way of blogging is to cook something, eat it, blog about it right afterwards, and then read your comments. That’s what I did today. From the kitchen to the blog in a couple of hours. Risottos always take a bit … Continue reading Risotto with Cream of Shrimp (Risotto con Crema di Gamberi)
To celebrate the coming of Spring I wanted to create a dish with spring vegetables, and came up with these wonderful ravioli filled with baby asparagus, snow peas, peas, baby carrots, ricotta, parmigiano, and basil. Served with a fresh tomato … Continue reading Ravioli Primavera
Sometimes I get a request from a reader that leads me to discovering a new dish. For instance malloreddus pasta with fennel and sausage, now one of my favorite pasta dishes. This time it was Himeros who requested my take … Continue reading Gnudi (Basil Ricotta Dumplings)
Panzanella is a perfect dish for the hot weather we’ve been having, as it is refreshing, makes good use of the summer’s bounty, and the basic version doesn’t require any cooking. Originally it is an Italian peasant lunch prepared to … Continue reading Panzanella
Lately round zucchini have shown up around here. After seeing Marina using them to make stuffed zucchini, I thought I’d try that too. My version is vegetarian, but I did use her idea of using coriander seed to give an … Continue reading Stuffed Round Zucchini
I got the idea for this fast delicious summery pasta dish from Marina of Le Recette di Baccos. It only takes as long as it takes to cook the pasta and the variations are endless. Raw vegetables, in this version … Continue reading Pasta with Raw Vegetables (Penne con Verdure Crude)
Besides albóndigas I served these stuffed tomatoes at the party. They work best with homemade or other good quality ricotta, vine-ripened tomatoes, and aged balsamic (aceto balsamico tradizionale). I’ve been serving them as hors d’oeuvres for years, and I keep … Continue reading Vine-ripened Tomatoes Stuffed with Ricotta, Basil and Balsamic
Pasta salads are great summer food and perfect as a side for a cook out. I like to prepare pasta salads with lots of vegetables, as a cook out or BBQ as we call it here usually involves a lot of meat. For some variation from a Greek style pasta salad, I prepared this pasta salad with eggplant, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar. These flavors go together very well, also without pasta. Continue reading “Eggplant Caprese Pasta Salad”
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 