In the Sorrento peninsula, famous for the Amalfi Coast, bell peppers are stuffed with a mixture of eggplant, olives, capers, bread, basil, and parsley. We enjoyed this humble but tasty vegan antipasto at Lo Stuzzichino. It is a bit of … Continue reading Peperoni imbottiti alla Sorrentina (Stuffed Bell Peppers alla Sorrentina)
Our last dinner in Campania for this trip was at Taverna Estia, where we wanted to return after our great experience there 4 years ago. In the meantime they added outdoor seating. It is a family business with Mario Sposito … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Taverna Estia** (2022)
Chef Peppe Guida has two restaurants: Antica Osteria Nonna Rossa with a Michelin star, and an agriturismo called Villa Rosa di Nonna Rosa. The produce used at both restaurants comes from the agriturismo, from farm to table. We had dinner … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Villa Rosa di Nonna Rosa
For our 5th dinner at Torre del Saracino (and some other restaurants in this area) we made a bit of a detour, because the primary destination of our vacation is Sardinia. We were seated at the table in the corner … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Torre del Saracino** (2022)
Lo Stuzzichino is just around the corner from Don Alfonso in Sant’Agata Sui Due Golfi. It is an osteria that has been recognized by many guides as one of the best trattorie in Italy, including tre gamberi by Gambero Rosso. … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Lo Stuzzichino
We really enjoyed our first dinner at Don Alfonso 1890 in 2018, so it was the perfect restaurant to start off this year’s culinary adventures in Italy. This is a family business, run by two brothers and their mother. Apart … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Don Alfonso 1890** (2022)
Outside of Italy, most people consider “Italian food” as one cuisine. In fact, the Italian cuisine is very local, and even the next village over may prepare a dish differently. During our vacation to Southern Italy last year, we enjoyed … Continue reading Mackerel ‘in Carpione’ with Spaghetti Aglio-Olio-Peperoncino
At seafood restaurant Angiolina in Pisciotta, south of Naples, I enjoyed a wonderful seafood and vegetable soup. Back home I made my own version. You can easily adapt it to what is available and seasonal, in terms of both seafood … Continue reading Seafood and Vegetable Soup (Zuppa Mediterranea)
Every region in Italy has its own pasta shapes. Sometimes shapes that look very similar have a completely different name. There are so many different pasta shapes, that I keep discovering new ones even in regions that I’ve visited before. … Continue reading Scialatielli ai Frutti di Mare (Fresh Pasta with Mussels and Clams)
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)
This is our 4th dinner at Torre del Saracino in Vico Equense with view on Mt Vesuvio and the Gulf of Naples. The previous time in 2011 we took a flight just to eat here. And so we had high … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Torre del Saracino** (2018)
Don Alfonso 1890 is situated in the town of Sant’Agata sui due Golfi, on the Sorrentino peninsula in the hinterland of the Amalfi Coast. It has three forks from Gambero Rosso and two Michelin stars. On the photo you see … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Don Alfonso 1890**
The last trattoria with tre gamberi (see yesterday’s post) is Al Convento in the fisherman’s town Cetara on the Amalfi Coast. The most important local product here is alici, anchovies. Al Convento has nice outside seating (in the town center, … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Al Convento
A trattoria is an Italian restaurant that is less formal than a ristorante, with lower prices and often larger portions. There is no official definition of the distinction and many trattorie call themselves ristorante, to make it more confusing. The … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Angiolina
We are touring the coast of southern Italy, and our first stop is in Brusciano, just outside of Naples. Taverna Estia has two Michelin stars and three forchette from Gambero Rosso. The dining room has full view of the kitchen … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Taverna Estia**
Stefano of Italian Home Cooking has done it again: he posted a delicious traditional Italian recipe that I had not heard of before. I love Ragù alla Napoletano, which is a large piece of beef braised in tomato sauce. The … Continue reading La Genovese alla Napoletana Sous-Vide (Ziti and Beef with Onion Sauce)
Pastiera is a traditional Easter cake from Naples, filled with boiled wheat, ricotta, and candied citrus. The wheat provides an interesting texture and also makes the cake quite filling. The candied citron, candied orange, lemon zest, orange blossom water, and … Continue reading Pastiera Napoletana
One of my favorite dishes is spaghetti alle vongole, and I realised I had never done a post on it yet. This pasta with clams has great depth of flavor because of the juices that the clams will release when … Continue reading Spaghetti alle Vongole
Mussels are in season again. This recipe is so simple that it is hardly worth calling a recipe, but it sure is a delicious way of preparing mussels and so I’m sharing it with you anyway. It was Alice of … Continue reading Mussels with Pepper (Impepata di Cozze)
Acqua Pazza (which literally means “crazy water”) is a dish from Campania, the region of Naples. It can be either a primo piatto or a secondo piatto. As a secondo, it is fish cooked with cherry tomatoes. As a primo, it is … Continue reading Spaghetti all’Acqua Pazza (Spaghetti with Fish and Tomatoes)
Home made potato gnocchi made from scratch are the best! They are so much better than chewy store-bought ones. I’ve only posted about potato gnocchi once before: gnocchi with gorgonzola was the first recipe I ever posted on this blog. The city of Sorrento is near the island of Capri, the island that gave its name to the famous Insalata Caprese with tomato, mozzarella, and basil. You can think fo Gnocchi alla Sorrentina as the gnocchi version of this salad, because the gnocchi are dressed with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil, and parmigiano reggiano. This combination is always a winner, and it is even more so with feathery light homemade potato gnocchi.
Continue reading “Gnocchi alla Sorrentina”
Eel is caught locally in the area where we live and we love smoked eel. Eel is also available fresh to be used for stewing, but I don’t care much for the Dutch/Flemish preparations. My curiosity was piqued though when I saw a post by ChgoJohn on eel stewed in tomato sauce Italian style (or to be more precise, in the style of Le Marche). I did some research and it turned out that this dish is known as Anguilla in Umido in most of Italy, and that it originated in Campania, the region of Naples. Anguilla in Umido is traditionally eaten between Christmas and New Year’s as a symbol to drive out the evil for the New Year. Eel looks like a serpent, and by eating it you conquer it. How simple was life back then.
So why am I preparing this dish in summer? Because fresh eel is available around here between May and October only, that’s why. And this year because of the cold, I only noticed eel at my fishmonger for the first time last week. It was very expensive (because eel is starting to become scarce), but I’m glad I bought it anyway because prepared this way it was absolutely delicious! The eel gives off a very nice flavor to the tomato sauce, the eel is tender and juicy without tasting too greasy, and the flavor of the eel is not at all overpowered by the tomato sauce. Continue reading “Eel in Tomato Sauce (Anguilla in Umido)”
I made this lasagna for a dear friend whom we were visiting and who couldn’t cook herself because she was recovering from a slipped disc operation. Lasagna is a great dish for such an occasion, because it can be prepared in advance and can simply be heated up in the oven. This will even improve the flavor. My original plan was to make Lasagne alla Bolognese, but when ChgoJohn wrote that he used cream cheese instead of ricotta in his Lasagne dei Bartolini I was intrigued because I had never used either of those in lasagna before. I then learned … Continue reading Lasagne alla Napoletana (Lasagne di Carnevale)
It is Carnival and that is the festive season before Lent, a period of six weeks in which it was not allowed to eat meat. And that meant of course that during Carnival one would eat as much meat as possible. The word carnival comes from Latin “carnem levare”, which means “eliminate meat”. In the south of Italy and especially around Naples, the end of Carnival on Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday or martedì grasso in Italian, is celebrated by eating Lasagne di Carnevale or Lasagne alla Napoletana. This lasagna is different from the better-known Lasagne alla Bolognese, which is made from Ragù … Continue reading Pork & Beef Ragù Napoletano
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