Zander is a freshwater fish with a very elegant flavor that is caught locally in the Netherlands. It is also called pikeperch or pike perch. The combination with tart apple syrup and bacon has been made famous by Jonnie Boer, … Continue reading Zander with Apple Syrup and Bacon
Look at the photo and guess what it is? No, it is not Spaghetti alla Carbonara, although it does look similar. The sauce is not made of eggs, but of sous-vide cooked and then pureed leeks! Cooking leeks sous vide … Continue reading Spaghetti with Sous-Vide Leeks and Pancetta
Another recipe with green beans. I haven’t posted a Biba Caggiano recipe in a while; she’s my favorite Italian cookbook author from the time before I could read Italian cookbooks myself. This is perfect for the summer and excellent to … Continue reading Green Beans, Potato, and Pancetta Salad (Insalata di fagiolini, patate e pancetta)
Ravioli and all other shapes of stuffed pasta are my signature dish, so I am always excited when I see a new traditional recipe that I did not know yet. Like the savoy cabbage tortelli I saw on Simona’s blog … Continue reading Tortelli di Verza (Savoy Cabbage Tortelli)
Pasta e ceci is typical Italian comfort food. Ceci are chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. As with all Italian home cooking, many variations exist. Some are with tomatoes, some without (in bianco). Some are more like a soup, with … Continue reading Pasta with Chickpeas and Pancetta (Pasta e Ceci con Pancetta)
Paola is one of my Italian blogging friends and she always has tasty simple recipes. Her motto is use leftovers as much as possible. Although in this case she did not present this as a way to use up leftovers, … Continue reading Pasta with Pumpkin and Pancetta
There are so many food blogs out there that it is hard to find the really good ones. But once in a while I discover a new food blog that I really like, and one of those is Stefano’s Italian Home … Continue reading Duck ‘in Salsa’ with Radicchio (Anatra in Salsa con Radicchio di Treviso)
One of my favorite cooking blogs in Italian is Primo, non sprecare by Paola. The title can be translated as “First of all, don’t waste anything”. In Paola’s vision this doesn’t only refer to not wasting any food, but also … Continue reading Wholewheat Pasta with Lentils and Pancetta (Pasta con lenticchie e pancetta)
Have you ever heard of spaghetti squash? I had not until I read about it on Shanna’s wonderful blog. Coincidence or not, this autumn for the first time I saw spaghetti squash in markets here. The name may sound strange, but … Continue reading Spaghetti Squash with Clams and Pancetta
Spaghetti alla Carbonara is one of our favorite dishes that I make often because it is such great comfort food: filling and full of flavor. If you are a long time follower of this blog with a good memory, you … Continue reading Spaghetti alla Carbonara
This recipe is all about the turnips, small purple turnips that we get in spring and are called “meiraapjes” in Dutch. They look very pretty with their nice purple color, which unfortunately will be gone once you have peeled them. … Continue reading Venison with Turnips and Peas
It’s Spring and when it’s spring I see lambs frolicking in the pastures. And it makes me think of how good they will taste as lamb chops or lamb shank 😉 A part of lamb that is not as popular … Continue reading Agnello alla Romagnola (Lamb Stew with Peas, Pancetta and Tomato)
It is interesting how you can vary even the simplest of Italian recipes. I make pasta with broccoli often, and I often make it like I described in this post with anchovies, garlic, and chilli. I cook the broccoli and … Continue reading Pasta with Broccoli and Pancetta
One thing I don’t like about fava beans is all the waste. The actual beans are only about 20-25% of the gross weight, and that is even before double-shelling them (i.e. remove the light-colored bitter membrane around the green tender … Continue reading Pasta with Fava Bean Pods (Pasta con Baccelli di Fave)
Every time I browse the many cookbooks by Biba Caggiano I own, a recipe catches my eye that I haven’t tried before. In this case it was bucatini alle cipolle, a very simple pasta dish that makes the onions shine … Continue reading Bucatini alle Cipolle (Pasta with Onions)
Happy Thanksgiving! When I was googling researching gnocchi all’acqua (‘water’ gnocchi, made from a dough much like that of éclairs), I noticed a variety of these gnocchi stuffed with pieces of pancetta and served with a tomato sauce. This sounded … Continue reading Gnocchi all’Acqua con Pancetta
There are countless traditional Italian recipes with only a few ingredients, a simple preparation, and a lot of flavor. This of course depends on the quality of the ingredients used. This is a perfect salad for fall or winter from … Continue reading Witlof and Pancetta Salad (Insalata di Radicchio e Pancetta)
We love risotto and I’m always trying to come up with new recipes. This spinach risotto turned out really nice, and it was even nicer with the garnishes of pancetta and sous-vide egg-yolk. But the risotto is delicious by itself, … Continue reading Spinach Risotto (Risotto agli Spinaci)
We love risotto and so it is fitting that the 600th post on this blog is a risotto recipe. I had just finished another batch of homemade pancetta and was looking for a recipe to use it with. In one of … Continue reading Risotto with Witlof and Pancetta (Risotto con Radicchio e Pancetta)
My favorite food blog in Italian is Le Recette di Baccos. Marina has done a lot of research to identify traditional regional recipes, handed down from mother to daughter, and every day she shares one of them with us. About … Continue reading Penne with Leeks and Pancetta (Penne con Porro e Pancetta)
The Italian region of Lazio (which is the region around Rome) has some of the best simple pasta dishes: Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe, Spaghetti all’Amatriciana, and Spaghetti alla Gricia. The ingredients that all of them have in common are spaghetti, pecorino romano cheese, and freshly ground black pepper. Three of them have guanciale, two of them use the pasta cooking water, one has eggs, and one has tomatoes.
I had not blogged about alla Gricia yet, which is also known as Amatriciana ‘in Bianco’ because it is the same as Amatriciana but without the tomatoes. The recipe for alla Gricia is very simple: spaghetti, guanciale, pecorino romano, salt, and black pepper. It is not only very simple but also very tasty! Continue reading “Spaghetti alla Gricia”
This is a quick and simple weekday pasta dish that came about when I wanted to make Penne with Bell Peppers and Salami, but only had pancetta available. You could also think of this as Penne all’Amatriciana with added bell peppers. This dish turned out to be better balanced than the version with salami, as that is a bit high in acidity. But the most important thing is that you get a lot of flavor for not a lot of work. Ingredients For 2 servings 2 red bell peppers 100 grams (4 oz) of pancetta, diced 150-200 grams (1/3-1/2 pound) … Continue reading Penne with Bell Peppers and Pancetta
I was intrigued by PutneyFarms’s combination of clams with bacon, so I decided to give this a try even though I had never heard of this in Italy. Of course I did have to Italify things slightly by using pancetta rather than bacon and parsley rather than thyme. The combination of vongole with pancetta worked well: the tastes complement each other. It is nice to serve with crusty homemade bread to soak op the juices, although those turn out quite salty. This dish has a lot of taste for the small amount of work involved. Ingredients For 3-4 servings as an … Continue reading Vongole with Pancetta
The pasta sauce “Amatriciana” comes from the town of Amatrice, on the border of Lazio and Abruzzo. In Amatrice they serve it over spaghetti, and that’s what I have done. This dish has been taken over by the Romans, and … Continue reading Spaghetti all’Amatriciana
Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a delicious and simple dish from Rome made with pancetta or guanciale and eggs. There should absolutely be no cream in carbonara: this is in fact a very good way to check the authenticity of Italian … Continue reading Spaghetti alla Carbonara
This is my most successful attempt at Dutch-Italian fusion and I make it quite often as it is as quick and easy to prepare as it is delicious! The flavors of the bitter endive, the sweet pancetta, the freshness of the white wine and the heartiness (umami) of the parmigiano blend really well. Just like most Italian dishes, the result will depend on the quality of the ingredients. This dish will taste best if you use actual pancetta, fresh endive (rather than already cut when you buy it), freshly grated nutmeg, freshly grated parmigiano and artisan orechiette. The classic Dutch … Continue reading Orecchiette with Endive and Pancetta (Orecchiette Indivia e Pancetta)
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