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
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)
Can you make a delicious pasta dish using only four ingredients, counting salt and pepper as the first two? Yes, you can! Boneless and skinless turkey thigh becomes tender, flaky, juicy, and tasty after cooking it sous-vide for 24 hours … Continue reading Tagliatelle with Sous-Vide Turkey Thigh
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)
One of the questions I get asked the most is whether I spend a lot of time preparing each meal. The answer is no, as when I get home from work I am usually too hungry to wait a long … Continue reading Fusilli with Shrimp, Peas, and Tomato
This elegant pasta dish can be prepared in the time it takes to cook the pasta. Succulent pieces of sole fillet (I actually used plaice, schol in Dutch) are tossed with linguine pasta in a simple sauce of white wine, … Continue reading Linguine with Sole and Lemon Zest
Although in Italy eel is mostly eaten in winter time, fresh eel is available here in summer. And so I’ve made a summer version of eel ragù by making it with fresh tomatoes and basil. This makes the ragù very … Continue reading Tagliatelle with Eel (Tagliatelle al Ragù di Anguilla)
After making yesterday’s butternut squash risotto, I still had half of the pumpkin puree left. I opened my refrigerator and pondered what to do with the leftover puree. Then I noticed a nice piece of gorgonzola, and I quickly made up … Continue reading Wholewheat Fusilli with Pumpkin and Gorgonzola (Fusilli Integrali alla Zucca e Gorgonzola)
We love green asparagus, especially when they are grilled on the BBQ, but every time I prepare them, it bothers me to discard the ends. About 40% of the weight is discarded that way. And so I wanted to experiment … Continue reading Pasta with Asparagus Ends
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)
Celeriac is one of the few local vegetables available here in winter, not counting stuff that comes out of a greenhouse. It is tasty and versatile, as you can eat it raw, as puree, steamed, or roasted. In this recipe … Continue reading Pasta with Celeriac, Chicken, and Walnuts
Sometimes fresh borlotti beans are available at the market in Amsterdam. The pods are so pretty that they look like they were designed by an artist. I had picked up some and decided to turn it into a minestra using … Continue reading Pasta and Fresh Borlotti Beans Soup (Pasta con i Fagioli Freschi)
A simple classic from Italian kitchens: spaghetti with sausage and cream. This comfort food is even more simple than pasta with sausage and bell pepper, or with porcini, sausage, and cream. And it can be prepared in the time it … Continue reading Spaghetti with Sausage and Cream (Spaghetti Salsiccia e Panna)
This is food blogging how I like it best. Today I came home from work, cooked dinner while taking photos, less than half an hour later we enjoyed a simple but delicious and healthy meal, and another half an hour … Continue reading Pasta with Cabbage and Smoked Prosciutto (Penne Verza e Speck)
The combination of shrimp and pesto may sound strange, but you can find pasta with this pairing of ingredients on the menu of many restaurants in Italy or on Italian blogs . And the combination does work. In fact, if … Continue reading Linguine with Shrimp, Pesto, and Zucchini
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)
We are on vacation in an RV and are now camped near Venice. Most evenings we eat at restaurants to sample the local cuisine, but tonight we wanted to stay at the campsite and so I cycled to the local … Continue reading Linguine ai Moscardini (Pasta with Baby Octopus Sous-Vide)
Razor clams are shellfish with an unusual shape. Compared to vongole (clams) they are sweeter and slightly more chewy. The recipe for linguine with razor clams is very similar to that of spaghetti alle vongole. Just like other clams, the … Continue reading Linguine with Razor Clams (Linguine ai Cannolicchi)
Italian cooking is about the art of “less is more”. When I thought of this pasta dish, I thought the flavors of roasted cauliflower, boiled ham, and cumin would work well together. And they did! And I resisted the urge … Continue reading Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Ham, and Cumin
Each region of Italy has its own pasta shapes. One of the typical shapes of Sardinia (Sardegna) is fregula or fregola, made from durum wheat flour and water, and similar to cous cous. The store-bought variety is a bit like … Continue reading Fregula with Clams (Fregola con Cocciua Niedda)
Calamari are mostly known as deep fried rings. They are especially delicious when you make them from fresh calamari. Calamari do not only consist of a body (that is cut into rings) but they also have tentacles. You could deep … Continue reading Linguine with Calamari Tentacles (Linguine ai Tentacoli di Calamari)
Cooking a delicious weekday meal can be as quick as it takes to cook the pasta. Thanks to my blogging friend Simona and her wonderful blog Grembiule da cucina, here’s another one. The combination of tomatoes and sundried tomatoes works … Continue reading Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Olives (Orecchiette con Pomodori Secchi e Olive)
Calamarata is a pasta shape from southern Italy that looks like rings of calamari, and it is most often served with a seafood sauce. This fish ragù is very simple and can be prepared while the pasta cooks (provided that … Continue reading Calamarata al Ragù di Pesce (Pasta with Fish Ragù)
This pasta dish is quick and easy enough to serve for a weekday meal, and special and delicious enough for a dinner party. It takes less than half an hour to prepare, and only a few ingredients are required. The … Continue reading Fusilli with Smoked Eel and Celeriac
Although crab and fennel are perhaps not ingredients you use on an every day basis, this is one of those pasta dishes that can be prepared in half an hour and is thus perfectly suited for a weekday meal. That … Continue reading Fusilli with Crab and Fennel
Last Saturday I hosted another wine dinner: 6 courses with 2 wines accompanying each dish for a group of 15 friends. If you’d like to see some photos of the event and read about what I served, visit my page … Continue reading Pasta with Romanesco and Sausage (Pasta con broccolo romano e salsiccia)
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
Different types of pasta can be found all over Italy. Especially the shapes are different everywhere, but there are also differences in the pasta dough. Generally speaking, fresh pasta is made with eggs and 00 flour in the North, and … Continue reading ‘Water’ Gnocchi with Sage Pesto (Gnocchi all’Acqua al Pesto di Salvia)
The secret to a great linguine ai frutti di mare is to use fresh seafood and to use the juices of the vongole and a stock made from the shrimp heads and shells for the sauce. It is a bit of … Continue reading Linguine ai Frutti di Mare
When we visited the Adriatic beach town of Roseto degli Abruzzi to eat at Vecchia Marina, Lucia, the charming hostess of the B&B we stayed at, pointed out to me that Roseto degli Abruzzi was also the home town of Antico … Continue reading The Quality of Pasta and Gold versus Bronze Drawn Spaghetti
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