A classic and delicious dish from Venice is pesce in saôr, which does not mean ‘sour’ fish but ‘flavored’ fish (saôr comes from ‘sapore’). The recipe was invented in Venice as a way to preserve fish, and even though we have … Continue reading Mackerel ‘in Saor’ (Sgombro in Saor)
In a restaurant in Évora in Alentejo, Portugal, I had a simple local dessert that consisted of sweet pumpkin puree with pine nuts, almonds, and cinnamon. It was quite nice and prepared something similar back home; less sweet and using … Continue reading Pumpkin Puree with Almonds, Pine Nuts, Honey and Cinnamon (Doce de Abóbora)
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
My favorite way of preparing cauliflower is slow roasting it. This gives the cauliflower great depth of flavor that is so much more tasty than steamed or boiled cauliflower. Cauliflower can be roasted quickly in half an hour at 225C/440F. … Continue reading Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower (Pasta e Cavolfiore)
This asparagus salad can be made with either white, green, or a combination of white and green asparagus. I made a Dutch-Italian version using a vinaigrette and lightly toasted pine nuts, combined with hard-boiled egg and boiled ham. The flavor … Continue reading Asparagus Salad (Insalata di Asparagi)
Bea has Sicilian roots and that clearly shows in the recipe for Vermicelli alle Alici con pangrattato dorato that she posted recently. Since fresh anchovies are not so easy to find around here and it is a lot of work to clean … Continue reading Spaghetti with Mackerel and Breadcrumbs (Spaghetti allo Sgombro con pangrattato dorato)
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
Kale is called cavolo riccio (curly cabbage) in Italy, but it is not widely used. The closest type of cabbage that is common in Italy is the Tuscan cavolo nero.In the Netherlands kale is very common and called boerenkool (farmer’s … Continue reading Pasta with Kale “in Saor” (Pasta con Cavolo Riccio “in Saor”)
Coda alla Vaccinara is a classic dish from Rome: oxtail stewed in tomato sauce. It is usually served as a secondo, but you can also eat the sauce over pasta as a primo before that. Another less common variation is … Continue reading Conchiglie alla Vaccinara (Pasta with Oxtail Ragù Sous-Vide)
Pasta con le sarde is a very typical pasta dish from Sicily with a unique flavor. The main ingredients are pasta and sardines as the name implies, but also wild fennel (finocchietto). The latter ingredient may be hard to find … Continue reading Pasta con le sarde (Pasta with Sardines and Wild Fennel)
These fennel ravioli are heavily inspired on these fennel ‘meatballs’ (polpette) that I discovered in Sicily at the great trattoria Tischi Toschi in Taormina. I prepare a lot of fennel, either in a salad, in pasta, or braised as a side. … Continue reading Fennel Ravioli (Ravioli ai Finocchi)
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
For Christmas I wanted to make a traditional Italian dish that I had not prepared before, preferably something that involved stuffed pasta. As I’ve already made so many stuffed pasta dishes over the years, I wasn’t sure if I would … Continue reading Ravioli alla Genovese
As every year, for my birthday I baked to treat my colleagues. This year I made a pound cake, almond cookies stuffed with amarena cherries, and an Italian apple cake. Other than Dutch appeltaart (the same as American apple pie), Italian torta … Continue reading Torta di Mele (Apple Cake)
In 2007 during our first wine discovery tour through Italy, we visited Castello di Brolio in Tuscany and had dinner at the restaurant that was part of the winery. They served a tasting menu to showcase their wines, and with … Continue reading Cheese Ravioli
If you don’t want to cook but like to impress at a dinner party, bresaola is what you should look for in an antipasto. Bresaola is Italian air-dried, salted beef that has been aged two or three months. Like carpaccio (raw beef) it is often served with shaved parmesan, roasted pine nuts and arugula, but it has much more flavor. Bresaola has a very rich pleasant flavor. I like to brush the bresaola with a bit of aged balsamic vinegar. The good stuff is called aceto balsamico tradizionale, is aged for at least 12 years, and very expensive. But you only need half a teaspoon or so per serving. Continue reading “Bresaola”
I had fennel left over after making fennel polpette using only the greens. I decided to use the fennel to make a Sicily-inspired pasta dish with raisins, pine nuts, and saffron. When I made this for the first time, I thought it was a bit bland. Now I added sugar and parmigiano and the result is very tasty. The flavors of the raisins, saffron, and fennel work together very well and are supported by the pine nuts and parmigiano. This is a nice vegetarian pasta dish that I will make again. I am not sure if it resembles any traditional Sicilian pasta dish. Continue reading “Fennel Pasta”
This is the second post in the series of recipes that I made for Conor’s visit. Are you curious what Conor has to say about his visit? Hop over to his blog to find out the connection between me and Hannibal Lecter… … Continue reading Spinach Tartlets (Sformatini di Spinaci)
Pesto is one of those things that is so much better when you make it yourself rather than buy it in a store! I’m talking about the most common and famous type of pesto here: Pesto alla Genovese. This sauce is made from basil, pine nuts, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, parmigiano reggiano, aged pecorino, and some salt. If you buy a jar of pesto in a store, chances are that it will contain parsley, sunflower oil, cashew nuts, or even potato. Not to mention preservatives. But the worst problem is that store-bought pesto in most cases has a strong … Continue reading How to make your own Pesto alla Genovese
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 