As part of our wine tour through Friuli, we had dinner at La Subida Trattoria al Cacciatore. The chef’s specialty is girini—his interpretation of a traditional local dish made by letting pasta batter drip into boiling water to form fresh pasta. What … Continue reading Girini (Crumbles of Dropped Pasta) with Rabbit, Samphire, and Cherry Tomatoes
In La Maddalena we had a wonderful dinner at The Bistrot, a trattoria that prides itself on using ingredients from local artisan producers. La Maddalena is the capital town of the Maddalena archipelago on the North-East of Sardinia and the … Continue reading Chiusoni alla Gallurese (Pasta Dumplings with Salami, Cherry Tomatoes, and Pecorino Cheese)
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
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)
Doing an excursion with food included is often a treat in Italy — as it was when we went on a boat tour of the Gargano peninsula in Puglia during our last vacation there. The pasta served for lunch was … Continue reading Handmade Cavatelli Pasta with Mussels (Cavatelli alle Cozze)
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)
We are back home from our trip to the coast of Southern Italy, and I have compiled a list of over 40 dishes that we tried during our trip and that I would like to recreate at home. This first … Continue reading Troccoli al Tonno Fresco (Fresh Pasta with Fresh Tuna, Tomatoes, and Mint)
At Trattoria La Saletta in Alghero, Sardinia, I enjoyed some delicious mutton ravioli (ravioli di pecora) with crunchy vegetables. Since mutton (the meat of a mature sheep) is not available in the Netherlands, I decided to make something similar using … Continue reading Lamb Ravioli with Crunchy Vegetables
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
There is something fishy about this post. See if you can find out what it is while you are reading. I’ll reveal the mystery at the end… Many Italian pasta recipes will tell you to cook the pasta for a … Continue reading Spaghetti Risottati alle Triglie (Risotto-Style Spaghetti with Red Mullet)
Samphire has been an easily available ingredient around here for years, but I haven’t been using it very often. As it is such a local ingredient to me, it had not occurred to me to use it in Italian cooking. … Continue reading Pasta with Jumbo Shrimp and Samphire (Pasta con Gamberoni e Salicornia)
When we paid Jo of My Home Food That’s Amore a visit this summer, she gave us some goodies including a box of calamarata pasta. Thanks, Jo! The name of this pasta sounds like calamari, because these pasta rings resemble … Continue reading Calamarata Pasta with Swordfish Ragù (Calamarata con Ragù di Pesce Spada)
Scamorza is a cheese from southern Italy that is often smoked, and it is this smoked variety that is the star of this recipe. You can think of it as smoked mozzarella. I had picked up this scamorza without deciding … Continue reading Penne with Scamorza, Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes
You could probably consider ravioli to be my signature dish. I love serving those delicate parcels that burst with flavor. When Auldo and Teun came over for lobster bisque, I used one of the leftover lobster tails (and a bit … Continue reading Lobster Ravioli (Ravioli all’Astice)
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)
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