Biba Caggiano was an Italian-American cookbook author, television chef, and restaurateur. It was through her books that I mastered the basics of Italian cooking about twenty years ago, before I learned the language and increased my knowledge of Italian cuisine by … Continue reading Calamari in Inzimino (Braised Squid with Swiss Chard in a Spicy Tomato Sauce)
One of my favorite foods to cook on a charcoal grill is a lobster tail. Although it is not much of a recipe, I should photograph it so I can blog about it. If you start with whole live lobsters, … Continue reading Lobster Fettuccine (Fettuccine all’Astice)
When I make ravioli, usually I put most of the ingredients in the filling and serve them with a simple sauce. But when I had ravioli stuffed with ricotta and seafood ragù at Pepe Nero, I realized that the other … Continue reading Ravioli di Ricotta al Ragù ai Frutti di Mare
Next week, August 21-23 2020, the second Sous Vide Summit of the International Sous Vide Association will be held. Because of COVID it will be a virtual conference, so the good news is you can join from anywhere. And I … Continue reading Pollo alla Cacciatora Sous Vide
Although I have been to Sicily a number of times and I have tasted local dishes there like caponata, pasta con le sarde, arancini, and busiate, I had never heard of melanzane abbottonate until I read about them on Stefano’s blog. … Continue reading Sicilian Stuffed Eggplant (Melanzane abbottonate)
In sous-vide forums and Facebook groups there are often debates about adding stuff to the bag when cooking meat sous-vide. Someone posts a photo of a piece of meat sealed with a lot of stuff in the bag, and someone … Continue reading Does it make sense to add stuff to the bag when cooking meat sous-vide?
Last September I enjoyed a wonderful plate of ravioli at ristorante Vecchia Vieste in the town of Vieste in the South-Italian region of Puglia. The ravioli were stuffed with cernia (grouper) and pistachios, and served with a ragù of cicale di … Continue reading Sea Bass and Pistachio Ravioli with Scampi Ragù
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)
In Italian spezzatino means a stew in which the meat has been cut into pieces. It can be made from many kinds of meat, and in this case I opted for turkey. Lean and tender meat like turkey breast is not … Continue reading Turkey in Tomato Sauce (Spezzatino di Tacchino)
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)
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)
Fregola or fregula is one of the typical pasta shapes from Sardinia (the other one is malloreddus). It is like very thick spaghetti made from durum wheat, cut into short pieces and then toasted. It is a bit like large … Continue reading Fregola Sarda con le Cozze (Fregola with Mussels)
Samphire (also known as marsh samphire, salicornia, or sea asparagus) is a salt tolerant plant that grows near the sea. In Italy it is called asparagi di mare (sea asparagus), although I don’t think it tastes like asparagus. Samphire is … Continue reading Samphire and Tomato Salad (Insalata di Asparagi di Mare e Pomodori)
Our vacation to Sardinia provided a lot of inspiration for dishes to cook. Yet another one from La Perla in Calasetta is stuffed calamari braised in tomato sauce. This reminded me of a recipe by Biba Caggiano that I still … Continue reading Stuffed Calamari Braised in Tomato Sauce (Calamari Ripieni)
Frozen pollock or pollack (Dutch: koolvis, French: colin) is amazingly cheap. It comes in unnatural-looking rectangular blocks. At a local supermarket it is 1.75 euros for 400 grams (that is $2.37/lb). It is “frozen at sea”, which means it is … Continue reading Pasta with Cheap Fish Ragù
If it’s too hot right now to turn on the oven where you are, save this recipe for later, because it is easy and delicious. Cod, potatoes, and tomatoes are all cooked together in the oven with garlic and herbs … Continue reading Baked Cod, Potatoes, and Tomatoes (Merluzzo, Patate e Pomodori al Forno)
“Bravo” is a Spanish word that can mean brave (as in courageous), but also wild, rough, or spirited, as in the name of the rough coastline near Barcelona (Costa Brava). And so Patatas Bravas could literally be translated as potatoes with spirit. … Continue reading Patatas Bravas
You can encounter baby octopus in a hot red sauce all along the long Italian coastline. “Alla diavola” refers to the use of chilli flakes. You can make it as hot or as mild as you like. If you are … Continue reading Baby Octopus Alla Diavola (Moscardini alla Diavola)
After reading Conor’s post in which he showed us how to prepare delicious roast leg of goat, I got curious and wanted to try goat meat, too. Now there are a lot of goats in the Netherlands, kept primarily for milking, … Continue reading Goat Stew from Abruzzo (Capra alla Neretese)
Making traditional Italian venison pasta sauce is pretty straightforward, but it does require some patience because of the long cooking time involved. As you only have to stir every half hour or so, this is a perfect sauce to prepare during … Continue reading Venison Pasta Sauce (Ragù di Cervo)
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
The best pork chops are those that are marbled with fat, as the fat provides flavor and prevents the chops from drying out. For this recipe I used some pork chops from iberico pig, the same Spanish pork that is … Continue reading Pork Chops in Piquant Sauce
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)
Pollo alla Cacciatora is an Italian classic. It means chicken prepared in the style of the hunter’s wife (traditional recipes usually do not assume that the wife would hunt herself), which is chicken stewed in tomatoes with herbs, wine, and … Continue reading Pollo alla Cacciatora (Chicken in Tomato Sauce)
How about insalata caprese for dessert? Most of us love the famous combination of tomato, buffalo mozzarella, and basil as a savory dish. But it is also delicious as a dessert with the basil transformed into ice cream. The technique for … Continue reading Basil Ice Cream with Tomato Confit, Mozzarella and Balsamic Syrup
Škampi na Buzaru is a traditional dish from the peninsula of Istria in Croatia and another discovery from our recent vacation. It is prepared in nearby Italy as well, and there it is called Scampi alla Bùsara. Like with many … Continue reading Scampi alla Bùsara (Škampi na Buzaru)
Side by side experiments are a great way to find out if what you are doing when cooking actually makes a difference. For instance, is it worth making pesto by hand with pestle and mortar instead of in the blender … Continue reading Cooking Sous-Vide With(out) Sauce Experiment (Coda alla Vaccinara)
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)
Red Snapper Veracruz is one of the best known seafood dishes from Mexico, but I had never heard about it until I saw it on REMCooks.com. It reminds me of a Mediterranean dish, and clearly shows the Spanish influences in … Continue reading Red Snapper Veracruz (Huachinango a la Veracruzana)
Marinara sauce is the American-Italian term for tomato sauce, but in Italy it usually refers to a sauce prepared in the style of the seaman’s wife and is a tomato-based sauce with seafood. I really liked the risotto alla marinara … Continue reading Risotto alla Marinara (Risotto with Fish)
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