My Italian food
Winter, mountain, robust eating from the Italian Dolomites. The color of the beetroot filling is stunning too, which does help in these rather lugubrious days . Continue reading “Casunziei ampezzani (beetroot and potato ravioli from Cortina d’Ampezzo, in the Dolomites)”
Publishing this recipe shows how conservative I am at heart, when it comes to food – a trait I share with many fellow Italians. Fave dei morti means “broad beans of the dead” and it is the name of these tiny almond and pinenut biscuits, shaped to resemble broad beans, that traditionally have been made for centuries around All Saints day and All Souls Day, the first and second of November, as offerings to the dead ones. They are generally sold at bakeries and patisseries, but, at least in a big city like Milano, where I used to live, they are now on the wane, unfortunately. Continue reading “Le fave dei morti (almond and pinenuts tiny biscuits for All Souls and All Saint day, a recipe from Lombardy)”
One of the great dishes of Piedmont: a braised chicken (but it could be rabbit too, a very popular meat in Piedmontese cooking) with peppers and lots of herbs. This is classic home cooking done entirely on top of the stove and it follows a usual pattern: the chicken is browned, then wine and aromatics are added, when the chicken is half way done, some mixed peppers go into the pot. By the end, the pan juices are not copious but the few tablespoons left are deliciou and the meat has been infused with the flavor from the herbs, the wine and the peppers. Continue reading “Pollo o coniglio ai peperoni (chicken or rabbit with peppers, Piedmontese cooking)”
Another splendid recipe from Piemonte: Bônet, which is pronounced
If you do not trust my Piedmontese accent (and you might be right, actually) check this more authentic voice.
It is a caramel-topped baked custard, generally made with crushed amaretti biscuits (one of the glories of Piedmontese baking), lots of eggs and milk, with or without cocoa/chocolate and/ with or without coffee. It is sumptuous and voluptuous. Continue reading “Bônet astigiano (Chocolate, amaretti and savoiardi baked caramel custard from the town of Asti, in Piedmont)”
Time to change gear: autumn is here and I want to explore more of the wonderful northern Italian repertoire, which I think lends itself better to this time of the year.
This vegetable terrine hails from Piemonte, or, to be precise, from this tremendous book about Piedmeontese cooking: if you read Italian, do get it. This is not your typical recipe driven cookery book but one where the emphasis is on food as culture.
it is a layered affair of cooked chopped vegetables, with each vegetable layer enriched with eggs and béchamel sauce: an excellent example of that Italian bourgeois , Sunday lunch cooking, now almost disappeared. Continue reading “Sformato autunnale di tre verdure (layered autumn three vegetable terrine from Piemonte)”
Italian home cooking 