My Italian food
Gatto’ di patate… a.k.a. Neapolitan potato savory cake. The plain translation does not do justice to the deliciousness of this classic dish, an over the top layered ‘cake’ of cheesy, eggy, mashed potatoes, mozzarella and mildly hot salame – the perfect comfort food. Continue reading “Gatto’ di patate (Neapolitan potato, cheese and salame savory cake)”
Aubergine parmigiana is one of the most famous Italian dishes: layers of fried aubergines, tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmigiano reggiano (in its most basic version). It is not, however, the only parmigiana in town: one can make artichoke, courgette, potato, fennel, celeriac, mushroom parmigiana and even a butternut squash one, which I am sharing with you here. The principle is always the same: the chosen vegetable is first cooked and then layered with tomato sauce and cheese. In richer versions, mortadella and sliced hard-boiled egg are added.
Continue reading “Parmigiana di zucca (Butternut squash parmigiana)”
Sicilian caponata di melanzane is very famous, however it is not the only one. In fact, on a trip to Sicily and after reading the seminal “Profumi di Sicilia” by Giuseppe Coria, I learnt that “caponata” is only a generic term used to describe a dish made of assorted cooked vegetables finished off with a sour sweet condiment, either sugar or honey and vinegar. Continue reading “Caponata di zucca (Sicilian sour-sweet butternut squash caponata)”
UPDATE September 2022: please check the end of this post
In her last book, even the arch-traditionalist Marcella Hazan said that making egg pasta dough in the food processor is fine. She was finally acknowledging what home cooks and restaurant chefs had probably been doing for a long time, but it was also testament to her intelligence: food and cooking must evolve to stay alive. It would be foolish to ignore that cooking is an ever changing reality that resists being imprisoned in dogmas: we do not eat, cook or think about food one year for the other.
As much as I love traditions and traditional food, I am also very open to “new ways” in the kitchen, as long as they make my life easier and/or my food better. The pressure cooker is a good example. Continue reading “Ragù alla bolognese in pentola a pressione (pressure cooker Ragù Bolognese, even better than the conventional one)”
This is a method for candying citrus peels that works FOR ME. It is not a professional method, it has flaws, it is not “the perfect”, BUT it works for ME (hence that “my”). It delivers the type of candied peels that I like: still juicy and fruity, with a faint bitterness in the background, not overly sweet.
The following are to be regarded as working notes, drawn from experience and other cooks’ versions.
I do not have any “culinary scientific evidence” for some of the things I say – you decide, if they make sense to you or not.
Italian home cooking 