Tag: Parmesan

Ragù alla bolognese in pentola a pressione (pressure cooker Ragù Bolognese, even better than the conventional one)

~ stefano arturi ~ 14 Comments

Ragù

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)” →

Torta di farro della Garfagnana (emmer savoury pie from Garfagnana)

~ stefano arturi ~ 11 Comments

A savoury pie typical of Garfagnana and Lunigiana, those mountainous areas in between North Tuscany, South Liguria and west Emilia Romagna, sparsely populated, traditionally poor (hence their rather sombre style of cooking), thickly covered in chestnut tree woods (hence the many dishes based on chestnuts, once called “the bread of the poor”, because they were free and highly nutritious) and where mushrooms and wild boars are still abundant. It is farro, however, or emmer (Triticum dicoccum), a type of wheat, that is perhaps the most celebrated produce of this part of Italy.

Continue reading “Torta di farro della Garfagnana (emmer savoury pie from Garfagnana)” →

Minestra di zucca, ceci e spezie medievali – a pumpkin and chickpea soup with a Medieval flavour

~ stefano arturi ~ 13 Comments

This soup does not claim any specific provenance; in fact, I developed the recipe over a few suppers. And yet I daresay most Italians would immediately recognise it as “Italian” – even if the spicing might throw them at first. Continue reading “Minestra di zucca, ceci e spezie medievali – a pumpkin and chickpea soup with a Medieval flavour” →

Torta Pasqualina (Easter chard and fresh cheese pie from Liguria)

~ stefano arturi ~ 43 Comments

To say that we Italians are food traditionalists is an understatement. Time and time again we go back to dishes that we have known since we were kids and we still enjoy them immensely. Come Easter and torta pasqualina will appear on very many tables. “Torta pasqualina” translates as Eastertide cake but it is actually a savory pie: layers of a golden, shatteringly flaky olive oil pastry, encasing a substantial filling of chards (biete, in Italian), fresh soft cheese, Parmigiano or pecorino , eggs and marjoram. It is a centuries old dish and one of the highlights of the Italian vegetarian canon – the quintessential spring dish. Continue reading “Torta Pasqualina (Easter chard and fresh cheese pie from Liguria)” →

Porrata o torta di porri – leek pie from Tuscany via Frank

~ stefano arturi ~ 9 Comments

porrea - torta di porri - leek pie

This is porrata or torta di porri, a leek pie – porri means leeks in Italian.

I learnt it from one of my favourite websites: Memorie di Angelina, written by Frank Fariello and chock a block with great authentic Italian recipes. In turn, Frank learnt it from Giuliano Bugialli and Bugialli claims it to be of Tuscan origin. Continue reading “Porrata o torta di porri – leek pie from Tuscany via Frank” →