My Italian food
Mid April and spring has not made its mind up yet. Days can be stunning, with blue skies dotted with clouds but it is still cold. Yesterday evening we made a fire.
In shops and at the market one can find spring vegetables (peas, broad beans, artichokes)and winter bitter greens, leeks and fennels. April really is the time of the year when winter and spring shake hands.
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)”
It is very easy, and immensely pleasurable, to fall into the spell of the Mediterranean – the vibrant colours, the shimmering sea, the warmth of its people, the gnarled olive trees, the intoxicating sweetness of its figs, the lusciousness of its vegetables…
When it comes to Italian food then, there is a misconception that it is all olive oil, garlic, basil and tomatoes, so to speak. In fact, at least one third of the Italian peninsula, from the plains of Emilia Romagna up to the Northern Alps, is bathed in butter and lard and cooks much of its food, at least traditionally, “in bianco” – that is to say, without tomatoes.
This homely supper dish, which emanates from the Emilia Romagna repertoire, makes the point.
In classic Italian cookery, when something is cooked “alla pizzaiola” (pizza-style), it means it has tomatoes and origano (sometimes garlic too), as in the most basic topping for pizza.
Patate alla pizzaiola belongs to that army of homely dishes that are the backbone, almost the unsung heroes, of Italian cookery: simple affairs, often vegetarian, quickly assembled, generally rather economical and immensely satisfying.
This is not “a recipe”, just, I would say, “a way with” potatoes – once you understand the idea, you can really play with it. Continue reading “Patate alla pizzaiola – Potatoes pizzaiola “
A typical autumn and winter dish that one will find, in some guise or another, in many areas of Northern and Central Italy. Continue reading “Faraona arrosto ripiena con castagne (Roasted boned guinea fowl with chestnuts)”
Italian home cooking 