Italian Recipes
1424 recipes found
Midnight Pasta With Anchovies, Garlic and Tomato
Tomato paste gives this speedy midnight pasta, studded with anchovy and garlic, its color and umami. If you’re not an anchovy fan, you can substitute a few tablespoons of chopped capers or olives. Be generous when adding the pasta water to the pan. The mixture should look soupy at first, but the sauce will thicken up as you toss.
Pasta With Green Puttanesca
Puttanesca is a sauce that plies its trade all year round, with ingredients — pantry staples like anchovies, garlic and olives — at the ready whenever the desire strikes. But this puttanesca takes advantage of spring greens, using fat green garlic cloves and baby spinach to lend a pungent verdancy to a tried-and-true dish. (If green garlic isn’t available, use regular, but use less.)
Pasta With Brown Butter and Parmesan
Sometimes you just want a big bowl of pasta with butter and Parmesan. Starchy, silky and salty, it’s always good — and practically foolproof. To make it a little more grown up, just take it one step further: Brown the butter. When you slide the butter into the skillet, let it cook until the milk solids turn a toasty brown. It adds a rich, nutty flavor that makes the dish a bit more sophisticated with very little extra work.
One-Pot Pasta With Sausage and Spinach
This is the one-pot recipe to make when chopping an onion feels like too much work. Cooking the pasta in a combination of passata (puréed raw tomatoes) and water seasoned with cumin and red-pepper flakes infuses it with flavor all the way through. Cumin adds a subtle earthiness to the dish, but you can also use the same seasonings as those in the sausage you’ve chosen, like dried oregano, thyme, basil, paprika, fennel seeds or garlic. (Check the ingredients list on the package, if you're not sure.) Baby arugula, kale or other leafy greens could be substituted for the spinach, just make sure to tear or cut them into small, bite-size pieces. To make a vegetarian version, you could use mushrooms in place of the sausage at the start of the recipe, then continue with the rest.
Penne al Baffo (Creamy Tomato-Ham Pasta)
“Al Baffo” is said to be the abbreviated version of an Italian expression “da leccarsi i baffi,” which translates to “it is so good you’ll lick your whiskers,” because the sauce is abundant, thick and creamy. Tomato, ham and cream come together in this simple pasta sauce to form a comforting and easy weeknight meal. Cooked ham (as Italians call it, “prosciutto cotto”), is a hearty addition, as it provides texture and necessary salt. This recipe calls for deli ham, but you can substitute prosciutto or even pancetta if the mood strikes. An extra shower of Parmigiano before serving is a must for this filling meal.
Creamy Lemon Pasta
This astonishingly delicious pasta dish is surprisingly easy to make. Just combine the zest of two lemons, heavy cream, salt and pepper in a saucepan, and let it come to a boil. Pour over freshly cooked egg noodles, add fresh lemon juice and toss. Cook for a couple minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and cloaks the noodles in a rich, creamy, lemony brightness. It's luxurious weeknight cooking at its best.
Mozzarella in Carrozza (Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches)
This Italian snack is essentially a mozzarella stick in sandwich form: Mozzarella cheese tucked inside plush bread, crusted with bread crumbs (use panko for extra crunch) and fried. In parts of Italy, you might also find anchovies, 'nduja or prosciutto in it, or marinara sauce or pesto served alongside for dipping. But gooey cheese in every bite? That's guaranteed: According to the food writer Emiko Davies, it’s called mozzarella en carrozza, or mozzarella in carriage, because the strands of melted mozzarella that pull from the sandwich resemble the reins of a horse and carriage. For best results, skip the fresh mozzarella and look for low-moisture mozzarella — the kind found sealed in plastic without liquid in your supermarket's dairy section. And try to set out your ingredients just before you begin: It'll help the process go more smoothly. (Watch the video Ali Slagle making mozzarella in carrozza here.)
Linguine With Crisp Chickpeas and Rosemary
Pasta with chickpeas is a substantial, quickly assembled meal, but what’s alluring about this version is the undercurrent of rosemary. Whole sprigs lightly fried in olive oil provide flavor in two ways: the leaves are crumbled into the pasta for a fragrant punch, and the infused oil slicks the noodles. You could add spinach, arugula or kale when you toss the pasta in the sauce, or simply brighten it with parsley, Parmesan and lemon.
Tuscan Kale Salad
Kale salad may someday go the way of other clichéd salads of yore — the bean salad, the chef’s salad, the beet salad with goat cheese. But like all those other venerable mixtures, its ubiquity is due in large part to how good it can be. Take a bunch of raw Tuscan kale (also called lacinato or black kale), which is more delicate than other varieties, and slice it into ribbons. Toss those ribbons with a thick bright dressing of garlic paste, pecorino, lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Top with freshly toasted bread crumbs and a flurry of pecorino. The leaves are sturdy enough to stand up to the bold flavors and varying textures, but tender when you take a bite.
Pressure Cooker Porcini Risotto
This recipe, adapted from the slow-cooking maven Lorna Sass, proves that pressure cookers shouldn’t be associated with overcooked food. The rice turns out perfectly in the end, and you save a lot of time and effort. It’s finished off with peas for a bit of color, and the usual cheese, salt and pepper. It’s a meal that will justify buying that pressurized pot.
Basic Pesto Sauce
The key to making creamy pesto is to add the ingredients to the food processor in the right order to ensure that the nuts break down to a fine paste before the greens have a chance to turn brown. Use basic basil pesto as a pasta sauce, or thin it out with a little olive oil to drizzle it over steak, chicken, fish, pizza or tomato salad. The mint-pistachio variation is inspired by the chef Travis Lett, of Gjelina in Venice, Calif.
Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli
This simple stew of long-simmered beans and tiny pasta is one of the world’s great comfort foods. Like many cucina povera classics, it is both affordable and adaptable, designed to use what you have. White beans, such as cannellini, are typically used, but just about any medium-size dried bean, like borlotti (cranberry) beans or even pinto beans will do. Beans have a wide variation in cook times, so start checking at 6 hours if you can, and know that some batches can take up to 10 hours. Fresh or frozen green beans popped in at the end of the cooking time add a welcome texture and sweetness, but feel free to omit them or to use whatever you have: shredded cabbage, broccoli rabe or fresh or frozen spinach would all work beautifully. This recipe feeds a crowd, and if you plan to have leftovers, cook the pasta separately and stir it into each serving, otherwise the pasta will soak up all the broth as it sits and become too soft.
Sausage Ragù
Meat sauce is one of the recipes many American home cooks start with. It seems so easy; brown some hamburger, pour in a jar of marinara, and presto! Meat sauce. Not so fast, friends. Made that way, your sauce may be thin-tasting, sour, sweet, or — worst of all — dry and chewy. Meat sauce with deep flavor and succulent texture isn’t harder to make; it just needs more time and a low flame. This recipe from the New York chef Sara Jenkins, who grew up in Tuscany and has cooked all over Italy, shows how it’s done. Caramelization is involved; dried pasta and canned tomatoes are best practice; and pork, not beef, is the meat of choice. If your sausage meat seems timidly flavored, feel free to add chopped garlic, chile flakes, fennel seed and/or dried herbs like oregano and sage to the meat as it browns.
Pasta With Mint and Parmesan
The pairing of pasta with mint and Parmesan is a good one. There is something about the lightly assaultive yet somehow sweet nature of mint that is unlike any other herb. Older cuisines use it occasionally, but it is rarely seen as a major player. In this dish, however, softened by butter and cheese, mint converts a basic but undeniably heavy combination into an easy yet complex pasta dish best described as refreshing. To the inevitable question, Can I use olive oil instead of butter? my answer is that you can, but you will completely change the nature of the dish; it won't be bad, but it won't be as good. Better, I think, to cut the butter back to two tablespoons. But because this sauce is cut with the pasta cooking water, the butter is spread nicely throughout, and it really isn't a huge amount per person.
Pasta e Ceci (Italian Pasta and Chickpea Stew)
There is an incredible number of recipes for this classic Roman dish, and everyone has an opinion on how it should be prepared. This version is more stew than soup, but it can be loosened up with a bit more water if you prefer. It begins with sautéing onion, tomatoes, garlic and rosemary in olive oil, then tossing in the chickpeas, and smashing a few to give the stew a creamy texture. Water is added, then uncooked pasta, which cooks as the stew simmers (and results in one less dish for you wash). Escarole is folded in right before serving. This flexible stew can go in a number of directions, so tweak it as you see fit, but don’t forget to finish each bowl with grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil. Ciao.
More-Vegetable-Than-Egg Frittata
This simple frittata — just eggs, vegetables, fresh herbs and a little Parmesan if you're feeling luxurious — is proof that eating well doesn't have to be deprivational. It can also be delicious.
Spaghetti With Fried Eggs
Here's a quick and delicious pasta dish to make when you have little time, and even less food in the house. All you need is a box of spaghetti, four eggs, olive oil and garlic (Parmesan is a delicious, but optional, addition).
Midnight Pasta With Garlic, Anchovy, Capers and Red Pepper
There’s something about pasta, cooked properly, that trumps all the other possibilities. And the smell of pasta boiling is a heady cheap thrill. With a few basic staple pantry items, a true feast can be ready in minutes. Good spaghetti, good olive oil, garlic and a little red pepper are all you need, plus some anchovy and capers if you have them.
Classic Caprese Salad
This classic summer dish doesn’t get any simpler or more delicious. Use different-colored heirloom tomatoes for the prettiest salad, and buffalo milk mozzarella for the best tasting one.
Bicerin
Pressure Cooker Pork Puttanesca Ragù
Inspired by puttanesca sauce, this braised pork ragù combines rich pork shoulder with the bright flavors of capers, olives and tomato. Those wary of anchovies can relax; the finished dish doesn’t taste overtly fishy. The anchovies dissolve into the sauce, providing a subtly savory note. Tomato-based sauces can trigger the burn warning in some pressure cookers. To avoid that, this recipe calls for more liquid than you would typically need, and finishes with a quick simmer to reduce the sauce to a thicker consistency. Find a slow-cooker version of this recipe here.
Pressure Cooker Osso Buco
This classic dish of veal shanks braised in wine and tomatoes is a masterpiece of northern Italian cooking. Be sure to provide small spoons (espresso spoons work well) so people can scoop the marrow out of the bones, then eat the marrow sprinkled with salt and some of the gremolata. This is one of 10 recipes from Melissa Clark’s “Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot” (Clarkson Potter, 2017). Melissa Clark’s “Dinner in an Instant” is available everywhere books are sold. Order your copy today.
Pressure Cooker Ribollita With Smoked Mozzarella Toasts
This classic Italian vegetable stew is a wonderful way to revive leftover cooked vegetables and stale bread (ribollita means “reboiled” in Italian). You can prepare it in a pot following a more traditional method, but here, a pressure cooker makes it possible to cook dried beans relatively quickly without having to soak them. Thanks to a quick sauté in olive oil, the vegetables become silky and almost disappear into the soup. If you’d like to add leftover cooked vegetables, throw them in with the greens at the very end so they don’t overcook.
Pressure Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs
Spaghetti and meatballs isn’t necessarily any faster when made in an electric pressure cooker, but it does take away a lot of hands-on work. And it can all be done in one pot instead of the usual two to three it would take on the stove. Here, the meatballs, which are not fried but cooked entirely in the sauce, are gently spiced and very tender — the height of kid-friendly cuisine. The ricotta topping is optional, but it makes the whole thing especially creamy and rich. If you have some homemade marinara sauce in the freezer, or a favorite store-bought kind, you can substitute 3 1/4 cups of it here. Olive fans take note: Adding 1/4 cup sliced pitted olives to the sauce will probably make you very happy come dinnertime.