Italian Recipes
1418 recipes found

Veal Milanese
On a cold night in the winter of 2000, the formidable food reporter Amanda Hesser went with friends to Caffe Rosso in Greenwich Village. “I was in the mood for veal and red wine,” she wrote in The Times a year later. “When the main courses came, the waiter set down my veal Milanese: a pounded chop as large as a frying pan, crusted with bread crumbs and smothered with a glistening mess of arugula and tomatoes. I squeezed lemon over the veal and set about carving. It was just what I was after: the tender meat was pounded paper-thin with fat on the edges and a thin, pebbly coating of bread crumbs. The peppery salad and lemon offered steady relief. But it left me with a single thought: to come back in the summer when arugula and tomatoes are in season.” Then she gave us a recipe for the dish, perfect for summer, when arugula and tomatoes are in season. Go to!

Polenta and Broccoli Rabe Lasagna
This lasagna layers noodles, polenta, mozzarella, sauce and broccoli rabe for a wonderfully savory and multi-textured one-dish meal. A note about the lasagna noodles: You don’t have to boil them, nor do you have to buy special no-boil noodles. You can soak the noodles in a bowl of water while you prepare the other ingredients, then slap them in the casserole dish. They will start to soften in their cold bath and finish cooking as the lasagna bakes.

Risotto al Salto
The Italian kitchen is famous for superior ingredients, and for letting nothing go to waste. This recipe for risotto al salto, which uses leftover, day-old risotto, is a perfect example: You start with a creamy, well-made saffron risotto, then make a crispy delicious cake from it the next day. I’m not the first to notice that many people make more risotto than they need just so they can have extras for this golden perfection the next day.

Lasagna Vincisgrassi

Italian Red-Wine Braised Duck with Olive Gremolata

Venetian Cauliflower
Give commonplace cauliflower an upgrade and it becomes holiday fare. Take a classic Venetian approach by using a mixture of sweet spices. Caramelized onions, saffron and cinnamon build the fragrant foundation, along with fennel and coriander seeds. Currants, golden raisins and pine nuts add complexity.

Green and White Pizza
Topping a freshly cooked pizza with a freshly dressed salad of baby greens is a marvelous weeknight meal even if you order the pizza from down the street. But making your own, as The Times learned from the pizza mavens at Roberta’s in Brooklyn, from whom we acquired this recipe, delivers even greater pleasures. Any young greens may be substituted for the arugula.

Classic Meat Tortellini With Tomato Sauce
According to local legend in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, the birthplace of tortellini, the pasta's navel shape was inspired by the indescribable beauty of Venus's belly button. Keep that in mind as your roll, stuff and fold these little dumplings, whose recipe is adapted from the "true and authentic" version codified by the Confraternita del Tortellino and notarized by the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. While tortellini are traditionally served as a middle course in a light meat brodo, they'll make a fine main course when tossed with a simple tomato sauce and topped off with a light grating of Parmesan. This version yields enough for leftover pasta and sauce. Freeze them both separately when you're done for a comforting meal in the days and weeks to come. hen you're done for a comforting meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts With Pancetta And Chestnuts

Whole-Wheat Fettuccine With Spicy Broccoli Rabe
Nutty, chewy whole-wheat noodles have the character to stand up the bitterness of this spicy, braised broccoli rabe. This dish will come together in short order, once you have your fresh whole grain pasta ready. Top it off with a generous showering of ricotta salata to balance the bold flavors with a little creaminess. This recipe makes more than you need, so freeze the rest and cook as normal for a hearty, satisfying meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)

Sicilian Involtini With Ham and Cheese
In Sicily, where I learned to make these savory bundles, cooks make them at home, or buy them in butcher shops, ready for the oven. Fillings vary, but this one with prosciutto cotto and cheese is a favorite. The rolls are threaded on skewers with bay leaves and bread slices, showered with bread crumbs and olive oil, then baked.

Ravioli Verdi With Butter, Parmesan and Pepper
For these stunning green-on-green ravioli, stuff a verdant, spinach-packed dough (a modification covered in this basic fresh pasta recipe) with a sweet chard and onion filling. Shaping the ravioli will take some time, so solicit help from friends and family and form an assembly line to speed up the process. Then, set the table and make sure everyone is ready to eat before you drop the pasta in the pot and start the sauce. Toss the just-cooked ravioli with the creamy butter sauce and serve piping hot so everyone can enjoy the pasta at its peak. This recipe also makes more than you might need, so freeze the leftovers before dressing them in the sauce for a mighty meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)

Pizza al Formaggio
This is a kind of rich, eggy cheese bread that is sometimes served with scrambled eggs seasoned with mint for Easter breakfast, and with salami for lunch, in central Italy.

Pizzapiazza Deep Dish Spinach Pizza

Roman Steaks
This simple recipe, which is adapted from “Mediterranean Cooking” by Paula Wolfert, was brought to the Times by Julia Reed in a 2004 article about easy Italian cooking. Ms. Reed said it was her favorite summer steak recipe, and for good reason: It requires very little effort and just a handful of ingredients to yield spectacular results.

Herbed Pappardelle With Parsley and Garlic
Let the fresh flavor of these herbed noodles — a twist on this basic pasta dough recipe — stand out by tossing them with just a few kitchen staples. Inspired by the classic Roman pasta, aglio, olio, e peperoncino, this simple dish will become a go-to, especially once you develop familiarity and confidence with rolling and cutting pasta. Soon enough, you'll find yourself making it on a weeknight, without a recipe. This recipe also makes more pasta than you need, so freeze the rest for a hearty meal in the days and weeks to come. (And check out Cooking's How to Make Pasta guide for more tips and video.)

White Beans With Chicory
This is inspired by a classic dish from Apulia, the heel of the Italian boot. The authentic dish is a warm purée of skinned dried fava beans, served with cooked greens, usually chicory, a bitter green that is in the same family as escarole. If you are getting big heads of escarole or another hearty bitter lettuce called Batavia in your C.S.A. baskets, use the tough outer leaves for this and save the tender hearts for salads.

Grilled Polenta With Spicy Tomato Sauce and Fried Eggs

Polpettone Stuffed With Eggplant And Provolone
Polpettone might be thought of as meatloaf, but the vegetable stuffing transforms it into something much juicier and more complex.

Farro Pasta with Nettles and Sausage

Pizza con tutti (Pizza with everything)

Polenta and Sausages for a Crowd (Polenta Alla Spianatora)
Picture a golden circle of polenta, spread on a large board or platter, and topped with a rich tomato-y sausage-laden ragù. It’s a traditional, somewhat theatrical way to eat polenta in Northern Italy, and it makes quite an impression when it’s brought to the table. Known as polenta sul tavola or polenta alla spianatora, it is usually served with forks but no plates, with guests gathered around the table for a very casual family-style meal. You can make it when there’s nothing in the house to eat except cornmeal and canned tomatoes, plus an onion or two.

Modern Timpano
A timpano is a highly festive, drum-shaped, baked pasta torte filled with all kinds of delectable goodies — meatballs, cheeses, sausages or ragù, hard-boiled eggs and penne, all coated in a rich Sunday-gravy-type tomato sauce. This updated version is more streamlined, nixing the eggs and meatballs in flavor of roasted squash and sautéed garlicky broccoli rabe, and using purchased fresh pasta sheets instead of homemade. It’s lighter, a little easier and a lot more colorful, without sacrificing the cheesy, meaty essence of the dish. Making a timpano is undeniably a project, but you can do much of the work a few days ahead, including making the sauce and cooking the vegetables, which can be made up to 2 days ahead. Then set aside half an hour before baking to layer everything in the mold. Serve this at a dinner party when you’re looking to impress.
