Italian Recipes
1424 recipes found
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.
Italian Guacamole
Bollito Misto (Italian Boiled Meats With Red and Green Sauces)
Bollito misto is the Italian version of a boiled dinner, somewhat similar to the French pot au feu, but more complex. (A New England boiled dinner pales in comparison.) The dish can be quite an extravagant affair, with many cuts of veal, beef, tongue, sausages and a fat capon. This is a simpler version, though it is still a project and easier to complete if the work is spread over two or three days. But it is a worthy adventure. Serve the broth as a traditional first-course soup garnished with tortellini or other small stuffed pasta shapes, or plain, in little cups, for sipping. Two bright sauces — one green, one red — round out the dish as condiments.
Oven-Dried Grapes
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme Salad With Scrambled Eggs
Eduardo Giurici's brodetto alla triestina (Trieste-style fish stew)
Pizza Calzone
A calzone unveils itself slowly, bite by bite, especially if you’ve layered the fillings with several elements. For those who can’t give up the pie, I offer a pizza-calzone hybrid. Based on an elaborate dish I sampled at Don Antonio by Starita, a Midtown pizzeria, it has basil-perfumed ricotta and Parmesan in the center, and tomato sauce and melted mozzarella on top. It’s the best of both worlds, and an unexpected thing to do with a ball of pizza dough.
Asparagus Alla Fontina
Much like a quiche without a crust, this dish is equally good as an appetizer, or as the late main course for brunch, lunch or a late dinner.
Italian Flourless Chocolate Cake
Just east of Bologna, Italy, the walled city of Ferrara is known for la torta tenerina, a kind of chocolate cake with an almost creamy interior and a thin, crisp crust. It’s a simple confection, and even still, it’s said that every baker and home cook has his or her own recipe. This version comes from Eleonora Masiero and Ennio Occhiali at Cusina e Butega, a combination bakery and restaurant.
Fritto Misto di Mare
Every culture does fried food, but Italian cooks do it especially well. The concept of fritto misto (mixed fried things) can apply to vegetables, fish or meat. Here, with a beautiful assortment of shellfish, the only requirement is that everything be spanking fresh. In Italy, fritto misto is nearly always served as a first course. It is especially nice in bite-size pieces, to precede a meal as a stand-up antipasto.
Torta Turchesca (Venetian Rice-Pudding Tart)
Torrisi's Chicken Fra Diavolo
Fresh Lima Bean and Romaine Lettuce Slaw With Orecchiette
Pork Chops Puttanesca
The muscular sear and smoky, crisp burnish of grilled food has immense appeal. But achieving it requires time and attention to hot coals. The grill master may scoff, but I have increasingly come to rely on my oven, sealing the deal with a slow bake after a quick sizzle atop the grill or stove. That’s how I made these pork chops, with their lusty Neapolitan topping to accompany a sturdy aglianico. The slow cooking gently brings the meat to tenderness, guarding its juices. It also grants the cook nearly an hour to assemble the rest of the dinner, and what does the grill master know about that? (You might consider moving the meat away from the fire and covering the grill, but the temperature will not be as consistent and will require monitoring.) Penne or other modest macaroni dressed with just olive oil and chile flakes is excellent alongside, to share the sauce with the meat.
Scallop Carpaccio With Ginger
Fava Bean Purée
You find variations on this fava bean purée in Southern Italy, the Middle East and Morocco. This one, from Apulia, is the simplest. The purée should have the texture of hummus.
Winter Fennel Slaw With Candied Walnuts
Linguine With Tomato 'fillets'
Winter Stew of Braised Lamb, Red Onions And Macaroni
Meat sauce (Sugo di Carne)
Midnight Pasta With Roasted Garlic, Olive Oil and Chile
This recipe is a version of aglio e olio pasta, which is often known as midnight pasta because it can be made quickly with a few pantry staples: garlic, olive oil, red-pepper flakes and pasta. This recipe takes a bit more time because it calls for roasting the garlic first, but doing so adds a complex, mellow flavor to the entire dish. If you’re a planner, you could even roast a couple of heads of garlic in advance. (Roasted garlic will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and in the freezer for up to two months.) Add whatever vegetables or proteins look good to you.