La Cucina Italiana - De Italiaanse Keuken - The Italian Kitchen

Fennel in béchamel sauce are a winter rich and flavorful side dish. In the Marche region are mainly consumed raw. 

Ingredients:

• 4 large fennel bulbs,
• 30 g butter,
• 50 g flour,
• 400 ml milk,
• freshly ground nutmeg,
• 30 g grated parmesan cheese,
• salt to taste.

I few days ago I ‘stumbled’ upon a typical Italian cookie: buoni ma brutti (good but ugly). And the recipe is so easy that in a few minutes I got them into the oven and half an hour later they were ready.

Ingredients

• 150 g almond flour
• 100 g hazelnut flour
• 2 egg whites
• 3 tbsp raw honey
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon

Jamie shares a new restaurant and his best recipe for penne arrabita. You don’t need many ingredients, it’s super simple and really packs spice.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 fresh red chillies, finely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 x 400g tins quality chopped tomatoes
• 200ml organic vegetable stock
• 400g penne pasta
• a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and torn
• 25g parmesan cheese
• optional: ¼ scotch bonnet chilli, very finely chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
• 50g sourdough or ciabatta breadcrumbs
• ½ a bunch of mixed fresh herbs, leaves picked and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

This is a traditional Italian Christmastime cake, made with a yellow sponge cake (baked in a shallow Swiss-roll pan) rolled up with a chestnut filling and finished with chocolate buttercream icing so that it resembles a Yule log. [...]

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE PASTRY SYRUP:

• 4 cups (1 liter) of water
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons Strega (an Italian liqueur) or a mandarin-orange liqueur

FOR THE CAKE:

• 6 large eggs, separated (you will use both the yolks and the whites)
• 10 tablespoons (5 1/4 ounces/150 grams) granulated sugar
• 10 tablespoons (6 ounces/170 grams) unbleached, all-purpose flour, sifted
• Pinch of salt

FOR THE FILLING:

• 1 jar of chestnut puree/cream ("crema di marroni" or "confettura di castagne")

FOR THE FROSTING:

• 7 TB (3 1/2 oz/100 g) butter, slightly softened
• 1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Ingredients - serves 4+

• 2-3 handfuls of borlotti beans (preferably fresh) dried
• 1 large jar or 2lbs/1 kilo of tomatoes, crushed, passed (seeded & skinned) or pureed
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stick
• 1 onion
• 5-6 pieces of bone (whatever type you like) I normally use pork ribs that the butcher cuts in half
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 clove of garlic
• sage
• sprig of rosemary if you like
• pasta of your choice
• extra virgin olive oil for finishing the dish

Marchigiani are said to eat more meat than any other Italians and enormous platters of meats (grigliata mista di carne) are common menu items when frequenting any one of their ristoranti. From spring to Christmas, Le Marche hosts a variety of feste or outdoor celebrations where the common theme is local produce, food and wine that visitors can sample. Here is a list of edible favourites not to be missed while traversing this region:

• Lonza
• Olive all’ascolana
• Truffles
• Brodetto all’anconetana
• Vincisgrassi
• Passatelli
• Piccione ripieno
• Coniglio in porchetta
• Casciotta d’Urbino
• Formaggio di fossa
• Crema fritta
• Calcioni and piconi
• Frustingo
• Wines

SHE’S got all the ingredients to be Australia’s answer to Nigella Lawson and now, a new cooking show on SBS to showcase her talent.

“Raphael was at daycare and Miro was a really good baby, so I didn’t know what to do with myself. My mum said ‘just do a blog, everybody’s doing blogs.’ She said, if nothing else, just collect all the family recipes and put them in one place where we won’t lose them and really it (started) as simple as that.”

That hugely popular blog turned into a best-selling cookbook, Silvia’s Cucina. Its success led to a second book, Made In Italy With Silvia Colloca, which is also the title of her new TV series. It will premiere on November 27 on SBS ONE, just in time for the book launch.

The 10-part series is a visual feast, with Colloca taking a film crew home to meet her Italian family in Abruzzo, Le Marche and Molise earlier this year — even using her mother’s kitchen as their cooking HQ. [...]

However many ways there are to skin a cat, I'd wager there's fifty times as many ways to make tomato sauce from fresh—not canned—tomatoes. The best, though, comes from summertime tomatoes at the peak of ripeness, and layers the deeply sweet flavors of long-cooked tomatoes with the fresh, bright, fruity notes of barely-cooked ones. This sauce achieves that, and is so good, you won't even need to put cheese on top. [...]

Ingredients for 4 person:

• 250 gr of Tagliatelle Filotea
• 2 sweet pepper (1 red and 1 yellow)
• 1 carrot
• 1 zucchini
• 2 leek
• 10 salted capers
• 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 60 gr of chives
• salt

Directions:

Ingredients - 4 servings

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice from 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest from the juiced lemons
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

Directions

Whisk the oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large pasta serving bowl to blend. Set the lemon sauce aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Add the spaghetti to the lemon sauce and toss with the basil and lemon zest. Add enough of the reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well to moisten the pasta.

Transfer to individual bowls and serve with extra Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Summer atmosphere with this nice cold pasta! It is a light meal as well!
It must be prepared in advance and keeps well for a day or two in the fridge. The fantastic light you see in some of the pictures is totally natural. Yesterday's sunset at its best in my kitchen.
If the garlic is too strong for your taste, remove the inner sprout, it will be more digestible.
In this simple recipe the quality of each ingredient is the key to archive good results. Always prefer pasta made of durum wheat semolina, so your pasta will keep well, and a first quality extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients

• 250 gr./ 0.6 lb Farfalle
• 200 gr. /0.4 lb canned tuna – net weight drained from the oil
• 1 garlic clove, grated (or finely chopped)
• 2 table spoons basil+ parsley,
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Grated Zest of 1 organic lemon
• ½ lemon to decorate
• 7 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt& pepper

Ingredients for 4 person:

• 250 gr of Pappardelle Filotea
• 5 artichokes (mammole)
• 100 gr of Speck
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 60 gr of santoreggia
• 10 sun-drie tomatos in oil
• salt
• pepper

Italian tomatoes are integral to the country's cuisine, and different types have different culinary uses. Here is a guide to the most popular ones. [...]

Its Carnival time and that means its the season to indulge in delicious sweets. Forget pancakes this year and why not try one of these five (or every single one) yummy variations from the Italian Carnival gastronomic tradition? Apple, pineapple, raisin there's bound to be one that takes your fancy. [...]

A one-pot dish that makes a perfect first course before a wintery stew or roast, Rice and Lentils is hearty enough to serve as a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients - Serves 4-6

• 250g (8 oz) dried lentils, soaked overnight (see Notes)
• 250g (8 oz) rice (see Notes)
• 75g (3 oz) pancetta, diced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2-3 canned tomatoes, chopped or simply crushed in your hand (optional)
• A small sprig of fresh rosemary (optional)
• Lard or olive oil
• Broth or water, q.b.

For toppings:

• Best-quality olive oil
• Grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese
• Freshly grated black pepper

Directions

Abruzzo has it all: rolling hills, azure waters and dramatic mountain tops. Here the cuisine is varied yet one ingredient is king: lamb. Lamb or actually mutton is the main ingredient for many dishes in the region. Though the coastal side of Abruzzo is beautiful, it seems that when it comes to food, the mountainous inland’s traditions hold court. Thus with no further ado, here’s what to eat in Abruzzo. [...]

No Italian household can be such without the fundamental ritual of frittata making. Frittata perfectly incapsulates the genuine spirit of Italian Cucina Povera (peasant cuisine), a cost effective way of cooking that relies mainly on fresh, inexpensive, seasonal ingredients, cooked simply and with love.[...]

Ingredients, serves 4-6

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced to 1/2 cm thick (1/4 inch)
• 2 French shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 organic, free-range eggs (because we can’t support battery eggs any longer)
• 2 tablespoons of mil
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• mixed herbs
• bread for serving

The linguine is cooked until just al dente — in salty water, of course — then tossed with the clams, broth, and a handful of fresh herbs until it absorbs the sauce. Add a pad of butter or splash of olive oil and flurry of chopped parsley at the very end to make your pasta verdant and shiny, and serve with a cold glass of white wine

Ingredients - Serves 4

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly chopped
• 1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 lb small Manila or littleneck clams, soaked and scrubbed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 12 oz linguine
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

This is an original version of classic Meat Stuffed Olives “All’Ascolana”, because they have another filling: white fish of different kind. In fish menus, this product is served just like the traditional olives, as side dish for Fritto Misto all’Italiana, as appetizer and starter. www.fioravantisrl.com

Sweet, silky, and absolutely delicious, this breading-free version of eggplant parm made in Italy is well worth trying, especially in late summer when eggplant (and tomatoes!) are at their best.

Ingredients

The ‘sugo al pomodoro’ is used everywhere – on pasta, on gnocchi, on pizza and in baked dishes like melanzana parmigiana.
Oh and the sauce itself? Well it’s best made fresh – and there’s no excuse really as it’s a doddle
Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil – 6 tsp of a fruity one
• Onions – 2 medium
• Italian plum tomatoes – 800g tinned
• Dried oregano – 1 tsp at least
• Fresh basil – couple of sprigs
• Garlic – 3 large cloves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Milk or sugar to taste

A lighter summery alternative to classic meatloaf, polpettone di tonno, or tuna loaf, is every bit as tasty if you ask me. Traditionally boiled, a more modern take on this dish is to bake it briefly in the oven, which eliminates a lot of the fuss. Served with homemade mayo, it makes for an elegant antipasto or a light second course...

Ingredients - Serves 4-6

• 500g (1 lb) fresh tuna
• 500g (1 lb) potatoes
• 2 medium eggs
• 50g (2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
• A few sprigs of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

For serving:

• Mayonnaise, preferably homemade

Directions [...]

I hated eggplant as a kid. So did my sister, Michele. And my Mom's attempts to get us to eat it were met with fierce resistance. Wartime-style subversive resistance.

Mozzarella, tomato, and basil: these three harmonious Italian ingredients are the song of Summer, and they form the infamous caprese salad. However, the flavors lend themselves to a variety of other recipes: mac and cheese, grilled cheese, and hors