August 2010
1 post
Pollo al mattone – Chicken cooked between... →
Literrally, this recipe translate as “chicken with a brick”, so called because the chicken is flattened down with a brick during grilling. This not only reduces cooking time, but also keeps the…
May 2010
1 post
Spaghetti alla puttanesca →
Photo credits: rdpeyton
This pasta recipe is considered a classic, although it is fairly recent. Artusi does not mention it, and the first written referral dates from 1961. From then on, the recipe…
February 2010
1 post
Spinaci saltati – Sauteed spinach with garlic →
Whether spinach is as healthy as people told me when I was a child – I don’t know, but it surely has become a favourite. The Italian way with spinach is quite simple. The biggest job is properly…
November 2009
1 post
Minestrone d’inverno – Winter minestrone →
This is one of those Italian words that doesn’t need a translation: it has become standard vocabulary. Translated it means “big soup”: minestra becomes minestrone, just like cucina becomes cucinone:…
October 2009
7 posts
Ognissanti – All Saint’s day →
Insalata di rucola, pera e pecorino – Salad of... →
Pears and pecorino are a classic combination, often served as an end to the meal.
In autumn, when pears are abundant, you can serve this salad as part of antipasto misto, or as a light starter. Make…
Verdure d’inverno al forno con salvia e aglio –... →
Root vegetables are often regarded as old-fashioned and boring. The secret of this dish lies in the combination of several vegetables, and the wonderful, mellow taste they get in the oven, perfumed…
Patate arroste all’aglio e rosmarino – Oven... →
Ingredients: 800 gr potatoes, peeled
4 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin, preferably Tuscan, ideally Lucca DOP, if possible Fubbiano)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed, preferably new…
Lenticchie in umido – lentil stew →
In many parts of Italy, lentils are served for the New Year’s eve dinner. The idea behind this is that the lentils represent small coins (lots of them!) and eating them will bring financial fortune…
Genetically modified rice? No thanks! →
Pollo in umido con le olive – chicken with olives →
I’ve been fine-tuning this recipe for a long time now, and I consider it as definitive. The dish is quite straightforward, and you only need a few ingredients, but these should be of top quality. So,…
September 2009
4 posts
Penne con radicchio, pancetta e aceto balsamico –... →
This is one of those wonderful quick pasta recipes, where the sauce is made while the pasta is cooking.
You can use whatever radicchio is available, but try to get the radicchio rosso di Treviso if…
Zuppa di lenticchie – Lentil soup →
Dried lentils should always be thoroughly rinsed and washed in several changes of cold water. Good quality lentils do not need to be soaked. Read the instructions on the package to make sure.
Try to…
Cavolo nero con le fette – Bruschetta with kale →
Cavolo Nero, or black leaf kale, is a leafy cabbage that doesn’t form heads, but rather resembles palm fronds, with deep greenish black leaves that can be up to a meter long, have pronounced ribs,…
L’acquacotta delle montagne cortonese – “Cooked... →
Acquacotta literally means cooked water, and the name implies that it used to be a soup with very few ingredients. The story goes that sometimes some pebbles were cooked in the water, to give it some…
August 2009
4 posts
The “Artusi” →
One of the classic books about the Italian cuisine is without doubt “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene“. It was written by Pellegrino Artusi, and first published in 1891; it never was…
Cappelli di porcini alla griglia – Grilled porcini... →
The mushroom season in Italy is about to start, and soon the woods will be flooded again by mushroom hunters. Porcini mushrooms are very much sought after. If you find or can buy some fine…
Coccoli – Bread dough fritters →
Recently, while dining in a restaurant in Tuscany, I was reminded how delicate these bread dough fritters can be. They were served as part of the antipasto misto, and went perfectly with the…
Pesche con zabaglione di arance – Poached peaches... →
Peaches are one of the most popular summer fruits available in Italy. They come in various colours, usually white or yellow, and there is also a variety with a smooth skin, called pescà noce in…
July 2009
6 posts
Gran farro garfagnino – Bean soup with emmer wheat →
This is an easy to prepare soup, excellent for the cold winter days. The soup has its origins in the Garfagna region, close to Lucca in Toscana, Italy. It is in this region that farro (emmer wheat)…
Crostini con salsiccia di maiale e stracchino →
Reading this article in The New York Times brought back childhood memories of eating raw pork meat. One of the treats at my grandmother’s place was a piece of bread with raw, minced pork meat on it…
Slow Food Presidia →
Slow Food Presidia are products that help preserve the biodiversity.
Slow Food published a brochure about these products, You can have a look at it here.
Welcome
Just started this tumblr blog. Guess I want to find out how this relates to the blog http://en.cucinone.com and the twitter account http://twitter.com/cucinone.