Wider than “angel’s hair” pasta but thinner than tagliatelle noodles, tajarin (tagliolini noodles in the Piedmont dialect) were made in the Langhe and Monferrato area farmsteads, in the Piedmont region. From the 15th century, tajarin spread throughout Piedmont, as related in early chronicles. It is a festive dish, enjoyed mainly during important celebrations. The generous quantity…
Maltagliati pasta is a very traditional shape in Emilia-Romagna, used for rustic soups like pasta & chickpeas or pasta & beans. Literally, its name means “badly cut”. All good Italian housewives never waste food and this pasta is made from the remnants of dough cut for other shapes. When you roll pasta dough with a…
Pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) is a very typical Italian soup, simple, easy, yet incredibly versatile, as it is prepared many ways all across Italy. For thousands of years, beans have nourished people from every social class, but its richness in proteins allowed the survival of the most of population who could not afford…
Meat stock or broth (nowadays the distinction is quite blurred) is a very popular dish in Northern Italy. It is not only used for adding juices to roasted meats, stews and meat sauces during prolonged cooking, but it also creates wonderful dishes on its own. Northern Italy offers a wonderful variety of pastas created to…
Traditionally, this walnut sauce was meant to be served with pansoti, typical Ligurian stuffed pasta, yet it is excellent with fusilli, potato gnocchi and other specialties. In these super-hot summers 🔥 , we all need something fresh, a fast yet nice sauce that does not need cooking. This walnut sauce, a delicious vegetarian dish, cannot…
This pasta recipe is quite rustic. Savoy cabbage and Italian sausage give a robust quality to this dish, and you can play with different flours. In this case I prefer blending durum wheat and pastry flour, in Italian a “00”, but also using whole wheat or buckwheat is an excellent choice. I do not love…
Paccheri is a new pasta shape particularly well suited for being stuffed. With truffle sauce, sausage, and porcini mushrooms, it is ideal for festive occasions. In winter, I always look for occasions to turn on the oven, and this recipe is perfect for holidays and meals with friends and family around a festive table. It…
The stuffing of this gnocchi is very similar to the one of Ascoli olives, a skilled mix of meats cooked in a soffritto, whose taste is made lighter by a touch of lemon zest. The only complicated phase is finding the procedure to fill the gnocchi; I think that using a piping bag makes the…
Usually “potage” and “sea” contradict each other. This recipe is connected to “land” ingredients like potatoes, leeks, and a lot of fresh cream. I created this recipe when trying to exalt Autumn vegetables, and trying to propose something healthy but extremely stimulating. I have always been inspired by French cuisine, but the recipe of the…
Butternut squash is one of the many joys of the season: rain and cold temperatures are compensated by incredibly rich and comforting foods. It is another gift from the Americas, like potatoes. Accompanied by a creamy Taleggio cheese sauce, this dish speaks about the valley crossed through the Po river, its fog, its chilly temperatures. In…