Orzo resembles a large grain of rice (risoni) but is in fact a type of pasta.    Orzo means barley in Italian and it’s the Swiss army knife of pasta shapes; for example, it can be used in soup, as a side salad, and even baked in the oven.  Our Italian mother, used orzo primarily in soups such as chicken brodo and, […]

Strozzapreti pasta is translated as “priest choker” and is an elongated form of cavatelli.  The legend has it that the priests of  Emilia-Romagna and the surrounding regions enjoyed the long pasta so much that they choked while eating it.  I can certainly understand eating strozzapreti quickly as it is, indeed, a delicious pasta. Strozzapreti is a fairly straight-forward pasta shape to make at […]

Here’s our homemade spinach pasta recipe made with semolina and white flour.  The end product is a terrific fresh spinach fettuccine pasta ideally served with good butter and lots of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Ingredients: 2 cups of semolina flour (we used a very good Pastificio Vicidomini semolina flour from the excellent online shop Olio2go) 1 cup of all purpose flour 1 cup of […]

The following rigatoni with diced zucchini, mushrooms, and anchovy recipe is a variation of a dish we prepared in the late Winter.  This dish makes use of high quality cured (in olive oil and red pepper flake) anchovies and finely diced vegetables and garlic.  The flavor of the pasta dish will knock your socks off and leave you befuddled and asking how such […]

At times, one can feel glutinous about consuming too much pasta especially if the portion size is large (even for a dyed-in-wool Italophile) .  So, when we crave pasta (in a slightly larger portion size) we turn to any number of leafy greens as a condiment.  The following Rigatoni with Spinach, Garlic, and Parsley recipe is hearty and packed full of good for you […]

I have a love hate relationship with broccoli that is very similar to my opinion about zucchini.  Namely, both vegetables are fairly plain tasting and need to be manipulated thoroughly to be enjoyed optimally.  Our standard way of consuming broccoli is to do a quick parboil and then toss with plain breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, red pepper flake, garlic, and lots […]

Homemade Ravioli  Stuffed pasta, like almost every food type found in Italy, is defined by region.  As my childhood neighbor from Genoa would always proclaim, homemade ravioli (meaning to wrap) are quintessentially Ligurian.  Moreover, tortellini and cappelletti are understood as Emilian while Italians recognize agnelotti as derived from Piemonte.  Stuffed pastas come in many shapes and sizes and their stuffings vary […]

 Baked Pasta (or Pasta al Forno) The great thing about baked pasta (or pasta al forno) is that you can use most any dry pasta shape you find at your local market, though short pasta like rigatoni or penne work best.  We used the shape Mezzi Fischiotti, essentially Ditaloni (or short rigatoni), but with ridges.    Don’t confuse baked pasta with […]

Basic Homemade Pasta Recipe Homemade pasta recipes are fairly straightforward, though there is some variation on exact ingredients.  Our basic handmade pasta recipe  includes six ingredients.  Mario Batali’s recipe includes flour and eggs while Lidia Bastianich uses flour, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, and ice water.  Linda from the excellent site, Ciao Ciao Linda, uses equal parts semolina and white, unbleached, […]

  The very best pasta recipes are centered on minimal, high quality, ingredients with superb preparation.  Take the pasta recipe for rigatoni with zucchini, mushrooms, and red onion and you’ll experience a perfect, and synchronous, marriage of starchy pasta with earthy mushroom and grassy zucchini.  Add a dash of Italian anchovy sauce, high quality extra virgin olive oil, and freshly grated […]