JOSEPH BECCI

  Easter is a special day for most Italian Americans invoking deep memories of family, childhood and religious obserservance. When celebrating Easter with meals, signs of Spring are used to remind us of the significance and timing of this special …

Growing up, beets out of a can never sold me on this oddly colored vegetable. But today, fresh beets in all colors and sizes are everywhere. You can steam, roast or boil them or just shave them raw. Purple beets, …

Le Marche—the region of Italy on the Adriatic Coast east of Umbria—remains largely unknown to most Americans. Europeans and South Americans know about it and vacation there, but since a relatively small number of the millions of Italian immigrants that …

Marche is an underrated region of Italy; not as famous as Tuscany or Umbria, but just as beautiful, historic, and fascinating as anyplace in this beautiful, historic and fascinating country. Comprised of four very different provinces, Marche includes forested, mountainous …

Finally home from an unforgettable six weeks in Scapezzano—the small town in the Marche region of Italy where my grandfather grew up before immigrating to America in 1911. The descendants of the brother he left behind still live not only …

The Marche region of Italy is blessed with 180 km of fertile coastline, so the seafood available is deeply ingrained into Marche’s food culture. In a small marchigiano cookbook I purchased during our last trip to Italy, there are 10 …

This is a very special recipe for me. In 1993, I visited my relatives near Senigallia, Italy for the first time. Lena, my dad’s cousin Fulvio Becci’s wife, prepared this dish for me. I loved it then, but had never …

While we were in Marche, Italy this spring, we had stuffed calamari prepared by my cousin’s wife, Maria, several times. These beautiful squid from the Adriatic were stuffed with a simple mixture of their own tentacles (chopped), breadcrumbs, parsley, salt-and-pepper …

Cozze alla marchigiana. This simple and fast dish is unusual in its use of saffron

I was in the Pacific Northwest recently visiting family and as usual, I was amazed at the abundance of fresh local seafood available in the local markets. Beautiful locally raised black mussels for $5.99/lb is not something you’d ever see …

The first and only time I served a whole, intact rabbit was several years ago for Easter dinner (insert humorous comment about serving a bunny on Easter). The adults at the table were freaked out; fortunately no kids had been …