La Buona Tavola

Ask the average non-Italian to give you a rundown on Italian cuisine and chances are it will sound like this: “Spaghetti…with meatballs, Fettuccini Alfredo, lasagna for sure…and pepperoni pizza…!”  We’ll spare the culinary critique of how…shall we say… deficient” this …

Easter is around the corner and there are plenty of Italian traditions that go with it. I would say that for Italians, Easter is the second most popular holiday of the year next to Christmas. In my mom’s Calabrian hometown, …

We’ve taken on minestrone before, with a base recipe that you can use to make just about any variation you want. But minestrone alla Genovese, Genoa-style minestrone, is different enough it really does merit its own post. There’s no soffritto …

It’s not Easter quite yet, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have a chat about pastiera — the most traditional Neapolitan Easter dessert — and learn how to make it! This wheat berry and ricotta pie is wonderfully perfumed with …

The time has come to uncork those jars and taste the “red gold.” What are we talking about? Of the ch’nzerve (a huge pantry that contains bottles of sauce) of tomatoes. Readers from Puglia will immediately recall that yummy memory: …

Pecorino Romano: the ancient cheese with the “cappa nera” While they praised the “vigor” of this cheese “made from sheep milk,” which was also part of Roman soldiers’ diet, neither Homer nor Virgil would have thought it could become this …

Few scents evoke an emotional response like that of bread as it rises to perfection in a hot oven. Taste buds awaken, eyes widen, stomachs rumble, voices cry out – “When will it be ready?”  Each civilization since anyone’s kept …

Making your own pasta isn’t difficult, and I was reminded whilst making these ravioli just how satisfying, relaxing and therapeutic it can be. I realized I seriously don’t make pasta often enough and so I hope to make an effort …

Never like today the idea of having a quick lunch while walking down the main street of our town or village has been so alluring. Whatever we picture chomping on, it tastes like freedom, doesn’t it? Regardless to your country …

The Italians enter the Christmas spirit with a fragrant, yeasty slice of panettone — Christmas isn’t Christmas without it on our festive tables. We can never get enough of it, especially for us who are Milanese. We have a near-cultish …