Articles Index

Kale Farinata II - Farinata Col Cavolo Nero II

A farinata is a thick porridge, usually made with vegetables, broth, and finely ground corn meal. This is an old Tuscan recipe, and a fine example of frugal Italian country cooking. It supposedly will serve 6-8 as a one-course meal with a tossed salad, though in my experience this estimate is optimistic: expect people to demand seconds.

Savory Rice Pie Reicpe

Savory Rice Pies: Someone recently requested a rice pie on the Forum and Iwan kindly posted these ideas.

Asparagus Torte Recipe - Tortino D'Asparagi

Asparagus Torte: This is quite elegant, and if made with care will do well at a festive meal when company's invited. It calls for pasta sfoglia, puff pastry, and has you start from scratch. Should you want to save time, you can use commercially prepared puff pastry, thawing it id need be (in Italy it's also sold fresh).

Potato and Onion Torte Recipe - Foquazza de Cipodda

Potato and Onion Torte: Jane, wrote, "I'm a bit frustrated....My great Aunt who is now deceased made an onion pie around the holidays and I was too young to ask the important questions. I recall only the following: Pie crust top AND bottom, onions, red sauce and black olives. There must be more in it and I have no idea how to do it. I have been searching for years. Any suggestions? I would love to make it for Easter. My mom is an invalid and I know she would get a charge out of it.

Greens Pie With Almond topping Recipe - Torta Verde con Crosta di Mandorle

Italy has many savory greens pies, most of which have crusts of one sort or another. This one doesn't, relying on breadcrumbs underneath and sliced almonds, which add pleasant flavor and texture, on top. In short, an easy, tasty spring vegetable pie.

Upside Down Eggplant and Cauliflower Tart Recipe - Torta Salata Rovesciata

Frozen puff pastry is a wonderful convenience food, and though most recipes that call for it are sweet, you can also use it to make delightful savory pies. This cauliflower and eggplant pie will be nice as an antipasto, and also, with a tossed salad and crusty bread, be a good centerpiece of a light lunch.

Swiss Chard and Potato Rollup Recipe - Involtini Vegetariani

The word involtino generally refers to a preparation with meat, a scallop rolled up around a filling. But leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard are perfectly suited to the task too, and do a fine job of containing a potato filling here. This will make for a nice light lunch, if served with crusty bread and a tossed salad.

Spring Pie with Green Rice Recipe - Torta Primavera, di Riso Verde

This spring pie with green rice is a traditional Piemontese springtime recipe, to be enjoyed in the spring when chickens resume laying.

Piemontese Savory Green Pie Recipe - Torta Verde

Savory Green Pie, or Torta Verde: Frances writes, "My late father used to make, every Easter, a "pie" called "Torta Verde." This is a dish that originates in the Piedmont section of Italy, where he was born. It's made with chopped spinach, rice, eggs, Parmigiano cheese, and baked. I would love to have an idea of the proportions. Can you help with this?"

Boiled Onion Quiche Recipe - Cipolle Lessate in Torta

Cipolle Lessate in Torta, which translates as Boiled Onion Pie, is quite similar to a quiche.

Potato Artichoke Tart Recipe - Tortino di Patate e Carciofi

This potato and artichoke tart is fairly quick, easy, and also rather elegant. Elegant enough that Elisabetta and I took it to a potluck supper at a friend's, where it vanished.

Vegetarian Cutlets - Cotolette di Verdure - Mock Meat Cutlets

If you visit an Italian supermarket, you will find a number of vegetarian burgers of one sort or another. Here's a home version.

Tomato, Onion and Potato Tiella Recipe

A tiella is a south Italian vegetable pie. This tiella is made with onions, potatoes, and tomatoes.

A Vegetable Tiella Recipe - Italian Vegetable Casserole

Misi writes: "Recently a dish has come to my attention and I was wondering if you could help me. The name of the dish, is tiella..." I've found a couple of things. One is from the Abruzzo-Molise area, and is essentially a vegetable casserole. To serve about 6, you'll need:

Savory Speck and Onion Pie Recipe - Torta Salata con Speck e Cipolle

People often associate the concept of savory pies with the French, perhaps because of the word quiche. However, there is a long Italian tradition as well, and this savory speck and onion pie will be a pleasing base for a lunch that though not too light, will be tasty indeed. Thinly sliced it will also be a nice antipasto.

Savory Pie with Peppers, Capers and Tuna - Torta Salata ai Peperoni, Capperi...

Though many people associate Italian cooking with pasta dishes and hearty soups of one kind or another, there's a very long tradition of making savory pies of the sort that the French might call a quiche, for example this savory pie with peppers, capers and tuna.

Roman Semolina Gnocchi Recipe - Gnocchi alla Romana

Livio Jannattoni, one of the great Roman gastronomes, says he grew up eating potato gnocchi, and first encountered Gnocchi alla Romana made with semolina in a dining car on a train far from the city. "Where were the potatoes I knew so well? Horrors! These gnocchi were made just with semolina…" He does give a recipe for them, however, because some (not all) other Roman authors do.

A Gibraltarian Easter: Spinach Pie and Hornasso

A Gibraltarian Easter, Spinach Pie and Hornasso: Marie, who has kindly shared a number of recipes that arrived in Gibraltar via Genoese sailors in centuries past, provides a couple of neat Easter recipes.

Scallion & Cheese Quiche Recipe - Quiche di Cipollotti e Formaggio

This scallion and cheese quiche is a tasty spring treat. You'll need fairly large scallions, with bulbs about the size of golf balls, and with firm fresh green shoots. If the shoots have wilted the dish won't work. The recipe also calls for primo sale, a very fresh soft cheese similar to a mild creamy ricotta. We instead used caprino, a soft, spreadable goat's milk cheese with a sharp goaty tang, that contrasted quite nicely with the sweetness of the onions.

Carchiola (a polenta "pizza") with Broccoli Rabe - Carchiola con Broccoli Rabe

Carchiola with Broccoli Rabe, or Carchiola con Broccoli Rabe: A reader writes, "My father, about fifty or sixty years ago made a very peasant, very delicious dish called pizza minestra. I can only remember that he probably used Savoy cabbage for the minestra and that the polenta wound up in a very large pancetta greased cast iron skillet..."

Piemontese Potato Casserole - Patate Pasticciate

Piemontese Potato Casserole, or Patate Pasticciate: A rich, hearty Piemontese dish that will be quite nice in the winter months.

A Savory Vegetable Strudel -- Strudel di Verdure in Forma

A Savory Vegetable Strudel, or Strudel di Verdure in Forma: One generally associates strudel with sweets. However, they can also be savory, and here's a tasty example that will work very nicely at a festive occasion.