Recipes Index
Pea and Asparagus Flan - Sformato di Piselli e Asparagi
Sformato di Piselli e Asparagi: This pea and asparagus flan will be very nice in late spring or early summer, and will be best if you use smaller, richly flavored asparagus. It will work well as a primarily vegetarian entrée for four, and can also be used as an antipasto (in association with other things) if you're serving more people.
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.
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:
Tiella Tarantino Recipe - A Tiella Recipe From Taranto
Misi writes: "Recently a dish named Tiella has come to my attention and I was wondering if you could help me. It consists of zucchini, potatoes, ground beef and various Italian spices and herbs...." I've found a couple of things. One is from the city of Taranto, in Puglia, and is a vegetable casserole that includes mussels.
Savory Farro Pie Recipe - Torta Salata di Farro
A savory cheesecake made with ricotta and farro.
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.
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.
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.
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?"
Eggplant and Spaghetti Timballo Recipe - Timballo di Melanzane e Spaghetti
Eggplant and Spaghetti Timballo, or Timballo di Melanzane e Spaghetti: A timballo is a pasta pie, and this particular one brings to mind Sicily because of the eggplant, at least to me. It will also be quite nice at a picnic or barbecue, but is certainly elegant enough for a more formal meal indoors as well.
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..."
Torta Pasqualina & Torta di Cipolle, Onion Pie
Torta alla Pasqualina & Torta di Cipolle, Onion Pie: Turning to recipes, a long while back Anna requested a Ligurian Torta Pasqualina. Pasqua means Easter, which means we're out of season, but the recipe does offer an excuse for an interesting digression: it calls for a dozen eggs. While this might strike a modern reader as reason to wonder about cholesterol levels...
Kale Farinata - Farinata di Cavolo Nero
A farinata is a thick porridge, usually made with vegetables, broth, and finely ground corn meal. This recipe is Tuscan, from the mountains, and is classic winter fare; it was made as a one-course supper, with the leftovers being sliced, grilled, and eaten for breakfast, perhaps with a glass of wine.
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.
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.
Asparagus Torte
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).
Savory Rice Pies
Savory Rice Pies: Someone recently requested a rice pie on the Forum and Iwan kindly posted these ideas.
Potato and Onion Torte -- 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.