Roasted Parmesan Asparagus
Fresh asparagus, whether it is roasted and tossed with ravioli, made into a tart, a salad or served with eggs, is something we look forward to every spring in California.…
le verdure
Roasted Baby Eggplant
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Roasted, stuffed, grilled and fried, are just some of the methods Italians (particularly southern Italians and Sicilians) use to turn this versatile vegetable into a vast variety of dishes.…
Cauliflower with Crispy Crumbs
I enjoy all sorts of vegetables, but cauliflower is one of my favorites. As a child, my siblings and I were introduced to this cruciferous vegetable with my mother’s…
Summer Squash Soup
The days of Summer are dwindling and Autumn is just around the corner. Before we know it, the once bountiful harvest of vine-ripened tomatoes, sweet peppers and baby eggplants…
Holiday Brussels Sprouts
I really like Brussels sprouts. I enjoy them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I realize not everyone is a fan of this healthy cruciferous vegetable and most folks either…
Lemon Roasted Broccolini
Broccolini, sometimes referred to as baby broccoli, is a hybrid that has thinner stalks and a slightly sweeter taste than broccoli. If I am only cooking a small amount,…
Spinach Ricotta Fritters
Fritters are essentially a mixture of ingredients that are either pan-fried or deep-fried. They can be breaded or battered and contain just about anything such as, fruit (apple fritters),…
Roasted Brussels Sprouts Frittata
Whether this frittata is paired with a hot cup of coffee and fresh oranges on a cold winter morning or a refreshing iced tea and vine-ripened tomatoes on a…
Farro Vegetable Salad
Emmer wheat, called farro in Italian, is a nutritious grain with a distinctive nutty flavor and chewy texture. Farro is low in fat, high in protein and rich in…
Grilled Vegetable Salad
Grilled seasonal vegetables are the foundation of many of my spring and summer-time meals. It might be one special vegetable, such as carciofi alle brache, two or three different…
Grilled Vegetable Antipasto
Grilled eggplant and zucchini are layered with just enough ricotta to add a subtle creaminess with very little fat. Packed in individual ramekins, these colorful stacks make for a…
Heirloom Roasted Carrots
Heirloom plant species, be they flowers, fruits or vegetables are grown from seeds that are passed down from generation to generation. Grown from seeds that are at least fifty…
Le Verdure
Food does not have to be complicated. These colorful vegetables, simply roasted with olive oil and salt, then grilled are as pleasing to the eye as they are to…
Summer Squash A Scapace
“A Scapece” is a two-step method of preparing vegetables. First, le verdure (vegetables) are fried, then marinated in vinegar overnight. Typically, they are served as Merende or as a…
Fricassea di Funghi
The only fricasee dish I can recall was with chicken in a wonderful lemon-y butter sauce. I only have mushrooms tonight so I thought I’d try and recreate that…
Cauliflower in Lemon-Caper Sauce
Capers are a small but distinctive ingredient in Sicilian cooking. The caper bush grows wild on the Italian Islands of Salina (Aeolian Islands, north of Sicily) and Pantelleria (Strait…
Spinaci alla Siciliana
This is a classic Sicilian vegetable dish. It can be prepared with spinach, chard, mustard greens (or any other leafy greens). Nutritious and delicious this recipe literally takes only…
Stuffed Eggplant Stacks
This recipe started out as zucchini and ricotta fritters. Well, I have to tell you, it was more like fritter failure because the almond flour I used in the…
Roasted Mashed Cauliflower
I love how sweet cauliflower gets when it’s roasted. Quite a different taste from a flowerette on a crudite platter. I’m not a fan of this vegetable in its…
Minestrone
This is the quintessential Italian vegetable soup! Whether I prepare it to accompany that leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwich, for a light Christmas Eve dinner or a stand-alone bowl of…