Roasted Rapini
Rapini, also known as Broccoli Rabe, is a superhero of vegetables! It boosts your immune system, improves digestion, protects your eyesight, supports heart health, strengthens bones and detoxes. This cruciferous…
vegetable
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.…
Vegetable Panini
When it comes to making panini, (Italian for sandwiches), it begins and ends with the bread! I prefer using Ciabatta, an Italian rustic looking bread that is available in loaves…
Marinated Baby Artichokes
Native to the western and central Mediterranean, the artichoke is a domesticated variety of the wild cardoon. Cardone, in Italian, is a thistle and looks like large stocks of…
Double Cauliflower with Chard and Onions
Inexpensive and readily available, cauliflower is a nutritional powerhouse. It is high in vitamins C and K, potassium, manganese, folate, fiber and cancer-preventing glucosinolates. If you are (currently) not…
Polpettine Di Cavolfiore
Cauliflower mixed with cheese and egg, shaped into balls and then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried, are a delicious choice for a first course or vegetarian entree. The traditional…
Zuppa di Broccoli
This soup has a mere three ingredients … and that’s counting the water! My grandmother made broccoli soup the same way she made macaroni and cauliflower soup. I love…
Burrata & Tomatoes
Burrata is a cream filled mozzarella sack. Invented in Puglia, Italy, as a way to use the scraps of curds left over after twisting balls of mozzarella. The scraps…
Shaved Zucchini Salad
This is a fresh and flavorful raw zucchini dish featuring tangy capers and ricotta salata. The words ‘Ricotta’ means re-cooked and ‘Salata’ means salted. Ricotta Salata is a Sicilian…
Pantelleria Potato Salad
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Potato salad with olives, tomatoes and capers is a popular salad on the island of Pantelleria (Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea). Capers are a small but distinctive…
Potato & Onion Frittata
Growing up, I remember my mother making a frittata of potatoes and onions. It was never served for breakfast or a fancy brunch, rather it was our evening meal.…
Lemon-Roasted Asparagus & Ravioli
Spring is the season for asparagus. Crops are harvested from late February to the end of May, with April being the height of the season. This is a simple…
Honey Roasted Fennel
Fennel, a favorite Italian vegetable, customarily eaten raw with a bit of salt, sees the year’s second crop in Autumn. We enjoy it in soups, salads, a creamy bowl…
Roasted Baby Eggplant
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.…
Giardiniera
The Italian giardiniera, pronounced jar-dih-NAIR-ah, means from the garden and is a classic combination of vegetables. Cauliflower, red bell peppers, carrots, celery and serrano chili peppers are mixed and…
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…
Melanzane alla Parmigiana
Whenever my son, Joe, and I try a new Italian restaurant, the “one dish” that is a make-or-break decision to return, is eggplant Parmesan. The ingredients should compliment one…
Delicata Squash
I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve ever made this squash. Last month my husband and I made a trip to our cabin in the California Sierras.…
Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Broccolini & Ricotta
As with many of the meals I prepare, this one came about while standing in front of the refrigerator, door wide open and staring at the contents looking for…
Spaghetti-Stuffed Eggplant
Pasta and eggplant are often enjoyed together, whether it’s the classic Pasta alla Norma, an eggplant and spaghetti pie or simply a plate of buccatini to accompany Melanzane alla…