Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi
It should be obvious by now how much I love spring onions in all their forms. This light, lovely Italian rice dish highlights whatever wild or store-bought green onion you have on hand, spiked with fresh spring green herbs.
Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi
A recipe for spaghetti with anchovies, a take on the classic pasta con le sarde from Sardinia and Sicily. Any small fish works, though.
Mushrooms
Marinated mushrooms are a staple on any antipasti plate, and if you can get porcini, which are popping in the Rockies now, so much the better. Here's how to do the technique the Italians call sott'olio.
Fish
I love the idea of this dish. "Glutton's style." Best I can tell is that it is a reference to the fact that virtually every wonderful staple in the Southern Italian kitchen is in this recipe, which will work with pretty much any fish. Tomato, capers, olives, anchovy, you name it, it's in here.
Italian
It is time to harvest nettles here in NorCal, and the first thing I make with them each year is a lurid green nettle pesto to put on pasta or mix into rice or spread on bread.
Fish
Some days you remember forever. This tuna fishing trip was one of them. I spent a couple days, 40 miles off North Carolina, in search of tuna. We found them. Oh yes, people, we found them... and with the trimmings of those great fish, I made these Sicilian meatballs.
Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi
Called strangolapreti -- "priest stranglers" -- in Italian, these dumplings made with breadcrumbs, cheese and a green thing (spinach, amaranth, chard, etc) are easy to make and are a great vegetarian main course or side dish for something meatier.
Fish
Yellowfin tuna grilled rare and served over a Sicilian-style salad of tomatoes, olives, onions and herbs. What's not to love?
Foraging
Wild onions, ramps especially, make a great pesto. This is my version, which is pretty classic -- but you can play with pesto a lot, changing the nuts, cheese and herbs at will.
Preservation Recipes
When I was growing up, I thought “antipasti” meant pickled cauliflower, carrots and onions because that's what was served in the old-style Italian joints I ate in. Well, I managed to recreate the recipe for their pickled cauliflower here.
Charcuterie
Fennel salami, finocchiona, is an Italian staple. There are lots of variations on this salami, but they all require a decent addition of fennel seeds. My version has wild fennel seeds, fennel pollen and ouzo.
Charcuterie
Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian, and this is a recipe for a spicy, hunter's style salami you can carry around with you in the field. I make them with narrower hog casings so they're easier to make than traditional wide salami. Use pork, venison or boar.
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