Elegant everyday easy recipes

Original Italian name: Melanzane alla menta
Place of origin: Calabria, Southern Italy

I am completely addicted to dishes with eggplants. I love them in Ratatouille, I admire them in antipasto and other dishes.

Along Italian dishes with eggplants there are many that extremely popular and famous. Melanzane alla parmigiana is a popular vegetable dish from Calabria. It consists of eggplant slices that are mostly sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and baked in the oven. The next delicious dish involving eggplants is an eggplants puree. The third  favorite is Melanzane al pomodoro, a beautiful combination of eggplants and tomatoes enhanced with grated cheese.

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Tagged as: Antipasti, Italian recipes, Southern Italy, Starters, Vegetables

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Original Italian name: Pollo al Rosmarino
Place of origin: Northern and Southern Italy

Italian cuisine is famous for chicken dishes. Rosemary chicken is a good example of a rosemary flavour roast dish. It can be served on everyday dinner or even for special occasions.

I guess this recipe is very simple. The thing I love most about it there are the basic ingredients used giving astonishing result.

For this recipe you can take whole chicken or chicken pieces with skin. The great result can be achieved by adding tomatoes, onions and fresh rosemary springs. [Read more…]

Tagged as: Chicken, Italian recipes, Main courses, Northern Southern, Poultry, Tomato, Wine

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Original Italian name: Zuppa di porcini
Place of origin: Tuscany, Central Italy

Italian people are passionate about mushrooms. In Central Italy -Umbria and Tuscany, mushrooms pickers comb the wooded areas from late summer to the end of autumn. The best and most popular wild mushroom is porcini which is just one of the many available edible mushrooms varieties. Chanterells, saffron milk cap, honey agaric and numerous other kinds can be found beneath trees. In some Italian areas the enthusiasm to gather autumn mushrooms so high thatpractically every local is engaged. As a result the Italian authorities were obliged to place an official restriction on the amount of mushroom allowed for collection. One person can collect per day only six and a half pounds (three kilograms) wild mushrooms.

Italian kitchen is famous for dishes with wild mushrooms. The most popular meals are wild mushrooms soup, Mushroom ragout, Tangy mushroom garlic sauce, Farfalle with mushrooms and cheese; Ricotta and Fontina pizza. [Read more…]

Tagged as: Central Italy, First courses, Italian recipes, Mushrooms, Primi, Soups

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Original Italian name: Torta pasqualina
Place of origin: Liguria, Northwest Italy

Easter cake is usually taken as a sweet dessert however this spinach cake is not actually a dessert. This Easter cake is made with spinach, Swiss chard and arugula and always served to Easter table for lunch.

Easter cakes with spinach are very popular in Italy and usually it fits perfectly the holidays family served along with the  Cassata cake as a dessert.  Spinach cake has many different variations of across Italian provinces. Originally, the Easter cake recipe includes 1 bunch of arugulia combined with Swiss chard and spinach. I personally do not add arugulia making this cake.

This spinach Easter cake represents authentic Italian food and has a special and very delicious taste. I decided making this cake for this Easter table followed by Lamb with potatoes and Cassata cake. [Read more…]

Tagged as: Cheese, Easter, Italian recipes, Northern Italy, Primi, Spinach, Vegetables

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Original Italian name: Cassata alla siciliana
Place of origin: Sicily, Southern Italy

Cassata is the italian name of a beautiful and famous rich cake which is served only for special occasions, such as Easter, weddings and christenings. However, Cassata is generally taken as an ice cream dessert, though the real Cassata is just a cake specially decorated for occasions. Various versions of Cassata exist all over the world. But if you want to try the original cassata cake, Cassata alla Siciliana is the place to do so. Here you will definitely enjoy the genuine taste of the dessert.

Cassata is quite artistic creation where ingredients may vary. Generally it is made with layers of sponge, interspersed with a creamy mixture of sweetened ricotta, chopped candied fruits, slivers of chocolate, nuts and melted sugar. Depending on the confectioner’s individual recipe and preferences the cake can include additional layer of marzipan or can be covered with a final marzipan coating or chocolate icing. Cassata that I cook today will be finished with a layer of thick icing. It is decorated with whole or attractively sliced candied fruits, the bright colours of which show up wonderfully well against the white sugar or marzipan. [Read more…]

Tagged as: Cakes and pastries, Cheese, Dolci, Easter, Italian recipes, Ricotta, Southern Italy

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Italy traditionally is a religious country where people love to celebrate days associated with different events from the Christan history. In addition to the nationwide festivals which punctuate the church year, there are the church ordinations and the popular village festivals which can be held on almost every pretext. All celebrations always give a good reason to locals cooking special confectionery. In the dark days of the past, simple bread constituted the traditional votive offering. Nowadays, this tradition echoed in cakes, pastry rings, sugar figures, almond confectionery as well as many other fairly gorgeous specialties which are reserved for special occasions. [Read more…]

Tagged as: Cakes and pastries, Desserts, Dolci, Easter, Italian recipes, Lamb, Northern Southern, Spinach

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