Make Ahead

The addition of orange and rum are what makes this a very different rice pudding than you’re probably used to. Of course, rum isn’t a typical flavoring in Italian cooking, but once again I’ve taken the liberty of infusing a little New World twist into an Old World classic.

It looks complicated, but all the steps are actually easy, and it will be such a hit. I like to make tiramisù the day before so that the cookies have enough time to absorb all the flavors and the tiramisù has time to set. Tiramisù means “pick-me-up,” and boy oh boy will it pick you up.

The traditional zabaglione isn’t made with chocolate, but it is served either warm or cold, with fresh berries, as mine is. So why did I add chocolate? To make this something so incredibly rich and special that no one—absolutely no one—could resist it. Serve this before asking for a really big favor

This recipe was born out of leftovers—a half cantaloupe, a handful of strawberries, some grapes—not enough in themselves to feed a family, but combine them and you have a great dessert. Feel free to substitute with your favorite fruit or whatever you happen to have as leftovers. The sweetened wine and the fresh mint meld the fruit flavors together into a wonderfully refreshing, quick, and easy recipe. Perfect for summertime.

Amaretti cookies are a must for this recipe; there really isn’t any substitute for that crunchy almond flavor and texture. They’re becoming more and more popular and easier to find, especially in Italian specialty stores, and they last for a long time; so when you find them, stock up.

Panzanella comes from the Latin word panis, meaning “bread.” This is another dish that illustrates Italians’ resourcefulness when it comes to leftovers: The key to this dish is the actually stale—not fresh—bread, which absorbs the flavors in the salad without falling apart and becoming mushy. In the sixteenth century, panzanella was made with just bread, oil, and vinegar. Tomatoes were introduced to Italy in the sixteenth century, but even then they only began to be eaten in the south, where they grew, two hundred years later. Now, of course, Italians all over the Boot love the tomato, and this salad is a staple everywhere.

Farro is a type of wheat that was an important component of the Roman Empire’s diet, but it fell somewhat out of favor when more refined wheat products became plentiful in Italy. You’ll still find it on a lot of Italian tables, though, and especially in soups and salads such as this one. Farro is available in Italian markets and gourmet grocery stores, but brown rice or barley could also be used in this recipe.

Root vegetables are particularly forgiving when it comes to roasting times: Slightly undercooked and they have a little extra firmness, while on the other hand it takes quite a while to overcook them to the mushiness point. So this recipe is one of my main choices when I’m preparing an entrée that’s going to require stovetop attention at the end of cooking. While I’m reducing a sauce or sautéing some veal, I don’t want to worry that I’ll need to remove the veggies from the oven at precisely 7:15. And with this recipe, I don’t.

Caponata is one of the great Sicilian vegetable dishes, often eaten as a relish alongside pork roast or fish. The eggplant-based recipe features a wonderful sweet-and-sour taste, one of the hallmarks of Sicilian cooking—a combination of sugar and vinegar that provides a tingling push-and-pull sensation in the mouth. In my family, we often ate caponata as an antipasto, spooned over toasted bread, and used any leftovers for wonderful sandwiches. It can be eaten hot, cold, or at room temperature, making it the ultimate vegetable dish for a casual party.

Note that the ingredients here are something of a hodgepodge: potato and sweet potato, zucchini and carrot, onion and bell pepper. That’s because this is a pretty loose recipe, and you should feel free to substitute whatever you prefer. Just be sure to cut any vegetables to roughly the same size, to ensure that they’re all fully cooked—but not overcooked—at the same time.

Eggplant Parmesan is one of the classic red-checkered-tablecloth Italian-American recipes, but I prefer this slightly easier and lighter recipe, with a very similar concept—combining eggplant with cheese and marinara sauce. This makes an elegant, satisfying side dish as well as a great entrée for a vegetarian meal (make sure your vegetarians eat dairy, though—there’s lots of it here). You could also make this dish with zucchini.

Osso buco is braised veal shanks. The fabulously flavorful veal shanks are cooked for a long time, making the meat so tender that it literally falls off the bones. I’m not sure why, but I think people are afraid of this dish; maybe they’re intimidated by the unfamiliarity of veal shanks. But it’s really easy to prepare and just needs a couple of hours to cook, while the fragrant aromas fill your house and maybe even tempt the neighbors to ring the doorbell to find out what’s cooking. The perfect dish for a rainy Sunday. Be sure to have kitchen twine available for tying the shanks.

These breaded cutlets are usually made with veal, but I’ve found that it’s an excellent treatment for pork chops. As kids, my siblings and I loved this dish—what kids don’t love fried meat? And it makes for a tasty sandwich the next day (see page 184).

The word braciola is used in different regions of Italy to describe different cuts of meat. But in southern Italy, braciola refers to a dish where a slice of meat is topped with different ingredients and rolled up and baked. It’s moist, rich, and very flavorful, and it’s actually easy to make, although not quick: In order to make this cut of meat moist and tasty, it needs a good amount of oven time. I like to serve it at holiday dinner parties or for Sunday supper. You will need kitchen twine to tie the rolled flank steak.

Cooking fish al cartoccio—literally, “in a bag”—is a technique that’s been used by Italians (and other cultures) for a long time. It’s actually a method of steaming rather than baking; the tight wrapping seals in all the juices and aromas so you end up with a mouthwatering combination of flavors. Traditionally, the fish is wrapped in parchment paper, but I like to use aluminum foil because it’s easier to close tightly. (It’s not as pretty or traditional as parchment paper, but aluminum foil is one modern convenience that I’m just not willing to forgo for the sake of prettiness or tradition.) You can cook almost any fish you want in foil or parchment, and indeed in Italy it’s usually used for swordfish and sea bass, not salmon, which doesn’t swim in the Mediterranean; but I love salmon’s creaminess and year-round availability, so I’ve taken my liberties with the al cartoccio tradition. This method also produces superb vegetables and chicken. And a bonus: It’s mess-free.

Traditionally, this rich dish is served as a main course, and as a kid that’s the way I ate it. But it also works in our health-conscious world as a starter or a side with something fresher and lighter—say, grilled fish drizzled with lemon juice or grilled meat. A creamy, cheesy dish like this is just the thing to make you feel coddled, as if your dining room is the coziest spot on earth.

Primavera is Italian for “spring,” and that’s what this dish tastes like. It was created at Le Cirque, New York’s famed restaurant, in the 1970s because some high-flying and health-conscious patrons complained that they wanted lighter and healthier dishes. The original version was labor-intensive because you had to not only dice all the vegetables, but also blanch them in different pots. My version cuts out the blanching, and instead you roast the vegetables and end up with a sweet, caramelized, intensely flavored bite. Consider doubling the recipe; it only gets better the next day.

The beauty of a baked pasta like this is that you can really use any vegetables you want, as long as you cut them all to the same size. This version uses a lot of them, because I like the variety in textures and flavors. But if you’re not a huge fan of any one of these vegetables, just omit it, and use the same quantity of another. If you prefer a simpler dish with fewer vegetables, you can do that too. It’s really up to you. You can also feel free to assemble one large lasagna in a 13 X 9-inch pan from these ingredients.

A great one-dish meal in the tradition of the classic red-checkered-tablecloth, family-owned restaurant, this is Italian-American food at its best. I like to make individual portions ahead of time, and freeze them. When I get home really late from work, I just pop one in the microwave and have a full, comforting meal in mere minutes.

If you love mushrooms, this sauce will hit the spot. You could use it as a topping for pastas, meats, and—my favorite—polenta. The secret to a rich, deeply flavorful sauce is to use a variety of mushrooms, preferably the wild varieties. I’m partial to cremini, oyster, and shiitake, but you could also add portobellos, hen-of-the-woods, chanterelles, or any other variety you find. The only ones I’d steer clear of are regular white button mushrooms. Their mild flavor will get lost amid the stronger tastes of the wild varieties, and their high water content will thin your sauce without providing much flavor.