Vegetarian

I am sure just about everyone who has traveled to Italy was offered limoncello at some point or other during the trip. This delightful lemon-flavored drink is a custom born in southern Italy, but now limoncello has crossed into not only all of Italy, but also across the Atlantic and into the United States. You can now make limoncello easily at home—no need to travel—and this recipe also works well with oranges. Limoncello is best served cold. Keep a bottle in the freezer for your guests.

I got this recipe from Guido Pezzini, the patriarch at Pezzini Farms in Castroville, California, who claims that just about every dish his mother cooked included artichokes in some form. This soup is one of his favorites. The Pezzinis are a delightful and caring family, with Sean, the grandson, as the next generation in training.

Escarole is in the chicory family, the bitter dark-green vegetables that Italians love. Escarole played such a big role in the cooking of Italian Americans because it seemed to be one of the few chicory vegetables available here in the States. It is a very versatile and inexpensive vegetable as well: easy to grow, resilient to cooler weather, and giving a large yield per head. The outer leaves can be used in soups, braised with garlic and oil, or stuffed; the tender center white leaves are great for salads. This is an Italian recipe, but the ingredients are adapted to include the local ingredient kale, much loved and eaten in the States.

Stale bread has never tasted so good, or been presented with such finesse, as in this dish—a delicious transformation, another fabulous way to use up yesterday’s bread. Shaped into passatelli and combined with a good chicken stock, leftovers are transformed into an Italian classic.

Frittata is the quintessential Italian meal. You can flavor it with anything you have on hand, and one of my favorite ways is adding dollops of fresh ricotta. Ricotta is a by-product of cheesemaking: after the curds for the cheese are drained from the whey, the whey is recooked with the addition of some milk, and soft ricotta curds slowly form. Ricotta is delicious, and Italians use it in just about any dish, from appetizer to pasta to soup to desserts, and, as here, in frittatas as well. The Italian American immigrants continued this tradition of using ricotta, and it can be found in a lot of Italian American kitchens. Since it was also easy to have a couple of chickens on hand in the backyard, we always had some fresh eggs. When there is nothing else in the house except eggs, this is the meal to make.

In Italy, it is called bruschetta, fett’unta, and by various names in different regions, but the basic concept is that bread, fresh or old, is grilled or toasted and then brushed with olive oil and rubbed with fresh garlic. Toppings are optional, and surely seasonal. In the United States, this Italian custom took on different versions and became garlic bread. Garlic bread was an open loaf of Italian bread brushed with butter or oil and lots of chopped garlic, sprinkled with dry oregano, and grilled or baked. I recall liking the grilled and warm bread from my Italian American restaurant visits, but the garlic was always too much for me. I must say that now, in most restaurants, the grilling and toasting of bread has come full-circle, and bruschetta as well as garlic bread graces the table. Here are three versions of the garlic bread made with the Italian American tradition in mind. Just keep a handle on the garlic.

I love asparagus and cook it many different ways, and on my visit with the Maugeri family, one of the oldest and largest family produce farms in New Jersey, I discovered this delicious recipe. I was told it is a family recipe handed down through three generations, and I am delighted they shared it with me so I can share it with you.

I have made fried artichokes many ways before, but I found this recipe at Liuzza’s in New Orleans different and quite tasty. The interesting part is that the recipe is made with jarred or canned artichokes. The batter is light and fries up crispy, while the artichokes remain tender and tasty. This is an ideal recipe to serve when unexpected guests arrive and all you have is a can of artichoke hearts in the cupboard and a beer in the fridge.

Italians stuff all kinds of vegetables, such as peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and more. In America, white button mushrooms were plentiful and cheap, and delicious when stuffed, so the Italians added them to their stuffed vegetable list. Stuffed mushrooms of different varieties can now be found in Italian American homes and restaurants, from the simple button mushrooms to the large portobellos. All types make a delicious dish and satisfy today’s vegetarian diners as well. I like mushrooms best stuffed simply with bread crumbs and cheese, but I have seen them stuffed with everything from crabmeat to shrimp to foie gras. Let your fancy guide you.

Fried mozzarella is a tasty dish that children especially like; it can be half fried in advance, then reheated in the oven when guests arrive. It is great finger food to be passed around at a party.