Notes about Recipes in this book

• Yellow and green noodles with mortadella, peas, and mushrooms (Paglia e fieno con mortadella, piselli, e funghi)

  • Breadcrumbs on October 29, 2010

    Would be good w chx as well

• Spaghettini with tomatoes, capers, olives, and anchovies (Spaghettini alla puttanesca)

  • ndschmidt on April 18, 2026

    A solid recipe for a classic dish. My only changes were to up the garlic a bit and add chile flake which is a fixture in most other recipes.

• Bow ties with onion, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes (Farfalle vegetariane)

  • anya_sf on September 26, 2018

    A good, simple recipe to make with peak-season produce.

• Pasta with cauliflower and pancetta (Pasta con cavolfiore e pancetta)

  • JimCampbell on July 29, 2025

    A 4.0 out of 5. This is one of our go-to recipes. Super easy to make. We boil the cauliflower just until al dente, remove it, and add the pasta to the water. We've also roasted the cauliflower, which adds complexity to the dish. We skip the breadcrumbs, and we don't use much oil. Just enough to get the pancetta going. Add chopped onion with pancetta and go low-n-slow to render the fat. De-glaze with some stock to add some liquid and flavor. Combine everything at the end, add pasta water as necessary and grate on the Parmesan. We really enjoy the dish and make it every other month or so.

• Shells with porcini mushrooms, sausage, and cream (Conchiglie con porcini, salsiccia, e panna)

  • SSteve on May 18, 2022

    This was fantastic. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was use 3 oz of prosciutto instead of 2 oz because that's how much the package of prosciutto had in it. And how can adding extra prosciutto possibly mess up a recipe?

• Risotto with butternut squash and peas (Risotto con la zucca e piselli)

  • Jane on May 29, 2012

    A nice risotto, not prize-winning but good. Because the squash is not roasted first you lose some of the sweet caramelized flavor that adds but on the other hand it is quicker. I was a bit concerned that the cubes of squash might break down with the constant stirring a risotto requires (and as usual my rice took far longer than the recipe's estimated time to be done). But they held their shape well. The addition of peas at the end adds a welcome pop of color and another vegetable.

• Baked polenta with sausage ragù (Polenta pasticciata)

  • Lottabooks on March 25, 2024

    I made only the ragu portion and served with America's Test Kitchen made-in-advance polenta. Excellent flavor and a big hit. HOWEVER, it has a lot of liquid due to the 3 c. stock and 1 c. porcini soaking liquid and fat from the sausage. Consider shorting the stock if making again to serve with ATK polenta. I suspect the liquid in the recipe was to go with the polenta slices put in casserole style as called for by the recipe (which I didn't do). Made this for a wine-tasting party where a lot of heavy red wines were being served.