Notes about Recipes in this book

• Bucatini all'Amatriciana

  • TinyCitiKitchen on July 25, 2023

    Amatriciana is my comfort food, and so far this is my favorite version. I think it's the red wine vinegar that lifts it.

• Chestnut risotto, sausage, raisins, brown butter

  • nicolepellegrini on November 10, 2025

    Fantastic. Husband couldn't stop raving about it. A bit of work and timing but well worth it.

• Chicken livers, chick peas, fazzoletti, goat's milk cheese, cherry tomatoes

  • mcvl on January 22, 2014

    No can do pasta and chickpeas (no carbs for me), but this recipe is delicious without either. We ate it from bowls, like a very thick stew. Yum.

• Corn risotto, sausage, blueberries, thyme

  • nicolepellegrini on July 21, 2020

    Excellent. A wonderfully creative way to enjoy sweet summer corn and blueberries. The corn being in both the risotto itself and in the topping really infuses the flavor throughout, and the sausage balances out the sweet elements perfectly.

• Farro spaghetti, beets, brown butter, poppy seeds

  • mcvl on October 27, 2014

    Good! I like little chunks of beet rather than the puree. And I like to stir about half of the goat cheese in before serving with the other half plopped on top. The poppy seeds are really nice.

• Gnocchi, sausage, tomato, peas, smoked mozzarella

  • Breadcrumbs on March 25, 2012

    p. 145 Obika Mozzarella Bar opened recently in Toronto (an outpost of the Italian original) and their smoked mozzarella is to die for. As soon as I saw this recipe, I just knew I had to make it. This is an incredibly flavourful dish that is simple to prepare and quick to make. Perfect for a Friday night dinner after a long week of work. The sauce simmers away to completion while the gnocchi cooks and drains then the two are combined and topped with the mozzarella that’s tossed to distribute evenly. Something magical happens when all these flavours come together and every forkful is a taste explosion with the tender gnocchi, the fresh pop of the peas and the lovely tang of the sausage-infused San-Marzano tomato sauce. We upped the ante with the garlic and used 3 cloves. Otherwise prepared as directed. Another hit from this book.

• Linguine alla Genovese, veal ragù, salsa verde

  • nicolepellegrini on September 24, 2013

    Fairly time-consuming but in the end worth all of the work. The salsa verde elevates it from tasting like a veal stew over pasta into something truly exceptional. Will make it again.

• Penne, Umbrian lentils, pancetta

  • Breadcrumbs on February 26, 2012

    p. 93 First use of this recipe and this book and I must say, my expectations were not high at all since there were very few ingredients in the sauce for this dish which was essentially the cooking liquid from the lentils. The author claims that the Castelluccio lentils are the secret to the success of this dish and I must say, I’m a believer, as we loved this simple and satisfying dish. I’ve never purchased these lentils before but was fortunate enough to find them at a local Italian grocer. Lentils cook w some carrot, garlic celery and a bay leaf then this is added to the pancetta that has crisped in a skillet. Penne is tossed to coat and the dish is plated along w some Parmesan. This was a flavourful and satisfying dish that I’d happily make again. I wish I could remember who recommended this book to me as it seems to have numerous enticing and unique recipes. As Italian food lovers, this book has really impressed.

• Ricotta gnocchi, cauliflower, black olives, capers, tomato, pine nuts

  • mcvl on April 13, 2020

    Oh my, yes. I made only the sauce, not the gnocchi, and served it over couscous. So good!

  • nicolepellegrini on March 11, 2026

    I also just made the sauce and used pre-prepared baby gnocchi. The sauce was delicious and very filling with the copious amount of pine nuts. Honestly it feels like a hearty, vegetarian stew that you could serve with any kind of starchy component for a complete meal, be it pasta, bread, potatoes, etc.

• Risotto, corn, lobster, red pepper, zucchini

  • nicolepellegrini on December 04, 2021

    This was a very nice, elegant risotto to make (I prepared it with two small lobster tails.)

• Risotto, fall frutti di bosco: blueberries, raspberries, corn, mushrooms

  • nicolepellegrini on July 01, 2018

    I've been meaning to try this since making the similar risotto with strawberries, mushrooms and asparagus earlier in the year. While described as an autumn dish, I wanted to make it when fresh local corn, blueberries and raspberries were in season—and the flavor did not disappoint! I liked it even better than the other fruit-and-mushroom risotto but that may have also been a few changes I made in the rice preparation, as I noted for the other recipe. I thought using water to cook the rice in weakened the flavor, so this time I used a mixture of chicken stock and the soaking liquid from the dried porcini mushrooms I used. I also used shiitake for my other mushroom. It was absolutely delicious and I would definitely make it again in season.

• Risotto, spring frutti di bosco: strawberries, morels, asparagus

  • nicolepellegrini on May 19, 2018

    I've been waiting for fresh asparagus and strawberries to be in season to give this recipe a try—knew it would either be delicious or a total miss. The verdict? Delicious, if in need of a bit more seasoning than as described. Next time I might try making with mushroom stock instead of water to give the risotto a bit more intense flavor, but it is definitely a make-again dish. I made with baby bella mushrooms and would try with other varieties as well.

• Spaghetti, fresh figs, hazelnuts, brown butter, basil

  • nicolepellegrini on September 16, 2020

    Incredible. So simple ingredient-wise, and yet it is the perfect dish to celebrate the end of summer and the first taste of autumn. I've been blessed with a bounty crop of figs from my trees this year so I've been trying all different recipes to use them up, and was so excited to find a pasta dish with figs in this cookbook. I did cut down the butter to about 75% of what the recipe calls for and it was still perfectly luscious and decadent, the brown butter and toasty nuts playing perfectly off the sweet basil and figs. Husband devoured his dish. Will want to make every year now when I have the fresh figs to do so.

• Spaghetti, strawberries, tomato, balsamic

  • nicolepellegrini on May 09, 2020

    I've been wanting to work up the "courage" to try this pasta dish for several years now, and finally did on the first day local strawberries were available. It was absolutely delicious and not at all strange in flavor. The strawberries add just a touch of sweetness to the first bite, but then it's balanced by the tartness of the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar perfectly. As the recipe states, don't even think about trying this with out-of-season/supermarket strawberries; they need to be the best quality seasonal ones to pull off this flavor combination.

• Whole wheat spaghetti, cabbage, wild mushrooms, guanciale, caraway

  • mcvl on October 04, 2021

    I like this as written, but I like it even better with sour cream instead of Parm -- seems more harmonious.