Traditional Italian recipes tested (or developed) by a Southern Italian Nonna. Although Nonna Baldino is Southern Italian, she also cooks traditional dishes of Central and Northern Italy.
This category also includes Italian gardening tips, from designing an Italian kitchen garden to selecting the fruit and vegetable varieties specific to good Italian cooking.
Quick Summary: Fresh asparagus coated in a light batter of Parmigiano, garlic, breadcrumbs, and parsley, then baked or fried until golden. A Southern Italian-Sicilian recipe perfect for Easter or any spring celebration. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Prep: 45 min | Cook: 15 min | Serves: 6 Jump to: RECIPE | Brief History …
This Southern Italian olive oil cake recipe is enhanced with fresh oranges, Grand Marnier, and cardamom spice. Easy to make in one bowl with a whisk, this cake is not-too-sweet, and very aromatic. It is enjoyed by Italians for breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack, or as a dessert. I especially love it during Easter week as …
Quick Summary: Italian sweet peppers like Jimmy Nardello, Marconi, and Corno di Toro are sweeter and thinner-walled than standard bells. Start seeds indoors 8 weeks before last frost, transplant when soil reaches 60°F. Most Italian peppers grow well in containers. Harvest green or wait for full color for maximum sweetness. Read time: 7 min | …
I use beans in everything from Italian fagioli to Mexican charro beans to slow carb stews. Dried beans give you more control over texture, and they can have more nuanced flavor, but they’re not always worth the extra time. This guide covers when dried beans make a difference, when canned works fine, tips for soaking …
Chicory is one of the most underrated vegetables for home gardeners. It’s cold-hardy, easy to grow, and includes varieties most people have never tried, like radicchio, catalogna, puntarelle, and sugarloaf. I grow several chicory varieties at HeathGlen Organic Farm in Minnesota for both fall salads and winter cooking. The bitter, complex flavor pairs well with …
I only grow squash for our family and not for my farmers’ markets, so I have the luxury of only growing my favorites, rather than what will sell best. I favor the heirloom winter squash varieties due to their unique beauty and flavors, and the fact that they are difficult to find commercially. This guide …
Quick Summary: Design a kitchen garden by starting with what you want to cook, then selecting 5-12 vegetables that match your space. Plan paths and structures before placing plants. Use succession planting for continuous harvests. This guide covers plant selection, design styles, blueprints, spacing, and equipment. Read time: 15 min | Experience level: Beginner to …
Romano beans and sweet cherry tomatoes make a great low carb vegetable dish for the height of summer. Easy and delicious
After years of growing row crops for the farmers’ markets, I decided to designate small plots on the farm for themed kitchen gardens to add a more aesthetic appeal and more specialty produce for our family. The Italian kitchen garden is the first themed garden I started, followed by the Mexican kitchen garden. If you …
Romano beans (also called Italian flat beans) are one of the easiest and most productive vegetables I grow for the family at HeathGlen Organic Farm. They’re meatier and more flavorful than regular string beans, with a nice crunch and no tough strings. Fresh Romano beans are hard to find in grocery stores or at the …
Quick Summary: Thin beef slices stuffed with prosciutto, pine nuts, Pecorino Romano, garlic, and parsley, then simmered for hours in robust tomato sauce. A Sicilian/Neapolitan celebration dish featured in “The Bear.” The braciole flavors the sauce; the sauce tenderizes the braciole. Serve with rigatoni. Developed with Italian friend Gloria Baldino. Prep: 30 min | Cook: …
Freezing tomatoes is a great way to preserve both the nutrition and the flavor of fresh heirloom tomatoes to use in Winter dishes
Quick Summary: Peperonata is slow-cooked sweet peppers with onions and garlic, simmered until velvety soft. Use it to braise pork chops for a tender, flavorful one-pan dinner. The sauce also works on burgers, grilled chicken, or crusty bread. Prep: 15 min | Cook: 45 min | Serves: 4 Jump to: RECIPE | What is Peperonata? …
Puttanesca was once considered a humble Italian dish, made with common pantry ingredients. The sauce is typically made by combining tomatoes, capers, garlic and olives, with optional ingredients like red pepper flakes or anchovies into a bold, robust “gravy”. This briny sauce is typically served over pasta (often spaghetti), but it also pairs beautifully with …
Peperonata (peh-peh-roh-NAH-tah) is a Southern Italian vegetable dish of slow-cooked, or stewed bell peppers with onion and garlic. I make peperonata every fall when my pepper harvest at HeathGlen Organic Farm peaks, and I use it on everything: pork chops, bunless burgers, ground beef, white fish, even as a bruschetta topping. This version pairs …