Classic Italian recipes that taste as authentic as if you were really there, able to travel and revel in the traditions of the Italian countryside, including homemade pasta, pesto, braised chicken, and other predominantly frugal recipes that taste anything but cheap.
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Brodo di Pollo ~ Italian Chicken Soup
Brodo di pollo. That's Italian for "the most gosh darn comforting and restorative chicken soup ever to cross the lips of someone who's under the weather or just needs some soothing sustenance."
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This homemade pasta dough is foolproof and easy to make by hand or with your stand mixer with just eggs, flour, olive oil, and salt. Italian through and through. Here’s how.
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This chicken piccata, made with boneless chicken breasts cooked in a buttery lemon and caper sauce, is on the table in less than half an hour. Easy!
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This pesto Genovese is a classic Italian tradition that’s simple to toss together and has countless uses that extend way beyond tossing it with pasta.
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This old-fashioned minestrone soup is chock-full of carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, kale, zucchini, beans, and pasta…but gets an unexpected drizzle of pesto that transforms a frugal veggie-bin soup into something special.
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This pork loin in the style of porchetta is an Italian classic that blends pork loin with a pork shoulder, fennel, and rosemary filling, to make an impressive, celebration-worthy entrée.
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This homemade cavatelli is easy to make with flour, water, salt, and oil, and doesn’t even require a pasta maker. Here’s how to make it.
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This Italian-style braised chicken in wine is made by gently simmering chicken pieces in a sauce of wine, peperoncino, and tomatoes until tender. Fancy enough for company yet completely doable on a weeknight.
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This red sauce, or sugo di pomodoro, is an easy, classic Italian tomato sauce made with tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, and basil. Ideal for busy weeknights as well as easy entertaining.
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Spinach with raisins and pine nuts, when simply yet perfectly sauteed as here, is a classic for a reason. Serve as tapas, side dish, or topper for pasta.
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This Tuscan roast pork is made from a seared pork loin rubbed with a garlic, rosemary, and sage paste and then slowly roasted in the oven. Easy, elegant, and certain to impress. (Keto)
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Burrata is like fresh mozzarella gone to finishing school. A burlesque dancing finishing school. It’s creamy and cheesy and versatile as heck and absolutely sufficient simply on its own with a drizzle of oil and grilled bread.
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Homemade tomato paste is surprisingly easy to make at home and a great way to use up lots of tomatoes. All you need are tomatoes, salt, olive oil, a food mill, and a flair for classic Italian goodness.
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This pane francese recipe turns out a northern Italian bread that’s crusty and chewy and all sorts of incredible. Looks like a baguette, tastes like a ciabatta.
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This beef stew with red wine, made with beef chuck roast and a rich red wine sauce, can be made in your Instant Pot or braised in the oven.
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This sautéed spinach with bread crumbs is an easy, healthy side dish made with fresh spinach cooked with garlic and spritzed with lemon juice and toasted bread crumbs.
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This pasta puttanesca, made with tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and penne is edgy, spicy, and sassy, just like the women it’s named after.
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Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese sauce recipe is authentic as can be and is, according to many we’ve heard of the absolute best Bolognese sauce recipe ever. It’s also easy and impressive.
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This ligurian almond cake is a classic Italian dessert with a tender, tight crumb. Flavored with almonds, cinnamon, and lemon, it tastes lovely served with fruit curd, too.
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This Italian onion soup is an inexpensive, comforting bowl of goodness that's similar to its French cousin. A fairly basic soup made with a few ingredients tastes terrific, especially when topped with rustic, cheesy toast.
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Pasta alla Norma, made with baked or roasted eggplant, ricotta, tomatoes, pasta, and fresh herbs, is an authentic Sicilian dinner that’s welcome any day of the week, any night of the year.
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This Tuscan style roast leg of lamb is made in traditional Italian fashion with a garlic, rosemary, lemon, and olive oil marinade before being roasted until perfectly tender. Easy and elegant.
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Panna cotta is an Italian classic made with cream, sugar, gelatin, and your favorite flavoring. What results is a luxuriantly creamy and not-too-sweet dessert that’s suitable for any occasion.
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This homemade guanciale, made with pork jowl, seasoning, and white wine, is easier than you may think. Here’s how to make it.
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This broccoli rabe with roasted garlic is mellowed by sweet, roasted garlicky goodness and spiked with the warmth of red pepper flakes. An easy side dish for weeknight dinners. Here’s how to prepare it.
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These homemade potato gnocchi are the best version of this Italian classic we've ever had. They're made with russet potatoes, flour, egg, and salt and are like little pillows of potato heaven. Four ingredients. Ridiculously easy. Wonderfully inexpensive.
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This beef braised in Barolo is braised chuck roasted in an aromatic mix of Barolo wine, garlic, tomato paste, thyme, and rosemary. Perfect for entertaining.
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This focaccia with red onion and rosemary has that iconic crunchy, perfectly salted surface and a tender texture beneath. It’s topped with caramelized onions and fragrant rosemary and makes a worthy distraction—both the making and the devouring.
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This homemade pancetta is unsmoked bacon or pork belly that's cured with salt, sugar, pepper, juniper berries, bay leaves, nutmeg, and thyme. It's an ingredient in many Italian pasta dishes such as carbonara and as a substitute for guanciale in all’Amatriciana and can be hard to find.
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These grissini, or Italian breadsticks, are an easy, authentic Italian classic. They’re satisfyingly crispy and outrageously hard to stop eating after just one.
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Grape focaccia, or Schiacciata All’uva, is a magnificent Tuscan tradition sometimes known as winemakers’ focaccia that’s homemade flatbread with a smattering of black grapes that’s roasted until it creates a wondrously jammy sweetness. Here’s how to make it.
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This fritto misto amalfitano is an Italian-inspired fried seafood appetizer platter made by frying mixed seafood to create a sigh-inducingly crisp crust and tender, not tough, seafood. So long, soggy calamari.
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This pasta soup with potatoes and pancetta is a traditional Italian soup made with potatoes, carrots, and leeks, tender pasta and diced pancetta. Hearty cold-weather comfort food.
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