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.
Brodo di Pollo ~ Italian Chicken Soup
: Jonathan Kennedy
1/35
Brodo di pollo is, in essence, Italian chicken soup. And it's a strong contender for the most soothing chicken noodle soup anywhere. Made by nonnas everywhere.
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Homemade Pasta Dough
: Ryland Peters & Small
2/35
Pasta made fresh according to Italian tradition is unspeakably more supple, satisfying, and gratifying than the dried-out store-bought stuff and will make your mouth water. Here's how to make it at home.
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Chicken Piccata
: Liudmyla
3/35
Ever heard that little ditty, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner?" We like to think of it as "Winner, winner, chicken piccata dinner."
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Pesto Genovese
: Lisa Linder
4/35
A spoon-it-straight-from-the-jar-and-slather-it-on-everything sauce with the taste of tradition, the seduction of sophistication.
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Old-Fashioned Minestrone Soup
: Tara Fisher
5/35
An updated Italian classic made with all the usual suspects along with an unexpected drizzle of pesto that turns a frugal veggie-bin catch-all into something truly astounding.
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Pork Loin in the Style of Porchetta
: Christina Holmes
6/35
A mashup of two Italian classics—arista and porchetta—that's essentially pork roast stuffed with rosemary and more ground pork. Ridiculously easy to make. And even easier to devour.
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Homemade Cavatelli
: milla74
7/35
Yes, you can make your own pasta. And no, you don't need a pasta maker, thanks to this recipe. All you need is flour, olive oil, and salt.
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Italian-Style Braised Chicken in Wine
: Ed Anderson
8/35
This rustic classic is infused with that Italian charm that transforms everyday ingredients into something that's both insanely comforting yet seemingly luxurious.
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Red Sauce ~ Sugo di Pomodoro
: Eric Wolfinger
9/35
"Simple, quick, and delicious." "Elegant." "It sure as heck is good." That's what folks are saying about this easy weeknight supper.
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Ciabatta
: Ed Anderson
10/35
Every once in a while, along comes a loaf of bread that's so rustic, so memorable, it ruins every other bread experience. Here's that loaf.
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Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts
: Rachel Roddy
11/35
When prepared simply yet perfectly as here, this classic side dish will leave a lingering memory of just how lovely something healthy can be.
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Tuscan Roast Pork
: Linda Pugliese
12/35
An Italian classic. Pork loin is rubbed with an intoxicating blend of garlic, rosemary, and sage and then slowly roasted until sigh-inducingly tender. Easy, elegant and certain to impress.
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Burrata with Grilled Bread
: Eric Wolfinger
13/35
This is less a recipe and more a reminder as to the fact that some nights, simple cheese and bread and olive oil makes a perfectly respectable—enviable, even—supper.
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Homemade Tomato Paste
: Sara Remington
14/35
Never again tussle with that teensy tin can that always contains too much or too little paste for your recipe. Not with this mellow, caramelized homemade conserva.
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Pane Francese
: Thomas Schauer
15/35
Looks like a baguette, tastes like a ciabatta. This northern Italian bread is crusty and chewy and all sorts of incredible.
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Beef Stew with Red Wine
: Connie Miller
16/35
An Italian tradition that, in true form, transforms simple ingredients into something sublime.
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Sautéed Spinach with Bread Crumbs
: Stacey Tyzzer
17/35
That frugal Italian trick of adding buttery bread crumbs to just about anything to make it more enticing works its considerable charms here. Swoon.
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Pasta Puttanesca
: Jan Baldwin
18/35
Just like the women for whom it's named, this pasta puttanesca recipe is edgy, spicy, and more than a little sassy. Gets the job done in a hurry, too.
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Marcella Hazan's Bolognese Sauce
19/35
Is anything more soothing than standing before a burbling pot of Marcella Hazan's Bolognese sauce? (Hint: Our answer is absolutely not.)
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Ligurian Almond Cake
: Quentin Bacon
20/35
A remarkably—and deceptively—simple that cake boasts an understated elegance that befits this frugal and classic Italian dessert.
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Italian Onion Soup ~ Licurdia
: Ed Anderson
21/35
This 4-ingredient Italian onion soup is just as humble, frugal, and soothing as its more commonly known French kin.
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Pasta alla Norma
: Ed Anderson
22/35
We've tasted a lot of pasta alla Norma recipes in our day, and we gotta say, after trying this one, we're calling it quits on our search for the perfect recipe. Because this is it.
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Tuscan Style Roast Leg of Lamb
: Eric Wolfinger
23/35
Made in traditional Italian fashion with a garlic, rosemary, lemon, and olive oil marinade and then roasted until perfectly tender. Perfect for easy, elegant holiday entertaining.
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Panna Cotta
: Martin Brigdale & Ian Garlick
24/35
Panna cotta translates to “cooked cream,” which really doesn’t do justice to this creamy as sin, subtly flavored, lightly sweetened, sublime Italian classic.
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Homemade Guanciale
: Lauren Volo
25/35
Yes, you can make your own silken, creamy, intensely satiating cured pork at home. Without access to an estate in Italy. Here’s how.
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Broccoli Rabe with Roasted Garlic
: Quentin Bacon
26/35
Americans may not know how to pronounce broccoli rabe, but Italians sure know how to cook it. Here's how they do it. Er, prego.
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Homemade Potato Gnocchi
: Edward Park
27/35
Four ingredients. Ridiculously easy. Wonderfully inexpensive. And, quite frankly, the best gnocchi we've ever experienced.
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Beef Braised in Barolo
: Carl Tremblay
28/35
Cold outside? Baby, come inside where there's beef slowly braising in a heady mix of Italian red wine, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary.
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Focaccia with Red Onion and Rosemary
: Laura Edwards
29/35
We've been hearing a lot of our recipe testers who've tried this focaccia rave about it as "perfect." We ain't arguing.
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Homemade Pancetta
: Kevin D. Weeks
30/35
Pancetta is simply unsmoked bacon—aka pork belly—cured with salt and seasonings. And now you can DIY it.
Recipe
Italian Breadsticks ~ Grissini Torinesi
: Ed Anderson
31/35
Most Americans know grissini as those pale breadsticks in the long waxen envelopes at old-time Italian restaurants. How sad for us. Perhaps we can do something about that.
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Grape Focaccia
: Emiko Davies
32/35
A Tuscan tradition we learned from Italian winemakers that's essentially flatbread baked with grapes that turn magnificently jammy and sweet and lovely.
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Fritto Misto Amalfitano
: Christopher Hirsheimer
33/35
So long, soggy calamari. This low-temp approach defies common deep-frying logic yet ensures a crisp crust and tender seafood. And if you've yet to experience fried lemons, just wait.
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Pasta Soup with Potatoes and Pancetta
: Kate Whitaker
34/35
This good old-fashioned soup has a frugal heartiness once needed by day laborers. And a satiating subtleness now appreciated by foodies.
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Affogato
: Julie208
35/35
Drowning gelato in espresso has got to be the most spectacular sort of tragedy ever to take place at the dinner table. Here's how to add a little drama to your dessert.
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