There's nothing like the fresh crunchy flavor of fennel bulbs and they're a perfect ingredient in this fennel, sliced orange and olive salad. I put fennel in just about any kind of salad; use a [amazon_textlink asin='B0779C3FFX' text='mandolin' template='ProductLink' store='flavorofita02-20' marketplace='US' link_id='35dcd2df-2174-41d0-976a-226f4fa5dac7'] to slice fennel paper thin for your salad. Fennel tends to turn brown...
Vegetable
Creamy Asparagus Soup with Poached Eggs
There's nothing better than a one dish meal and this soup certainly satisfies everything you'd look for: fabulous taste, protein, vegetables, and warm creaminess. I first made this recipe with a group of culinary aficionados who get together twice yearly to experiment with new recipes. Originally the recipe appeared in an Oregon-based newspaper, the Oregonian,...
Pioppino mushroom soup with pancetta, spring peas, and green onions
So often what I make for lunch evolves right then and there with ingredients I have on hand and from the garden. Today was one of those days. It's starting to feel just a tad on the chilly side, the sky is gray and rain for the next week is in the forecast so I'm...
Roman Style Stuffed Artichokes
Roman Style Stuffed Artichokes are delicious served with a few slices of lemon and some calamint leaves. All winter long the market is full of globe, or Roman, artichokes. There are so many delicious ways to prepare them, but the best way is Roman style stuffed artichokes, or Carciofi alla Romana.I usually buy artichokes that...
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Grated Parmesan Cheese and Toasted Walnuts
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Grated Parmesan Cheese & Toasted Walnuts is a delightful winter salad and a great way to serve this winter vegetable! I hadn't thought of using brussels sprouts raw in a salad but it's one of the easiest and tastiest ways to use them. Brussels sprouts are an odd vegetable. Their...
Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts
It's winter vegetable season again and Oven Roadted Brussels sprouts are one of my favorites! There are many wonderful ways to prepare them but they all stem around some variety of roasting which gives them their nutty, delicious flavor. Boiling and steaming are a no-no as this brings out a metallic, unpleasant flavor. Stick with...
Tomato Ricotta Tart
It's that delightful time of the year when our vegetable garden is exploding and yielding scrumptious produce in spades. We always plant lots of varieties of tomatoes; it's the true staple in Italian cuisine and we won't settle for anything but the best in the tomato department. Our favorite snack is bread, tomato and olive...
Radiatori Pasta with Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta & Fresh Mint
Radiatori Pasta with Ricotta, Zucchini, Tomatoes & Mint We’re moving into late spring and pasta dishes are already starting to take on a light and fresh twist. Not too terribly far south of Rome there are already some luscious tomatoes and tender zucchini available. And our mint plants are exploding with leaves, just begging to...
Roast Butternut Squash & Rosemary Soup
Winter calls for warm and hearty comfort foods and there's nothing better than a big bowl of hot soup to soothe the winter blues. One of my favorites is butternut squash soup. I have quite a few squash on hand, remnants of last summer's garden. They last the good part of a year and before...
Pumpkin & Pecan Ravioli in a Brown Butter Sauce
Pumpkin ravioli are one of the tastiest pasta dishes! They herald the arrival of fall and the holiday season. This year we didn't plant pumpkins so I wasn't expecting to prepare the abundance of pumpkin dishes we usually do: soups, risottos, pasta dishes, pies and breads. And yet it ended up to be quite a prolific...
Pappardelle with funghi porcini
Pappardelle with funghi porcini: they lend themselves well to a long, and wider, pasta shape like this. Fettuccine work well too, but also a shorter pasta like rigatoni, penne and my current favorite. Funghi porcini are best fresh but they also freeze well for future use. Pappardelle with funghi porcini (four people): Ingredients:Pasta, 400 grams...
Curried Eggplant Soup
Every summer my garden reaches the point where it's so prolific that I can hardly keep up with it. I'm at that point of explosion right now. One of my favorite vegetables is eggplant; it has fabulous texture and flavor. It's beautiful: from its deep purples to striated violet varieties; and round to thin and...
