Risotto with potatoes

You need to try it to belive it. I know it sounds weird, but we make a lot of dishes in Italy with rice and vegetables... and we call them risotto.


Preparation time: 20-30 minutes.

1) Peel and cut in small cubes one potato per person.

2) Saute` one whole finely cut onion with olive oil in a pot.

3) When the onions start browning, add an inch of butter and 3 tablespoons of rice per person (2 people=6 tablespoons of rice).

4) Stir the rice until browning and then add hal cup of white wine. Stir the rice and let the wine evaporate.

5) Add the potatoes to the pot. Also add some rosemery.

6) Add a cup of water every 3 minutes and keep stirring the rice. The rice will need a total of 20 minutes of cooking. Add few fresh baby tomatoes and some basil for color.

7) After about 18 minutes, turn off the heat and let the rice rest in the pot. At this moment add some parmesan cheese and/or asiago cheese and stir it into the rice.

Add black pepper if you like

Buon appetito!

Spaghetti with fresh tomatoes sauce

It is almost summer time. That means that fresh tomatoes are in the right season and tasty.
Also, you can find fresh basil at the groceries. All the ingridients of a nice fresh spaghetti dish.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

1) Put water to boil in a pot and add 2 teaspoons of salt.

2) In a separate pan, sauté some onions and garlic in olive oil until browning. Add a bit of red hot pepper too.

3) Wash and cut fresh tomatoes

4) When you start cooking the spaghetti (5 minutes of cooking, see the time on the package), add the fresh cut tomatoes to the pan. Cook the tomatoes just for few minutes.

5) Drain the spaghetti and add them to the pan, stirring and smashing the fresh sauce onto them.

6) Dress with fresh basil and olive oil

Add parmesan cheese and black pepper if you like...

Buon appetito

Rice with red sauce

Exactly it is rice with red sauce. Unthinkable for asian people... but a reality for many Italians.

Try to believe it!

Preparation time: 20 min (super-easy)

1)Boil water in a pot for the rice (Arborio rice). Add salt to the water.

2)Prepare a red tomato sauce: cut onions, olive oils in a pot for 5 min and then add a can of red tomato sauce. Add basil and a tiny bit of butter (optional).

3) Drain the rice using a pasta drainer.

4) Add red sauce on the top of the white rice.

Add basil, parmesan and black pepper as much as you like.

PS you can stir the sauce in the rice...

Buon appetito.

Bucatini with red hot sauce and romano cheese

Here the pasta needs to be bucatini. It is kinda of hard to find in the store, but I suggest you to try it. It will kinda of whistle when you eat it, because it is made like spaghetti but with an hole inside. Then you need romano cheese (pecorino).

Time for preparation: 15 min

1) Boil water in a pot for the pasta (bucatini).

2)Add some onion, olive oil, red hot pepper  to a separate pot and let brown the onions for a few minutes.

3)Add plain red sauce and let it cook until the pasta is done.

4) Drain the pasta, add it back to the pot, add a bunch of pecorino cheese, and then the red sauce. Stir it. Add fresh basil and pepper too.

Buon appetito!

Mardi Gras Pasta with ricotta cheese

Yesterday was Marti Gras. Quite a holiday it used to be in Italy. It represented the last day before the start of the Catholic Lent. Therefore, we used to celebrate it with a big party in mask (our Carnival) and very rich food. One of the richest food in Italy is lasagna, which is a pasta dish full of everything from eggs to meat, mozzarella and ricotta cheese. It takes a little bit of time to prepare a fresh lasagna dish, so I have a quick version of that dish. All you need is curly pasta, fresh ricotta, a can of tomatoes sauce, onions and some basil.

Preparation time: 15-20 min

1) Boil water in a pot for the pasta

2) Cut the onions and put in a separate pot with olive oil.

3) Add a can of red sauce to the onions. Add some basil.

4) After about 10 min, add some of the just cooked red sauce to a bowl of fresh ricotta cheese. Stir it to make a white creamy sauce. Remember to leave some extra red sauce in the pot.

5) Drain the pasta, put it back in the pot and add the creamy sauce to it.

When you make the portions add red sauce on the top. Add parmesan cheese and pepper if you like.

PS you can find the curly bucatini pasta at Trader's Joe.

PSPS I like mine messy in a bowl!

Buon Appetito!