Recipes - LA BELLA VITA

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Recipes

Busiate with Trapanese Pesto
Busiate al Pesto Trapanese

apricot almond cake with crown of slivered almonds

Apricot Almond Cake
Torta di Mandorle e Albicocche

Apricots in Vanilla Syrup

Apricots in Vanilla Syrup
Albicocche Sciroppate

magic lemon pudding on blue plate

PROOF IN THE PUDDING
MAGIC LEMON PUDDING {GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE RECIPE}

savory-easter-tart

SAVORY EASTER TART
TORTA SALATA PASQUALE

bittersweet love salad

BITTERSWEET LOVE {SALAD}
Blood Orange, Arugula & Red Onion Salad

ribollita with spoon

Ribollita
Tuscan Bread & Vegetable Soup

Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling

Valentine’s Day Dinner:
Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling

Persimmon and Pecan Bread - Hachiya persimmon pulp is the star ingredient in this irresistibly fragrant fruit and nut bread.

Patience and persimmons
Persimmon and Pecan Bread

Sweet Italian Christmas:
Panettone Filled with Whipped Cream, Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Grape Focaccia - Schiacciata con l'uva: A sweet wine harvest flatbread from Tuscany made with layers of bread dough filled and topped with wine harvest grapes and sugar. When baked, the grapes and sugar meld together to create a jammy center with crunchy seeds. Simply deliziosa!

Tuscany in California: Schiacciata con l’uva
Tuscan Grape Focaccia

An Ode to Pasta - Handmade egg and spinach pasta ribbons simply dressed with butter sauce and adorned with fragrant truffle shavings is the ultimate delicacy and ode to pasta.

An Ode to Pasta:
Straw and Hay Pasta with Truffles

Sweet September:
Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce

Baked Sunset Peaches with Amaretti Filling - Yellow peach halves are filled with fragrant ground almonds, sugar and fruit pulp then baked until luscious and gloriously golden with ruby red rims.

Savoring Summer
Baked Sunset Peaches with Amaretti Filling

Spaghetti all'Amatriciana - This world reknowned dish hails from the town of Amatrice and was adopted by Rome as one of its signature dishes. It's made with cured pork jowl bacon, tomatoes, garlic and - of course - spaghetti or bucatini. Simply deliziosa!

Love & Pasta
Spaghetti all’Amatriciana

Peperonata Crostini – Colorful, sweet and tangy Peperonata makes a vibrant and tasty topping for toasted bread as an irresistible appetizer.

The Sweet Taste of Summer
Peperonata Crostini

Baked Rice Stuffed Tomatoes - Pomodori al Riso is a beloved Roman summer dish featuring intensely flavored tomatoes filled with garlic and herb scented rice then baked until wrinkly on a sea of golden potatoes. Simply deliziosi!

You say tomato, I say “Pomodori al Riso”
Baked Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

Chef Deborah Dal Fovo at her kitchen door in Tuscany

A Warm Welcome Home – My Return to Tuscany
Tuscan Farro and Bean Soup

DON’T MISS A RECIPE!

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While in recovery I’m not cooking…but my frien

While in recovery I’m not cooking…but my friends are! This gorgeous Ottolenghi-inspired dinner was dropped off at the doorstep by my two super sweet friends, Mike and Jim 💚💚. Every dish was perfectly prepared, beautiful to look at, and bursting with Middle Eastern flavors…a veritable feast for the eyes and palate. (Side note: Mike and I share our heritages of Italian-Lebanese so these flavors are deeply embedded in our DNA).

I can’t emphasize enough how love and well-being are shared through food. The surprise, anticipation, colors, flavors, satisfaction all play into a sensorial experience that is body and soul soothing and healing 🥰.

The night before, my friends Audrey and Andy dropped off a Puerto Rican dinner that was a real treat (sorry no photos, I was too excited to eat). Every bite was a soulful experience.

Thank you to all my thoughtful friends. I can’t wait to cook for you again!

#healingwithfood #friends #foodfeast #middleeasterncuisine #ottolenghi #foodislove #puertoricancuisine #soulfood #dinnerathome

My Sunday afternoon was pretty sweet, teaching hi

My Sunday afternoon was pretty sweet, teaching high schoolers to make biscotti!

These Tuscan almond cookies from Prato (Florence) are called “cantucci” or “cantuccini”, meaning corners, and it’s been said they were created by nuns who made them for the priests to dip in to holy wine after dinner. This custom lives on and you won’t find a restaurant in or around Florence (or all of Tuscany for that matter) that doesn’t offer them on the dessert menu with a little glass of Vin Santo, a sweet dessert wine made from grapes dried on mats until raisined, to sip snd sip.

Cantuccini are perfect for dipping and dunking since they’re twice baked until very crunchy with a lingering toasted almond fragrance and flavor.

I’m thrilled to teach young people ancient recipes and fill them in on the history and customs behind them 🧡.

#biscotti #cantucci #cantuccini #tuscancuisine #italiancuisine #italiancooking #cookitalian #cookingclasses #cookinglessons #cookies #baking #cookingwithdeborah #italianchef

Weekends are made for indulgence 🙌 because we a

Weekends are made for indulgence 🙌 because we all deserve a little pampering right? I’m into self-pampering these days 😜 so treated us to a persimmon-on-persimmon experience for breakfast. Here’s my persimmon and pecan bread (recipe on blog with link in bio) that I made GF this time served with homemade persimmon butter 🥰. I can’t tell you the intense cachi heaven I’m in right now 😇. After all, persimmon season is almost over and I need my fix for the whole year. Can you blame me?

http://www.theartofitalianliving.com/persimmon-and-pecan-bread-recipe/

#baking #persimmon #cachi #hachiya #bread #breakfast #dolcevita #sweetlife #labellavita #theartofitalianliving #recipe #baker #indulge #pamperyourself #cake

🦃 ROLLED TURKEY BREAST ROAST 🦃 People often

🦃 ROLLED TURKEY BREAST ROAST 🦃
People often ask me if, as a chef, I cook for myself. I laugh because that is the reason I started cooking as a child…to spoil myself with delicious meals. I cook 3 meals a day for myself and they are always restaurant worthy. Last night,
I decided to treat myself to a special meal (because this chef doesn’t only make fancy food for clients 😉), and made this Rotolo di Tacchino Ripieno or rolled turkey breast filled with prosciutto, Parmigiano, and pistachios. After boning and butterflying the breast, I layered thin slices of #prosciuttodiparma and shaved #granapadano on top. My cook’s intuition told me to add some #pistachio nuts for flavor and color, so I faithfully listened 🙌 and made a neat row of chopped nuts before carefully rolling up the whole shebang like a jelly roll and tying with butcher string.

I seared the turkey roast in evoo and butter then deglazed with wine before adding turkey broth. While I usually turn to the oven for roasting, this time I did a pan roast low and slow on the stove. The turkey cooked beautifully with pan juices that thickened into a caramel-like glaze. Once the roast rested, I sliced the turkey into medallions to reveal moist and juicy meat and a gorgeous green, nutty center 💚. The whole thing took me 15 minutes prep and 45 minutes cooking that was mostly all hands-off.

Cooking amazing meals doesn’t have to mean hours slaving in the kitchen. A little thought and effort can produce spectacular results for whomever you want to please…even if it’s only yourself 😉.

#italiancooking #italianchef #cookitalian #recipe #entertaining #dinneriserved #tacchino #turkey #maincourse #secondopiatto #cookinglesson #cookingclasses #privatechef #roast #panroast #foodislove #beautifulcuisines #beautifulfood #foodbeautiful #labellavita #dolcevita #theartofitalianliving

Wait, don’t toss that bunch of beet leaves! They

Wait, don’t toss that bunch of beet leaves! They’re packed with intense flavor and nutrients. Just trim off stems and tough ribs then rinse and place in a skillet with water clinging. Sprinkle lightly with salt (it draws out taste and moisture), cover, and cook over medium heat for mere minutes, tossing occasionally. Once the leaves are wilted, tender, and juicy…drizzle with a swirl of extra virgin olive oil then season with some thinly sliced garlic and dash of chili pepper flakes. Toss over heat for 30 seconds (add a tablespoon of water if needed) until a light emulsified glaze coats the leaves. Serve as a side dish with meats or use to dress pasta or in risotto. Simply deliziose 💚💚.

#healthy #beetgreens #eatyourgreens #healthy2022 #healthycooking #healthyeating #vegan #vegetarian #plantbased #sidedish #raparossa #barbabietole #beets #wastenotwantnot #wholeplant #organic

Buon Anno ~ Happy 2022! The Italian culinary trad

Buon Anno ~ Happy 2022!

The Italian culinary tradition/superstition dictates that eating lentils on and around New Year brings luck and prosperity in the coming year. The history claims that since lentils resemble little golden coins, eating them as soon as the clock strikes midnight will bestow real coins in your pocketbook. While it’s all very charming and whimsical, I can’t swear to the veracity of the claim (never saw the desired results 😆). I do, however, experience an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, well being, and abundant health after enjoying a plate of lenticchie in umido (stewed lentils), both with or without the customary cotechino (a very fatty Italian pork sausage that melts in yours mouth) and whipped potatoes.

Hope you get your lentil fix soon and remember…if you experience a sudden windfall, remember who gave you the hot tip 😉.

Love and lentils,
Deborah

#lentils #lenticchie #newyearseve #newyear #2022 #buonanno #happynewyear #healthyeating #goodomen #italiancuisine #italiantradition #italiancooking #prosperity #goodfortune

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