Recipes - LA BELLA VITA

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Recipes

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

Lagostina Martellata Hammered Copper Pastaiola

Lagostina Giveaway:
Martellata Hammered Copper Pastaiola

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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I’m excited about my “Pretty Pasta Please” o

I’m excited about my “Pretty Pasta Please” online workshop on April 24, and plan to post lots of laminated pasta to show you all the creative ways I make decorative pasta sheets layered with herbs, leaves, flowers, and natural ingredients for gorgeous edible art!

I made these cute little ravioli with mint leaf laminated pasta sheets and stuffed them with a filling of peas, ricotta, and pecorino. Sweet peas and fresh mint are a marriage made in Springtime 🥰 and ~ served with a buttery sweet pea and prosciutto sauce {scroll to view} ~ they look and taste amazing 😋.

I’m so looking forward to teaching this technique that takes pasta making to the next level and is like an art class for food 💚. Hope you join me! Tap the link in my bio for more info and to reserve your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cook-italian-pretty-pasta-please-online-pasta-making-workshop-tickets-149795182423

#italianchef #italiancooking #italianfood #cookitalian #cookingclass #onlinecookingclass #deborahcooks #deborahsitaliankitchen #italiancookingclass #pastamaking #pasta #laminatedpasta #ilovepasta #prettypasta #decorativepasta #spring #recipe #springdishes #foodandwine #food52 #nytimescooking #bonappetit #marthastewart #lacucinaitalianausa

🌿NEW CLASS: “Pretty Pasta Please Workshop”

🌿NEW CLASS: “Pretty Pasta Please Workshop” - April 24 11am PT🌿

I’ve been itching to do a laminated pasta class since last winter ~ and with Spring herbs and flowers popping up everywhere ~ now is the perfect time. During this workshop, we’ll be taking pasta-making to the next level and mastering the art of laminating (layering) sheets of egg pasta dough with fresh herbs, flowers, and other natural ingredients to make it pretty...and pretty fabulous ✨.

Join me online of Saturday, April 24 and learn to use your creativity and pasta rolling machine to make decorative pasta designs that are edible works of art. Tap the link in my bio to reserve your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cook-italian-pretty-pasta-please-online-pasta-making-workshop-tickets-149795182423

#italianchef #italiancooking #italianfood #cookitalian #cookingclass #deborahcooks #deborahsitaliankitchen #onlinecookingclass #pasta #pastamaking #handmadepasta #decorativepasta #prettypasta #laminatedpasta #nextlevelpasta #foodart #food #spring #recipe #springdishes #foodandwine #food52 #nytimescooking #bonappetit #marthastewart #lacucinaitalianausa

My Springtime Gnocchi x 2 cooking class yesterday

My Springtime Gnocchi x 2 cooking class yesterday was delicious fun and here are the GNUDI (“naked” spinach + ricotta gnocchi) to prove it! Thank you to all who participated 💚.

“Nudo e crudo” (naked and raw) is a familiar saying in Italy that means to present oneself as you are...pure and simple with no facades or pretenses. That’s what I strive to do in my cooking classes (fully clothed of course : ). I offer my experience, knowledge, and secrets cultivated from a lifetime of cooking (for pleasure, passion, by profession) and my unique 20-year ‘herstory’ of living full-time in Italy as a reborn Italian. Pure and simply, my mission is to teach people to live a better quality lifestyle through the art of Italian cooking and living...wherever they may reside.

The rewards are immeasurable for me (and, I eat very well 😆).

#italianchef #italiancooking #italianfood #cookitalian #cookingclass #italyincalifornia #deborahcooks #deborahsitaliankitchen #italianfoodcontentcreator #contentcreator #food #gnocchi #gnudi #springtime #ricotta #dumplings #recipe #springdishes #foodandwine #food52 #nytimescooking #bonappetit #marthastewart #lacucinaitalianausa

Gnocchi lovers PSA: my “Springtime Gnocchi x 2” online cooking class is Saturday, April 10 and there are still a few spots available! During this class, I’ll teach you to make not one but two delectable dumplings using fresh and healthy Spring vegetables. We’ll make ‘Gnudi’, those irresistible spinach and ricotta gnocchi from Florence and adorable Carrot Gnocchetti with Carrot Top Pesto. Don’t miss this delicious opportunity to expand your gnocchi repertoire! Click on the link in bio to reserve your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cook-italian-springtime-gnocchi-x-2-online-cooking-class-tickets-147858357327

#italianchef #italiancooking #italianfood #cookitalian #cookingclass #italyincalifornia #italiancookingclasses #onlinecookingclaases #food #gnocchi #dumplings #gnudi #spring #recipe #springdishes #foodandwine #food52 #nytimescooking #bonappetit #marthastewart #lacucinaitalianausa

CARBONARA A MODO MIO (MY WAY) I created this moder

CARBONARA A MODO MIO (MY WAY)
I created this modern, deconstructed version of the revered Roman pasta dish many years ago in a raptus of creativity. For me, a chef who can make canonical Carbonara with my eyes closed, it was an exhilarating exercise in breaking the mold without breaking the rules. I adhered to every obligatory ingredient but turned them upside down...playing with food out of love and respect for tradition and good taste ~ never gratuitous or gross. It was a fun challenge and not meant to replace or offend the classic version.

Then I posted the photo on social media for Carbonara Day (April 6) with the hashtag #carbonara...and all hell broke loose! I got insults and death threats, swear words (in Roman slang, much worse) and fury. How dare I touch the sacrosante icon of La Carbonara and call it such. No doubt it will happen once I post it again today ~ but I don’t care. I’ll celebrate #carbonaraday tomorrow by making the perfectly authentic version that I learned from the best in Rome and follow every step to make it “come si deve”, as it should be. Then I’ll look at the photo of my blasphemous dish and smile knowing that I can play with my food and eat it too.

Happy Carbonara Day!

#italianchef #italiancooking #italianfood #cookitalian #cookingclass #italyincalifornia #deborahcooks #deborahsitaliankitchen #italianfoodcontentcreator #contentcreator #food #pasta #romancuisine #rome #carbonara #recipe #spaghettiallacarbonara #newitaliancooking #modernitalian #creativecooking #foodandwine #food52 #nytimescooking #bonappetit #marthastewart #lacucinaitalianausa

PASTIERA, a traditional tart made in every Neapoli

PASTIERA, a traditional tart made in every Neapolitan home for Easter, is a religion in itself. Rigorously made 3 days prior to Easter Sunday, it’s a true slow-food labor of love that can’t be rushed. While each family recipe is a bit different, all include the essential elements: a sweet pastry dough (pasta frolla) shell filled with creamy custard made of pre-cooked grains (wheat berries being the most common), ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, citrus zest, vanilla, orange blossom water, cinnamon, and candied orange peel, then topped with exactly 7 pastry lattice strips (4 in one direction and 3 diagonally) and baked until puffed and golden. Pastiera must rest for the following 3 days for flavors to develop and mingle but the result on Easter Sunday is worth the wait. A cross between cheesecake and rice pudding with aromatic citrus notes that are absolutely swoon-worthy, Pastiera has probably converted many non-believers with its heavenly flavors. This year, I made “piccole” (mini) Pastiere using barley instead of wheat berries and homemade candied orange and citron peel. It’ll be hard to resist tasting them until Easter, but will be well worth the sacrifice 😇.

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