Recipes - LA BELLA VITA

Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar
Skip to footer

The Art of Italian Living

Home
About Me
Recipes
Culinary Tours

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!

Get new posts by email.

email address

Footer

Menu:

Home
About Me
Recipes
Culinary Tours

Most recent Instagrams:

Just a reminder that you can still sign up for my

Just a reminder that you can still sign up for my Italian Thanksgiving Feast online cooking class on November 26 and cook your smaller yet sumptuous turkey dinner together with me. We will prep the meal together then pop it in the oven so, when class has ended, Thanksgiving dinner is served! The soup-to-nuts menu includes all the signature dishes I usually make in-person for my private clients each year including my personal tradition of roasted turkey breast roulade filled with dried fruit stuffing. It will be a fun and delicious day in spite of the scaled down guest list. Click on link in bio to reserve.
🍁

#italianchef#italiancooking#italianfood#cookitalian#cookingclass#italyincalifornia#deborahcooks#deborahsitaliankitchen#thanksgiving#italianthanksgiving#food#foodandwine#food52#nytimescooking#bonappetit#marthastewart#lacucinaitaliana

Just because the Thanksgiving table is smaller thi

Just because the Thanksgiving table is smaller this year doesn’t mean it has to be boring! I’ve partnered with Mollie Stone’s Market Bon Air to bring you this festive recipe that will add Italian flavor to your table of thanks. See how I make it on my IGTV. Happy Thanksgiving!

BALSAMIC GLAZED HARICOTS VERTS WITH GORGONZOLA AND PECANS
© 2011 Deborah Dal Fovo

Serves 4 to 5

- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 ounces/60g whole shelled pecans, roughly chopped into small pieces
- 1 pound/340g haricots verts (French green beans), washed with stem ends snapped off
- 3 ounces/125g crumbly Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled into small pieces
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
- 1 1/2 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher or sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper

In a skillet large enough to hold the pecans in a single layer, melt the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and add the honey then stir to combine. Once the butter is foamy, add the pecans and toss to coat evenly with butter. Toast the pecans, stirring, for 1 minute until glazed and crisp. Remove from heat, transfer pecans to a plate, and cool completely.

Bring ¼-inch of lightly salted water to a boil in a large sautepan with tight fitting lid. Place the haricots verts in the pan in a single layer then cover and steam until al dente, tender but not limp, 4 to 5 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare a large bowl of ice water. Remove the cooked haricots verts from pan and plunge in the ice water bath for 1 to 2 minutes to preserve their bright green color. Drain the haricots verts then spread out on a clean kitchen towel and pat dry.

Arrange the haricots verts on a serving platter in a neat row. Distribute the crumbled gorgonzola over the beans then sprinkle the toasted pecans down the center of the row.

Pour the balsamic vinegar into a mixing bowl and season lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the olive oil in a thin stream while whisking to form a smooth emulsion. Using a spoon, drizzle the balsamic glaze over the haricots verts in decorative swirls up and down the row. Serve at room temperature as a side dish or appetizer.

Good things come in small sizes…Thanksgiving inc

Good things come in small sizes…Thanksgiving included. Less stress, less mess, and no big #turkey to deal with. That’s why, at my Italian Thanksgiving cooking class (yes, we're making turkey dinner together!), we’ll be preparing my signature roasted rolled turkey breast filled with stuffing that is so delicious you'll want to make it every year for larger crowds like I do. So, if you are dining alone or setting a smaller table and don’t know what to serve, join us! I will guide you step by step as we make an exquisite Italian inspired Thanksgiving dinner together. After all, togetherness is what Thanksgiving is all about. 🧡 Details in link in my bio.

Staying safe means giving thanks at smaller tables

Staying safe means giving thanks at smaller tables this year, so I’ve decided to host an online Italian Thanksgiving cooking class on November 26 and cook together from our own kitchens to prepare our intimate feasts. We’ll cook the signature Italian Thanksgiving dishes I make in-person each year for my private clients that includes my rolled turkey breast roast filled with dried fruit stuffing, crumbly pecan streusel cake and more. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do this year than to celebrate my blessings with you. Tap the link in my bio to reserve your spot or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/o/italian-chef-inc-30242848340

I’m cooking up a special Thanksgiving recipe wit

I’m cooking up a special Thanksgiving recipe with Mollie Stones Market Bon Air to add some Italian flavor to the traditional American holiday table. Stay tuned this week for my #thanksgiving #recipe !
🍁
🍁
🍁
🍁

#italianchef#italiancooking#italianfood#cookitalian#cookingclass#italyincalifornia#deborahcooks#deborahsitaliankitchen#food#foodandwine#food52#nytimescooking#bonappetit#marthastewart#lacucinaitaliana#thanksgiving

. . SQUASH FRITTERS ~ Arancini di Zucca Makes 22 t

.
.
SQUASH FRITTERS ~ Arancini di Zucca
Makes 22 to 24

•1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
•1½ pounds/600g piece of butternut or other squash (with peel, seeds removed)
•½ pound/200g russet potato (1 small)
•4 tablespoons/32g breadcrumbs
•4 tablespoons/10g grated Parmigiano
•1 egg, beaten
•1 tablespoon brown butter, plus more if baking
•½ teaspoon finely chopped sage
•¾ ounce/20g melting cheese like fontina, mozzarella, scamorza cut into ¼-inch dice
•½ cup flour
•1 egg, lightly beaten
•½ cup breadcrumbs
•Frying oil
•Kosher or sea salt
•Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.

Brush a baking sheet with olive oil and place the squash, cut side down on the sheet. Bake in center of oven until very soft, 45 to 50 minutes.

Place the potato in a pan of cold, salted water and bring to boil then reduce and cook at a moderate simmer until very soft when tested with point of knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Alternatively, you can bake the potato with the squash if desired. Cool potato slightly then peel and mash with a fork while warm.

When squash is cooked, scoop out pulp and place in a strainer or on clean cotton napkin you don’t mind staining. Press or squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the pulp then place in a bowl with the potato, mash together then cool completely. Add the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, beaten egg, brown butter, sage and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate if not forming fritters immediately.

Form the dough into 1-inch balls with your hands, hiding a piece of melting cheese in the center of each. Roll each ball in flour first, then beaten egg, then breadcrumbs.

Heat 2 inches of frying oil in a pan over medium-high heat to 365°F/185°C. Fry fritters in batches without overcrowding pan until golden and crisp on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Fritters can be kept warm in a 250°F/125°C oven until serving time. Alternatively, bake the fritters on a baking sheet that has been lightly greased with olive oil or brown butter. Bake in 400°F/200°C oven until crisp and golden, 10-15 minutes, brushing with brown butter halfway through. Enjoy!

Follow on Instagram

Stay Connected:

© 2016-2020 Deborah Dal Fovo, La Bella Vita - The Art of Italian Living. All rights reserved.