We north Americans, as a culture, approach Italian cuisine all wrong. We eat it in the ritziest restaurants we can find, decorated ornately with white table cloths and multiple forks per place-setting and we match the food we order to the decor: fettucini Alfredo with an insanely rich sauce, ravioli each filled individually with the latest fad vegetable, etc. etc. And if that weren’t enough, we add a romantic connotation to the whole experience, just to add a little more pressure. Either that, or we take it to the other extreme: spaghetti and meatballs–simple, meaty, bland.

For a long time, I was ambivalent about Italian food, it was either too rich or too meaty. The dish that turned me around (which I shall blog about next time I make it), was neither of these extremes, instead it was bright, flavorful and satisfying, without being heavy, or too rich–and it was *simple*. And therein lies the key to *real* Italian cooking: fresh ingredients and simple recipes. Almost always, with Italian food, less is more, and you will find that the dishes that taste the best are also the easiest to make. BTW, this is not news, Jamie, Nigel, and David Rocco have been trying to educate the world on this one for a while.

Today, because it’s late March and not a whole lot is *fresh* at the moment, we’ll talk about the simple seasonings part. The more Italian you cook, the more trend you begin to see in seasonings. For example, there’s often a salty component (anchovies, pancetta, proscuitto etc.), vinegary flavors are common too (balsamic, red wine vinegar, red wine, etc.), and there’s almost always an herb and a good cheese. Once you begin to see the patterns, you can start creating them yourself (which is the best part of Italian cooking: there are no “chemistry” rules to follow).

Drunken Spaghetti

This one came from David Rocco’s website. There’s also an excellent video on the web of him making it for friends.

1 lb. spaghetti (454 g)
3 to 4 anchovy fillets, chopped (I used ~1 tsp anchovy paste)
2 cups of red wine (474ml) (I used an Italian valpolicella)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese (125 ml)
Small bunch of Italian parsley, finely chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (60ml)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 dried chili peppers, crushed (optional)
Salt to season

Method:

1.Bring salted water to boil in a large pot. Add spaghetti and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, pasta should still be a little firm in the middle (just before pasta is al dente).
2.In a saucepan, heat extra virgin olive oil. Add garlic, anchovy fillets and chili peppers and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3.Add spaghetti to the pan and toss well.
4.Pour in red wine and cook until it has reduced and spaghetti has finished cooking.
5.Add freshly chopped parsley and grated pecorino cheese to pasta and toss well.
6.Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Spinach, Tarragon, and Feta Fritatta

A fritatta is Italy’s version of the quiche. To me, it’s the perfect combo of quiche and omlette (eggier than the quiche, not as eggy as an omlette). It is also a flexible dish, meaning once you have the process down pat, it will take just about any veggies/cooked meats that happen to be idling in your fridge. This recipe comes from food and wine mag.

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons butter
2. 2 scallions including green tops, cut into thin slices
3. 10 ounces spinach, stems removed, leaves washed and cut into thin strips
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon, or 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
6. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
7. 8 large eggs
8. 1 tablespoon olive oil
9. 3 ounces feta, crumbled (about 1/3 cup)

Directions

1. In a 12-inch ovenproof nonstick frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over moderate heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the spinach, dried tarragon, if using, and 1/8 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Remove the spinach mixture and let cool. Wipe out the pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir in the spinach mixture and fresh tarragon, if using.
3. Heat the broiler. In the same frying pan, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter with the oil over moderate heat. Pour in the egg mixture and reduce the heat to low. Sprinkle the feta over the top and cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is almost set, 6 to 7 minutes. Broil the frittata 6 inches from the heat, if possible, until the eggs are set, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Lift up the edge of the frittata with a spatula and slide the frittata onto a plate (I usually put in in a pie pan, for easy storage purposes). Cut into wedges and serve.

Dead-Easy White Artichoke Pizza

This one was all me =) I was craving artichoke pizza, and so decided to experiment a little, with great success.

Ingredients:

1. A jar of preserved artichokes (buy the nice ones in a jar, rather than a can, because you can use the oil they’re preserved in to coat the pizza dought)
2. 1/2 a red onion, sliced
3. 3/4 cup fontina cheese grated
4. 1/2 cup gruyere cheese grated
5. a few sprigs fresh thyme
6. thinly sliced eggplant (you want to slice it pretty thinly so that it will cook through when you cook the pizza)
7. One bag-o-premade-pizza dough (I usually get mine at Trader Joe’s)
8. flour

Method:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchement paper, and preheat the oven to 450 C.
2. Let the pizza dough come to room temp. (it will be easier to shape it this way) then, on a well floured cutting board/counter, stretch/roll the dough to the desired size. Mine never ends up perfectly round or square, it doesn’t really matter, as long as its of a fairly even thickness all around.
3. Brush the dough with the oil from the artichokes (or, if you’d rather, olive oil).
4. decorate the pizza with the artichokes, onion slices, and eggplant. This step is open to interpretation: you can be as liberal as you’d like with any of the toppings, or add some of your own, but note that an overdressed pizza will require a fork and knife to eat.
5. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the pizza. I chose fontina for texture (it melts to a nice gooey stringy pizza cheese) and gruyere for flavour. Again, experimentation is encouraged =)
6. Sprinke the pizza with the thyme. I added a couple full sprigs (stem and all) for garnish, and then the leaves (no stems) from about 3 sprigs, for further flavour.
7. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the bottom of the pizza is golden.
8. Let cool for 5-10 min, cut, and serve.

If you have a pizza stone hanging about, feel free to use it, but I have found that a hot oven and well-rolled out dough works fine.