Italian Recipes

Fried zucchini with a thin Italian-style flour-and-water batter, salted first to draw moisture, then pan-fried in oil until crisp and golden. Five ingredient summer staple.

Baked ziti casserole loaded with Italian sausage, mushrooms, and green peppers in a creamy cheddar and Parmesan sauce. Bubbly, golden, and ready for a crowd.

Italian frangipane custard with ground almonds, cooked like pastry cream then cut into squares. Traditional holiday treat similar to Turkish delight in texture.

Overnight starter pizza dough baked on a stone for a chewy, blistered crust with real pizzeria flavor. Just flour, water, yeast, and salt. Save a piece of dough as your next starter.

Long, slow simmering of meat and herbs produces the base for this incomparable sauce.

Homemade cannoli from scratch with Marsala wine shells and sweet ricotta filling studded with chocolate chips and candied citron. Crispy, creamy, and worth every minute of effort.

Cucidati, the traditional Sicilian Christmas fig cookies, with a rich filling of figs, raisins, nuts, chocolate and rum wrapped in tender pastry, shaped into slashed horseshoes and dusted with sugar.

Spicy Italian sausage mac and cheese with mushrooms, hot peppers, and two cheeses baked until bubbly. Hearty one-dish comfort food with oregano, basil, and garlic in creamy sauce.

There are quicker versions of this recipe but this is a classic that's reasonably easy and works perfectly every time.

Almond cinnamon-raisin biscotti with brandy and vanilla, twice-baked in the classic Italian style. Crisp, lightly spiced cookies for dipping in coffee, tea, or a glass of vin santo.

Osso bucco with veal knuckle braised in white wine and tomato paste with carrots, celery, garlic, and a lemon-herb flour dredge. Starts in a cold oven for hands-off cooking.

Italian-style short ribs al diavolo, breaded and roasted with garlic, salt pork, crushed red pepper, and a sharp lemon-mustard finish. Fall-off-the-bone beef with a fiery, crispy crust.

Saltimbocca alla Romana: pounded veal layered with prosciutto and fresh sage, seared in butter and finished with a dry white wine pan sauce. The classic Roman trattoria dish.

Italian fried knots dipped in honey glaze and topped with colorful non-pareils. A traditional Italian-American holiday pastry with a crispy, golden shell and sweet honey coating.

Baccalà alla Bolognese is a classic Italian salt cod dish: soaked, flour-dredged, and pan-fried in butter and olive oil with garlic, parsley, and a bright squeeze of lemon. Simple, elegant, and ready in minutes.

Authentic Veneto-style pasta e fagioli with dried beans, prosciutto, rosemary-infused olive oil, and freshly grated Parmigiano. A rich Northern Italian classic that's worth every minute.