Celery ragù, a Romagna recipe for vegetable ragù

My husband comes into the kitchen exclaiming, "What a wonderful smell of old-fashioned ragù." And he's right, because celery ragù, or vegetable ragù, is a forgotten recipe from Romagna that is well worth rediscovering. The recipe belongs to the peasant repertoire of sughi finti (fake sauces), where the adjective indicated the absence of an ingredient you…

ByMonica19 September 20250Comments

COURSES INGREDIENTS Main Course Meat OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Stuffed meatloaf recipe. And the wisdom of the home kitchen

The world is a tough place, and life is too short to waste time on pre-ready packaged meals. For these reasons, I try to turn something as simple as Monday's lunch or Wednesday's dinner into an event or to make every day special, even those that start with waking up at dawn. I counteract daily fatigue with…

ByMonica7 April 20250Comments

Bologna Food COURSES OCCASIONS RECIPES Savoury Cakes

Herb pie of Bologna (Torta d’herbe) and Italian cuisine

The Bologna herb pie is one of the many possible recipe versions with peasant origins, widespread throughout Italy. The most famous version in Emilia-Romagna is the erbazzone pie. This is one of those recipes that, without the need for many words, proves that Italian cuisine exists and is thriving despite its many critics, including famous ones. In…

ByMonica27 March 20250Comments

COURSES Desserts Gluten-free INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Potato pudding, a recipe from cucina povera (without flour)

Sweet potato pudding is a recipe that belongs to my family's repertoire and to the cucina povera of Bologna and Romagna, an area where potatoes are a traditional product and were historically part of the food diet of the poor people. I can still hear my maternal grandmother's voice as she laces up her apron, remembering…

ByMonica28 December 20240Comments

Bologna Food Christmas COURSES INGREDIENTS Main Course Meat OCCASIONS RECIPES

Stuffed capon from Bologna, a home recipe for special events

The Christmas menu was a puzzle that, year after year, took shape and changed. Some dishes were untouchable dishes and others went in and out of the composition each time. Stuffed capon, in our house, also called galantina, was a Christmas dish of the second group. And if it did not take its place on the Christmas lunch…

ByMonica12 December 20240Comments

COURSES First Course OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Artichoke lasagne. And time to cook

Artichoke lasagne belongs to the long list of dishes that have graced my family's Sunday lunch and a variety of other occasions such as, for example, Easter lunch or Easter Monday, above all, if it fell early, that is, in March, like this year. Grandma used to execute the recipe in her own way, cooking the…

ByMonica21 March 20240Comments

Christmas COURSES Gluten-free INGREDIENTS Main Course Meat OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Veal with tuna sauce (vitello tonnato). A classic dish of Italian cuisine and my home

I just finished arranging the decorations on the veal with tuna sauce, capers, and fresh parsley leaf when I take a picture and send it to my mom. The reply is quick. She write me that I made her think of Christmas. She refers to Christmas lunch, veal with tuna sauce never missed, and many other festive moments. This…

ByMonica11 March 20242Comments

Herb-stuffed pork loin recipe: ho to make it

Christmas COURSES INGREDIENTS Main Course Meat OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Herb-stuffed pork loin recipe: how to make it

Loin, tenderloin, and loin with bones are three distinct parts from the same part of the pork. The tenderloin is the part near the thigh, the loin with bones is the part with the ribs, and the loin is the final part of the back of the pig. The pork loin is a lean and valuable cut…

ByMonica6 December 20230Comments

Cheese Christmas COURSES Gluten-free INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES Soups Sunday Lunch

Homemade Parmigiano stock recipe (with rind)

In Italian kitchens, the stock is a staple recipe with several uses. All the broths share the same main ingredients and preparation method: water, vegetables (almost always the base is one stick of celery with the leaves, one skinless white onion, and one whole carrot), and salt. Then, there is the ingredient that gives a specific taste. Again,…

ByMonica20 November 20230Comments

Bologna Food COURSES Gluten-free INGREDIENTS Main Course OCCASIONS RECIPES

My green beans and mortadella Bologna rifreddo recipe

If you read my blog regularly, you already know that I cook according to the seasons, choosing ingredients that are in season and products made by people who put their heart and soul into what they do. For some time now, I have been bringing back to my table herbs and traditional dishes from the…

ByMonica12 June 20220Comments