Fabio Picchi, owner and chef of the restaurant Cibrèo in Florence, cooks like a Florentine granny with a spicy palate. He takes full advantage of seasonal abundance from the Sant' Ambrogio market next to his restaurant. Fabio's recipes are wonderful but imprecise, quantities are vague, and I've got to pay strict attention so he doesn't skip an ingredient or a step. His refreshing summery tomato aspic is simple and uses traditional ingredients in a novel way, creating a spicy tomato sauce with a wiggle, barely jelled, more fun than a formal aspic. Bright red, speckled with herbs, zapped with chili and garlic, Fabio's appetizer is a far cry from the ladies-lunch image of conventional, transparent consommé aspics. Even my gelatin-hating husband and son love this dish. Double the extra virgin for more authentic Tuscan flavor.
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter.
In this lasagna, soft layers of pasta and béchamel are interspersed with a rich tomato sauce laden with hearty Mediterranean vegetables.
This marinara sauce is great tossed with any pasta for a quick and easy weeknight dinner that will leave you thinking, “Why didn’t anyone try this sooner?”
Salmoriglio is a Mediterranean sauce with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In this version, kelp is used as the base of the sauce.
This vegan version of the classic North African scramble uses soft silken tofu instead of eggs without any sacrifice of flavor.
Make this versatile caramel at home with our slow-simmered method using milk and sugar—or take one of two sweetened condensed milk shortcuts.
The clams’ natural briny sweetness serves as a surprising foil for the tender fritter batter—just be sure to pull off the tough outer coating of the siphon.