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Fried flowers? I know, it’s different. But trust me - this recipe is SO fast and easy, and it’s an absolutely delicious crowd pleaser. A popular starter dish in Italy, these fried zucchini blossoms are light and crispy and utterly addictive.
Read MoreThis time of year I start to get antsy for spring. February is over and it should be warm.- except it never actually is.
But the good news is that we can enjoy all the incredibly warming recipes of winter for a little longer. Luckily, we have just the recipe, from a book I am particularly excited about: Katie Parla’s Food of the Italian South. If you aren’t familiar with Katie’s work then you just aren’t reading enough about Italy. The Rome-based journalist has written some of the best food and travel guides for the region. Her first book, Tasting Rome, is an engrossing love letter to the food of one of the world’s greatest food cities. And now her upcoming book explores the cuisine of Italy’s Southern regions.
I am so excited for this book (since my love of Italy is basically unsurpassed) and loved having Katie in the kitchen to showcase one of the book’s recipes. She shared her Polpette Casce e Ovo - essentially bread ‘meatballs’. They are doughy delights and perfect for staying inside and eating to your heart’s content.
Read MoreI'm such a sucker for this time of year. I was walking around the farmers market on Saturday as though it was the perfect day. Local strawberries are finally out, the weather is beautiful, and my son didn't knock anything over.
So I think one of the best kinds of items is highlighting that freshness without overdoing it. This salad just tastes like the sweet early start of summer. I love a corn and black bean salad but I feel like it's one of those items stuck in a rut - why do they always have to have cilantro and red pepper? I wanted something to change it up.
I like using rice vinegar because it adds a bit of sweetness that marries well with the corn. The rest of it is like a deconstructed pesto - you have the basil and the pine nuts but all the textures are coming through. And it uses one of my favorite strategies for corn, which is grilling it on the stove. Nothing makes summer feel more present than a little bit of char on a piece of corn.
It is simple but still special. It's hearty enough to eat as a meal and will hold up as a side if needed. Get ready for a whole lot of summer content coming your way.
Read MoreI'm a little giddy around this spring weather. It makes me want to have light, bright and healthy every single day. But salads and rice bowls can get exceptionally boring.
I recently went to a restaurant that had a chopped hearts of palm salsa on top of a fish. It was tart and refreshing - and everything I want in my springtime meals. So I took the idea and made it into a lunchtime-friendly all purpose pesto kind of sauce. It's basically just throwing a bunch of deliciousness in a blender and then making sure you keep some on hand for anything you want to brighten up.
I made it for a rice bowl and then literally ate it for lunch every single day for a week. I started pouring it on eggs in the morning and salads at night. It's the very definition of cheap and cheerful.
Read MoreIt is sunny here in New York today but this will-it-or-won't-it spring still has me hankering for something comforting. So what do you do think this shoulder weather?
Enter the zucchini parm. It's the lightened up version, a lot of vegetables, a lot of freshness with basil and lemon an still a bit of cheese to bring it together. It can be prepped ahead, which for me is usually half the battle.
So if you need an easy, warming meal, I can't think of anything better
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