If you walk through the streets of Naples, you will be greeted by the sight of incredible pastries everywhere: crispy sfogliatelle, colorful cakes, and decorated cookies of all shapes and sizes. There’s one ever-present pastry, though, that looks so plain and boring that you might never be tempted to try it. That would be a mistake. Neapolitan Babà are simple treats that come in all sizes but almost always look like a doughy mushroom. Their plain appearance obscures the fact that they are completely, utterly soaked in a liquid, rum-flavored syrup. The syrup is used to preserve and flavor th ..read more

Okay, okay: of course this isn’t really a carbonara. But it looks like a carbonara. In a way, it looks more like a carbonara than a real carbonara. It’s like if a food stylist used tricks of the trade to create the platonic ideal of a carbonara’s appearance… but it also tastes delicious. Like carbonara, this pasta uses guanciale (cured pork jowl), pecorino cheese and black pepper. The eggs are replaced with cream cheese and the brilliant, yellow color comes from a pinch of delicious saffron. Watch the Pasta Grammar video: CREAM CHEESE “CARBONARA” RECIPE Makes: 2 servings Cook Time: 20 ..read more

This is a quick, healthy vegetable pasta that’s easy to whip up in a pinch! It’s very flexible, so feel free to substitute the zucchini with just about any other fresh vegetable you have on hand or prefer. Watch the Pasta Grammar video: CREAM CHEESE, CHERRY TOMATO & ZUCCHINI PASTA RECIPE Makes: 2 servings Cook Time: 20 minutes For this recipe, you will need: 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil 1 whole garlic clove, peeled ½ large zucchini, chopped ~15 cherry tomatoes, cut in half Salt Fresh black pepper 5.5 ounces (155 g) rigatoni pasta 6 ounces (170 g) lo ..read more

What do Italians make when there’s little in the pantry and not a lot of time to spare? Two classic choices are pasta with tuna fish and pasta with cream cheese. Both are delicious, quick and simple but they can also be combined! This is a rare exception to the general Italian rule of not serving cheese and fish together. When you’ll try it, you’ll understand why! A Note on Canned Tuna Fish Canned tuna gets a bad rap, for a good reason. A lot of it is very poor quality and, unless masked with something like mayonnaise, pretty much tastes like cat food. However, if you take the time to fin ..read more

Mafalda is a type of Sicilian sandwich bread that is not only delicious, but beautiful! The final product looks complicated, but it’s actually a very simple bread to make at home. Feel free to use it with any sandwich stuffing you like, but we highly recommend pairing it with panelle, a fried chickpea polenta and a classic sandwich stuffer in Sicily. Watch the Pasta Grammar video: MAFALDA RECIPE Makes: 8 to 10 sandwich rolls Cook Time: 5 hours, largely unattended For this recipe, you will need: 5 cups (600 g) semolina flour, plus extra for dusting 1 teaspoon (3 g) active dry yeast ..read more

This unconventional “sandwich” is a classic street food in Naples. Rather than consisting of separate bread and fillings, both are cooked together in a large roll that is then cut into individual panini. It’s a flexible recipe that you can stuff with just about anything you like, so it’s a great way to use up leftovers and turn them into a sinfully delicious treat! How to Stuff a Panino Napoletano There are no hard and fast rules here, but definitely some guidelines. Typically a panino Napoletano will be filled with a mix of (at a minimum) cold cuts and cheeses. The Neapolitan philosophy i ..read more

These Sicilian-style shish kabobs are made with rolls—or “involtini”—of meat stuffed with a deliciously seasoned bread crumb filling and roasted to perfection. Veal is a common traditional choice, but beef cutlets work well. If you can’t find a very thin cutlet, you can tenderize thin steaks with a mallet—you want them thin enough that you can easily roll the stuffing inside. Watch the Pasta Grammar video: SPIEDINI SICILIANI RECIPE Makes: Serves 4 Cook Time: 45-60 minutes For this recipe, you will need: ¼ cup (40 g) raisins 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra ..read more

Every now and then we try a rare pasta dish that not only blows us away, but makes us wonder why it hasn’t replaced carbonara as the de facto beloved pasta of the world. This is one of those recipes. In Sicilian dialect, the dish’s name means “Bad Weather Pasta.” When you try it you’ll understand why: there’s no way to feel like you’re having a bad day when this pasta is on the menu. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, but don’t be turned off by the use of anchovies in this recipe, even if you think you don’t like them. Once combined and balanced with the other flavors, all you’ll ..read more

This dish is a variation on “Sarde a Beccafico,” a delicious Sicilian recipe made with fresh sardines. Not all of us are lucky enough to have fresh sardines available, but thankfully Sicilians also invented this version which uses eggplants instead. It’s an easy and incredibly delicious vegetable side that’s sure to impress! Watch the Pasta Grammar video: MELANZANE A BECCAFICO RECIPE Makes: Serves 4 to 6 Cook Time: 1 hour For this recipe, you will need: ⅓ cup (50 g) raisins 1 large eggplant, sliced into thin rounds Extra-virgin olive oil Salt Fresh black pepper 2 cups (260 ..read more

What Italian-Americans came to call “manicotti” comes from a similar Italian dish called cannelloni. This baked pasta dish is made with rolled tubes of fresh, homemade pasta stuffed with a delicious filling, covered with a mouth-watering sauce and baked to perfection. In this case we’ve chosen one of the most popular cannelloni variations which uses ragù alla Bolognese and besciamella sauce for both filling and topping. If you like manicotti but want to see what a world of difference fresh egg pasta makes over pre-packaged dried tubes, you need to try this recipe! Advance Prep In order to mak ..read more