Questions with this tag should be about traditional ingredients, preparations or dishes from Italy - such as focaccia, risotto or tiramisu. Questions about ingredients common to Italian style cooking, but which aren't about a specific Italian dish, should not use this tag.
26
votes
11answers
2k views
How should I prepare Risotto
I've been watching a lot of Hells Kitchen, and one of the signature dishes that Chef Ramsay has the chefs prepare is Risotto. This seems like a simple enough dish but often times the seasoned chefs ...
3
votes
3answers
970 views
Counter to bitterness in soup
My minestrone turned out too bitter. How can I counter it? The soup contains tomatoes, pasta, Savoy cabbage, celery, carrots, burnt sautéed garlic, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper.
Sugar seems to be ...
22
votes
7answers
8k views
How do cooks prepare risotto in a restaurant?
I'm not looking for a Risotto recipe. I make a pretty nice risotto, thank you very much.
But, making a risotto takes about 20 minutes. It seems unreasonable to me that a cook would start from ...
5
votes
6answers
904 views
What ingredients can be added to pasta to give a different color?
I've experimented with fresh pasta, using the following ingredients to color it:
Beetroot puree
Carrot puree
Cocoa powder
The first two were successful, the cocoa poweder resulted in a very ...
1
vote
2answers
3k views
Types of potato for making gnocchi
I've made gnocchi with different types of potato with mixed result. Can anyone recommend a type that is particularly good for making gnocchi?
41
votes
25answers
38k views
In a tomato sauce recipe, how can I cut the acidity?
It seems that every time I make a tomato sauce for pasta, the sauce is a little bit too acid for my taste. I've tried using sugar or sodium bicarbonate, but I'm not satisfied with the results.
11
votes
8answers
2k views
Non-cow's milk replacement for Parmesan cheese in Genovese pesto
My family loves Genovese pesto and we'd started making our own (with varied success). One of our number has been diagnosed as intolerant to cow's milk. This rules out pretty much all shop-bought ...
12
votes
4answers
2k views
Arborio and Risotto
I ran out of regular rice the other day, and subbed in some arborio (the traditional risotto rice). I figured it would serve well enough, since it's a tough variety, and I planned on a multi-stage ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Couldn't make pesto in a blender
I was making pesto one day and couldn't find the lid to my food processor. So first I tried mixing it all in a blender. Didn't work, the leaves wouldn't go down to meet the blade. I had this pastey ...
16
votes
8answers
6k views
What can be used as a substitute for tomato sauce in typical italian dishes?
I have a friend that has developed an allergy or sensitivity of some kind to tomato sauce in foods. She has been craving pizza, pasta, and lasagna for a while now and I've been searching for a way to ...
7
votes
6answers
1k views
Ingredients or techniques to a more solid lasagna
What are the crucial ingredients or cooking techniques to a more solid, or "brick" like lasagna? Most lasagna I've seen tends to get a bit sloppy in the pan as it's being dished out but I have seen ...
1
vote
4answers
530 views
How to create thick, hearty garlic marinara sauce?
I've been searching online for a recipe for a robust garlic marinara sauce to no avail. Does anyone have any tips on how to make this kind of thick, hearty sauce from scratch?
This is what I've tried ...
1
vote
3answers
216 views
What should I do with candied citron?
My inlaws just gave me a gift of candied whole citron (not just the peel) that they picked up from southern Italy. It was very thoughtful and just in time for Sukkot!
However, I'm just not sure ...
