Historical Recipes

Pasta Grammar

How to Make Pizza Chiena: The Original Pizzagaina Italian Easter Pie Recipe

Pizza Chiena, the original Italian ancestor of the American dish “pizzagaina” or “pizzagain,” is a classic savory Easter pie that...

Pasta Grammar

Cavolfiore alla Cavour | Italian Cauliflower Casserole Recipe

This yummy cauliflower dish makes a great vegetable side, but it’s rich enough to serve as a main course! Hailing from Piedmont, Italy,...

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Pane Tramvai | "Poor Man's" Panettone Recipe

This Italian sweet bread is reminiscent of panettone, but was made by poor workers who couldn't afford richer ingredients: like sugar!...

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Penne alla Vodka | The Authentic Italian Recipe

Penne alla Vodka is often attributed as an American dish, but it was actually invented by an Italian and first popularized in Italy....

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The Original Lasagna alla Bolognese Recipe

The classic "Lasagna alla Bolognese" used to be quite different! This historical recipe for the original version was brought to our...

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Banana & Sausage Bruschetta | An Interesting Taste from Italy's Past

This unusual, historical recipe was brought to our attention by Italian food historian Luca Cesari. Check out his new book about the...

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Torta di Patate | Italian Potato Cake Dessert Recipe

This intriguing potato dessert comes from the earliest Italian cookbook, written by Pellegrino Artusi. As he says himself, you would...

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Liccumie Eggplant Cookies | Authentic Italian Recipe

These historical cookies are actually a variation of Italian meat cookies, but adapted by the poorer classes who couldn't afford the...

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'Mpanatigghi Biscotti | Italian Meat Cookie Recipe

These cookies originated as a way to preserve precious meat for a long period of time. The meat was cooked into these sweet biscotti...

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The Original Carbonara Recipe

This is the very first carbonara recipe ever documented. It was written down by an American food critic who learned it from two Italian...

Pasta Grammar

Three Medieval Italian Recipes Fit for a King | Gnocchi, Fried Raviolo & Mortadella

Italian food, as we know it, is actually quite a recent phenomenon. It wasn't until the Columbian exchange, for instance, that Europe...