The Sorana Bean. From Tuscany, With Love
Last autumn I was in Italy for the first time in way too long. This was the funny time when we all thought this covid thing was waning and we...
The Rancho Gordo Blog
Italian
Pasta e Fagioli a la Omnivore (or Il Nostro Caro Angelo)
Is this not a thing of beauty? A bowl of cranberry (Borlotti) beans with homemade pasta in a sauce of bean broth, chicken broth, and vegetables. It's moist and delicious...
The Best 10 Rules to Live by When You Are Young and Ready to Travel.
My friend Canice saw this photo of me from the early 1980s in Sestri Levante. It's a beach town in , Italy and I spent many summers there in my...
What Italian Bean Did Marcella Hazan Miss the Most? I Know.
Marcella beans are grown in California from Italian Sorana seedstock. Sorana is a cannellini bean with incredibly thin skin and when cooked properly, an indulgent creamy texture. You can use...
Pasta e Fagioli: Shapes
(UPDATE: Unfortunately, Baia Pasta is no more. They closed shop but left such a mark on us that we wanted to keep these posts referring to them. ) It would...
Noodles, Beans and Memories
I think it's clear how much fun I've been having cooking pasta and beans this month. Along with the terrific dishes, which are all very easy to do once you...
Make Mine Moka!
As a teenager, I never understood it's appeal. My father's dependence on it first thing in the morning seemed at odds with my flower child persona I was indulging at...
Zuppa Americana a la Italiana
Gloria was my Italian teacher when I worked at Esprit, just 2 million years ago. We've stayed friends, even as my obsession for Italy waned and my compulsion for things...
Cooking With Clay No. 12: Italian Risotto Pot
Years ago I bought this pot and was erroneously told it was a bean pot from France. It turns out it's a risotto pot from Italy. It's also used for...
Italian Bean Lust
In the 1980s, I spent a lot of time in Italy. I love the food, the people and the music. I was young and stupid and having a gas in...