I recently saw a cartoon in which a couple at an Italian restaurant asked their server, “We don’t eat pasta, what should we order?” to which the server responded, “a taxi.” 🙂 Busiate is a corkscrew shaped pasta typical to the Province of Trapani in western Sicily. The word busiate is of Arabic origin. The pasta was traditionally formed … Continue Reading
I recently contributed a piece on Indian Dal (dal = Indian legumes) to another site. This gave me an excuse to head to my favorite Indian grocer, Patel Brothers, and stock up on an assortment of dal — toor dal, chana dal, mung (moong) dal, urad dal, masoor dal…into the cart they went, all in the name of … Continue Reading
This is what I’ve been waiting for…this is what I love soooo much about summer — tomatillos and tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. Add some cilantro, a chile or two, some onion and garlic, and you’ve got yourself the makings of some decidedly tasty salsa. Threw this together for brunch last Sunday, eggs with two salsas — … Continue Reading
I can’t take credit for today’s creation, as there’s nothing new about falafel or, for that matter, falafel waffle. Nonetheless, I happen to be a big fan of falafel. The best falafel, no doubt, is one that is made-to-order. The falafels come fresh out of the deep fryer, piping hot, crispy on the outside, moist and … Continue Reading
I happily consumed a fair amount of caponata while recently exploring Sicily. You’ll find it on just about every menu. Essentially, caponata is sweet and sour eggplant (agrodolce). Agro=sour and dolce=sweet. At its core, caponata is a combination of eggplant, onions, celery, tomatoes, vinegar, capers, and olives, sweetened with a bit of sugar. Some versions … Continue Reading
