‘Gnudi’ meaning ‘nude’ in Italian, are what the Florentines call tender little dumplings that are very similar to gnocchi, except that they are made with ricotta rather than potato, which gives them a far more delicate texture. They’re lightly scented with nutmeg, and refreshingly light and doughless compared to your usual pasta dish. This recipe below uses frozen spinach and store bought tomato [...]

The ricotta pancakes are the lighter, fluffier friend of the American pancakes you’re normally used to. They’re healthier and lower in cholesterol as well, but I would be kidding you if I told you they were low-fat. I prefer to make these around the size of a coaster, instead of large pancakes. It makes the [...]

Sea urchin spaghetti has always been a popular item in Japan, normally served in quasi-Italian restaurants or cafes (along with Mentaiko spaghetti, a kind or smelt roe). I’ve often raved repeatedly about Blue Marlin restaurant in LA which serves amazing uni (sea urchin in Japanese) spaghetti, with a sauce just creamy enough to coat the [...]

Buckwheat bliny is a part of traditional Russian cuisine, descended from one of mankind’s oldest and most common prepared foods: fried flat bread. Here is a quick and simple recipe to prepare them at home. Ingredients 1 ½ tsp. Sugar 1/4 cup warm water 1 tsp. Active dry yeast 1 egg 1 ½ cups lukewarm [...]

This is my version of the “Truffled Lasagna from Umbria” (source)- using store bought lasagna sheets instead of making them from scratch. Total prep & cooking time: 1 hour. truffle porn For the truffled béchamel: 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted French butter ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour 4 cups (1 quart) whole milk 1/4 teaspoon [...]