About Italian Food: Spring is here!

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Italian Food Italian Food Quick/Easy Recipes Le Basi Classic Recipes From Kyle Phillips, your Guide to Italian Food And We have been buying strawberries in our market. They're Spanish for now, but the Italian crop will soon kick in too. The most common way to enjoy them in Italy is sliced, with sugar and either wine or lemon juice, but there are other options: Strawberry Liqueur -- Fragolo This is a sweet strawberry liqueur, with an alcohol content of about 40%. It's quite nice in the winter after dinner. When you have finished steeping the strawberries, drain them well and serve them for dessert. Strawberry Jam It's no accident that strawberry preserves are tremendously popular. As is often the case, a well-made home made jar of strawberry preserves will be richer and more flavorful than what you can buy in a store. Strawberry Cremolata A cremolata is quite similar to a sherbet, though the juice it's made from is unfiltered, and it's therefore richer. Strawberry Risotto, Risotto alle Fragole A tasty treat! More about strawberries, and more recipes for them. Benvenuta Primavera! Fresh spring vegetables -- as opposed to what's grown in a hothouse -- are beginning to appear in the markets, and it's time to put them to use. Making Pasta alla Primavera, for example: There's no one recipe because people's tastes and vegetable patches differ, but they all share the delightful freshness of Spring. Pasta alla Primavera: A rich version, made with tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, olives, and more Pasta alla Primavera: A more delicate recipe, from a cook with zucchini, artichokes, and tomatoes in the vegetable patch. Pasta alla Primavera: Yet another variation, with bell peppers and broccoli. Pretty colors! Pasta alla Primavera: A late spring version with lots of zucchini Fusilli alla Primavera: A rich Neapolitan version made with artichokes, asparagus, peas, and more. Vegan? If it isn't make it so A while back I got a note from a person who said the the vegetable-based pasta sauce pages in the pasta sauces index really aren't vegetarian, as pretty much every recipe contains some sort of cheese. The note closed with, "I got my hopes up for nothing..." To which I replied, The beauty of many recipes is that you can omit what doesn't suit you and they will likely still work out fairly well. Many people like grated cheese over their pasta or in the sauce, and I therefore suggest it. You, on the other hand, are at liberty to leave it out. In some cases the results will be a bit unusual -- pesto without cheese would be lacking in my opinion -- but in many cases the results won't be bad at all. For example, I prefer most primavera sauces with no cheese in them. Bottom line: Remember, recipes are not graven in stone! Adapt them to your tastes! It's Spring, and Time For... Green Savory Pies Yes, really -- greens come up more vigorously now, and eggs, another important ingredient, used to be seasonal, increasing in number in the spring. The best known Italian savory greens pie is probably Liguria's Torta Pasqualina, but there are others as well. For example: Torta Verde con Crosta di Mandorle, a simple greens pie that has breadcrumbs for a crust, and sliced almonds on top to provide flavor and texture. Piemontese Savory Green Pie, very simple, and green -- that's what Verde means. Torta Primavera, di Riso Verde, a green savory pie with rice too. Again, simple, and again, tasty. Spring Is Here! Yes indeed, it's a glorious day, and everything is starting to bloom. Crisp, but the sun is a nice change of pace after a long winter. It's not yet hot enough to start thinking about cooling, refreshing pasta dishes, but we're beyond Sugo alla Bolognese too. And today I whipped up penne with a tuna sauce. A couple of other ideas that might be nice: Bucatini all'Amatriciana A zesty tomatoey sauce with guanciale (cured pig's jowl; pancetta will also work) -- one of Rome's signature sauces. Sapghetti alla Carbonara Taking Pancetta (or bacon, if need be) and Eggs to a whole new level. Pasta alla Primavera There are many variations; this one features zucchini. Italian Food Ads Italian Food Italian Restaurants Authentic Italian Italian Desserts Italian Recipes Featured Articles Spring means Eating Flowers Peggy's Edible Flower Recipes Peggy's List of Flowers to Avoid (Eating, that is) Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe, With Cheese and Pepper Risotto with Gamberetti, Small Shrimp Elisabetta's Tiramisu   More from About.com Discover the Disney Dream Disney's newest cruise ship has something for every family member, from the Aqua Duck watercoaster to adults-only lounges. More> Cruise the Celebrity Eclipse The Eclipse features luxurious interiors, a spa, and the "iLounge" where guests can check email and create their own photo books. More> This newsletter is written by: Kyle Phillips Italian Food Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About Italian Food newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2011 About.com   Seen Here & There Badia a Coltibuono's Wines (and their cellars) Pellegrinaggio Artusiano: The Blog (in Italian) Flicker: A Few Shots Of What's In Store For US Advertisement