While fresh corn on the cob is bountiful in markets, this is a great way to enjoy it. This risotto is delicious with just the shrimp and fresh cherry tomatoes if you don’t live where fresh corn is in season. Heck, you can even eliminate the cherry tomatoes and make it a strictly shrimp risotto. I prefer to use yellow corn, rather than white, since it adds a prettier contrast to the rice. But markets here in New Jersey seem to have decided everyone wants white corn, and it’s unfortunately difficult to find the yellow, so I have to be content with white most of the time. I used shrimp from the Carolinas that were purchased fresh off a boat close to our summer home in New Jersey. I may be overly cautious, but I try to buy seafood only from U.S. waters, where quality control seems more likely than in far-off Asian seas. Season the shrimp first with salt, pepper and paprika, and sear them on high heat. Then set them aside on a plate. You don’t need to thoroughly cook the shrimp, since they’ll finish cooking at the end when you add them to the risotto.

I used my own homemade broth to make the risotto, made with the shrimp shells and the cobs after the corn was stripped. This broth keeps well in the freezer too. It really adds tremendous flavor to the dish, but if you don’t want to make it, get some clam juice or seafood broth from the store. Add some fresh thyme at the end, as well as a couple of tablespoons of butter, and you’ll be lapping up every morsel on the plate.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

The post Shrimp and Corn Risotto appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

When I’m in Italy, pistachio gelato is one of my top favorites. It looks nothing at all like the fake-green pistachio ice cream you get in the U.S, but it is a more muted green or even beige-y colored. The pistachio gelato in the photo (or ice cream if you want to call it that) was made with no artificial coloring or flavoring, but was made using  a jar of pistachio paste I brought back from a recent trip to Sicily. If Italy isn’t in your immediate travel plans, you can buy pistachio paste online from many sources, although I can’t vouch for any particular brand. Just make sure you buy pistachio paste or cream containing all natural ingredients.

I started with a recipe for pistachio ice cream from The New York Times, but changed the proportion of milk to cream (more cream, less milk) and amped up the flavor with some Amaretto liqueur and almond flavoring. It doesn’t make it taste like almond ice cream, but somehow makes the pistachio more pistachio-y. The texture is similar to gelato you get in Italy, partly due the creaminess of the pistachio paste. Don’t skip the liqueur either. Not only does it add flavor, but the alcohol keeps the ice cream scoopable. If you haven’t got Amaretto (or pistachio liqueur if you can find it), even a little vodka or kirsch will do the trick.

After mixing all the ingredients, following your ice cream manufacturers instructions to churn. Then place in the freezer for a few hours or overnight to firm enough for scooping. Sprinkle with a few pistachios on top to serve.

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Pistachio Gelato/Ice Cream appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

Almonds, pistachios and tomatoes are ubiquitous in Sicily, so it’s no wonder that recipes abound using these ingredients. This pasta dish was the primo piatto we made and enjoyed in the cooking class we attended in Palermo in April, at the beautiful palace home of Duchess Nicoletta and Duke Gioacchino Lanza Tamasi, (sadly, he died May 10, 2023). I brought back some Sicilian pistachios (the town of Bronte is known for its prized pistachios) and I put them to good use making this pesto. I bought some really wonderful sun-dried tomatoes in Philadelphia’s Italian Market that were soaked in olive oil, making them exceptionally supple and flavorful. If the ones you find are dehydrated to the point of being tough and hard, soak them in some water for a while to soften and plump them. Drain and add a little olive oil. The fresh tomatoes on top are merely to add color. The big flavor is in the pesto. Nicoletta used a pasta called ruvidelli, but I served it using busiate, a classic pasta from Sicily. Feel free to use spaghetti if you like. This dish is perfect for company since you can make the pesto way ahead of time and just boil the pasta at the last minute. My guests loved it and ate every last strand of the busiate. One pound was enough for six people as a primo piatto, but if you’re serving it as the main course, it’s enough for four people only.

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Pasta with Pistachio, Almond and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

No matter the origin, genovese are delicious, and are filled with a lemony custard, enveloped in a shortbread pastry, or pasta frolla. Maria spent 15 years in a convent after her father died and her mother was left with six children to raise amid the poverty of post-World War II Sicily. It was a difficult life, with little to eat, although the nuns made pastries to raise funds, and Maria absorbed that knowledge and opened her own shop in 1963. Her account of growing up in the convent is one of loneliness and hardship and is recounted in her book, “Bitter Almonds”, written with Mary Taylor Simeti. The book includes various recipes, including this one for Genovese.

Be careful not to overcook the custard, or you could end up with scrambled eggs. I ran the custard through a sieve to eliminate any possible lumps.

Roll out the dough, place a heaping spoonful of the filling on top, then moisten the edges with water and place another disc of dough on top, pressing down to seal the edges.

Bake until just barely tan.

They are served warm at Maria’s shop, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

They’re delicious at room temperature too.

Here are just a few of the other treats for sale at Maria Grammatico’s:

martorana (almond paste) fruits:

Cassatine:

and a fig-filled ring (buccelatto or cuccidato):

A trip to Erice is like a trip back in time, with its tiny cobbled streets and alleys:

And the castle of Venus, a 12th century Norman castle:

The 14th century duomo and bell tower:

And the stunning views from Erice out to Trapani and the Mediterranean Sea:

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Genovese pastries from Sicily appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

On my recent trip to Sicily, I had the good fortune to cook with literary nobility. Let me explain. The above recipe from the cooking session appears at the end, so if you’re here just for the food, skip to the bottom of this post. But then you’d miss learning about a slice of Sicilian history.

One of my all-time favorite books is “The Leopard” by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. I first read it in Italian (“Il Gatttopardo”) more than 30 years ago, and have read it in English twice since. It’s a masterpiece of literature and considered one of the 100 greatest books ever written, chronicling the decline of Sicily’s aristocracy, and the rise of the middle class during the unification of Italy in 1861, known as “Risorgimento.” Initially rejected by publishers, it was published in 1958, a year after the author’s death, and went on to become an international success, selling more than 3 million copies, in more than 30 languages. The book was also adapted into an opulent (and excellent) movie in 1963, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale.

Tomasi di Lampedusa, who was himself a prince, modeled the main character (Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina) after his great grandather, Don Giulio Fabrizio Tomasi, another prince of Lampedusa.

The book’s main character was modeled after the author’s great grandfather, who was an amateur star-gazer, as is the protagonist in the book.

In the book, the prince dotes on his nephew and “adopted” son, Tancredi, while in real life, the author, who had no heirs, really did adopt his distant cousin, Gioacchino (Giò) Lanza Tamasi, who was already part of a different Italian aristocratic family.

Sadly, as I was writing this blog post, I learned that Giò died last week in his Palermo home – Palazzo Lanza Tamasi on via Butera, the palace that was once home to Lampedusa after his original home on via Lampedusa was bombed during World War II.

Palazzo Lanza Tamasi

A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting next to Giò during a luncheon in the 17th century palazzo, following a wonderful day of shopping and cooking with his wife Nicoletta, the duchess. Although duke and duchess, they were extremely down-to-earth and use their first names in introductions.

It almost seems trivial to write about our deliciously fun day of cooking last month after learning of Giò’s death this week, but the classes are vital in maintaining the palazzo, since upkeep on Palermo palaces doesn’t come cheap. There are a number of apartments in the palace that Nicoletta rents out to visitors also. If you’re planning a trip to Palermo, do yourself a favor and check out her website: Butera 28.

We began the day with a short trip to one of the city’s markets — Capo — to buy provisions for the lunch, then Nicoletta directed us in the preparation for the various courses. The menu was printed for everyone, headlined by the family crest:

We strolled through their ample patio overlooking the sea, to harvest herbs and lemons for the meal:

 We all took a hand in chopping, squeezing, peeling, stirring or whatever needed to be done — from the youngest —

to the oldest (my husband and I, without a doubt)

Through it all, the energetic Nicoletta directed us with humor but also the conviction of a drill sergeant — “No, that’s still not chopped finely enough….” or “You missed some of the flesh, keep scraping the eggplant….”

She cooked right alongside us, with a knowledgeable and sure hand in whatever task was needed. The kitchen was equipped with a fabulous batterie du cuisine:

And plentiful local ingredients, including capers from Pantelleria, which were used in the recipe at the end of this post.

When our preparations were complete, we sat down to a multi-course lunch in a gorgeous dining room overlooking the sea.

During lunch, it was a privilege to sit next to Giò. He was an accomplished music critic, author, professor, director of several theater and opera companies during his lifetime, and one-time director of the Italian Cultural Center in New York, just to name a few of his numerous achievements. He was keeper of the flame for his adopted uncle’s literary heritage, and with his death, it also feels like the last living legend of “Il Gattopardo” has also gone.

Nicoletta gave us a tour of the palazzo after lunch, starting with the vast library:

There were several sitting rooms, including this one with yellow upholstered furniture, precious tapestries, art work, and Venetian chandeliers.

Another room in the palace:

With a photograph of Giò and Nicoletta earlier in their 40-year marriage:

In addition to paintings with historic, religious or mythical subjects, family ancestors were also captured for posterity:

Including a couple of sketches of family members by Picasso:

But for me, the highlight of the tour through the palace was seeing the original manuscript of “Il Gattopardo” written in Lampedusa’s own handwriting.

It’s sad to think he didn’t live long enough to see the success and popularity of his masterpiece.

Here is a photo of the author with more of his handwritten manuscript:

The members of the cooking class had come from the U.S., France and Germany and were a happy, easy-going group of travelers.

While there were several courses, I’m posting the recipe for just one here — a potato salad that would be perfect for that picnic you might be thinking about now that the weather has warmed. I came back from Sicily armed with the salted capers from Pantelleria that Nicoletta uses in this recipe. I also brought back sea salt from nearby Trapani, where salt has been harvested for decades. If you aren’t planning a trip to Sicily, you can buy both online from Gustiamo.com. The photo below is the dish we prepared that day, using the famed red onions from Tropea, impossible to find in the U.S. In the absence of those, supermarket red onions will stand in just fine.

We were too late to rent an apartment at Palazzo Lanza Tamasi. However, we rented a modern apartment in Lampedusa’s original palazzo that was bombed on Via Lampedusa, very centrally located in a quiet street.

The entrance includes a wall with writings from Lampedusa:

There are several apartments for rent. If you’re interested, send me an email and I will send you the rental info:

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Sicilian Potato Salad and Cooking With The Duchess in Palermo appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

It’s the season for those chunky red stalks of rhubarb right now — and I can’t think of anything that pairs better with rhubarb than strawberries. It’s a little early for local strawberries, but the ones I’ve been buying from my supermarket have been pretty good lately. It’s a quick dessert that’s easy to make. Mix the cut chunks of fruits with some sugar and lemon, then top with the oatmeal crumb topping and bake for a half hour. Let it rest for 1/2 hour or it will be quite runny. It’s delicious by itself, but top it with some premium ice cream (life is too short for the cheap stuff) for an even more delightful treat.

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

I’m just back from Sicily where I ate fish almost every day (sometimes twice a day) but I also indulged in too many pastas, prosciutto and pastries. The scale doesn’t lie and it told me I gained six pounds in the three weeks I was gone. The older I get, it seems the harder it is to lose weight, despite all the walking I did on my trip — most days at least 12,000 steps and one day even 21,000 steps (or 7 miles)! It’s all about what goes in the mouth, and I’m paying for it now, but I don’t regret one cannolo or plate of busiate. But I need to do a detox or I’ll look like a cannolo myself.

This fish dish is healthy, easy to prepare, tastes great and is pretty low-cal too. If you want to make it for company, you can prepare it ahead of time and bake at the last minute, while you enjoy a cocktail with your guests. The recipe is for two people, but it easily doubles or triples to feed more. I live in New Jersey where locally caught flounder or fluke is easy to find. This would also be delicious with sole or snapper. The shrimp I buy are wild-caught too, from U.S. waters. I’m very skeptical of quality control in shrimp or any fish (frozen or otherwise) that comes from Asia, so I typically seek out only wild caught seafood from the U.S.

Season the filets with salt, pepper and paprika and place the filling at one end.

Roll up the pieces and keep the open end on the bottom.

Place them in a casserole lined with lemon slices, then sprinkle salt, pepper, paprika and minced parsley on top. Place a few pats of butter on top, but don’t overdo it. For this recipe of three pieces, I used only a tablespoon of butter. Pour the wine around the fish and bake, covered with aluminum foil until it flakes easily. If you make this ahead of time, be sure to remove from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature, or you’ll need to bake it longer in the oven.

I always like to serve rice with a dish like this, to sop up some of the flavorful juices. I’ve gotten quite partial to brown rice over the years, not just for its nutritional advantages, but also its nutty taste.

The three pieces, weighing less than a pound, were more than enough for the two of us, when served with the rice and snow peas. Any green vegetable, like broccoli, green beans or spinach, would also pair well with this dish.

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Stuffed Fluke Rollups appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

Spring is finally here and that means a return to all the leafy green vegetables associated with the changing season — including spinach. This recipe takes the humble spinach up a few notches, and would make the perfect first course to your Easter or Passover meal. Plus it can be made ahead of time (actually it’s easier to unmold if you do make it ahead of time).

I used two boxes of frozen spinach, but you could substitute fresh spinach if you prefer. The sformati get baked in small ramekins in a bain marie (water bath) to ensure even cooking.

This recipe makes anywhere from six to eight servings, depending on how high you fill the ramekins.

I like to bake them ahead of time, chill them (overnight is fine) then reheat in the microwave until warm, and flip them out. Serve them with an irresistible fontina cream sauce that’s a cinch to make, then top with toasted pine nuts.

Dig into this luscious morsel of springtime.

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Spinach Sformato appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

Whenever I’m in London (where my daughter and her family live), I try to get to one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s restaurants, which are scattered throughout the city. On my most recent visit a few weeks ago, we ate lunch at his Marylebone location — a fun neighborhood not just for eating, but for good shopping too and home to the fabulous Wallace Collection. It was a cold March day and this soup, with warm spices and topped with feta cheese, was the perfect antidote to the chill outside. I tried recreating it at home, but couldn’t find the exact recipe in any of his cookbooks. So I searched a bunch of different ones online and came up with this recipe, which was every bit as delicious as the one I ate in London. It may even have usurped my favorite cold weather soup till now of butternut squash. The two vegetables are very similar in flavor when used in soups, especially after infusing the soup with all the spices. I used about three and a half pounds of potatoes, which made enough soup to serve at least 8-10 people. You can cut it in half if you prefer, or just freeze the leftovers for another day.

I served the soup to company a couple of weeks ago, and included a tray of accompaniments on the table — a small pitcher of warmed cream, some feta cheese, olive oil, and pepitas (pumpkin seeds). The soup is delicious all by itself without any cream or other toppings, but it’s nice to give guests the options, if you have them.

The version at Ottolenghi (photo below) was served with feta, a drizzle of olive oil and chopped chives and it was perfect.

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Warm Spiced Sweet Potato Soup appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.

I served this stew to my book club during the monthly dinner we hold in conjunction with our book selection. We try to prepare food that has a connection to the book, and in this case, it was Amor Towles, “A Gentleman In Moscow.” It’s a book that I’ve read twice now, and could read it again and again, for its witty, elegant style and its urbane central character, a Russian count who is confined by the Bolsheviks in Moscow’s famed Metropol Hotel, and is relegated to a tiny garret from his opulent suite. The book is filled with myriad references to food and wine, as well as history, music, politics, friendship, family ties and more. But the overarching theme of the book to me, at least, is one’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances and not only tolerate them, but find the joy in them.

At one point in the book when the count is in the hotel’s main dining room, he sees a young man struggling to order something from among the extensive (and mostly expensive) items on the menu to impress his date, but one that won’t break the bank.

“The young man’s gaze drifted back and forth between these opposing hazards. But in a stroke of genius, he ordered the Latvian stew. While this traditional dish of pork, onions, and apricots was reasonably priced, it was also reasonably exotic; and it somehow harkened back to that world of grandmothers and holidays and sentimental melodies that they had been about to discuss when so rudely interrupted.”

Further, when the headwaiter, who is later to become the count’s nemesis and manager of the Metropol Hotel, suggests an expensive Rioja wine, the count overhears this and recoils, knowing that the Spanish wine is not only too  expensive for the young man, but the wrong wine to accompany the stew. Overriding the headwaiter’s suggestion, (and foreshadowing a future perilous confrontration) the count interjects and says “If I may, For a serving of Latvian stew, you will find no better choice than a bottle of Mukuzani.”

While there are food references galore in the book, the Latvian stew scene cinched the deal for me, and I was determined to find the Mukuzani wine to serve along with the stew to my book club compatriots. It was easier to find than I imagined, and was not only delicious, but at $10.00 a bottle, was a real bargain.

There are several recipes for the stew on the internet, but the one I settled on came from the website “A Little And A Lot.” Even so, I changed it somewhat to eliminate the liquid smoke she used, to add more carrots and increase the amount of pork. I also found that after cooking the stew at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, it was bubbling too much and the liquid was reducing and thickening too quickly. The meat was already nearly tender, so rather than cook the meat for another hour at the same temperature as the recipe suggested , I lowered the temperature to 200 degrees, added a little more water, and let it gently simmer for another hour in the oven until my guests arrived.  Make sure to use a boneless pork shoulder because it needs the fat marbling to produce succulent, tender meat. I bought mine at Costco and there was actually too much outer fat on my pork roast, which I trimmed. From a piece of meat that weighed 6 pounds at the start, it was only 4 1/2 pounds after I finished trimming it — more than enough to easily serve 8-10 people.

The other members of the bookgroup contributed other foods either mentioned in the book, or aassociated with Russian or Slavic cuisine, starting with a delicious appetizer of ponzu salmon and avocado toast:

First course of borscht:

Traditional vegetables served in Russia: salad, potatoes and cabbage:

And for dessert: a multi-layered honey cake —

and chocolate “kielbasa”

Check out Ciao Chow Linda on Instagram here to find out what’s cooking in my kitchen each day (and more).

The post Latvian Stew appeared first on Ciao Chow Linda.