Italian Cuisine – Live Laugh Love Do

One Pot Creamy Italian Lasagna Soup.

admin — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 11:12:32 +0000

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Make this when you’re craving all the rich, slow-simmered flavors of classic lasagna but you’re short on time. It’s the perfect fall-and-winter bowl—made with spicy Italian chicken sausage, ground beef (or chicken), Italian seasoning, crushed tomatoes, spinach, a splash of cream, and a melty mix of mozzarella, provolone, and Parmesan. Break the lasagna noodles right into the pot for a true one-pot dinner. Even better with garlicky bread and a simple green salad.

It’s been chilly here—winter days are settling in—and I’m feeling like it’s going to be a cold end to the year. Cozy season is my favorite, and honestly, I think I do my best cooking right now.

This soup is a perfect example. We had family in town, and I wanted something everyone would love. On our first snowy day last week, I made this—two big pots, plenty of noodles, lots of cheese—plus garlicky bread and my house fall salad.

Instant hit. It was exactly what we needed on one of the first snowy nights of the season.

Let’s Dive Into The Details

The Ingredients

spicy Italian chicken/pork sausage
ground beef
a yellow onion
Italian seasoning
crushed tomatoes
marinara sauce
broth
baby spinach
broken lasagna noodles
heavy cream
mozzarella or provolone cheese – I used a mix
fresh parmesan
parsley or basil – for topping

Kitchen Tools Needed

To make this recipe, you need a large Dutch oven. That’s pretty much it. Nothing fancy or complicated today!

The Steps

Step 1: Cook the meat

Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the Italian sausage, ground beef, onion, and Italian seasoning. Cook, breaking up the meat, until browned and the onions are soft, 6–8 minutes. The sausage/beef fat is usually enough—no extra oil needed. Spoon off a little fat if there’s a lot.

Step 2: Add the tomatoes & broth

Stir in the crushed tomatoes, marinara, broth, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a lively simmer. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Step 3: Cook the pasta

Stir in the spinach and dry noodles, mafaldine (Whole Foods carries this too), skinny lasagna, or broken lasagna sheets all work.) Cook, stirring often so the pasta doesn’t clump, until just al dente, 8–10 minutes. Add a splash of water if the soup gets too thick.

Step 4: Finish the soup

Turn the heat to low. Stir in the cream, then the mozzarella, provolone, and Parmesan until melty and creamy. Add fresh basil or parsley.

Serving

Ladle into warm bowls. Top with extra Parmesan and more herbs. Serve right away with garlicky bread and a simple green salad.

One last tip (freezer-friendly)

For make-ahead, freeze the soup without the pasta, cream, or cheese. When ready to serve, thaw in a pot, add the noodles with an extra cup of water, simmer until tender, then stir in the cream and cheeses.

Looking for soup recipes? Here are a few ideas:

Creamy Gnocchi Soup with Rosemary Bacon

Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup

Pesto Tortellini Zuppa Toscana

Creamy White Lasagna Soup

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

Lastly, if you make this One Pot Creamy Italian Lasagna Soup, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

One-Pot Creamy Italian Lasagna Soup

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories Per Serving: 640 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

1. In a large Dutch oven, cook the sausage, beef, onions, and Italian seasonings until the meat is browned all over, 5-10 minutes. 2. Add the crushed tomatoes, marinara sauce, and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes until thickened slightly. Stir in 2 cups of water, and bring to a boil. 3. Add the spinach and pasta, cooking until soft, 10-ish minutes. Str in the cream, and both cheeses. 4. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve topped with parmesan and fresh herbs. Enjoy!

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Homemade Cavatelli

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 22:34:31 +0000

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Cavatelli became a favorite pasta to make during a difficult time. In the four months after my mom died, I spent most of that time in Northern California at my dad’s house. Everyone converged on the house, more things unraveled, and no one went home for a long time. I made some strange decisions about what to bring when I loaded the car that initial morning – watercolors, a stack of cookbooks, my camera, a favorite knife, a huge bin of spices. I thought about bringing my favorite donabe, but was worried it would break. I grabbed my pasta machine instead. Not a bad call, because a lot of pasta was made!

Cavatelli: The Inspiration

The move to cavatelli was partially out of necessity. My workhorse, the Atlas pasta machine, has issues at my dad’s house. There is nothing to clamp it on to. Every countertop and table is too thick. It’s maddening. I noticed the clamp on the cavatelli maker seemed like it might be wider, so I thought we’d try it instead. It is also worth mentioning, I’ve been meaning to buy a cavatelli maker for years. Ragazza, a sweet little Italian spot, was just up the street from where we lived in San Francisco. The owner Sharon tipped me off to how she made their cavatelli from scratch with a little hand-cranked machine (something like this one) – and I’ve meant to get my hands on once since. This seemed like the right time.

About this Cavatelli Recipe

After a good amount of experimenting, I’ve settled on the following as my basic cavatelli dough and technique. Once you master it, the variations you can explore are endless (see below). The cavatelli machine likes pasta dough that’s not-too-wet and not-too-dry. If you hit the sweet spot, you’ll be able to crank out a pound of cavatelli incredibly quickly. If your dough is getting stuck in your machine, pat it with flour, dust off any excess, and try again. You’ll eventually get a feel for it!

What if I don’t have a Cavatelli Machine?

Not a big deal! You can make it by hand a number of other ways. Here’s a page that demonstrates how to shape cavatelli with a ridged board, fork, or grater. I’ve also seen it shaped traditionally in Puglia using something like a butter knife.

What Flour Should I Use?

Cavatelli is traditionally made with durum wheat semolina flour. But, if you don’t have that on hand, don’t let it stop you. Last week I was out of semolina flour, so the cavatelli you see pictured here was made with “00” flour. “00” is powder-fine and made with low gluten, soft wheat flour. If you don’t have “00” you can certainly use all-purpose flour. A long way of saying, make cavatelli with 100% semolina flour if you have it, or use equal parts “00” and semolina, or just “00″….go for the all-purpose flour if that’s what you have.

How To Freeze Cavatelli

Freezing is my preferred method of storing any cavatelli I’m not cooking immediately. Arrange freshly made, uncooked cavatelli across a floured baking sheet. Try to make sure they’re in a single layer. Freeze for a couple of hours, and then transfer to double layer plastic bags. You can freeze for up to a couple of months. And you can cook straight from the freezer. No need to thaw, just dump the cavatelli into boiling salted water, and increase the cooking time a bit.

Cavatelli Variations

In the recipe below you can see how you can tweak basic cavatelli pasta dough by adding different seasonings and spices. I wanted to make a bright, sunny plate of pasta with lots of roasted yellow and orange vegetables and ingredients like cauliflower, golden yellow beets, and winter squash (pictured above). I added turmeric and black pepper to the pasta dough for a little flavor, color, and boost. The possibilities are endless here.

You can also play around with the water. In place of water you can use vegetable juices, purees, stocks or broths, anything of that sort is fair game.
Making fresh pasta is one of my favorite things to do. It’s even better when you have others around to help, taking turns in shifts. I did a basic primer on making homemade pasta a while ago, if you love fettuccine noodles or anything along those lines, start there. And all my pasta recipes live here. Enjoy!

More Pasta Recipes

Favorite Pasta Sauces

Other Favorite Italian Recipes

Continue reading Homemade Cavatelli on 101 Cookbooks

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House Favorite Chicken Parmesan Recipe

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 19:45:59 +0000

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The Viral Restaurant Chicken Parm Made Me Do It.

WOW GUYS this is a golden, cheesy, over-the-top crispy chicken parm, and it is so good!

This idea came into my life by way of Instagram – I found myself watching basically all the videos from Carbonara restaurant of their viral dish (chicken parmesan alla vodka) which is a saucy, bubbling skillet of mozzarella with vodka sauce that gets dramatically poured out over these huge crispy chicken cutlets.

And I was like, I need to try that. Pronto.

So I just did the full thing, right at home:

Fried the chicken cutlets
Made a quick little San Marzano tomato sauce
Broiled that cheesy pan
Poured it in very dramatic fashion over the top of the chicken.

Just IMAGINE IT. It’s crispy, molten cheesy, saucy… so incredibly good. Now imagine it with garlic bread and salad all together on the plate.

I used DeLallo San Marzano Style Crushed Tomatoes for the sauce and the whole thing was shockingly good. It’s so simple, but the quality of the tomatoes, the oil, shallots, salt? It’s sweet and salty and just sharp enough to be interesting, and I was just eating it straight.

We are in the middle of a kitchen remodel and I’ve already decided, this will be one of my first (if not THE first) meals I make in the new kitchen.

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Easy Calzone Recipe – A Beautiful Mess

admin — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 14:21:56 +0000

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While I love homemade pizza, I am also a big fan of pizza’s modest cousin, the calzone. And while I am all for a homemade calzone recipe (from scratch), this post is more about ways to make easy calzone using different types of crust mixes or store-bought dough.

Calzone is different from stromboli in two ways. Stromboli is rolled, like a pizza cinnamon roll, while a calzone only has a top and bottom layer. If a calzone is a pressed sandwich, stromboli is a pinwheel burrito. I also think of calzone like a pizza pocket (or my childhood favorite: Hot Pocket).

The second difference is calzone is usually made with ricotta cheese (or a mix of cheese including ricotta). This adds moisture to the calzone.

What is a Calzone?

Calzone = Dough + Sauce + Cheese + Fillings

The ingredients in a calzone recipe are dough, pizza sauce, cheese and fillings, such as pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, and any other vegetables or protein you prefer. You can also make a cheese calzone without any other fillings.

Another key to great calzone is you should serve it alongside dipping sauce—preferably marinara. Whatever red sauce you use inside the calzone can be served for dipping, so you don’t necessary have to make or buy two different sauces unless you want to.

From Scratch Dough Options

For an easy calzone recipe, use one of the store-bought options below. But, if you are looking to make calzone from scratch, here are few pizza dough recipes that can work well:

Other pizza dough recipes can work, but avoid anything that is super thin or crispy. These will not bake as well. It’s best to stick to a pizza dough recipe that contains yeast, although there are some exceptions.

Store-Bought Calzone Dough Options

Frozen dough for bread loaves – This is my favorite store-bought option. Each loaf will make three calzones, so this entire package you see above would make nine calzones if I used it all at once. You will need to thaw and roll this dough out with a rolling pin.
Refrigerated pizza dough (like Pillsbury) – I also like this option because it works well and is easy to shape into a number of different calzones, depending on the size.
Dry pizza crust mix (like Jiffy) – Although this will work and is the most shelf-stable option, it can make your calzone crust kind of thin and dry.

This is the frozen bread dough before rolling it out. Whatever dough you use, make sure to roll it out to a desired thickness before baking.

If you leave the dough super thick (more than 1/2 an inch), it may be kind of doughy on the inside while fully baked to burning on the outside. Adjust the bake time as needed depending on what dough recipe you use.

Calzone Fillings

Sauce – I like red sauce. You won’t need much for the inside of each calzone—just a couple spoonfuls at the most. But you will want some on the side for dipping. You can make calzone with other sauces like Alfredo or other pasta sauces or BBQ sauce. Any sauce you like on pizza you will probably like in a calzone.
Cheese – I usually use a mixture of ricotta cheese and shredded mozzarella. The ricotta cheese adds moisture to the inside of the calzone so it doesn’t dry out in baking. That being said, if you want to skip the ricotta, the best substitution is fresh mozzarella, which has higher moisture.
Toppings – Pizza toppings can become fillings for calzone. My family likes pepperoni, and if I have some fresh basil, I’ll usually add that too. If you want to use vegetables, you may want to consider cooking them slightly first, like sautéing bell peppers, onions, or mushrooms. But this is personal preference and just depends on what kind of textures you prefer.

Directions

Roll out the dough. For this bake time I’m recommending here, the dough should be roughly 8-10 inches in diameter and 1/2 an inch thick or less.

Add a spoonful or two of sauce and spread more or less evenly toward the edges, leaving a little edge all around. Put each calzone on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

On half of the calzone add 2-3 tablespoons ricotta cheese, crumbled. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese or parmesan cheese. Then add a handful of any toppings you like.

Fold the dough over on itself, making an empanada shape (half moon). I like to use a fork to press the edges together, but you can also roll them up. This will depend on your dough.

Optional: Brush the tops with an egg wash before baking. This will create a golden brown color.

Once baked, serve alongside with dipping sauce. If you want to feel healthy, maybe add a salad. You do you. Enjoy! -Emma

More Recipes to Try

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the easiest way to make homemade calzone

Yield 3 servings

Prep 8 minutes

Cook 15 minutes

Total 23 minutes

Instructions

Roll out the dough. For this bake time I’m recommending here, the dough should be roughly 8-10 inches in diameter and 1/2 an inch thick or less.
Add a spoonful or two of sauce and spread more or less evenly toward the edges, leaving a little edge all around.
On half of the calzone add 2-3 tablespoons ricotta cheese, crumbled. Also 2-3 tablespoons shredded mozzarella.
Then, add a handful of any toppings you like, if you are adding any.
Fold the dough over on itself, making an empanada shape (half moon). I like to use a fork to press the edges together, but you can also roll them up. This will depend on your dough.
Optional: Brush the tops with an egg wash before baking.
Bake at 400°F for 13-15 minutes. The edges should look golden brown.
Serve with warm dipping sauce.

Notes

See post for suggestions of from-scratch dough recipe as well as store-bought options to try. Various dough may need slightly adjusted bake times, as this could change the final nutrition counts as well.

Nutrition

8 Expert-Backed Roast Chicken Recipes for Perfectly Crispy Skin and Juicy Meat Every Time

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 19:07:21 +0000

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I used to work at a beloved Italian restaurant in San Francisco that had a retail counter stocked full of salads, savory pastries, whole roast chickens, charcuterie, and cheese. When I opened the front door each day, the aroma of rotisserie chicken and pollo al mattone would waft by me—quite possibly one of the nicest ways to be greeted first thing in the morning. I think that’s why people gravitated towards the place, aside from the wonderful pasta.

Let’s face it, the smell of roasted chicken just warms the soul—there’s really nothing like it. And if you have a few great roast chicken recipes in your arsenal, you can conjure up those cozy feelings pretty much any day of the week. We’ve gathered some of our favorites—from perfect roast chicken to foolproof pan-roasted chicken with vegetables. For those who want to infuse their bird with different flavors, we also have a spicy, citrusy Spanish roast chicken and an aromatic lavender-and thyme-infused bird that will transport you to Provence. So grab a bird and get roasting!

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Pomodoro Sauce – A Beautiful Mess

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:11:06 +0000

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This is my go-to tomato sauce recipe when I’m making it at home and not just buying a jar of store-bought. Pomodoro sauce simply means tomato sauce in Italian. It’s a simple recipe that tastes super fresh and flavorful. I also like that you can keep this sauce recipe traditional or you can easily customize it to your preferences, like adding some red pepper flakes or other ingredients that fit what your family loves.

Pomodoro sauce is different from marinara sauce in a few ways, but the biggest difference to me is the texture. This sauce is more uniform in texture while marinara tends to be heartier or chunkier.

Ingredients

Whole, peeled ripe tomatoes – I love to use fresh tomatoes. You may also use canned tomatoes.
Butter – Use whatever butter you keep on hand.
Olive Oil – Such as extra-virgin olive oil.
Onion – Chopped white onion.
Garlic – Minced garlic cloves.
Basil – Fresh basil leaves are a must.
Salt and Pepper – We use kosher salt and fresh ground black peppercorns.

I like this sauce on pretty much any noodle shape and even gnocchi topped with some Parmesan cheese. You can even learn to make fresh pasta at home.

How to Make Pomodoro Sauce

In a large saucepan or medium to large pot, saute the chopped onions and minced garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper. The garlic should be super fragrant and the onion will be softened and beginning to brown.

Transfer this mixture to a blender and add the cans of tomatoes (the entire contents including the juices). Add the basil leaves too. Blend until smooth.

Transfer the sauce back into your saucepan and simmer at medium-low heat for another 20 minutes. This will thicken the sauce as well as deepen the flavor. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Serve over cooked noodles and top with Parmesan cheese.

This will make around 5 cups of sauce, so at our house I can usually use this recipe for two meals, saving the second batch in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 5 days.

Tips & Additions

As with any recipe with so few ingredients, the quality of those ingredients matter. If possible, use San Marzano tomatoes.
Feel free to add more herbs beyond basil if you like, including parsley, thyme or even cilantro.
I like to add a little red pepper flakes or cayenne to this sauce for heat.
If you want to use fresh (not canned) tomatoes, you can! Learn how to prepare and peel them in this tomato and orange sauce recipe.
If you’re looking to add protein, you can add cooked Italian sausage or ground beef to your sauce.

What to serve Pomodoro Sauce with:

I love to serve pasta with a meat and/or vegetable side dish or salad. Here are a few favorites.

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Yield 8

Prep 5 minutes

Cook 20 minutes

Total 25 minutes

Instructions

In a large saucepan or medium to large pot, saute the chopped onions and minced garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
Season with a little salt and pepper. The garlic should be super fragrant and the onion will be softened and beginning to brown.
Transfer this mixture to a blender and add the cans of tomatoes (the entire contents including the juices).
Add the basil leaves too. Blend until smooth.
Transfer the sauce back into your saucepan and simmer for another 20 minutes. This will thicken the sauce as well as deepen the flavor.
Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
Serve over cooked noodles and top with Parmesan cheese.

Notes

This will make around 5 cups of sauce, so at our house I can usually use this recipe for two meals, saving the second batch in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 5 days.

Nutrition

Your Pasta Deserves Better—How to Upgrade Jarred Tomato Sauce in Minutes

admin — Sat, 09 Aug 2025 15:29:12 +0000

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Pasta and convenience: two things that tend to be naturally aligned. It’d be impossible to even guess at how many times we’ve relied on a quick-cooking bowl of spaghetti or rigatoni to fill our bellies in minimal time and with minimal effort. And while there are thousands of from-scratch pasta recipes that can be whipped up in minutes (aglio e olio, anyone?), there’s no doubt that a jar of good premade tomato sauce is the quickest of quick. But can you make jarred products better, and is it even worth the effort?

Well, no…and yes. The truth is that once you start down the road of doctoring store-bought pasta sauce, you’re adding enough effort that in many cases you might as well just whip up a quick-and-easy sauce from scratch. Is it really easier or better to spike a jarred sauce with fresh garlic or herbs, if you can make an equally wonderful sauce by, say, gently browning garlic and dried oregano in some olive oil and then briefly simmering some high-quality canned tomatoes with it? Frequently it is not.

But for all the instances in which it’d make just as much sense to forgo a supermarket brand of premade sauce, there are still times when you might enjoy popping the top off a ready-to-eat sauce and modify it in one way or another. There are few absolutes in life.

By applying at least one—if not a combination—of any of the tips below, you can customize store-bought tomato sauces to your heart’s content, to satisfy whatever your pasta goals may be.

Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga

Start With a Good Jar

The best way to make a jarred sauce taste more like a good homemade one is to start with a high-quality product. Trying to save an overly sweet, out of balance jarred sauce is a waste of time when the market is now chock full of products that taste great from the moment you pop open the lid. Rao’s, for one, is a longstanding SE staff favorite in need of little improvement. The sauce is bright and fruity, with a balanced acidity and the pleasing flavors of garlic, olive oil, onion, basil, and oregano. And these days it’s just one of many.

Add Alliums

You can treat a jarred sauce the same as a homemade sauce by sautéing classic alliums like garlic and/or onions in olive oil or butter before adding the sauce. In most cases, the jarred sauces will already have these ingredients cooked into them, but doubling down on garlic and onion is unlikely to elicit any complaints.

Amanda Suarez / Serious Eats

Deglaze With Wine

If you have a bottle of dry red or white kicking around, there’s no harm in adding a splash to the pan after sautéing the above alliums in fat. Make sure to simmer the wine long enough to cook off its raw alcohol flavor before dumping the sauce into the pot, or you may end up with an unpleasantly boozy pasta.

Season With Fresh or Dried Herbs and Spices

While most jarred pasta sauces already contain some degree of seasonings like dried oregano and basil, a boost of these ingredients in a fresher form can enliven a sauce. A generous sprig or two of fresh herbs like basil, parsley, rosemary, or sage can all amp up the flavor of a jarred pasta sauce. Alternatively, some of those herbs, like parsley, sage, and rosemary, can be great minced up and gently fried into fresh olive oil before adding the sauce to the pot.

Keep in mind that when you add the fresh herbs will depend on the herb and the flavor you want. Simmered for longer, delicate herbs like basil and parsley lose some of their freshness in exchange for a deeper infusion, whereas adding them towards the end of cooking or off the heat keeps things lighter and brighter. Woodsy herbs like rosemary, meanwhile, require some simmering time to extract their flavor compounds, but if left too long (or used in too great a quantity) can end up making the sauce unpleasantly piney or menthol-y.

Photograph: Vicky Wasik

Dried herbs are another great option, especially if you want to go for a more classic Italian-American marinara vibe. Generally speaking, woodsier dried herbs like oregano are preferable to dried delicate herbs like basil, the latter of which lose almost all of their flavor once dried. And because many dried herbs like oregano have fat-soluble flavor compounds, you’ll get more benefit out of blooming them in oil or butter before adding the sauce. That said, take care with how much you add, especially since jarred sauces usually start off with some level of herbal flavoring: It’s better to start with a small pinch and then adjust to taste as needed, since it’s always easier to add flavor than take away.

Putting herbs aside, there are ingredients in your spice cabinet can also make a good addition to a tomato sauce. Toasted and ground fennel seeds, for example, can deepen a sauce’s intensity and offer a suggestion of Italian sausage without actually adding any meat (as with the dried herbs, most spices will bring more flavor to the sauce if you toast them in oil or butter first, though this does add marginally more time and effort compared to just stirring the spices into the sauce and simmering for a few minutes).

Whisk in Tomato Paste

To double down on tomato flavor in your sauce, heat up a spoonful or two of tomato paste in a couple tablespoons of oil until softened and caramelized before pouring in the sauce and whisking to combine. Since tomato paste is heavily reduced and has such a concentrated tomato flavor, it’s a quick way to make a sauce taste like it’s been simmering for hours without actually having to do so.

Boost the Acidity

Tomatoes are naturally acidic, but sometimes a jarred pasta sauce can lean too sweet, or just taste flat. Incorporating acids like lemon juice (and even zest) or red wine vinegar right before serving can round out your sauce. Added acidity also balances the sweetness often found in many lower-quality jarred tomato sauces, but again, why buy those?

Toss in Olives or Capers

Briny ingredients like olives or capers are another way to brighten up your pasta sauce while also introducing texture and depth of flavor. Roughly chop a handful and stir them into your sauce while it’s heating up on the stove. If you go heavy on some of these ingredients, you can bend a store-bought sauce in the direction of a puttanesca, one classic sauce that can be hard to find on store shelves.

Add Vegetables

Sautéing an array of aromatic vegetables in olive oil before adding your sauce can boost flavor while also creating more texture. A “battuto” (the Italian term for a finely minced mirepoix of onions, celery, and carrots) is a great place to start, but you can also try sautéed mushrooms, which will add a dose of umami, or fresh fennel, which will add complexity.

Get Meaty

A variety of meats can work to infuse fat, flavor, and texture to a jarred sauce. The best meats for this are fatty cuts with big flavor that will turn tender in a short simmer—think Italian sausage, pancetta, ground meats (like beef, pork, or lamb), and even bacon. Brown your preferred meat (or a combination) in a pan with olive oil to render its fat, then add your sauce and simmer until the meat is tender and fully cooked. Even as little as two ounces of meat will add considerable flavor. This is a great way to add richness and protein to your sauce, turning it into a more filling meal.

From left: bacon (smoked and cured pork belly), pancetta (cured pork belly), and guanciale (cured pork jowl).

Amp Up the Umami

Incorporating umami-rich ingredients into a jarred pasta sauce can increase complexity and savoriness. In addition to umami-rich ingredients like mushrooms and grated cheese mentioned in other sections here, you can melt a couple anchovy fillets in some olive oil before adding the sauce, or dissolve in a bouillon cube, a spoonful of miso, or a splash of fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce. Just be careful you don’t go overboard by using too much or too many of these intensely flavored ingredients.

Enrich With Dairy or Olive Oil

Just because a sauce is pre-made doesn’t mean it’s finished. Just as we like to simmer pasta in its sauce with a little bit of the pasta-cooking water for the last few minutes of cooking, we also like to enrich most sauces with a final glug of fresh olive oil, a pat of butter, and/or a big handful of finely grated cheese like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano. Vigorously stirred into the sauce off the heat, these ingredients thicken the sauce for a more silky texture and round out any lingering tangy notes from the tomato sauce.

Olive oil: Is it okay to use for high-heat cooking or not?.
Photographs: Vicky Wasik

On a related note, if you have some old grated-cheese rinds awaiting a purpose, you can also toss one of them into the sauce to make use of their flavor (though this will require a longer simmer that arguably defeats the purpose of a jarred-sauce convenience hack).

Beyond those basics, you can in some instances enhance a sauce with a splash of cream or half and half, a dollop of ricotta or some mascarpone. These can transform a sauce into something more like a creamy vodka, but please be thoughtful about what kind of jarred pasta sauce you’re starting with. The sweetness of cream, ricotta, and mascarpone all blend more seamlessly with a sauce that has a similar flavor profile—more fruity and sweet than acidic and herbal. That’s not to say a classic oregano-tinged marinara can’t be mixed with creamy dairy, just that not all sauces are good fits for that kind of fat.

Kick Up the Heat

Sometimes all it takes is a little spice to amp up a pasta sauce’s flavor. Try sprinkling in some red pepper flakes or stirring in some Calabrian chile paste for a welcome kick, though as noted with some of the other ideas above, these ingredients tend to incorporate most seamlessly into a sauce if heated in oil first, which will add time to the process.

October 2023

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The Crowd-Pleasing Dinner I Make Every August

admin — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 15:03:48 +0000

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I’ve been making this eggplant Parmesan every August for almost 15 years! Based on my mom’s recipe, it’s always a hit—saucy, cheesy, and delicious.

Everyone goes crazy for corn and tomatoes in August, but there’s one unsung veggie that’s at its peak right now too… Eggplant! I’m planning to cook with it as much as I can this month, starting by making my all-time favorite eggplant recipe: this eggplant Parmesan.

The recipe is based on my mom’s, and it brings back all the memories I have of her eggplant Parmesan as a kid. Smelling the rich, cheesy aroma as she pulled it out of the oven, digging into the tender eggplant at the table next to my sister. I’ve been making this recipe in my own kitchen for years now (like…15?!), and I still crave it every summer.

Here’s why I love this eggplant Parmesan recipe:

The crispy eggplant is baked, not fried. I love this approach because it allows you to use slightly less oil. I also think it’s easier! I’d much rather put all the eggplant on a sheet pan and slide it into the oven at once than fry batch after batch on the stove.
It uses fresh mozzarella. I love how the cheese’s richness and creaminess balance the tangy tomato sauce.
Herbs give it delicious depth of flavor. I use thyme and oregano in the breading for the eggplant and shower basil on top. They add a lovely freshness to this comforting dish.

If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing, show-stopping dish to make with August produce, you have to try this eggplant Parmesan.

I love it, my mom loves it, and our readers love it too.

Hector wrote, “Wow! Just as you said, this is sure to be a family favorite. Baking the eggplant and using your homemade marinara recipe made all the difference—it was absolutely delicious!”

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You don’t have to sweat the eggplant (but you can). The #1 question I get asked about this recipe is whether you need to sweat the eggplant. I don’t find it necessary (I literally never do it), but if you want to, you can! In that case, I’d reduce the salt in the breading mixture to ¼ teaspoon so that the eggplant doesn’t get too salty.
Homemade and store-bought marinara sauce both work great. I adore my homemade marinara sauce in this recipe, but admittedly, it’s a lot simpler to make with store-bought. I’ve used jarred sauce many times. Rao’s is my favorite.

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Fritto Misto Recipe | Epicurious

admin — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 12:22:45 +0000

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With its crisp bite and crowd-friendly nature, fritto misto is one of our favorite appetizers to enjoy all year. Originating in Italy, the name of the dish means “mixed fried things,” and it’s very versatile. Some recipes include a plethora of seafood like calamari, scallops, and anchovies, along with vegetables like artichokes, zucchini, eggplant, and sage leaves. This version streamlines things with a trio of large shrimp, mixed mushrooms, and fennel, laced with crispy leaves of fragrant fresh basil.

There are two keys to the light and crunchy exterior. First is white rice flour, which absorbs less oil than all-purpose flour, helping the fritto misto retain its integrity long after frying. The second is club soda or seltzer, which helps to create an airy tempura-like batter with lots of bubbles trapped in its crispy walls.

The good news is you don’t need a dedicated fryer to make fritto misto. A Dutch oven or similar heavy-bottomed pot works perfectly. Fry the shrimp and vegetables in alternating batches until golden brown and crispy, then transfer them with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to absorb excess hot oil. Season generously with kosher or sea salt, and serve with lemon wedges or aioli for a light, bright Italian appetizer—or enjoy it for lunch alongside a big Italian salad.

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Burrata with Tomatoes & Basil

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 21:04:15 +0000

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Let’s hear it for burrata cheese! I always order burrata when I find it on restaurant menus, and we’ve had some stellar combinations this summer. I can’t resist burrata’s contrasting textures—it’s like fresh mozzarella on the outside, but lusciously soft and creamy on the inside.

For this recipe, I designed a quintessential summertime burrata salad with fresh tomatoes. Serve it with crostini or a loaf of crusty bread to make it an appetizer. This burrata dish comes together in 15 minutes, believe it or not, and it’s a real showstopper.

I wanted to keep it simple but make it taste special, so I drew reference from my Easy Tomato Salad and Tomato Basil Bruschetta. I landed on a combination of cherry tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes for depth, plus freshly toasted pine nuts for a savory note. It’s not complete without a drizzle of rich olive oil, tangy balsamic vinegar, and a sprinkle of fresh basil. I hope it becomes one of your go-to recipes!

What is Burrata?

Burrata is an extra-rich and creamy variation of fresh mozzarella. It looks like a regular mozzarella ball on the outside. The inside is made of stracciatella, a luscious mixture of cream and mozzarella curds. It’s milky and delicious.

Burrata can be made with buffalo milk or cow milk. Buffalo milk is more traditional and offers a brighter, slightly tangy flavor, while cow’s milk is milder and might taste more familiar. Either one works well for this recipe.

Look for burrata near the fresh mozzarella at well-stocked grocery stores like Whole Foods. Use it promptly, especially once you’ve opened the package—it’s packed in water and doesn’t keep well like hard cheeses do.

Serve burrata at room temperature for the best flavor, or anywhere between lightly chilled and slightly warmed.

Burrata Serving Suggestions

Burrata pairs beautifully with the Italian flavors featured in this recipe: ripe tomatoes, basil (including pesto), balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and pine nuts or pistachios. If you’re not in the mood for tomatoes, replace them with fruit like sliced peaches, plums, cherries or cantaloupe.

Serve this burrata dish as a salad or appetizer. It complements most summertime meals, from casual cookouts to gourmet dinner parties. Round out your meal with any of these summery options:

More Burata Recipes

Try my Caprese Salad with Burrata, which features heirloom tomatoes. Burrata is a viable replacement for fresh mozzarella balls, as long as the recipe doesn’t call for cooking the mozzarella. Try my panzanella with torn pieces of burrata instead of mozzarella for a fun twist!

You can serve burrata on pizza, but wait to add torn burrata until the pizza is finished baking, or add it in the last minute to warm it. If it’s melted completely, it loses the contrast of the creamy interior and turns into a melty, unpredictable blob of mozzarella. Try replacing the mozzarella on my Margherita Pizza or Arugula-Almond Pesto Pizza with torn burrata, or serve it on Grilled Pizza.

Please let me know how your burrata turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.

Burrata with Tomatoes and Basil

This burrata salad recipe features tomatoes, basil and pine nuts, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It’s irresistible and ready in 15 minutes. Serve it as a salad or an appetizer with crostini or crusty bread. Recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.

If you’re using pine nuts: In a small skillet over medium-low heat, warm the pine nuts until they’re fragrant and turning lightly golden on the edges, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often (don’t let them burn!). Transfer them to a bowl to cool.
In a shallow serving bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the vinegar, and stir to combine all of the ingredients.
Gently tear open each ball of burrata and nestle them gently into the center of the tomato mixture. Drizzle the burrata with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the pine nuts all over the dish, followed by some reserved basil leaves, plus a sprinkle of black pepper. Sprinkle a pinch of flaky salt over the cheese, if using.
Serve with crostini or crusty bread on the side, if using. This burrata is best the day it’s made, but leftovers are good for several days in the refrigerator, covered.

Notes

Change it up: Substitute a large sliced peach for half of the tomatoes. Or for a more fruity variation, substitute peaches, nectarines or cherries for the tomatoes altogether (about 2 cups), and omit the sun-dried tomatoes. For the fruity variation, you might prefer pistachios to pine nuts.

Nutrition

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

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Italian Cuisine – Live Laugh Love Do

One Pot Creamy Italian Lasagna Soup.

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Serving

One last tip (freezer-friendly)

One-Pot Creamy Italian Lasagna Soup

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Start With a Good Jar

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Boost the Acidity

Toss in Olives or Capers

Add Vegetables

Get Meaty

Amp Up the Umami

Enrich With Dairy or Olive Oil

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Here’s why I love this eggplant Parmesan recipe:

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Fritto Misto Recipe | Epicurious

Burrata with Tomatoes & Basil

What is Burrata?

Burrata Serving Suggestions

More Burata Recipes

Burrata with Tomatoes and Basil

Notes

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Nutrition