Italian & Med recipes

Cooking Italian & Med food at home

Most dishes here use few ingredients and finish quickly, so technique shows. Where a Pakistani bhuna spends twenty minutes browning onions and masala, an Italian sauce often relies on gentle heat and good timing.

Techniques that matter

Pasta water. Salt it well, so it tastes clearly seasoned. Drain the pasta a minute before the packet time and finish it in the sauce with a ladle of the starchy water. That water helps the sauce cling. In Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, the garlic goes into oil over low heat and should turn pale gold. If it browns, it turns bitter, the same way tarka garlic does.

Soffritto. Onion, carrot and celery are cooked slowly in oil until soft and sweet, not browned. This is the opposite of a bhuna. It is the base of Spaghetti Bolognese, which needs a long, low simmer until the sauce is thick and the meat is tender.

Braising. For Chicken Cacciatore, brown the chicken skin-side down and leave it alone until it releases from the pan. Then simmer it in tomatoes until the meat is tender.

Risotto. Use arborio or carnaroli, not basmati. Add hot stock a ladle at a time and stir often. Mushroom Risotto is ready when the rice is creamy but still has a slight bite, and the mixture spreads slowly on a tilted plate. Brown the mushrooms in batches in a wide pan so they fry instead of steaming.

Ingredients and balance

Tinned whole peeled tomatoes make better cooked sauces than pale market tomatoes. Save fresh, ripe ones for raw dishes. Penne Arrabbiata is built on chilli heat, so adjust the flakes to your taste and let the oil turn red before adding tomato.

Use plain olive oil for frying and keep extra virgin for finishing and dressing. Add basil at the end, because heat dulls it. Rosemary, oregano and thyme can go in earlier.

Low-moisture mozzarella suits baking. Fresh mozzarella suits Caprese Salad with Balsamic Glaze, and you should pat it dry first. Cream sauces such as Chicken Alfredo need a gentle simmer, just until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. A hard boil can make it split.

North, south and the wider Med

Northern Italian cooking leans on butter, cream, rice and baked dishes, like Beef Lasagna with Creamy White Sauce. Southern cooking is more tomato, olive oil, garlic and chilli. Further east, Greek Salad uses chunky cucumber, tomato, red onion, olives, feta and oregano. Dress it just before serving so the vegetables stay crisp.

Bread, pizza and occasions

Rosemary Focaccia needs a wet dough, plenty of oil in the tray and dimples pressed in with oiled fingers. For pizza, heat your oven as high as it goes, with an upturned baking tray inside for at least 30 minutes, and bake on that.

On weeknights, pasta with a quick sauce and a salad takes about 20 minutes. For weekends and guests, make lasagna, risotto or a tray of focaccia. Most of the work can be done ahead.