Skip to content

Top Navigation

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Recipes
  • Cooking 101
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
SUBSCRIBE
Pin FB

Explore Cooking Light

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 31-Day Healthy Meal Plan

      Our 31-day calendar of meals and tips shows you how to cook more and love it with fun, family-friendly meals that come together quickly and deliciously. Read More
    • Dinner Tonight: Quick and Healthy Menus in 45 Minutes (or Less)

      Hundreds of delicious recipes, paired with simple sides, that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. Read More
    • Our Favorite Healthy Air Fryer Recipes

      Who ever said that chicken wings, doughnuts, and pizza couldn't be healthy? Read More
  • Recipes

    Recipes

    See All Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Recipe Makeovers
    • Quick & Healthy
    • Diabetic
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cooking Light Live
  • Cooking 101

    Cooking 101

    See All Cooking 101
    • Essential Ingredients
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Meet the Chef
    • Cooking Resources
    • Budget Friendly
    • Smart Choices
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living

    Healthy Living

    See All Healthy Living
    • Weight-Loss
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Travel
    • Nutrition 101
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Recipes
  3. Italian Vegetable Cooking

Italian Vegetable Cooking

By Hannah Klinger December 11, 2015
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell
Domenica Marchetti captures the soulful cooking of Italy in winter. No fresh tomato or favas here, only hearty vegetables and bright citrus, treated simply.
Start Slideshow

1 of 7

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Don't Be Fooled

Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell

"The biggest misconception about Italian food is that it's all cheese, pasta, pizza, and gelato. It's actually all about the vegetables," says Domenica Marchetti, chef instructor and author of six cookbooks, including The Glorious Vegetables of Italy. She takes inspiration from her yearly travels across the country, nodding to regional cuisines while adding a modern twist—a garlicky gremolata showers fresh shaved mushrooms; a poached egg sits atop a rustic bean stew. Above all, her approach is simple: "I let the vegetables speak for themselves," she says.

See More: Italian Pantry Essentials

1 of 7

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 7

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Fennel and Radicchio Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell
View Recipe: Fennel and Radicchio Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

There's something about the sweet anise flavor of fresh fennel and bright citrus that go so well together. Citrus grows all over Italy, from blood oranges to grapefruit to lemons. It is a dominant flavor in the cuisine. Let the salad stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving. This allows the dressing to penetrate the vegetables and tenderize them a bit for a less aggressive crunch.

2 of 7

3 of 7

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Mushroom Carpaccio with Gremolata and Shaved Parmigiano

Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell
View Recipe: Mushroom Carpaccio with Gremolata and Shaved Parmigiano

Fresh button mushrooms don't have loads of flavor, but they have a wonderfully meaty, dense texture. A sprinkle of garlicky gremolata, typically served with osso buco (braised veal), punches up the dish and makes it special.

This salad is the perfect antidote to the winter blues, and it pairs beautifully with foods of the season—roasts, stews, and braises. You could use a mandoline to slice the mushrooms, but a sharp knife will do.

3 of 7

Advertisement

4 of 7

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Ribollita with Poached Eggs

Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell

This Tuscan dish is classic cucina povera, or poor man's cuisine. Meat was expensive, so Italians stretched vegetables and beans as much as possible. Day-old bread wouldn't be thrown away but would be added to the pot.

Thick and enriched with a drizzle of good olive oil, ribollita hovers somewhere between a soup and a vegetable stew. One night I topped each serving with a runny poached egg, and a new one-dish meal was born in our house. Serve as a satisfying main, or skip the egg and get up to 10 servings for a first course.

4 of 7

5 of 7

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Roasted Balsamic Radicchio with Pancetta and Walnuts

Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell
View Recipe: Roasted Balsamic Radicchio with Pancetta and Walnuts

There are so many types of radicchio at the market, such as Castelfranco with its scarlet speckled leaves and Verona with its long, curled fingers. Round Chioggia is delicious roasted and topped with crispy pancetta and a drizzle of honey.

Radicchio—that bitter, crunchy, scarlet and white vegetable Italians adore, becomes entirely different when roasted. Its color deepens and the flavor turns mellow and nutty, with just a hint of bitterness remaining. Serve it alongside roast pork, chicken, or beef. Or, to turn it into a main course, chop and toss with hot cooked pasta.

5 of 7

6 of 7

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Roasted Cauliflower with Anchovy Sauce

Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell
View Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower with Anchovy Sauce

Nutty, tender roasted cauliflower pairs perfectly with the assertive flavor of anchovy. If you are an anchovy lover, use the oil from the tin or jar in place of extra-virgin olive oil to make the anchovy sauce.

6 of 7

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 7

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Wilted Escarole with Lemon and Garlic

Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell

Escarole can be intimidating when raw—it's a big head of tough, curly leaves. Just wilting and sautéing transforms this inhospitable vegetable into something completely delicious. Could anything be simpler?

Escarole is transformed by heat, turning soft and mellow, with only a slight edge of bitterness. Swiss chard and mature spinach are also delicious cooked this way.

7 of 7

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Hannah Klinger

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 7 Don't Be Fooled
    2 of 7 Fennel and Radicchio Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
    3 of 7 Mushroom Carpaccio with Gremolata and Shaved Parmigiano
    4 of 7 Ribollita with Poached Eggs
    5 of 7 Roasted Balsamic Radicchio with Pancetta and Walnuts
    6 of 7 Roasted Cauliflower with Anchovy Sauce
    7 of 7 Wilted Escarole with Lemon and Garlic

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Cooking Light

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    MeredithCooking Light is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cooking Light may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Cooking Light. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.cookinglight.com

    View image

    Italian Vegetable Cooking
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.