Who better to take inspiration from than the generation who have spent their lifetimes plating up comfort and connection?
Vicky Bennison, the author of the bestselling Pasta Grannies cookbook, brings us more heart-warming recipes and stories from our favourite Italian grandmothers in this easy-to-follow, crowd-pleasing recipe book that shows you how to make authentic Italian food everyone will enjoy. And it's Stanley Tucci-approved, no less.
Anna's pomodori ripieni di riso alla Romana - Roman stuffed tomatoes
Serves 4
Baked rice-filled tomatoes are a classic summer dish in Rome, prepared in the cooler hours and then eaten, at room temperature, later in the day. Your tomatoes must be flavoursome - if in doubt, stir in a couple of tablespoons of grated pecorino or parmigiano just before you divide the rice mixture between the tomatoes.
4 large ripe tomatoes
16 basil leaves
Olive oil, for seasoning and drizzling
200g risotto rice such as arborio
4 small cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 175C.
2. Cut the tops off the tomatoes (keep the tops as they will be the lid) and scoop out the flesh. A food mill is a useful gadget here: plop the pulp onto the plate and crush the contents into a bowl. This removes the pips and hard bits that can form near the stalk. Or run the tomatoes through a fine sieve with a wooden spoon (less fun than using a mill). Shred the basil leaves finely and stir these into the juice with a scant teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Taste it; the rice is going to absorb and knock back the flavour, so you want it to be properly seasoned.
3. Anna's method is to soak the rice in this mixture for at least 1 hour before spooning it into the tomato shells, but I have found my rice doesn't cook very evenly when I do this, so I cheat and simmer the tomato-rice mix in a pan for 6 minutes and let it cool a little before I distribute it evenly among the 4 tomato shells, making sure not to overfill any of them.
4. Tuck a small garlic clove into each tomato and top with the lid. Place them in a baking dish and drizzle everything with olive oil.
5. Bake in the oven for 50–60 minutes. Remove from the oven and once they are cool, remove the garlic cloves. Served warm or at room temperature; they taste even better if you can let them sit overnight.
Giulina's risi e bisi - Rice and peas from Veneto
Serves 4
Giulina lives in Murano, an island just a short ferry ride from Venice; tourists flock there for its glass blowing, but devoted vegetable lovers get off at the next stop, the lesser-known island of Sant'Erasmo. It is a small, crocheted vegetative blanket of market gardening, laden with produce and struggling to stay afloat in the lagoon.
1kg peas in the pods, or 600g frozen peas
6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
320g risotto rice, preferably vialone nano
4 heaped Tbsp finely chopped parsley
40g unsalted butter
60g parmigiano reggiano, grated
Salt
Black pepper (optional)
1. If you're using peas in pods, shell the peas and place the pods in a saucepan with plenty of water. Cover and simmer gently for about 1 hour until they're very soft. Alternatively, use a pressure cooker to speed up the process. Scoop out the pods and pass them through a food mill, scraping the resulting purée back into the water to create the stock. Season with salt to taste and keep warm in a saucepan over a low heat.
2. If you don't have access to fresh peas, you can use frozen ones instead. Place 1.2 litres of water with 300g of peas into a saucepan and bring them to the boil with 4g – 2 heavy pinches – of salt. Cover the pan and cook the peas for 8 minutes. Strain them, allow them to cool for 2 minutes, then puree until very smooth.
3. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over a medium heat, add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 5–7 minutes until softened but not browned. Add the rice and the remaining peas: how many is up to you. Saute the mixture for a few minutes until the grains are semi-translucent. Add half the parsley; keep frying, season with salt, then start adding in the stock 2 ladlefuls at a time. Add more stock when the rice starts to dry out. If you are using frozen peas, add them now.
4. You're aiming for a sloppy risotto. Once the rice is cooked – it should be al dente but not chalky in the middle – take the pan off the heat and stir in the rest of the parsley, the butter and Parmigiano. Let it rest, covered, for 3–5 minutes; if it thickens up too much, stir in a little more stock. Serve with more cheese and some black pepper if you like.
Procida ladies' spaghetti al pesto di limone - Spaghetti with lemon pesto from Procida
Serves: 4–6
Procida, a tiny little island just off Naples, was the location for The Talented Mr Ripley film and was awarded Italy's Capital for Culture for 2022. Lemons in this part of the world are large, sweet and fragrant - if you are using regular lemons, experiment with the acidity by reducing the amount of juice and adding a little more water. Meyer lemons can also be substituted.
3 large organic lemons
50ml lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
10g flat-leaf parsley (or basil)
5g mint
1 clove garlic
Pinch salt
Pinch dried chilli flakes
50ml extra virgin olive oil
50g Italian pine nuts (or walnuts)
100g parmigiano reggiano (or pecorino), grated
Allow 90–100g of boxed spaghetti per person
1. Start by peeling the lemons; you only want the skin. A great way to remove the pith from the peel is to use a filleting knife, which has flexible blade. Anchor the peel pith side up with a finger, then with the other hand press and slither the knife horizontally under the pith (away from your fingers, please), leaving the zesty skin.
2. Chop the rinds finely. Strain the lemon juice to remove pips. Rough chop the parsley, mint and garlic and blitz all these together in a food processor with a pinch of salt, the chilli flakes and the oil until smooth. Roughly chop the nuts, add them to the mix and blitz again until you have a rough paste. Add half the cheese and give it a quick zhuzh. Taste for acidity and, if needed, add tablespoons of water to adjust.
3. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti for the time indicated on the packet. In the meantime take a large salad bowl and dollop in the pesto. Dilute with a ladle of hot pasta water to make it more of a sauce. Drain your pasta, keeping some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the pesto, adding in the rest of the cheese and adding more hot pasta water if necessary so the sauce coats the spaghetti. Serve immediately. This should be on your regular recipe roster!
Edited extract from Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50, available in-stores nationally.
