Italian recipes

Choosing a italian recipe

Compare the ingredients, cooking time and equipment below to find a dish that fits your plans. Each recipe includes quantities and a step-by-step method.

• Lasagne alla bolognese with slow-simmered ragù

  Preparation takes 51 minutes. Cooking takes 239 minutes. Allow 304 minutes in total. Makes 8 servings. Key ingredients: onion, peeled weight, carrot, peeled weight, celery, trimmed weight, olive oil, raw beef mince, approximately 10–15% fat. Equipment: Heavy 4–5 litre casserole with lid, 2.5–3 litre saucepan, 6 litre pan for pasta, Deep ovenproof dish, approximately 30 × 22 × 7 cm internally, about 4.5 litres capacity, Rimmed baking tray, Digital scales, Food thermometer, Whisk and wooden spoon, Slotted spoon or spider, Large bowl for cooling pasta, Clean tea towels, Foil, Kettle for heating corrective water if needed.

  Kitchen tip: The schedule allows a 140-minute ragù simmer and about 40 minutes in the oven. Extend either stage if the sauce texture or centre temperature requires it; do not shorten the rest to recover time.

• Crispy gnocchi with roasted peppers and burrata

  Preparation takes 12 minutes. Cooking takes 32 minutes. Allow 44 minutes in total. Makes 2 servings. Key ingredients: chilled potato gnocchi, uncooked weight, suitable for pan-frying without boiling, jarred roasted red peppers in brine or vinegar, olive oil, garlic, water. Equipment: 28 cm non-stick frying pan, Lid suitable for the 28 cm frying pan, needed only for the optional steam-softening troubleshooting technique, Approximately 1-litre saucepan with lid, Stick blender and tall heatproof blending vessel, Shallow metal oven tray, Spatula, Sieve or colander, Kitchen scales and measuring spoons.

  Kitchen tip: The schedule allows 10 minutes per frying batch. Follow your gnocchi packet if it specifies a different direct-frying time, and allow longer if the centres remain firm.

• Margherita pizza with no-cook tomato sauce

  Preparation takes 54 minutes. Cooking takes 75 minutes. Allow 204 minutes in total. Makes 2 servings. Key ingredients: strong white bread flour, strong white bread flour, water, instant dried yeast, fine salt. Equipment: Digital scales capable of weighing small yeast and salt quantities, Mixing bowl of at least 2 litres and a lid or cover, Sieve and bowls for draining, Covered containers for refrigerating sauce and reserved tomatoes, Clean kitchen paper, Heavy, uncoated metal baking tray with a stable, flat underside of at least 30 × 35 cm, rated for 250°C, Pizza peel or a second flat, rimless metal tray, Dry oven gloves, Board and pizza cutter or sharp knife.

  Kitchen tip: The schedule allows a 105-minute first rise, but dough readiness takes priority. Extend the rise in a cool kitchen and shift later tasks accordingly.

• Tiramisu with Espresso-Dipped Ladyfingers

  Preparation takes 39 minutes. Cooking takes 4 minutes. Allow 403 minutes in total. Makes 9 servings. Key ingredients: crisp savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers), dry weight, full-fat mascarpone, commercially pasteurised liquid egg yolk, commercially pasteurised liquid egg white, caster sugar. Equipment: Square dish approximately 20 × 20 cm internally and at least 6 cm deep, about 2.4 litres capacity, Espresso machine or other suitable coffee-making equipment, Shallow heatproof container and larger bowl for an ice-water bath, Electric hand mixer, Two mixing bowls of at least 2 litres, Flexible spatula, Two shallow dipping bowls, Digital scales, Fine sieve, Cover or cling film, Knife and broad serving spatula.

  Kitchen tip: Coffee is dipping liquid, not a quantity the biscuits must absorb. Never add the remainder to the dessert.

• Lemony courgette pasta with ricotta and basil

  Preparation takes 15 minutes. Cooking takes 26 minutes. Allow 31 minutes in total. Makes 2 servings. Key ingredients: dried linguine, courgettes, ricotta suitable for vegetarians, olive oil, garlic. Equipment: 4-litre saucepan with lid, 28 cm deep frying pan, approximately 2.5–3 litres capacity, Chopping board and knife, Fine grater, Large heatproof bowl, Heatproof measuring jug, Colander, Tongs and wooden spoon, Measuring spoons, Two serving bowls.

  Kitchen tip: Packet pasta timings vary; shift the pasta start accordingly. Reserve the water and prepare the ricotta before the draining point, then drain promptly and transfer directly to the pan.

• Spaghetti carbonara

  Preparation takes 10 minutes. Cooking takes 20 minutes. Allow 30 minutes in total. Makes 4 servings. Key ingredients: dried spaghetti, guanciale, weighed after removing the tough rind, cut into strips about 5 mm (¼ inch) thick, Pecorino Romano, very finely grated, divided, pasteurized whole eggs, pasteurized egg yolks. Equipment: 5–6 litre (5–6 US quart) pasta pot with lid, 28 cm (11 inch) frying pan, Large heatproof mixing bowl, at least 3 litres (3 US quarts), Medium mixing bowl, Small bowl for the cooked guanciale, Fine grater, Whisk, Tongs, Measuring spoons, Heatproof measuring jug, Colander.

  Kitchen tip: Heat the pasta water and render the guanciale at the same time, then whisk the eggs and cheese while the spaghetti cooks. The 30-minute timing is approximate and depends on your hob and pasta.