“Vedure in Scapece” is a summer dish from Naples found in Italian delis all over America. It’s the go-to recipe in Italy for people who have loads of zucchini, eggplant, peppers and other vegetables in their summer garden. The funny thing is that it is usually translated as “marinated vegetables” but that’s not right. “Scapece” is an imported word from Spain where it’s spelled “escabeche,” probably from the time when Naples was a great trading port for the Mediterranean.

Continue reading Italian Pickled Vegetables (Verdure in Scapece) at Our Italian Table.

In her 1971 cookbook, In the Kitchen with Love, Sophia Loren says that it is sweet red peppers that make Chicken Cacciatora really Neapolitan, although no true Neapolitan would agree with this. Sophia Loren was from the town of Pozzuoli, a town adjacent to Naples, but it might as well be in another state as far as the Neapolitans are concerned. This is a really good version of Chicken Cacciatora that leaves out the rosemary from the standard version.

Continue reading Sophia Loren’s Chicken Cacciatora: Hunter-style Chicken at Our Italian Table.