Cheese and bread, all toasty, crusty and melty. Who doesn’t love that? I’m surprised that zuppa Gallurese has eluded my radar until now, given that the dish includes my two favorite food groups, and not much else. I watched an elderly Pasta Granny make this Sardinian specialty recently (never miss an episode of that YouTube cooking series) and then immediately started hunting for recipes. In the end, I merged methods from several Italian food authorities--including Lidia Bastianich and Katie Parla —to concoct a zuppa Gallurese with the bread and cheeses I like. Despite the name, the dish is much closer to bread pudding than to soup.
Read moreShave This Cheese in Spring Salads
Topping my list of cheeses that deserve more love than they typically get: ricotta salata. With spring imminent and asparagus beckoning, this savory sheep cheese should be in your fridge. It’s so useful! I don’t snack on it—it’s not meant for that—but I do shave it in salads and grate it on pasta with spring vegetables or lamb. It loves asparagus, fava beans, peas, fennel, zucchini, beets. Basically, it’s ricotta with moisture removed so it will last longer.
Read moreA Sheep at the Wheel →
For years I ignored Fiore sardo, the Sardinian sheep’s milk cheese, because I considered it too salty, smoky and sharp. Then, this past summer, I went to Sardinia, where you can’t ignore it.
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