Italian · dinner
35m
Total time
4
Servings
580
kcal
easy
Difficulty
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FAQ · Things people ask
When dissolved slowly in warm olive oil, anchovies lose all fishiness and become pure savory depth. Most guests who dislike anchovies won't identify them. You can omit them — increase the salt slightly and add a little white miso for umami depth — but the flavor will be noticeably less complex.
Broccoli rabe (the same plant as cime di rapa, widely sold in North America) is the closest substitute. Regular broccoli is sweeter and milder, so the bitter-umami tension that defines the dish is diminished. Outside cime di rapa season, Pugliese cooks also use wild chicory or cauliflower — the pasta shape stays, the green rotates.
Both are authentic. Fresh has a chewier, more toothsome texture. Dried is widely available and produces an excellent result — cook it 2 minutes short of the packet time since it finishes in the pan with the sauce.
Pecorino Romano is the most practical substitute — it's sharp, salty, and closer in character to traditional cacioricotta than Parmesan, which is too mild and too Northern Italian for this dish. For a fully vegan version, skip the cheese and use pangrattato (toasted breadcrumbs) — the cucina povera tradition of 'poor man's Parmesan' is equally authentic in Puglia.
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In Rome, Thursday is gnocchi day — and this is the gnocchi Romans were eating long before anyone thought to boil a potato. Semolina rounds, baked until the Parmigiano crust crackles and the interior stays soft, is cucina romana at its most direct.
Lampredotto is Florence's most stubbornly local street food — the fourth stomach of the cow, slow-simmered in an aromatic broth, piled into a crusty roll, and finished with sharp salsa verde. The lampredottai have been selling it from carts at the city's markets since medieval times, and the formula hasn't changed.
Castelluccio lentils from the Sibillini plateau have held IGP status since 1997 — small, thin-skinned, nutty, and built to hold their shape through a long braise. This is the Umbrian way: slow soffritto, crushed tomato, a sprig of rosemary, and a serious pour of raw olive oil at the table.
Campanian by birth, Roman by adoption — mozzarella in carrozza is cucina povera at its most satisfying: a sealed bread pocket that traps the cheese so completely it's still pulling strings two minutes after you plate it.