- Welcome To My Italian Kitchen!
- Italian Cuisine Overview
- Pasta Types & How to Cook Pasta
- Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce {Recipe}
- Linguine alla Puttanesca {recipe}
- Bucatini all’Amatriciana {recipe}
- Penne all’Arrabbiata {recipe}
- Italian Courses {recipe}
- 10 Commandments of Italian Cooking
- Ragù alla Bolognese {recipe}
- Ragu’ with Pork {recipe}
- Ragù Napoletano {recipe}
- La Genovese {recipe}
- Pesto Genovese {recipe}
- Italian Herbs and Spices {recipe}
- My Favorite Italian Cookbooks + a Website
- Pasta and Peas {recipe}
- Pasta and Potatoes {recipe}
- Pasta and Beans {recipe}
- Pasta and Garbanzo Beans {recipe}
- Myth Busters! {and a giveaway}
- Italian Hand Gestures
- The BEST Chocolate!
- Chicken alla Cacciatora
- Breaded Chicken Cutlets {recipe}
- Pan Fried Potatoes
- Pizza at Home!!! {recipe}
- Spicy Carrots {recipe}
- Grilled Eggplant {recipe}
- Roasted Peppers {recipe}
- Macerated Strawberries {recipe}
There are certain herbs and spices that are used quite frequently in Italian cooking. I’ll break it down between fresh and dried as it does make a difference.
Fresh Herbs
Parsley – often used in vegetable dishes or sometime pasta sauce. Rarely used dried.
Basil – crowning glory on a pizza Margherita and insalata caprese. It is THE smell of summer! Also the key ingredient of pesto.
Mint – used in some vegetable dishes such as zucchine alla scapece.
Thyme – used in soups and some roasted veggie dishes.
Rosemary – often paired with meat such as pork or lamb or with roasted potatoes.
Sage – mostly used with meats, especially pork (such as the pork pasta recipe I shared.)
Note: Try growing some of these herbs in a container garden or on a sunny windowsill. You can often find parsley and basil at grocery stores for not very much money. It will keep you in fresh herbs so you have them on hand whenever you might need them. These are annual herbs so they will die after a season.
Rosemary is a woody perennial which means it is heartier and will last quite some time. It prefers drier conditions so if you live in a wet environment, it would do well to planted in a pot so that it will drain well.
Dried Herbs
Origano – although it’s easy to grow, it’s predominantly used dried. In Sicily, it’s often sprinkled on pizza, on veggies, and used in marinades for meats on the grill. It’s a very powerful herb, though, and is not often paired with other herbs.
Thyme – used interchangeably dried or fresh.
Marjoram – used in some pasta dishes.
Note:
Origano is rarely used fresh whereas parsley and basil are rarely used dried. Thyme, sage and rosemary can be used either way.
Spices
A few spices, such as nutmeg, are used in Italian cooking. Others I’ve never seen (cumin). Red peppers is one “spice” that is used a lot, both fresh and dried. It can be used in pasta sauces, on pizza, in cheeses, in preserves such as pickled mushrooms or eggplant. A clue if a dish contains red pepper is if it’s called alla diavola (devil style).
Here is a quick, easy, favorite pasta:
Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino
Cook spaghetti in salted water until al dente. In the meantime, in a large frying pan, heat a good amount of olive oil, more than enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add chopped garlic, at least two cloves, but you can add more if you like it garlicky, and a healthy sprinkling of crushed red pepper, depending on how hot you like it.
When the pasta is done cooking, drain and immediately toss with the garlic-infused oil, tossing to coat well. Sprinkle with minced fresh parsley and serve. (I have made it without the parsley and it’s still delicious.)
Now that’s my kind of recipe! Fast and garlicky! I keep toying with the idea of growing fresh herbs. I’ve just never known how to cook with them.
And now you do! Start with basil and parsley as those are the ones I use the most. I’ll make a cutting of the rosemary for you and bring it to you when I see you next.
Do you have an herb garden? I have tried to grow mint (which most can’t kill), rosemary and cilantro with no luck. Will try again. Thank you for another authentic recipe and great post.
I usually do but right now the only things in my herb garden are mint and basil. It’s time to replant!