Recipes Featuring Grana Padano
View all 5Winter Minestrone
As with my Summer Minestrone, think of this recipe as a template for any hearty winter vegetable soup. You can vary the dried beans and include other vegetables- such as leeks, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips or rutabaga, parsnips, or myriad winter greens, like escarole, spinach, and chard.
Italian
Penne Rigate with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Ricotta
This recipe will become a regular request from your family and guests. It is often known as boscaiola, or “of the forest,” because of the earthy mushrooms in the sauce. Definitely one of Tanya’s favorites, this dish spent many years on the menu of my restaurants. On cold winter nights in New York City, when Tanya and her teenage friends had no other place to go, I would serve them this pasta followed by hot chocolate in our private dining room. I loved seeing them so full, chatty, and happy. It is easy to assemble, flavorful, and filling.
Italian
Farina Gnocchi
My mother, Grandma Erminia, was the expert maker of gnocchetti di gris. I would be busy in the kitchen, prepping all the vegetables for the soup and at the stove pulling it together, while she would sit at the kitchen table with a bowl between her knees, mixing the egg, cheese, and farina flour and deftly shaping the mixture into gnocchetti, her hands moving at the speed of light. The process for her was pure muscle memory; she had made them her whole life. It was a pleasure to watch. I now make the gnocchetti di gris myself. They are easy, and all you need is a good stock or soup to cook them in. I sometimes cook them like pasta, in boiling salted water. When they boil up and are tender, I fish them out with a spider strainer, set them in a bowl, cover them with plastic wrap, and add them to the hot stock to reheat and serve.
Italian
Onion and Potato Gratin
This is a great dish to make when I am cooking for the whole family or a large group, since it goes in the oven and doesn’t require a lot of prep time or attention while it’s cooking. Onions, potatoes, cream, and cheese come together here, in the ultimate side dish. This gratin is easy to put together; then just slip it into the oven, next to whatever you are roasting, and toss a salad, and your balanced meal is done. Think about this dish when you are having people over for brunch or breakfast. Make it in a large baking pan, cut it into squares, and serve each portion on a dish with a fried or poached egg or two on top.
Italian
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Tomato Sauce
If you are watching your carbs but are longing for spaghetti, this is the recipe you need, simple and delicious. Take care to not overbake the squash. It is done when a paring knife can be inserted with just a little resistance. When you are dressing the squash, treat it like spaghetti: toss it well, so every strand gets dressed, and do not forget the basil and the grated Grana Padano. In our family, we mainly ate squash roasted as a side dish or in a salad, or used it in the dough of fresh pasta, or as a stuffing for filled pastas. Spaghetti squash was something new for me, but it is a great alternative for anyone who is gluten-free.
Italian
Vegetable Soup with Poached Eggs
You can also serve this soup ladled into ovenproof bowls with a slice of toasted bread in the bottom. Break an egg into each, and bake at 375 degrees until the eggs are set to your liking, 10 to 15 minutes. This works well if you have guests over; they all get their own bowls hot from the oven. Even without the eggs, this stands alone as a hearty vegetable soup.
Italian