My “Food With A View” Goes “Under The Tuscan Sun!”
Well, this was a really fun post to write – and eat as well!
That’s because Jo Tracey’s terrific BKD Cookbook Club wanted this:
| Let your next (or your most recent) holiday be your inspiration this month. Whether at home or abroad, a short break or an other-side-of-the-world odyssey, we want to read about how it inspired (or is inspiring) your cooking. |
Well, this is what inspired my cooking:
The REAL “Under The Tuscan Sun” Movie House!
Yes, this is where Diane Lane filmed the movie! You see, they found an abandoned Tuscan farmhouse in Cortona and filmed the actual renovations in the house!
When Jo asked us to cook based on a recent trip, it showed up the same day I received a recipe from Frances Mayes – the Author of the memoir the film is based on! And because my wife and I RENTED THE HOUSE AND STAYED IN IT FOR A WEEK in 2023, I’m going to make the recipe Mayes sent me!
Penne Rigate With Broccoli Rabe And Anchovies!
Here’s how Frances describes this vibrant green vegetable:
“Called rapini in Italy, broccoli rabe in America, this winter vegetable is actually not a form of broccoli at all, even though it looks like a lushly overgrown Broccolini. Instead, it’s a close cousin to the turnip, which perhaps accounts for its slight bitterness that many find appealing. The entire vegetable—flower, leaves, and stalk—is edible, though the thicker end of the stem can be a bit tough and are best trimmed off.”
Here’s the recipe she sent, with some minor modifications that I will explain:
12 ounces (340 g) penne rigate
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
½ to 1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper
1 large bunch broccoli rabe (about 1 pound/450 g), tough stem ends removed, remainder cut into 1½- to 2-inch (4 to 5 cm) pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt
Grated pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano
Let’s get cooking!
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne rigate until al dente, 10 to 11 minutes. Scoop out and reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of the pasta water, which I placed in a bowl.
Next up, add your diced garlic to a pan with olive oil…
Cook over medium-high heat until the garlic just begins to darken, about 2 minutes.
Here’s the first part of the process:
Here’s where I deviated from the recipe: I couldn’t find Anchovy paste but did find a tin of fresh Anchovies, so I just mashed them up and used them that way!
Stir in the anchovy paste and hot pepper and cook until the garlic is lightly toasted, about 1 minute longer; do not brown. Note: I didn’t use the hot pepper…
Quickly pour in ⅓ cup (80 ml) plain water to stop the cooking.
Now, back to that beautifully green Broccoli Rabe:
Add the chopped broccoli rabe to the pan and toss to coat with the flavored oil. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is just tender but still green, about 3 minutes.
Add the cooked pasta along with ½ cup (120 ml) of the reserved pasta water. Toss to mix. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to heat through, adding more cooking water if needed to moisten. Drizzle on the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and add salt to taste. Serve with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese.
Here’s how it all came together:
There’s the dish, and it was really delicious! It’s from Pasta Veloce, by Frances Mayes, and Susan Wyler – Mayes posted it on her terrific Substack.
I served it alongside a nice piece of pan-seared salmon:
Pasta is always great, and the mellow flavor of the Anchovy worked perfectly against the peppery nature of the rabe.
The bright burst of flavor from the lemon juice enhanced the salty goodness of the parmesan cheese…we loved this dish!
Now, back to Tuscany: Frances Mayes still lives in Cortona, less than two miles from the movie location we stayed in…here’s what the property looks like:
We had friends and family with us for a week, and a Chef was there to help us learn to roll “pici pasta!” Here’s a look at some of that fun!
We had a blast making a feast centered around Tuscan’s “Pici Pasta” – see all of the recipes here!
As I showed you, we stayed in the actual movie house used in “Under The Tuscan Sun” – we even stayed in the room that Diane Lane slept in! Here is Alex posing with our friend Kareen at the window!
Click here to get a tour inside with more video from inside the house and more – and yes, the iconic faucet is inside on the wall!
While we were in the region, we spent a few days wining and dining in Florence, where we had this!
Click here for my story about this magical meal – the legendary “Bistecca!”
And since we were there, we had to order wine through one of the city’s iconic wine windows!
As I said, Jo at Brookford Kitchen Diaries puts on this great cookbook club, and here’s how she started off this chapter:
With a taste of Malaysia!
Click here to find out why she is cooking Malaysian – a terrific read as always!
The goal of “Bite! Eat! Repeat!” is to look at unique food, great food destinations, and lots of recipes as well…and yes, I am drawn to places that become famous on Instagram, like this one:
From the tiny alleyway packed with tables on the lower right to the incredible sunset, Mykonos Greece has it all and you can see it here:
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Thanks again to Jo for putting on another great cooking challenge…make sure to check out the entire series on her site!
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Books / Media, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Travel, Food Writing, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
This is a lovely sounding dish, John. I’ve never heard of this vegetable 🤔. I’ll have to take a look and see if I can find it anywhere. Mom loves anchovies.
I loved the movie, and your recipe sounds delicious!
I wonder what you could substitute for the Broccoli Rabe/Rapini as I haven’t seen it here in Spain. The recipe looks fabulous. Thanks for the tip on making anchovy paste.
Great question! Kale or other more substantial green perhaps?
Thanks!!
I might just make this tonight! All my favorite ingredients!
this sounds like a delicious combination of ingredients
How amazing it would be to see that house. I’m going to re-read the book before we go in September, I think. I’ll be saving this recipe to make. We can’t get broccoli rabe here, but I think I can probably substitute with Chinese broccoli or even cavolo nero. Thanks, as always, for linking up.