Proud Italian Cook

Snap Pea, Asparagus and Bocconcini Spring Salad

May 8, 2026 by Marie Leave a Comment

This crisp, bright salad just screams spring has arrived!

Crunchy sugar snap peas, fresh asparagus, paper thin radish slices, creamy pearls of bocconcini and some toasted walnuts add to the heightened flavors of this salad.

Lightly blanching the snap peas and the asparagus beforehand and then tossing them into an ice bath, helps to set the vivid color, plus it’s a better mouth feel.

I layered all the components onto a pretty platter of fresh greens which was a mix of spinach and baby kale, but you can use any greens of your choice. You’ll want something that will be a sturdy bed for all the different weights of the vegetables.

You might also want to choose a favorite nut of your choice maybe pistachio’s or pine nuts or toasted almonds, whatever you choose, you can’t go wrong, I loved it with the toasted walnuts.

Same thing with the dressing, you can use straight up fresh lemon and olive oil dressing, or a vinaigrette that I used, which I’ll post below.

This spring salad is elegant enough to serve for Mother’s Day, Easter or a spring dinner party. It’s the perfect side along any thing that you grill.

Enjoy and Happy Spring!

Snap Pea, Asparagus and Bocconcini Spring Salad

Celebrate spring with this crisp, bright, and colorful salad

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 package, (12 oz.) of fresh sugar snap peas, STRING REMOVED and cut diagonally, leaving some whole
1 lb. fresh asparagus cut diagonally but leaving the tips longer
a handful of radishes, sliced thin
boccocini, ( mozzarella balls) sliced in half ( I used half of a container)
Spinach mix, arugula, sturdy mixed greens of your choice Enough to spread and cover a pretty platter
Toasted walnuts, pistachio or any nuts of your choice, enough to scatter around
DRESSING;
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, grated
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
½ to ¾ cup of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
All the measurements for the dressing is to taste, feel free to add more or less. Same goes with the ingredients above for the salad you can add more cheese, radishes, asparagus, snap peas, this is just a guide line.

Instructions

Bring water to boiling, add salt and blanch your asparagus and snap peas 2-3 minutes only. Then quickly plunge them into ice water. After they have drained spread them out flat onto a kitchen towel and pat dry, they should not be wet when composing your salad.
The dressing should be shaken well in a glass jar until well combined, tasting and adjusting to your liking.
Then compose your salad.
Greens, asparagus, snap peas, radishes, bocconcini, spread out nicely all over, then spoon on the dressing and of course salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Salads, Spring, Summer, Vegetables Tagged: asparagus, bocconcini cheese, spring salad, sugar snap peas

Grilled Vegetable Stacks With Lemon, Parmesan Ricotta Cream

April 16, 2026 by Marie Leave a Comment

These vegetable stacks are fun to make, very easy to put together and they make a beautiful and unique presentation. I’m a big fan of grilled vegetables, and as soon as the weather gets nice I’m often out there grilling whatever veggies I have on hand.

Basically you stack up some of your favorite grilled vegetables layered with a very flavorful ricotta mixture in between.

I chose to make mine with some grilled zucchini and grilled eggplant, but think about it, you can stack nicely sliced bell peppers, onion slices, potato slices and portobella mushrooms to name a few, all layered with that dreamy ricotta mixture.

You’ll want to get some good grill marks for a nice presentation when the vegetables are stacked.

The “glue” and the flavor buster in between the layers is this mix of ricotta, grated Parmigiano or grated Romano cheese, granulated garlic, parsley, basil, lemon zest and a touch of lemon juice, salt and pepper. There is no recipe, put everything in a bowl mix it up measure with your heart and taste it to your liking. I would suggest getting a more store-bought whole milk ricotta instead of the kind in water behind the deli.

If you get the deli kind you need to strain it of it’s liquid before mixing in everything else. The lemony and herby ricotta mix really elevates the whole dish.

It’s a different way of enjoying your grilled veggies. You can eat it for lunch, brunch, a light dinner. We even stuffed some in a pita for a light dinner one day, it’s all good!

To finish it off make a light vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk it up really good until it thickens ,then spoon some all around your stacks and on to your serving platter to enhance it even more.

Happy grilling!

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Appetizers, Grilled Foods, Party Foods, Side Dishes, Spring, Summer, Vegetables Tagged: grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, layered veggies, ricotta, stackedveggies

Pizza Rustica, My Way

March 25, 2026 by Marie 1 Comment

Pizza Rustica is a savory meat and cheese pie traditionally served during the Easter holiday. It’s also known as pizzagaina, pizza gain, Easter pie, or simply Italian meat pie. Of course every family has their own special way of making it.

It consists of a sturdy dough that can handle all the filling which includes an assortment of cured meats, Italian sausage and various Italian cheeses.

The original recipe is actually double the amounts that I’m posting here, it feeds a crowd. my family recipe was always made in a deep 13 x 9 pan.

For this recipe I cut all the ingredients in half and used a 10 inch spring form pan, easy to un-mold and it always gives you clean edges, and believe me it feeds many.

The deep golden crust is amazing, it also has black pepper sprinkled throughout which adds so much flavor in combination with the filling.

Speaking of the filling, my family’s passed down recipe was always made with Italian sausage, a mix of hot and mild, hard boiled eggs, a special cheese called Tuma, ( which can be substituted if you can’t find it, but if you live in the Chicagoland area you’ll find it at Caputo’s and other Italian grocers) and grated pecorino romano. By the way don’t be afraid to use hot sausage because the filling is so dense you’ll hardly notice the spiciness.

It’s rustic, dense and deliciously indulgent!

When you cut into it the slices stay oh so perfect! You can cut into wedges or thin slices.

Serve it at room temperature for an Easter brunch, lunch or just a very special treat.

Enjoy!

Pizza Rustica, My Way

An Italian meat pie typically served at Easter time. Filled with savory meat and cheese, also known as pizza rustica.

Author: Marie

Ingredients

DOUGH
4 cups flour
5 beaten eggs
1 -1/2 teaspoons salt
1- ½ teaspoons black pepper
¼ cup of vegetable shortening
water if needed to make a smooth consistency
FILLING
2 lbs.of Italian sausage ,use a mix of 1 lb. hot and 1 lb. mild or medium or all hot or all mild whatever you like, browned with casings removed
1 lb. tuma cheese, diced. if you can't find it use a mix of provolone and mozzarella or just mozzarella but not fresh mozzarella, the brick kind. If in the Chicagoland area Caputo's always has it or call head to other Italian grocery stores.
6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup grated pecorino romano
2 eggs beaten
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1 egg yolk mixed with a little water to egg wash the top for a nice golden color

Instructions

Olive oil spray your spring form pan.
Pre-heat oven to 325
Dough
Use a giant bowl and add your flour, salt and pepper.Work the shortening in next, then add the eggs and mix well until incorporated. Use water if necessary to make the dough nice and smooth.
FILLING
Toss all the ingredients together in one big bowl. Mix well.
Roll the dough out to fit into the pan and let it overlap over the sides slightly.Save enough to cover the top.
Add all your filling pressing down while adding it in.
Place the rest of the dough you saved for the top, roll it out and place it on top of the filling.
Then roll the sides up to meet the top, just make sure the border is not overly thick, you might have to trim a little if your over hang was too long.
If you have dough scraps you can make a cross or do the leaves I placed on mine for a pretty decoration on top.
Brush the egg yolk mixture all over the top for a beautiful shiny gloss.
Place the spring form pan on a baking sheet for ease in and out of the oven or for any leakage.
Bake for about 1- ½ hours or until very golden and hollow sounding when you tap on top.
Let it cool 3 hours before releasing the ring on the pan, but better yet just cover the top with and chill the whole pan in the fridge overnight.