From Libellula's Kitchen & Land — organic olive oil

In the early 1100s, an evil duke named Guido III ruled the small Italian town of Ivrea. Now Guido was your typical cruel ruler; mean to his servants, demanding taxes so high that his townspeople were on the brink of starvation, and handing out harsh punishments to anyone who dared to disagree with him. But one night, Guido took his cruelty one step too far. On a snowy winter's evening, Violetta, the miller’s daughter had just sat down to her wedding feast. Beautiful, brave, and spirited, Violetta was beloved by the whole town. And as such her wedding to the...

You’ve probably eaten polpette many times before. But you would’ve called them by their English name: meatballs! In Italy, polpette are almost never served with pasta. Instead, Italians enjoy polpette as an antipasto or side dish. So if you try to order spaghetti with meatballs while in Italy, you’ll get some funny looks. This recipe for polpette comes from Abruzzo, a sunny region in central Italy. Unlike most meatballs you’ve had before, these are vegetarian and known as “pallotte.” Frying the pallotte in sunflower oil prevents them from becoming too dense, while the final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil...

The ultimate labor of love: risotto. A dish that requires you spend your time right by its side; stirring the slowly combining broth and rice. That’s also what makes this the perfect dish to make with someone. The more hands that can stir, the merrier! The combination of peas, lemon, olive oil, and mozzarella gives the dish the flavors of a fresh spring evening. This recipe serves two. – Julia & Camillo  

Only four ingredients are needed to make the humble and tasty dish farinata. Originally from Liguria, farinata is now one of Italy’s most well-loved street foods! This savory, pancake-like dish is often used as an alternative to bread. There are two main legends that tell of the creation of farinata. The first legend is that it was created by Roman troops. In Roman times, flour was a luxury that most troops could not afford. Chickpeas were a much more affordable option, and so soldiers would prepare a mixture of chickpea flour and water for their bread. They would then place...