Alright, you got me.  I confess, in all the many, many Italian cookbooks that I own (one's bigger than a New York phone book) I've never found a recipe for CHILLED LIGURIAN-STYLE SHRIMP & ASPARAGUS.  But here's the thing... all of the parts of this dish make a whole lot of sense with the food of that region, especially the main flavor driver here, which is the sauce.  This magic sauce is the Ligurian green sauce (it's actually called salsa verde, but that's confusing) and it follows in the tradition of many European green sauces.  There are many versions of green sauce all over Italy, and there are even many Ligurian versions, so here's how mine goes: italian parsley, capers, a touch of anchovy, fresh garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil, all ground up finely like a thin pesto.  This sauce is served with many things in the region, quite often seafood... see where I'm going with this?  Shrimp of course, and asparagus is in-season so we need some of that too.  Poached shrimp and blanched asparagus, dressed with this fantastic green sauce, and served over seasoned cannellini puree (think Italian hummus) and garnished with simple toasted breadcrumbs.  Is this perfectly authentic?  No.  Is it something that I'd be excited to see in the Antipasti section on the menu in Genoa?  Yes.

I'm proud of my focaccia, and I won't pretend that I'm not. It's a great bread, and is simply delicious all on its own (which is how I often serve it.) But this week, I wanted to incorporate an artichoke-focused dish, and FOCACCIA WITH ARTICHOKE PESTO is a great way to do that. We'll start with my prideful focaccia of course, but that's just the first part of the story. Pesto, just so we're all clear, just means "paste" but is more accurately translated as "spread" the way we are using it here. The pesto you're thinking about would be basil pesto (technically Pesto Alla Genovese,) but there are so many others. There's tomato and almond Pesto alla Trapanese, pepper and sundried-tomato Pesto Rosso, and even Pesto Modenese which is based on cured pork fat and parmesan. I'll actually be modeling my artichoke pesto after the Modena version (but without the pork fat,) aiming towards rich and creamy rather than bright and herby. Crushed and smashed artichoke hearts whipped together with parmesan cheese, a little lemon for balance, and a touch of pistachio since that's a very Italian ingredient that we don't usually think of as Italian. You'll warm up the focaccia in your oven, spread this awesome artichoke pesto onto slices of the warm focaccia, and you'll be in a very good place.

Ah yes, the main star this week. I'm going to go on here about REAL DEAL LASAGNE BOLOGNESE, and what makes it the real deal. If you don't want to be bored with food details, just read this and skip ahead: this is excellent lasagna but it's different than "normal" lasagna... very little tomato and garlic, no extra sauce, no ricotta, no mozzarella on top, really great ragu and creamy sauce... you're gonna love it. So what makes "real deal" lasagne bolognese different than the "normal" version? It's mostly in how you prepare the ragu bolognese. See, we Americans think that "bolognese sauce" is just tomato sauce with beef, but the authentic version is quite different. It differs in a lot of ways, so let's just list them: almost no tomato, veggies like carrot and onion and celery, just a little garlic, and milk and nutmeg as prominent ingredients. So we take ground beef, saute that with the veggies and a smidge of garlic and tomato, add milk and wine, then cook that for hours and hours. The result is immediately different than a pasta sauce... it's actually closer to an American chili in texture. Before visiting Bologna in person, I didn't know that the ragu bolognese that I'd been making for years had been a Southern Italian interpretation, and while it was still "authentic," I've developed a recipe that matches what I had in bologna and it's legit. For the lasagna, we're going to take this wonderful ragu and add one more major ingredient, which is besciamella... basically, a thick creamy sauce that stands up to the ragu. The result is many layers of thin pasta, ragu, creamy sauce, and parmesan, sliced up and ready to heat in the oven. This preparation will show you why this dish has been copied and reinterpreted all over the world, because it's just that magical.

Our main dish this week needs a memorable sidekick, something that matches the gravity somewhat but brightens things up.  BALSAMIC-ROASTED CARROTS & GREEN BEANS is the perfect thing,  simple enough to let the star of the show shine, but interesting enough to not be forgettable.  Carrots and green beans tossed with aged balsamic and roasted just so, then finished with thyme, lemon, and toasted walnuts.  You've got to eat your veggies, and this is a great way to do it.

ROASTED STRAWBERRY PANNA COTTA sounds pretty simple, and it is... but that doesn't mean it's boring.  Strawberries are good and all, but roasting them a little concentrates their flavor and adds a slight toasty note, while softening them enough that they create their own "sauce."  Serving these wonderful roasted strawberries over a cool, slightly tart buttermilk panna cotta is an easy choice, and some crushed spice cookies give just enough complexity without going against this simple dessert.  This hits a lot of the same notes as an American strawberry shortcake, but is distinctly Italian.  Ending our complex meal with something simple but delicious feels just right.