-Buongiorno.

I'm Lidia Bastianich, and teaching you about Italian food has always been my passion.

It has always been about cooking together and building your confidence in the kitchen.

I'm showing off.

Does this look like a good meal?

So make it.

For me, food is about gathering around the table to enjoy loved ones, share a meal, and make memories.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

-Funding provided by... -At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen.

Cento... -Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition, yet contemporary.

♪ ♪ -Authentic Italian cured meats.

Paolo Rovagnati -- The true Italian tradition.

-For over 140 years, Auricchio traditional hand-crafted provolone.

Made in Italy.

♪ -Olitalia -- From chef to chef.

-Spice.

You'd think of hot, piquant.

But spices could be complex, delicate, bold, and sweet.

This vibrant yellow dish is a mix between a stew and a thick soup.

It's dotted with a round Sardinian pasta called fregola and halibut.

My classic crumbly olive oil cake is served with slices of rich ruby red poached pears and a drizzle of red wine syrup.

Let's dive in to the world of spice.

Switch up the spice.

As a chef, my world and exposure to spices evolved as I grew and as I traveled.

I got introduced by my Aunt Nina, who was a great chef, about the different spices, specifically cloves, the cinnamon, the nutmeg.

The spices were imported, and they were more expensive.

So they were used in a more luxurious cuisine.

And then, of course, when I came to the States, I had never cooked with lemongrass, with ginger, soy sauce.

And so it's an evolution.

I bring them back to my kitchen, and I get inspired, and I attempt to cook with it.

Halibut with saffron fregola.

So, today, I'm gonna cook some halibut in some saffron and wine sauce with fregola.

Saffron -- You want saffron threads.

Let's put... the saffron just like that, the threads.

And you don't need a lot because it delivers a lot of flavor.

Put it in the hot stock.

Let's mix it a little bit.

Okay.

Let's move the stock with the saffron to the side.

Let it steep and get all its flavors out.

And now let's address the halibut.

I'm gonna cut it into chunks.

Usually has a skin, but you have your fishmonger cut that off.

Cut the halibut in chunks.

And, of course, you try to cut them equal chunks so that the cooking time is on target with all of the fish.

Okay.

So, the first thing is, we will fry the fish.

Let's season it with salt, some fresh pepper.

♪ The oil is hot now, so let's get this fish frying.

♪ [ Sizzling ] ♪ And once you put the fish in like that, let it alone, and let it build its crust.

I will cut some scallions, and I'm gonna put the scallions in two ways.

I'm gonna put it like a base for onion, and some of the green part, I'll add at the end so it brings the freshness.

Scallions are good all the way up, you know, just like that.

Here I have some thyme.

You take it by the tip, and you strip off the leaves, just like that.

There we go.

Okay.

And what's happening here is, the hot spot is nice and caramelized.

And, you know, those little chips that you have on the bottom -- That's gonna go all in the sauce.

Just make sure that you don't burn them.

So we let that cook.

So let me talk a little bit about the fregola.

This is the small fregola.

This is the bigger fregola that you might find in the store.

And it resembles couscous, but it's not couscous.

It's made differently.

The fregola in Sardinia is made out of durum wheat -- semolina flour.

So, they take a sheet pan.

They spray the semolina flour.

They take some water, put some salt, and with their hands, they actually sprinkle drops of water on the semolina, and big drops of water.

Then they shake, shake, shake, and then they pass it through a sieve.

The loose semolina falls, and these little bits of fregola remain.

And then they spread them on, and they continue until they've made enough fregola, what they will use.

They toast the fregola to have more taste.

So you will see the different colors.

And that means they have toasted the fregola.

Okay.

One.

And, of course, the halibut does not need to be completely cooked.

Actually, you don't want it to be completely cooked.

We will add it on, and it will continue to cook on.

Let's put the white part of the scallions in there.

Mmm.

Tomato paste.

So I'm putting it on the hot spot, because I want it to toast.

All these little steps, you say, "Well, Lidia, why?

Just throw it in."

Well, they all build kind of layers of flavor.

I put some wine right in here to deglaze, all of this.

Okay.

Let's put some salt.

Some peperoncino.

And I'm going to add now the stock and the saffron.

You see how yellow the saffron water is?

Not only does the color matter, but the taste, as well.

It's a really unique saffron taste.

Add the thyme in there.

So, let's add the fregola to this.

Okay.

So, the fregola, like pasta, takes a while to cook.

I'm going to close it.

We're gonna clean up, and we're gonna reintroduce the halibut into this fregola brodetto.

Buongiorno.

Welcome.

Welcome to my cozy library.

This is where we really share ideas, questions, answers.

And I love having you here.

Here I have an e-mail from Kim, and she is wondering about pepper.

She says, "You most often use red pepper flakes in place of black pepper.

Is that because you prefer the taste?"

Well, there's a definite difference.

Peperoncino is a plant of little peppers.

They grow very well in Southern Italy specifically.

On the other hand, black peppercorns are the dry fruit of a plant, and it basically grows in tropical belt.

And it was introduced to Italy's cuisine through the Venetian spice trades.

I like peperoncino.

I like the cleanliness of the heat, of the spice.

In the peperoncino, there is no acidity.

I find that sometimes that black pepper brings acidity to a dish.

Kim, that's a good observation and a good question.

Okay.

So, this looks almost finished.

Let's add the halibut.

Just like that.

Okay.

You don't mix the fish too much.

We will add the peas now.

These are defrosted peas.

But if you have fresh ones, make sure you put them in before.

They take longer to cook.

Scallions, green part.

And now we will chop some parsley.

♪ Okay, so... ♪ We're ready to serve.

So let me just finish it off with a little bit of parsley.

Okay.

You know, I always have a little plate with me so I don't dribble all over the place.

♪ I think two pieces are fine.

But you know what?

I want it to be generous and look beautiful.

Just like that.

A spoonful of the fregola, some of the sauce.

It all flows into position.

♪ ♪ Mm-hmm.

♪ Some of the sauce, just like that.

Okay.

This little piece is enough for Lidia.

But a little piece.

Okay.

And a lot of the sauce.

And I am all set to taste, so looks good to me.

Let's bring it to the table and invite the guests.

♪ I had some flowering thyme in my garden.

You know, we are at my home.

Just a touch, like that.

And you get it right in your -- mmm!

-- as you're ready to eat.

Let me taste now.

♪ Mmm.

♪ Really good.

Simple, light.

And the fregola remains always al dente, and us Italians love our textures.

Complete dish all in one -- the proteins, the vegetables.

So why don't you come over?

♪ Some of my favorite times in the kitchen has been teaching my grandchildren to grow into confident cooks.

And these days, even though they are living on their own, that doesn't mean they stop asking for advice.

Sharing recipes -- eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce.

I love my grandkids.

I miss them.

They're all away at schools, work, and whatever, but they call me all the time.

[ Laptop ringing ] Whoops.

Here's Lorenzo.

Hi, Lorenzo.

How are you?

-Ciao, and I'm good.

Esto bene.

How are you doing?

-Good, good.

Are you eating well?

Are you cooking?

-Yes.

We make good use of this kitchen back here.

-Good.

I wanted to sort of -- I just made it for myself the other day, and I loved it.

And I says, "Let me share it with Lorenzo."

When you feel like doing a brunch or a breakfast or even a light dinner.

Now, fresh eggs -- I love them.

Poached in tomato sauce -- That's common.

Quite a few cultures have it in different versions, but I made this sort of sauce.

I took some eggplant.

I cubed them with some onions in the pan, and I sautéed it nice and soft.

And then I added some capers, some olives, and then I added some tomato sauce, a little bit of oregano, and let it perk away and really flavor itself.

Some peperoncino, too, I liked.

-Ooh.

-And then I made kind of with the back of a spoon, like, a little nest.

And in each one, I cracked an egg, and I poured it into that little nest, and so on.

One, two, three, four.

Depends on how much sauce you made.

You can feed up to 8, 9, 10 people easy.

Do you like the idea?

Have you tried something like that?

-I haven't tried something like that, but that sounds really cool.

You know, I usually make tomato sauce with whatever I have lying around here, so I actually do like to experiment quite a bit with my tomato sauce, so I would love to try this.

-Okay.

-One question I had was, I know before you make a parmigiana, you need to, like, let the juice get out of the eggplant 'cause it's sour.

Do you have to do that here, too?

-Well, you know, the most important thing in cooking, and especially in vegetables, is getting them fresh and crisp.

So when you're buying your eggplant, kind of feel it.

And if it's nice and taut and if it's tight, the skin is shiny, the stem is nice and green, then you know you have a good eggplant.

And you know what?

Get the elongated eggplants, not the ones with the big belly.

The ones with the big belly have a lot of seeds.

-Awesome.

Good to know.

-So, listen, Caro, make it for your friends.

Enjoy it.

Even for yourself, you know.

Have a great time.

And thanks for calling.

Just love to hear from you.

-Ti voglio bene.

-Ti voglio tanto bene.

"Ti voglio tanto bene" means "I love you very much."

And that's exactly what I do.

I love my grandkids to no end.

Olive oil cake with red wine poached pears.

Everybody loves dessert.

And this is such a simple, straightforward, really typical Italian dessert -- olive oil cake.

But, you know, I always like to add something, so we're gonna do some poached pears in wine.

So let's put the wine in first.

And wine, you know, you always ask me, "Cooking wine, cooking wine."

First of all, don't buy cooking wine.

Use the wine that you like to drink that you have left over, maybe wines that are not very expensive but are good.

And this is what we're gonna cook the pears in.

I'm gonna put some sugar.

Cinnamon sticks.

Cloves.

And these are all interesting spices.

The allspice.

In Italy, especially the Venetian cuisine, we use a lot of these spices.

So let me put on the heat here.

And I have some pears that have been already cleaned and cored.

Don't get an overripe pear because it will fall apart in the cooking process.

So, the one element that I want to add to this is ginger.

And, so, this is ginger that has been candied, so you have to be careful how much sugar you put once you use the syrup.

But it brings also a little spiciness, too.

And I put it right in there, just like that.

And I kind of like the pieces.

When I serve it, I'll give each one a piece of ginger, and they get a bite of the ginger.

Okay.

Another element, of course -- certainly there is enough in Italy -- is orange.

I love to work with orange, the rind, as well as the juice.

I'm gonna pull it out.

So I want to make long pieces, just like that.

And stay away from the pith because the pith is what makes it bitter.

So, a potato peeler does the trick.

And squeeze the juice right in here.

♪ Mmm!

♪ So here it is.

It's gonna cook away.

About a half an hour.

Simmer away.

I'm just gonna clean up, and we're gonna make the cake.

So let's see.

Susan is wondering what olive oil to use for the olive oil cake recipe, and she's asking if I have a favorite.

You know, olive oil is a universal, large topic.

You want the oil that gives you the lightness, but you don't want an overpowering olive oil, that doesn't have all that intensity and pepperiness.

Taste the olive oils and use your favorite, what you think you would like to taste in the cake.

Susan, keep on baking.

Let's get some olive oil.

About 1/2 cup will be enough.

♪ And the sugar.

And let's whisk that.

Now, you could use a mixer or whatever, but, you know, simple like this.

If you don't have all the equipment, you can still make great food the old-fashioned way, if you will.

That's what my grandmother did.

So here we are.

Let's do the rind of one lemon.

Let's just grate it right in there.

Just the yellow part.

And now we'll begin with the eggs.

Two whole eggs.

And one egg yolk.

Now really mix because I want the sugar to melt a little bit.

Let's put the milk in.

Limoncello.

A little bit of vanilla.

Mm.

Flour.

I always like to sift my flour before I use it for anything because it aerates it, and it makes the cake lighter.

Baking powder.

Some salt.

Okay.

These are all the dry ingredients.

And let's incorporate them all completely.

Nice and smooth and flowing batter.

So, here I have a baking pan.

I do line it a little bit.

Brush it just with oil.

Then a little bit of flour.

And then I like to cut a piece of parchment paper right on the bottom, just to make sure that the cake comes out nice and easy, and it peels off the cake very easily once it is baked.

So let's get the -- the mixture in.

♪ And 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

It should pop up a little bit higher maybe in the middle, but it'll be nice, moist, and delicious.

Jan. Hi, Jan. Jan is curious to figure out when to use what type of oil when cooking.

I can have a whole seminar on that.

Just keep in mind that what makes the big difference in oils is actually their smoking point.

You know, how hot do they get in the pan?

And, of course, what and how are they made, or the nutritional values?

If you want to get a crust or fry something, something you want high temperature, canola oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, corn oil.

That would all bring to higher temperatures, and, therefore, you can get that.

But once I begin cooking as an Italian, as a Mediterranean, for me, it's olive oil.

But if you have a product like the top olive oil, or a balsamic, aceto balsamico, or the truffles, or all of those intense, beautiful flavors, you don't want to cook them.

You want to use them just to dress up in the last minute.

Well, thank you.

I hope that answered your question, Jan. Ciao.

Now it's time to serve the cake.

I have all the ingredients.

Simple and delicious.

So, here I have some whipped cream.

And just -- I add a little yogurt to it.

So, this way, the cream has a little tartness to it.

And when you cook the pears, if you let them -- Even if you cook them the day before, you let them steep in the sauce, then they really get nice and colorful.

And if the sauce is not viscous enough, if it's not dense, I reduce the sauce, as well.

Let's put some of the sauce here, and some of it, I will keep to dress the individual platters.

So let me just put a little bit here.

Mmm-mmm-mmm!

And whenever you're pouring any sauce, you always put it in the middle, and it'll find its way into place.

So here we are.

And this is how the cake looks.

It's nice.

It's soft.

It's light.

Nice portion.

Just like that.

And a little portion for Lidia.

♪ This is my little corner here.

Let's see.

Where would I... And I think half a pear is certainly enough.

So, you see, I'm following myself with the plate, so I don't dirty my tablecloth here.

Shall we put it on top?

What do you think?

Then I, of course -- a little piece of ginger.

One.

Two.

And a little piece for Lidia.

Mm-hmm.

And Lidia likes her ginger.

Let's do the sauce.

And don't oversauce it.

Just a little bit.

The sauce will spread around.

A little bit for Lidia.

Mmm!

And let's see.

Just a little bit of the whipped cream here.

And I have here some nice mint from my garden.

Let's see.

Put this mint, I think, just like this here.

So we're ready to enjoy a piece of cake.

♪ Mmm!

Delizioso.

So... tutti a tavola a mangiare e bere.

Salute.

♪ Fresh herbs are the Mediterranean basis for flavoring.

Adding spices really brings another world, another wallop of flavor.

Play with the spices, whether you like ginger, whether you like saffron, whether you like cardamom, nutmeg, curry.

You know, very unique.

The soul to a dish can really be changed by adding of the spices.

So sometimes be liberal about it.

-[ Speaking Italian ] -Si.

-[ Speaking Italian ] -Si.

[ Singing in Italian ] ♪ ♪ -The food from this series makes Italian cooking easy for everyone and showcases simple-to-prepare recipes that require fewer steps, fewer ingredients, and less cleanup, without sacrificing flavor.

The recipes can be found in Lidia's latest cookbook, "Lidia's a Pot, a Pan, and a Bowl," available for $29.95.

To purchase this cookbook and any of her additional products... ♪ To learn more about Lidia, access to videos, and to get recipes, tips, techniques, and much more, visit us online at lidiasitaly.com.

Follow Lidia on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @lidiabastianich.

♪ ♪ ♪ -Funding provided by... -At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen.

Cento... -Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition, yet contemporary.

And by... ♪ "Lidia's Kitchen" studio provided by Clarke, New England's official Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.

♪ ♪