Lidia's Kitchen

-Buongiorno.

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

Just like that.

You got that right.

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

For me, food is about gathering around the table to enjoy loved ones.

Your family is going to love it.

Share a delicious meal and make memories.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare.

"Lidia's Kitchen: Meals & Memories."

-Funding provided by... -Every can of Cento tomatoes is born in Italy, where they are grown and ripened in sun-drenched fields and then harvested by local farmers who select them just for us.

Cento -- trust your family with our family.

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

-It's the Italian way.

Prosecco DOC ros.

A toast of Italy.

-Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese from Italy -- handcrafted from 100% sheep's milk.

-Olitalia -- from chef to chef.

-Life is complicated enough.

Your meals shouldn't have to be.

Using simple ingredients can yield extraordinary results.

I take the traditional panzanella a step further with the addition of roasted zucchini and onions.

When you eat this and you bite into the bread, the bread squirts out the dressing in your mouth, and it's just delicious.

The eyes feast first on this salad of warm shrimp and colorful ribbons of squash and spinach leaves.

Colors are beautiful.

The flavor is beautiful.

Let's make it easy.

Let the ingredients do the work.

One thinks of a salad -- leafy greens tossed with a dressing.

Well, Italians have a completely different vision of a salad.

A salad could be a pasta salad, could be a rice salad, could be a steamed-vegetable salad, legume salad with some protein, with some beans, with some tuna.

And then, of course, just the leafy salads.

But even then, the leafy salads change according to season.

We make a great red-cabbage salad that's in the winter into fall.

Then comes the spring, you know -- all the nice leafy, whether it's arugula, whether it's wild arugula, whether it's radicchio zuccherino, the Bibb lettuce, the mache, all of that.

Italians love their different leafy greens, if you will.

And, of course, they take it through the summer, mixing them up, whatever you have in the garden.

So continuous.

It's almost like a seasonal clock -- salads per season.

And Italians really enjoy their salads.

Panzanella estiva.

Panzanella.

You are all familiar with panzanella -- tomato, basil, bread.

But I'm gonna give you a new twist on it.

And I'm gonna make a panzanella with vegetables -- roasted vegetables.

So here I have zucchini.

You wash them.

Nice, fancy zucchini.

You don't want the big zucchini.

Little chunks.

We're gonna toss them in the salad.

So could you use any other vegetables?

Of course.

But first, get all the ideas, and then you can make your own recipe.

Panzanella is one of those great salads.

And it is great for me because I love to recycle things.

And there's no better way to recycle bread -- a-day-or-two-old bread -- than making a panzanella.

Now let's do the onion.

That's it.

Let me put some salt.

Okay.

Some oil.

And you put it like this in the oven -- preheated 425-degree oven.

20 minutes to half an hour, it is done.

Let's get it in the oven.

Now let's get ready tomatoes.

And, of course, the better the tomato, the better the panzanella.

Nice, ripe tomatoes.

Diverse.

Mix them all up.

I have some yellow.

I have some beefsteak tomatoes.

I have some piccolini pomodori.

Let's start with this.

And this I'll cut in half because I want the juice to start flowing.

You know, you look at the tomatoes and you say, "Is there a different of flavor or taste between an orange tomato, a yellow tomato, a red tomato?"

Well, from my experience, the yellow and orange tomatoes are sweeter, whereas the red tomatoes are a bit more acidic.

And I'm looking, okay, I cut the vegetables.

What size do I want the tomatoes?

Well, maybe a little smaller than that, like that.

And the tomatoes, if they're really ripe.

sometimes if you cut them with a knife, and especially if your knife is not too sharp, you kind of squash them.

So use a serrated knife.

That will cut through the skin.

And you will not squeeze out the juices of your tomatoes.

Let me go to the red.

You know, tomatoes should not be kept in the refrigerator.

They should be in a cool place at room temperature, especially if they're not ripe, of course.

They will ripen if you keep them on the windowsill.

But if you're gonna use them, at least a day before, take them out of the refrigerator.

So let's use this beauty here.

And cucumbers.

Choose which ones you'll want to use.

So I'm looking, do I want the little -- the whole circle or I can cut it in half?

But I think this is just fine.

I'm showing off.

Yes, you could be like Lidia, or even better maybe.

Just watch your fingers.

So here we are.

Okay.

And I'm going to put the bread all in here.

But even before I put the bread, you know what I'm gonna do?

I'm gonna put some salt.

The salt is gonna get some of the juices flowing from the tomatoes.

And I'll put the bread right in.

Just like that.

And let the tomato release its juice and let the bread take in the juice, especially because the bread is a two-day-old bread and it's a little tough.

So here we are.

We are ready to kind of move on.

I'm gonna check on my vegetables in the oven, and we're ready to dress the salad.

So what's the innovation here?

Roasted vegetables added to a panzanella salad.

Hi, everybody.

Buongiorno.

I'm here in my library.

This is where I read your e-mails, watch your videos, and answer you.

So here's an e-mail from Janine.

"Can you use any type of bread in panzanella?

I have leftover focaccia.

Would that work?"

Well, Janine, good question.

The texture of the bread plays a big role in panzanella.

If you have a good country bread, that will absorb a lot of your juices in the panzanella salad.

On the other hand, if you have focaccia, it's a much softer bread, and especially if it's not really dry, it will disintegrate in your salad.

Disintegrating in the salad is not all that bad.

You get the crumbs of bread that sort of pick up the sauce and makes it a little denser.

You can use the focaccia because, you know, wasting is terrible, and it will still make -- the focaccia will still make a good panzanella.

So enjoy.

And this is from Jessica.

And she says, "Thanks for the wonderful recipes and memories your team inspires our family to create!

Here are some pictures of my kids in the kitchen cooking."

Oh, I love that one.

Oh, that looks good.

Mushroom crostino.

And this is, oh, the skillet mushroom and chicken.

You're a good cook.

You're sure you're not a professional?

Look at that family.

Pizza time.

And they're so excited about it.

A beautiful family.

And I like that you put the basil the last minute.

Sometimes putting the basil before you put it in the oven, it's good, but it kills the basil.

This way, it's beautiful.

And the poached egg over eggplant, a great brunch dish.

You really went through my books.

Good for you.

The focaccia is beautiful.

The minestrone is magnifico.

One better than the other, Jessica.

Congratulations to you and your family.

And tell your children I love their pictures and I love their enthusiasm in the kitchen.

Keep them in the kitchen.

Ciao.

So here are roasted vegetables.

Mmm!

Right in.

They have cooled just a little bit.

They are just warm.

And I like them that way.

Now, now, now, let's do the tossing.

We have everything we want in there.

Now, we put some salt all over, and I'm gonna put a little bit of peperoncino.

That'll add it some zest.

I'll put some oil.

And you know, we have a lot of vegetables and bread, and the bread is taking in.

So you're gonna say, "Oh, Lidia, that's a lot of dressing."

But really it's not.

So vinegar is another one of those things that the bread will just soak in.

And you know what's gonna be the beautiful part of this?

When you eat this and you bite into the bread, the bread squirts out the dressing in your mouth, and it's just delicious.

This looks good.

And, you know, at this point, you could leave it for about 10, 15 minutes.

That's why this salad is great when you have buffet tables, so you don't have to worry about the salad will wilt on you.

This will all be nice and even better.

Mmm, mmm, mmm.

So I want to show you something.

Take a look here.

You see?

And that's what happens in your mouth.

So when you think, "Oh, where's the dressing?"

Squirts.

Love it.

So let's make the platter.

Certainly on a buffet table, this is a super dish.

But also when you do family style, just put a big platter of this in the middle of the table.

Let me take a ladle.

You know, cooking in the kitchen is a lot about common sense.

One thing doesn't work, then you -- you know, common sense -- get something else.

There we go.

Now we can be plating this.

And whenever you plate food, don't try to arrange it.

Let the food flow into position.

But I do want to get it kind of high here because I want to get a lot on the plate.

I like the ends clean like a frame to this beautiful painting.

That looks good.

Okay.

Like that.

Let's get Lidia's plate.

Mmm!

And what I do at the end is some shavings of cheese, just like that.

And let's do it on this one.

And, of course, you can leave the cheese on the table and let them help themselves.

And a little bit of basil.

And I gotta taste this for you.

I'm trying to get one of each.

Okay, I've got it.

Delicious, with a little bit affettate, whether you want a prosciutto cotto, a little bit mozzarella on the side, you got yourself a grand meal.

A perfect cena, an ending to a day.

-Salute!

-It always brings me such joy to connect through food.

My friends are everywhere, from Italy to New York.

We always end up discussing all things delicious.

I'm waiting for my dear friend Rita Jammet to call me.

She is a great restaurateur for over 25 years, and now she is a champagne producer.

So when we get together, it's all about the bubbles.

But I have some Italian bubbles waiting for her here in my home.

Some prosecco.

Okay, here she is.

She's calling.

Rita!

How you doing, Rita?

-Ciao.

Ciao, Lidia.

-Come stai?

-Oh, benissimo.

Grazie.

Benissimo.

I'm so happy.

-Listen, I know you have some bubbles there.

I have some bubbles for you, too.

-Excellent.

-You have the French bubbles.

I have the Italian bubbles.

How's that?

-Perfect, perfect.

-Okay.

Salute.

-Salute.

Cheers.

Sant.

-It's always so wonderful to see you, because, you know, you have that energy, that passion, that love for food, for beverages, for restaurants, and sharing.

You know, women in the restaurant business -- it wasn't always easy.

-Definitely.

Definitely.

Actually, I've been so inspired by you because single-handedly, what you were able to accomplish.

-Also, we are very much part of getting involved in women's organization.

-Yep.

-It's all about women being in the industry, helping women to get forward in the industry.

-So it's all about showing, you know, that it can be done, empowering them, and guiding them.

It's very gratifying helping the next generation, and you impact people's lives.

Amazing.

-But I think what's behind is our passion for what we do.

-Definitely.

-Let me get that glass.

That sounds better.

-Yes.

-But have you been cooking lately something?

What's cooking in your kitchen today?

-Recently I came across your -- your recipe of honeydew granita.

It was delicious.

-And it's simple.

-It's so simple.

-It's just making a simple syrup.

And then you take the honeydew ripes, lemon, and you put it in the processor, and then you have this slush, if you will, and you put it in the freezer, and you keep -- as it begins to form the crystals, you begin to scrape it.

But, actually, we also do a slush, if you will, granita.

You take granita like that and you put champagne or prosecco.

We call it a sgroppino, between drink and eating with a spoon, and we serve it after a meal.

So next time you make my granita, mix it a little bit with the champagne and see how that does for the end of the meal.

-Absolutely.

-Cheer to that?

-Cheers to that.

-Salute.

Insalata tiepida di gamberi e nastri di zucchine.

One of those whole-meal salads.

Vegetables and proteins.

You know, I love my vegetables.

And when they're at the market and at their best, I get thinking.

So this is gonna be a nice zucchini, spinach, seared shrimp salad.

So let's start with the shrimp right away.

A little bit of oil.

And let's put the shrimp right in.

A little salt.

A little peperoncino.

Two garlic cloves.

I'm just gonna cut them just for flavor.

And whenever you're searing shrimp, or for that matter, anything, having space in the pan gives everything a good sear.

And so here we go with the zucchini.

We're gonna slice it on the mandoline.

And the mandoline is a great thing.

But it is a little dangerous.

Your fingers are close to the blade at some points.

Just be careful.

You wash your zucchini.

Let me show you just how nice and fine the slices are coming.

You don't want too large of a zucchini, because then you get a lot of the seeds.

When you get closer to the blade, just be careful.

Use the towel just to keep your fingers away.

Let me just put it here.

Then you can just kind of slice.

And do it this way.

So you use it until the end, but you're mindful of your fingers.

Absolutely.

Okay, let's put that in.

Let me check the shrimp.

We don't want to overcook them.

We're almost there with the shrimp.

Let's do the green zucchini.

Yeah, okay.

So when you do this, keep your fingers up on the towel.

All right.

This looks like a great salad by itself, but let's get the shrimp out.

Now we have the shrimp done.

Let's make the sauce.

I have some garlic.

Let me add a little bit more garlic.

Just like that is enough.

Good.

Let's put the butter in.

A little bit more olive oil.

Let's put the onions.

You know, you can saut them like this or you can just add them raw.

Depends on what you like.

Cooking is all about what you like, what your family likes.

Some people have difficulties with raw onions, digesting them, so you saut them.

To this I will add the capers, the lemon juice.

Mmm.

And just give it a whirl.

This doesn't need a lot of cooking.

Am I gonna put a little bit of salt?

Always a little bit of salt.

And that's that.

So I'm gonna shut this off.

It doesn't need to overcook, just like that.

We're gonna do the dressing now.

So let's start with the baby spinach right in here.

That's enough.

And some salt.

So I'm looking at the shrimp.

And they're beautiful, big.

You know, shrimp you pay by the size.

They sell them under U5, U15, U20, U70.

U means under.

That means that you will have under five in a pound, that you will have under 25 in a pound.

So if you have under five, they're pretty big.

But if you have under 25, they're smaller.

[ Birds chirping ] Birds I love in the garden.

This is my garden.

I love cooking in the garden and I love having you here.

[ Birds chirping ] He's serenading me.

All right.

So I like the big ones because they look nice.

But it depends on your budget.

And if you're making a big salad for a lot of people, you might consider the smaller ones, the under 20, under 30.

And they're whole anyway.

So let me pick out some of the garlics here.

You know garlic, you want the flavor.

Not necessarily do you want the pieces of garlic in there.

Tongs -- Get yourself one of these.

They're so practical.

The extension of a cook's hands in the kitchen.

Okay, so let me just pour all of this in.

Just like that.

So I have the lemon juice, I have some oil, but certainly I think I need more oil.

Yes.

More oil.

And let's toss this.

You could do the zucchini in advance.

And you can season them.

You can put a little bit of salt, a little bit of oil, and maybe a little bit of the lemon juice on the zucchini themselves and leave them there.

And that will do will sort of -- they will become softer and more flavorful maybe.

But I think, you know, this looks pretty good.

And always taste.

I tell you always taste, so let me taste.

A little more salt.

Everything else seems on target.

So, you know, I have this shrimp still warm, and I like it that way.

But you certainly if you're having a party or something, you can sear the shrimp.

They can be at room temperature, no problem.

And everything could be ready.

And you just dress it up in the last minute.

You have the sauce done, you have the shrimp done, you just toss it in the last minute.

Let's do the serving.

You're watching me.

Are you kind of drooling a little bit?

Haha.

And Lidia's plate serves as a saver of drippings.

Okay.

The colors are beautiful.

The flavor is beautiful.

Now Lidia's dish.

And this is plenty.

Okay.

That's good.

I'm getting ready to taste to tell you.

So it looks beautiful.

You can present that at your buffet table.

You can think this as an appetizer or as a main course just like that.

And of course, you want a lemonade or flavored water.

Or you can choose a sparkling.

And Lidia will choose the sparkling.

Just like that, a nice sparkling goes delicious with this.

A ros is beautiful.

And I have one for you, one for me.

This Prosecco DOC is refreshing and light just like this dish.

It's delicious.

It really is.

The lemon, the onions, the capers.

Nice and crunchy.

You will love it.

And I poured us some sparkling, which was beautiful with this dish.

And I invite you, as I always do.

I wouldn't drink alone, I need company, so come.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare.

So whether you're making a main course, a soup, or a salad, let the ingredients guide you.

You can make a salad out of leafy greens.

You can make salad out of zucchini.

Don't limit yourself to leaves in making salads.

-[ Singing in Italian ] -[Speaking Italian] If some pain the love give you, just don't forget the wind, it will take the pain away.

Salute.

Shall we cheer to family, to our great meals at this table?

We certainly had enough of them.

Let's continue, Grandma.

The friends, our viewers.

Cheers, Grandma.

-Salute!

-The food from this series is a celebration of the Italian dishes Lidia cooks for the ones she loves the most, from the traditional recipes of her childhood to the new creations she feeds her family today.

All of these easy-to-prepare recipes can be found in Lidia's latest cookbook, "From Our Family Table to Yours," available for $35.

To purchase this cookbook and any of her additional products, call 1-800-PLAY-PBS, or visit shop.pbs.org/lidia.

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 -- trust your family with our family.

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

-And by...