Celebrating Italian Food on SCETV Food

June 02, 2025

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National Italian Day, sometimes called Italian Republic Day, also widely known in Italy as 'Festa della Repubblica'. For Italians, the holiday is nationally celebrated in Italy on June 2, each year and commemorates the referendum of 1946 when Italians were summoned to take a vote to decide the form of their government after World War II.

Foods served on this day might include recipes that feature the unmistakable appearance of the tricolor of the Italian flag, red, white, and green, such as acqua pazza aka "Crazy Water" demonstrated in this video by chef Lauren Furey on SCETV's Now We're Cookin'.

Additional Italian cooking shows air on PBS. Prominent ones include Lidia Bastianich's various series (Lidia's Kitchen, Lidia's Italian Table, etc.) and Cucina Amore with Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola. Mary Ann Esposito also has a long-running series, Ciao Italia. To learn more about the availability of Cucina Amore and to learn about the cookbook by Carrabba and Mandola, see Side Notes.

Salads

Caprese salad is said to originate on the Isle of Capri, and its main ingredients are ripe Italian tomatoes, white mozzarella cheese, and fresh green basil giving the salad its nickname of "Insalata Tricolore." Another colorful salad to try is tomato and bread salad with basil.

Caprese salad. Tricolor.

Entree

Pizza Margherita, is a specialty originally from Naples. The pizza features the three colors of the Italian flag and was named after Queen Margherita of Savoy after her visit there in 1889.  On the series No Passport, host Marcus meets friends new and old, and learns more about the Philadelphia's Italian food scene, including Pizza Margherita (Passport).

New to making pasta? Lan Lam of America's Test Kitchen offers a better way to cook pasta, while PBS Martha Stewart's Cooking School shares one pan tomato pasta and Lidia offers five essential simple pasta sauces.

From America's Test Kitchen, learn how to make pasta with cherry tomato sauce and fried caper crumbs, as well as make the mouth-watering spinach and ricotta gnudi with tomato-butter sauce. Lidia Bastianich's recipe for colorful baked rigatoni and zucchini will fit the bill for your Italian Day celebration feast.

If you would like to have seafood for your celebration, consider Recipes From The Sea from Mary Ann Esposito's Ciao Italia for Neapolitan fish chowder, scallops with spinach,  and baked fish with lemon and olives.

Pizza Margherita - PBS Food

Bread 

Bread is an staple accompaniment of all Italian meals, and Lauren's Sicilian focaccia with pistachio pesto is a winning combination.  We take a visit to the Syracuse, New York Columbus Baking Company to learn about the Italian bread served up at this beloved local establishment. 

Lauren's focaccia with pistachio pesto.

Desserts 

Always an important part of any celebration, the cooking shows have recipes to delight your family and guests. Learn how to make Buttermilk- Vanilla Raspberry Panna Cotta with Lan Lam of America's Test Kitchen or Struffoli from SC ETV's Making It Grow. 

Lauren Furey's Now We're Cookin' shares her olive oil cake with orange-honey syrup and almond-rosemary sugar. 

On a humorous note, Daniel Pinkwater of Maine NPR waxes eloquent for the flaky, layered pastry often filled with ricotta or almond paste, sfogliatelle. 

Buttermilk-Vanilla Raspberry Panna Cotta. America's Test Kitchen. YouTube.

Beverages

Bellini is an internationally well-known long drink cocktail that originated in Italy. It is a mixture of sparkling wine and fruit puree and is one of Italy's most popular cocktails. Here we have a recipe for peach Bellini with mascarpone as well as one for a strawberry rhubarb Bellini.

On Eat Drink Italy, Vic Rallo  and his crew learn about calamari with porcini mushrooms with chef Michele Zuchiatti in Sicily; risotto with smoked trout with chef Gabriele Ferron in Verona; Countess Aleghieri, descendent of Dante Aleghieri, discusses wine and other passions in Siena and Vic prepares his Cacio e Pepe pasta.   

 

Peach Bellini. A favorite cocktail from Italy.

Side Notes

  • How to Celebrate Italian Holidays
  • Pizza, pasta, calzones and more! Impress your friends with a traditional Italian meal from our collection of Italian Foods. (PBS)
  • Festa della Repubblica - The day commemorates the 1946 Italian institutional referendum held by universal suffrage, in which the Italian people were called to the polls to decide on the form of government following the Second World War and the fall of Fascism. The ceremony of the event, organized in Rome, includes the deposition of a laurel wreath as a tribute to the Italian Unknown Soldier at the Altare della Patria by the President of the Italian Republic and a military parade along Via dei Fori Imperiali in Rome.
  • Affogato - Made with rich vanilla ice cream and espresso coffee, grated dark chocolate, and a cheeky splash of nocino nut liqueur, delicious!
  • Johnny Carrabba and his uncle, Damian Mandola, opened the first Carrabba’s in 1986. Pair had a long running series Cucina Sicilia on PBS, the video content of which is no longer available, however, their cookbook spans recipes on the show and can be purchased on Amazon: Ciao Sicily: Recipes from the PBS Series Cucina Sicilia by Johnny Carraba and Damian Mandola.
  • Cucina Amore TV Series 1994-1998. Popular PBS culinary series features Italian Chef, Nick Stellino. Nick's style, stories, and of course great dishes make these delectable presentations a delight. Recipes and ingredient lists included. 

 

Connie Robinette
Connie Robinette
Writer and tape librarian for South Carolina ETV's vault.
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