Healthy & Green
Sicilian Cauliflower Affogato
*Cavolfiore affogato* is the Palermo way with cauliflower: florets layered in a pot with red onion, black olives and…
- 50 min
- 412 kcal
- 15 g protein
Healthy & Green recipes
Vegetable-first, mostly plant-based Italian recipes: seasonal produce, legumes, whole grains and good olive oil.
Healthy & Green
Brussels Sprouts with Tuscan White Beans
Brussels sprouts seared cut-side down until deeply browned, then finished in a pan of *fagioli all'uccelletto* — the…
- 35 min
- 383 kcal
- 18 g protein
Healthy & Green
Butternut Squash Soup with Cannellini
An Italian butternut squash soup built on roasted squash instead of boiled: 2½ lb of butternut, a leek and four cloves…
- 1 hr 5 min
- 425 kcal
- 16 g protein
Healthy & Green
Vegetarian Italian Cabbage Rolls
Involtini di verza are the northern Italian cabbage roll: savoy leaves blanched until pliable, wrapped around a…
- 1 hr 30 min
- 488 kcal
- 23 g protein
Healthy & Green
Creamy Mushroom Polenta (Polenta ai Funghi)
Polenta ai funghi is soft stone-ground cornmeal under a ragù of 1½ pounds of mushrooms, browned in two batches with…
- 1 hr
- 453 kcal
- 13 g protein
Healthy & Green
Sicilian Caponata: Roasted Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant
Caponata is the Sicilian dish of eggplant, celery, green olives and capers cooked down in an agrodolce — a…
- 1 hr 10 min
- 249 kcal
- 3 g protein
Healthy & Green
Ribollita: The Tuscan Kale, Bean and Bread Soup
Ribollita is the Tuscan soup that starts as a pot of cannellini beans and black kale and only becomes itself the next…
- 2 hr
- 418 kcal
- 15 g protein
Healthy & Green
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe
Orecchiette with broccoli rabe is the standard plate of Puglia: a pound and a half of rapini blanched in the pasta…
- 30 min
- 456 kcal
- 16 g protein
Healthy & Green
Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Lemon
Farro salad with roasted vegetables tosses chewy pearled farro with oven-caramelized zucchini, eggplant, peppers, red…
- 45 min
- 481 kcal
- 14 g protein
How we build a healthy & green recipe
This is the collection for every day you're not chasing a specific goal — which is most days. The Mediterranean pattern that Italians have eaten for generations is plant-forward by default: seasonal vegetables, beans and lentils, whole grains, nuts, olive oil, herbs, and fish or a little cheese and meat to season the plate rather than dominate it. It's also the dietary pattern with the strongest evidence for long-term health.
Recipes in this collection are:
- Vegetable-first, and most are vegetarian or vegan (we tag each one) — orecchiette with broccoli rabe is the template: 1½ lb of greens against 10 oz of pasta.
- Built on whole foods with minimal processed ingredients.
- Seasonal where it matters, with swaps for what's available in the US year-round.
- Lower in environmental impact: more plants, less meat, no food waste in the method.
Start with the farro salad with roasted vegetables if you want lunches for the week, or the orecchiette if you want dinner in half an hour.
If you cook fully plant-based, our guide on vegan Italian food sorts out which classics are already vegan, which only look it, and how to replace the ones that aren't.
Good food that happens to be good for you, and for the planet, without making a fuss about it.