Cook This: 3 recipes from A Kitchen in Italy, including baked pasta with prosciutto

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Our cookbook of the week is A Kitchen in Italy by Mimi Thorisson.

Jump to the recipes: stracciatella alla romana (Roman egg ribbon soup), baked tagliolini with prosciutto and school-night chicken “milanese.”

Life in Italy took hold of author Mimi Thorisson. After leaving their home in the Médoc region of France for Turin in the summer of 2018 so she could write her third cookbook, Old World Italian (2020), she and her family decided to stay. “During COVID times, we were talking about whether we should go back to France. But once you put one foot in Italy, it’s really hard to go back,” says Thorisson, laughing.

In her fourth cookbook, A Kitchen in Italy (2025), Thorisson features a year of family meals. While Old World Italian looked at the whole of the country — “a postcard to our love for Italy and all the friends and the chefs that we’ve met and the inspiration and beautiful travels that we’ve had” — it felt right to focus on her new home in the followup.

“We were renting at first, because when we first moved here, we weren’t sure. But when we found our home here, this very large Turinese apartment, we just decided, ‘OK, let’s build a kitchen.’ And it was very exciting, just this whole building of the kitchen, the family getting totally installed in Italy, and just living the life — and living an Italian life.”

Thorisson was born and raised in Hong Kong by a Chinese father and a French mother, and spent summers as a child with her aunt and grandmother in the south of France. Though she’s immersed herself in Italian cooking, “there’s still the Frenchness in me. So, I always add a bit of a French touch,” she says. Thorisson found her “cooking legs” in Italy by working with her “pasta coach” and good friend, Claudia (a fourth-generation pasta maker), studying the language and researching on many road trips. Of Italy’s 20 regions, Thorisson has been to 19. Though she knows a lot about Sardinia’s pasta and is a fan of their pasta tools, Thorisson has never been there, which she hopes to remedy.

“Having built our own kitchen, and having a home here, and after seven years now, I feel really like I’ve become a little bit of an Italian mama, too, in the kitchen. I didn’t have the same confidence back in 2018-19. I always told my husband, ‘I’m too French,’” she says with a laugh. “And I guess it comes with time and getting to know Italians and knowing your pasta well — and friendship. It feels so good to know the guys at the market and at the greengrocer, at the cheese store. When they know you, it kind of feels, ‘OK, I feel accepted here. I feel a bit Italian.’”

In their new Turin kitchen (with the oak table from their former 19th-century French farmhouse), Thorisson started cooking the family-favourite recipes she’s accumulated over the years. She chose the “best of” for A Kitchen in Italy. As with her cookbook debut, A Kitchen in France (2014), Thorisson returned to her roots.

“It’s a seasonal, simple cookbook about recipes that I like that are Italian and easy, and things that I like to cook. Very family. Very back-to-basics,” she says. “It’s a new life, and a lot of Italian food. Compared to French, there’s a lot of simplicity because it’s all ingredient-based, and as simple as possible. A lot of beautiful pastas and homey soups.”

Even after nearly a decade, Italy holds secrets for Thorisson. She recalls a wine tour group her husband, Icelandic photographer Oddur (who shot the photos for all of her books), recently hosted from Piemonte to Veneto. As well-travelled as she is, the trip led to a new discovery for Thorisson: Asolo, “a real hidden gem” of a village known as the “pearl of Veneto” in the foothills of the Dolomite mountains.

“I find that Italy, each region, is like another country,” says Thorisson, adding that she considers the country a chapter in her life. “You need to have new chapters and be a student in life and learn more. And I love this position in my life — learning and having enthusiasm, and discovering. So, I feel very happy yet to discover more, but I feel, in seven years, I’ve learned a lot here, and I guess I finally feel like I can have my kitchen in Italy.”

STRACCIATELLA ALLA ROMANA

Roman Egg Ribbon Soup

Serves: 4 to 6

2 large carrots, sliced into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) pieces
1 celery rib, sliced into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) pieces
1 large white onion, quartered
1 tsp fine sea salt and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more salt for seasoning
8 large eggs
6 tbsp (90 g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

For serving:
A few sprigs of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Step 1

In a large stockpot, combine the carrots, celery, and onion with 2 quarts (2 litres) water. Season generously with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Step 2

Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano and the salt and pepper. Beat the mixture until smooth and well combined.

Step 3

Remove and discard the vegetables from the broth (a skimmer works well for this). Taste and season the broth with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low.

Step 4

Slowly pour the beaten egg mixture into the boiling broth, whisking constantly, until ribbonlike strands form. The eggs will curl and streak, and you can break it up a bit with a wooden spoon. Remove the pot from the heat.

Step 5

To serve, garnish with parsley, spring onion and a drizzle of olive oil (if using).

BAKED TAGLIOLINI WITH PROSCIUTTO

Serves: 4

4 tbsp (60 g) unsalted butter
4 oz (115 g) prosciutto, very thinly sliced crosswise
12 oz (350 g) dried tagliolini
1 1/2 cups (150 g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (250 mL) Béchamel (recipe follows)

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

Step 2

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon (15 g) of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 3

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, then add it to the skillet with the prosciutto and toss to combine. Add another 2 tablespoons (30 g) of the butter and toss until melted. Sprinkle half of the Parmigiano Reggiano over the pasta and toss again to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 4

Transfer the pasta to an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish and spread it out evenly. Spoon the béchamel over the pasta, then sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano. Cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into small pieces and scatter over the cheese.

Step 5

Preheat the broiler. Place the baking dish 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) under the broiler and broil until browned and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve.

BÉCHAMEL

4 tbsp (60 g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
4 cups (1 L) whole milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk continuously until the mixture is smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Gradually begin adding the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

SCHOOL-NIGHT CHICKEN ‘MILANESE’

Serves: 4

4 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (150 g) panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup (50 g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup (250 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

Step 1

Slice each chicken breast horizontally into two thin cutlets. Cover the cutlets with a sheet of plastic wrap and pound each with a meat pounder to 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick. Season with the salt and pepper.

Step 2

Place the flour in a shallow bowl. In a second shallow bowl, combine the panko and Parmigiano Reggiano. In a third shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then dip into the eggs. Coat the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture and place on a plate.

Step 3

Line a large plate with paper towels. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until sizzling. Working in batches, add the cutlets and fry until deep golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate to drain and repeat with the remaining cutlets, adding more oil as needed. Serve immediately.

Recipes and images excerpted from A Kitchen in Italy by Mimi Thorisson. Copyright ©2025 Marie-France Thorisson. Photographs by Oddur Thorisson. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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