LIDIA: Buongiorno!

I'm Lidia Bastianich.

And teaching you about Italian food has always been my passion.

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

So what does that mean?

You get to cook it yourselves.

For me, food is about delicious flavors... Che bellezza!

...comforting memories, and, most of all, family.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

♪ ANNOUNCER: Funding provided by... ANNOUNCER: 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.

ANNOUNCER: Authentic and original -- Amarena Fabbri.

A taste of Italy for brunch with family and friends.

Amarena Fabbri -- the original wild cherries in syrup.

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

ANNOUNCER: For over 140 years, Auricchio traditional hand-crafted provolone, made in Italy.

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"From chef to chef."

ANNOUNCER: And by... LIDIA: Seafood.

blue Adriatic waters -- that screams home to me.

So let me take you there right now.

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

It's started with a round Sardinian pasta called fregula and halibut.

It's always a good thing to stock your pantry with essentials.

That way, you can pull together this hearty salad with ease.

See [sea] you in the kitchen.

I was born by the sea.

I love the sea.

I love swimming.

I love fishing, and I love cooking fish.

I owe a lot of understanding about fish to my Uncle Emilio.

And he was an electrician, really by profession, but he was a passionate fisherman.

He would ask me and my brother to come along to help him with little chores.

Lasso in those calamari, gathered the jumping fish in the boat, put them in the pail, and so on.

Was great memories.

But, also, sometimes he would go with his friend and alone, sometimes in the middle of the night or the early morning -- again, 2:00 or 3:00.

He would come from fishing and bring the big fish.

This specific time, he had an eel.

He had the eel, cutting pieces, and then there he was, frying the eel for breakfast.

So, you know, I got up.

I had eel breakfast.

And so these memories stay with you, but also shape your understanding.

At least it shaped my understanding of the meaning of freshness.

So what I say to you is getting to trying the other fishes, the blue fishes, the sardines, the mackerel.

Try cooking them.

They're easy, they're delicious, and it helps the environment.

So, today, I'm gonna cook some halibut and 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.

And once you put the fish in like that, resist the urge to shuffle around that fish.

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 that here, and so it brings that 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, you take a sheet pan to 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 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.

Right?

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 the glaze, 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.

Uh-huh.

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!

I'm relaxed in my library here.

I recollect my thoughts and my ideas, and I look forward to your questions.

And Rita sent in a video of her mussels cooking, and she says... Well, let's see.

Love those mussels, Rita.

They look nice and plump, and they look nice and fresh.

And that's how mussels are best.

Mussels are delicious, but they need to be absolutely fresh.

Buy them as fresh as possible.

When you bring them home, put them on ice cubes and put them in the refrigerator.

Cover them with a wet paper towel and leave them there.

But use them as soon as possible.

I think the only way that I would suggest mussels to be frozen is, like, you made it here in that sauce.

What you don't eat, pull it out of the shell.

Put it in the sauce.

You freeze that sauce and the mussels, so the mussels are protected in the juice, in the sauce, and they don't get that kind of freezer attack, if you will.

Keep on cooking, Rita.

Let's see.

Paul is cooking up a storm, so let's see.

He has sent us pictures.

Boy, that's a list.

That's a menu.

I'm curious.

Let's check.

Wow.

That looks pretty good.

The presentation is beautiful.

Just a combination of the ingredients sound very tasteful.

Risotto is a good meal to make when you have guests around the house and you have them kind of having an aperitif, drinking, a little antipasto, a little fromage, a little cheese, a little prosciutto.

And then you do your grand part.

You get behind the stove, and you make your risotto.

So this risotto is a winner.

Keep on cooking it.

Let those questions keep on coming, and we will have more discussions just like this.

Oh, 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 that we saved the green part.

We'll chop some parsley.

♪ Okay, so... ♪ I'm gonna let this cook maybe five minutes -- just enough time to clean up -- and we'll be ready to serve.

And next is Edna.

Edna wants to know more about fish.

She asks...

The whole ocean.

I love them all -- crustaceans.

I love bonefish, whole fish, steak, some big fish.

I like them all.

But if I were to go back to remembering, you know, my fishing with my uncle and what he would catch and what we would cook, I vividly remember fish about this size.

Could be branzino, could be orata, could be monkfish.

And these make excellent brodettos.

Brodetto is a soupy sauce of these fish.

Going to the shellfish, of course, braising it with some wine, with some parsley, with some breadcrumbs.

All of those things -- love making sauces for pasta.

Linguine clam sauce -- one of my favorite.

I also love particularly calamari.

So I could go on talking about fish for a few hours, but we'll move on.

And let's see.

I hope I gave Edna enough ideas.

We're ready to serve, ready to eat, ready to deliver to your guests.

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

There's a lot of beautiful greens right in that pot, so I don't think I need all that much.

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 with 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.

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 time 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 my advice.

Hi, Miles.

MILES: Hi, Nonni.

Sorry if I seem tired.

I've been up all night, studying for my finals.

LIDIA: Oh, okay.

I am proud of you.

Studying is a good thing.

Now, you had asked me for a quick recipe.

Do your friends like shrimp?

MILES: My friends love shrimp.

Yeah.

LIDIA: This recipe is a recipe that I used to make in our first restaurant, in Buonavia.

You weren't even born then.

Shrimp Buonavia.

And it is simple.

What's important about this recipe is that you have your mise en place already -- some garlic, some little, fine shallots in oil.

You brown that, and then you sauté the shrimps quick.

Some butter, some white wine, some lemon juice, parsley, and give it one quick boil, and the sauce becomes nice and thick and the shrimps nice and crunchy.

You can serve it like that on the plate, or you can have some toasted bread.

You think your friends would like that?

MILES: I think my friends would love that.

LIDIA: Oh, and the whole thing takes maybe about 10 minutes to make.

So are you gonna treat them, or you guys chip in, or how do you work it out?

MILES: We'll definitely put a pot and make them chip in.

LIDIA: And then you become the official chef?

MILES: Yeah.

LIDIA: So what is your idea?

How would you serve this?

MILES: I'd probably serve it maybe in some tacos.

LIDIA: Oh!

MILES: Yeah.

LIDIA: So you got to mix the cultures here, huh?

MILES: Yeah.

LIDIA: So, listen.

When are you and I going fishing?

Where would you like to go fishing?

MILES: Maybe we go to Mexico.

LIDIA: Or Los Cabos again, Mexico.

The Pacific coast of Mexico, there's some great fishing.

So, you have this recipe down packed?

MILES: I think I can make it.

I'm pretty confident.

LIDIA: I'm confident.

I have confidence in you.

I know once you get in the kitchen, you -- zoom, zoom, zoom -- like a chef.

You make it happen.

So, gen in through the kitchen, feed your friends, and say hello to all of them.

Okay, Coco.

Love you.

MILES: Ciao.

LIDIA: Be good.

Being a grandma means really connecting to each individual grandchild and understanding what they love in life, what they like to do, and sort of combine what you like with what they like -- in our case, certainly fish.

He likes to fish.

I like to cook the fish.

We're okay.

Here I am in my garden, under the wine trestle.

And I don't feel like cooking, but we have to eat lunch.

So a nice salad from the pantry.

You know, sometimes recipes from the pantry could be as good or even better than cooked recipes.

So today we're gonna do chickpeas, some tuna, some celery, some olives, some eggs, and -- voilà -- some good wine, and we're all set.

So let's begin by making the dressing.

Oil, of course.

♪ And some lemon juice.

And I'm gonna put some salt in here now.

♪ The dressing is ready.

So, here we are.

Let's move on to the celery now.

A wonderful vegetable year-round, crunchy, and the leaves, you know?

I like to use the leaves, too, you see?

So when I, especially when I make a salad like that, just wash it well and start from the top and go all the way down and just...chopped.

♪ Red onion is great for salad.

Sweet.

It adds some color.

And I like kind of half moons.

You know, I don't like it chopped fine.

Just thin half moons, like that, so it sort of spreads throughout the whole salad.

Let's see.

So I think that's enough with that.

Scraper -- great when you're chopping things to get them all together at once so you don't spill them all over the kitchen like that.

Okay.

So that goes in there.

Mm-hmm.

There we go.

Ceci now.

We have the ceci beans.

The canned ones are just as good.

Olives.

Let's put the whole thing in there.

I put a little bit of salt.

So, I like a little peperoncino.

You know, I like it a little spicy.

Let's... ♪ And this is a great salad.

It looks inviting as it is.

And here I'm gonna add some tuna.

I like it in oil, and I throw kind of chunks.

You kind of just break it up in chunks.

You don't want it, the tuna, to completely break up.

Just like that.

♪ Okay.

So here we go.

I like chunks like that.

Alright.

And now we're ready to plate.

Can you imagine how delicious this is going to be?

A nice platter is good for this.

I have the eggs, and I think the egg, sometimes you can just kind of throw them in there and toss them, or you can decorate with them.

I think I'm gonna decorate this time with the eggs.

And I'm just gonna cut them, actually, in half.

Everybody can take half an egg, and they're fine.

Just like that.

Okeydoke.

Just a little bit of salt on the eggs.

And now... Mmm.

♪ Oh, the bees, the bees.

The bees know what's good.

They come and join us for lunch.

You're gonna get included in the salad if you don't leave.

Come on.

Come on, bee.

Are you leaving or what?

Let's go.

Let's go.

I don't want to cover it with it.

Let's go.

Okay.

Now...

I wonder if he's gonna come back.

I better be quick about it.

♪ Oh, Lidia's plate.

Ay yi yi.

♪ Okay.

I'm looking for some tuna.

Here are some tuna, some chickpeas.

So, here we are.

♪ Now let's put just the eggs.

Muscle them in.

♪ Okay.

Let me taste this.

♪ Hmm.

Mmm.

Refreshing, crunchy celery, the olives, the sweetness of the onions, and of course the complexity of the tuna, and then the mellowness of the ceci.

It's just so wonderful.

But maybe -- you know, what can I tell you?

Just a little drizzle of oil on my eggs.

Okay.

Well, we're ready to bring it to the table and have lunch.

♪ And under the shades here, and as we always say, tutti a tavola a mangiare.

Let's go, all, and eat.

A nice glass of white wine.

Cin-cin.

And I'm waiting for you.

♪ My uncle Emilio knew the exact time to go fishing for that exact fish.

So every vegetable has its season, and you're aware, and you know I predicate that all the time, but every fish also has its cycles.

When I buy fish, I'm conscious.

You know, what is there plenty of out there at the fish market?

Looking at all of those elements when you are cooking is important.

Again, trying to be in rhythm with nature, and cook with what the seas gift you.

And as always, Grandma's song will lull us to the table.

LIDIA AND ERMINIA: ♪ Viva la e po'bon ♪ ♪ Questo moto triestin ♪ ♪ Che la vadi ben ♪ ♪ Che la vadi mal ♪ ♪ Siempre alegri e mai paison ♪ ♪ Viva la e po'bon ♪ ♪ Viva la e po'bon ♪ ♪ Questo moto triestin ♪ ♪ Che la vadi ben ♪ ♪ Che la vadi mal ♪ ♪ Siempre alegri e mai paison ♪ ♪ Viva la e po'bon ♪ ERMINIA: Cin-cin.

LIDIA: Salute.

Cin-cin.

ANNOUNCER: 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, call 1-800-PLAY-PBS or visit shop.pbs.org/lidia.

ANNOUNCER: 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.

♪ ♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: Funding provided by... ANNOUNCER: 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.

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

And by... ANNOUNCER: Authentic Italian cured meats.

Paolo Rovagnati, the true Italian tradition.

ANNOUNCER: Closed captioning provided by San Benedetto.

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