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Mario Batali

Mario Batali

By Food & Wine

Updated May 17, 2017

Here are a collection of Food & Wine’s best Mario Batali recipes. These dishes showcase some of the best Mario has created ranging from perfect pastas to herb-and-cheese-filled chicken thighs. Try these delicious dishes for your next dinner party.

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Herb-and-Cheese-Filled Chicken Thighs

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Very Soft Polenta with Rock Shrimp Ragout

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This is Mario Batali’s variation on a classic dish from the coastal villages outside of Trieste, where the fresh seafood is among the most prized in the world. The polenta that accompanies the shrimp must be very soft, almost saucelike.

Video: Italy Travel Tips from Mario Batali

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Cavatelli with Spicy Winter Squash

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“This pasta,” Mario Batali says, “always propels me into fall.” You can substitute pumpkin or hubbard squash—whichever looks more beautiful at your market—for the butternut.

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Roasted Squash with Red Onion, Oregano and Mint

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For the best results, look for elongated rather than bulbous squash.

F&W's Ultimate Guide to Cooking with Vegetables

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Trenette with Pesto, Beans and Potatoes

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Suggested wine pairing: Brisk, slightly nutty Soave.

Guide to Italian Recipes

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Mushroom Orzotto

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Suggested wine pairing: Earthy, cherry-scented Chianti Classico.

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Butcher's Ragù with Fusilli

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This sauce, an ever-so-slightly creamy ragù made with ground beef, pancetta and ham, is flavored with tomato paste instead of canned tomatoes.

F&W's Ultimate Pasta Guide

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Mixed Vegetable and Farro Soup

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This thick, hearty soup is a colorful mix of carrots, peas, leek and onion. Mario Batali adds borlotti beans and farro, which make the soup hearty enough to be a vegan main course.

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Spicy Stewed Sausages with Three Peppers

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Stewing the bell peppers in red wine gives them richness; so does a generous garnish of grated pecorino cheese. The stewed sausages and peppers are also delicious tossed with pasta.

Video: How to Cook the Perfect Sausage

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Meat Loaf Stuffed with Prosciutto and Spinach

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The vegetables in this luxurious yet easy take on classic meat loaf can be leftovers, says Mario Batali: “Just make sure they're cooked long enough to be very soft—if they’re al dente, the meat loaf will tear when you slice it and wreck your day.”

More Comfort Food Classics

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Anchovy and Roasted-Pepper Salad with Goat Cheese

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Mario Batali enlisted the help of Dave Pasternack to create this earthy salad with chopped cured anchovies in the dressing.

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Goat Cheese Ravioli with Orange and Fennel

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Using wonton wrappers is a great shortcut for making Mario Batali’s tangy herbed goat cheese ravioli.

Video: Mario Batali Describes 3 Crimes Against Pasta

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Tomato and Garlic Dip

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The iconic Andalucian salmorejo is essentially a superthick gazpacho, made with plenty of ripe tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. Invariably, it’s topped with chopped hard-boiled eggs and ham and served with fried eggplant or toasted country bread.

Video: Michael Nischan Gives His Best Tip for Tomatoes

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White Clam Pie

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Chile-Steamed Mussels with Green Olive Crostini

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Suggested wine pairing: Because good sparkling wine cuts through heat, it’s an ideal pairing with spicy foods.

Fantastic Fish Recipes and Techniques from F&W

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Marinated Sardines with Fennel, Raisins and Pine Nuts

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“You need a wine that can counterbalance these intense sardines,” says Dan Amatuzzi of Mario Batali’s quickly fried fish marinated in sweet Champagne vinegar, the classic Venetian dish sardines in saor.

F&W's List of 150 Great Wines for $15 or Less

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Bucatini all'Amatriciana

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Mario Batali’s simple, brilliant version of this classic dish calls for tossing the long, hollow pasta strands with house-cured guanciale (pork jowl) and a spicy house-made tomato sauce.

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Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage

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Ricotta Frittata

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Fantastic Brunch Recipes from F&W

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Pancetta-Wrapped Asparagus with Citronette

Credit: © BEATRIZ DA COSTA

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In Mario Batali’s riff on the traditional antipasto of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, he wraps spears in pancetta (which, unlike prosciutto, becomes nicely crispy when cooked) and grills them. Adding a bit of tanginess is the citronette, a marvelously bright-tasting mustardy-orange dressing.

F&W's Ultimate Guide to Italian Cooking

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Spaghetti with Artichokes and Pancetta

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“Artichokes don’t have to start a fight with wine,” says Mario Batali. He sautés sliced artichokes with lardo (cured pork fat) or pancetta, then tosses them with spaghetti.

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Zucchini-Ricotta Fritters

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Mortadella and Cheese Panini

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To make these sandwiches, use 6-by-4-inch slices of dense white bread from a peasant loaf to accommodate the hearty filling.

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Grilled Skirt Steak with Salsa Verde

Credit: CON POULOS

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Skirt steak, nicely marbled with fat, takes well to marinades, like this simple mix of herbs and garlic. Mario Batali accents the grilled meat with a sauce made with more herbs and garlic, plus capers and anchovies; he likes to make his salsa verde superthick.

Video: Bobby Flay on How to Grill the Perfect Steak

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Marilyn Batali's Blackberry Pie

Credit: QUENTIN BACON

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While walking in Galicia with Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali spotted a bush full of ripe blackberries, his “favorite fruit in life,” and recalled filling the back of his parents’ station wagon with buckets of blackberries when he was growing up in Seattle. After getting his mother, Marilyn, to e-mail him her recipe, Mario prepared this luscious pie.

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Grilled Asparagus with Pepper Zabaglione

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Mario Batali chars his asparagus on the grill, then serves it with a superrich zabaglione sauce spiked with black pepper.

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Grilled Margherita and Olive-Fontina Pizzas

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"This dough is not the kind you throw in the air like in the movies," Mario Batali says. He grills the crusts until they're delectably charred, then adds one of two simple toppings--a classic Margherita with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil, and a pungent mix of Fontina, black olives and pine nuts. For the Nascar cookout, Batali cuts the pies into small wedges as appetizers but notes that they're also hearty enough to be a main course.

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Bruschetta with Peperonata

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Mario Batali tops crisp, garlic-rubbed bread with tender, sweet peppers enlivened with chiles and anchovy paste.

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Osso Buco with Horseradish Gremolata

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When he hosts dinners, Mario Batali often makes braised dishes. "I can leave the kitchen and talk to my guests," says the chef. "And the most remarkable fragrance fills my house." This recipe calls for four large shanks, but there's plenty of meat to serve six.

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Grilled Polenta with Spinach and Robiola Cheese

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Polenta is the Italian name for cornmeal. Here, it’s grilled until crisp and served with sautéed spinach and a creamy, tangy cheese that melts on top.

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Mario Batali

1 of 30

Herb-and-Cheese-Filled Chicken Thighs

1 of 30

2 of 30

Very Soft Polenta with Rock Shrimp Ragout

2 of 30

3 of 30

Cavatelli with Spicy Winter Squash

3 of 30

4 of 30

Roasted Squash with Red Onion, Oregano and Mint

4 of 30

5 of 30

Trenette with Pesto, Beans and Potatoes

5 of 30

6 of 30

Mushroom Orzotto

6 of 30

7 of 30

Butcher's Ragù with Fusilli

7 of 30

8 of 30

Mixed Vegetable and Farro Soup

8 of 30

9 of 30

Spicy Stewed Sausages with Three Peppers

9 of 30

10 of 30

Meat Loaf Stuffed with Prosciutto and Spinach

10 of 30

11 of 30

Anchovy and Roasted-Pepper Salad with Goat Cheese

11 of 30

12 of 30

Goat Cheese Ravioli with Orange and Fennel

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13 of 30

Tomato and Garlic Dip

13 of 30

14 of 30

White Clam Pie

14 of 30

15 of 30

Chile-Steamed Mussels with Green Olive Crostini

15 of 30

16 of 30

Marinated Sardines with Fennel, Raisins and Pine Nuts

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17 of 30

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

17 of 30

18 of 30

Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage

18 of 30

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Ricotta Frittata

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Pancetta-Wrapped Asparagus with Citronette

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21 of 30

Spaghetti with Artichokes and Pancetta

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22 of 30

Zucchini-Ricotta Fritters

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23 of 30

Mortadella and Cheese Panini

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Grilled Skirt Steak with Salsa Verde

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Marilyn Batali's Blackberry Pie

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Grilled Asparagus with Pepper Zabaglione

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