The Passionistas Project, the Jewish-Italian Connection & Pizza Dolce with Amy & Nancy Harrington

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with sisters Amy and Nancy Harrington, cofounders of The Passionistas Project, a global community of women.

"It's all about elevating women who don't often get the support and attention that they need," Amy explains. It's also about helping them tell their stories.

Storytelling and food go hand-in-hand, especially in the case of the Harringtons, who have Italian and Jewish roots.

"That's really embedded in both cultures," Nancy says. "And I think that the best way to learn anything from each other is to tell stories and listen."

The sisters, who were raised in an Irish Italian Catholic family - Sunday dinners, a big pot of spaghetti and testing the pasta to make sure it was cooked - recently discovered that they were Jewish. They weren't too surprised, as they already had plenty of Jewish connections.

And then there's the food.

"There's noodle kugel and then there's the Italian pastas; there's just so much overlap," Amy says. "I always associate New York Jews with New York cheesecake, and in Italy we have pizza dolce, which is just a sweeter, less tart version." You can get the recipe at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Amy and Nancy Harrington share The Passionistas Sisterhood backstory, how they discovered their Jewish heritage, and their connections to Judaism over the years. The sisters also mention Santa Monica's Cafe Lovi owner Benedetta Jasmine Guetta and her cookbook, "Cooking Alla Giudia: A Celebration of the Jewish Food of Italy," as well as the crossover between Italians, Jews, and community.

Learn more at thepassionistaproject.com and follow @ThePassionistasProject on Facebook and Instagram. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.