Prima di cuocere le patate, le sbuccio con calma.

Because in Italian, prima di + infinitive means before doing something.

So:

• prima di cuocere = before cooking
• prima di partire = before leaving
• prima di mangiare = before eating

The di is required here before the infinitive verb.

Compare:

• Prima di cuocere le patate, le sbuccio. = Before cooking the potatoes, I peel them.
• Prima cuocio le patate, poi le sbuccio. = First I cook the potatoes, then I peel them.

So prima di means before, while prima by itself can mean first.

Yes. Cuocere means to cook, to bake, to boil, or more generally to heat food until it is cooked.

In this sentence, cuocere le patate means to cook the potatoes.

A useful distinction:

• cucinare = to cook / prepare food in general
• cuocere = to cook something through with heat

So:

• Cucino la cena. = I cook dinner.
• Cuocio le patate. = I cook the potatoes.

In many everyday situations, both may be understandable, but cuocere is very natural when talking about the actual cooking of the food item itself.

Sbuccio comes from the verb sbucciare, which means to peel.

So:

• sbuccio = I peel

Examples:

• Sbuccio una mela. = I peel an apple.
• Sbuccio le patate. = I peel the potatoes.

The -o ending shows that it is first person singular in the present tense: I peel.

That le is a direct object pronoun meaning them.

So:

• le patate = the potatoes
• le sbuccio = I peel them

Italian often avoids repeating the noun when it is already clear. Instead of saying:

• Prima di cuocere le patate, sbuccio le patate

Italian prefers:

• Prima di cuocere le patate, le sbuccio

That sounds much more natural.

Here le refers to le patate, which is feminine plural, so the pronoun is also le.

Because in Italian, unstressed object pronouns usually come before a conjugated verb.

So:

• Lo vedo. = I see him/it.
• La mangio. = I eat it.
• Le sbuccio. = I peel them.

This is different from English, where the object pronoun usually comes after the verb:

• I peel them

But in Italian:

• Le sbuccio

So the order is normal and important.

They look the same, but they do different jobs.

1. le patate
   Here le is the definite article: the

2. le sbuccio
   Here le is a direct object pronoun: them

So:

• le patate = the potatoes
• le sbuccio = I peel them

Italian has several words that can look identical but have different grammatical functions depending on context.

Italian uses the definite article much more often than English.

So where English may say:

• Before cooking potatoes...

Italian often prefers:

• Prima di cuocere le patate...

Using le here sounds natural because we are talking about the potatoes involved in this situation, not potatoes in general as an abstract category.

This is very common in Italian:

• Mangio la pasta.
• Lavo i piatti.
• Taglio le carote.

Even when English might omit the, Italian often keeps it.

Because Italian usually leaves out the subject pronoun when it is already clear from the verb ending.

Here:

• sbuccio already means I peel

So io is not necessary.

You could say:

• Io le sbuccio con calma

but that would usually add emphasis, as in:

• I peel them calmly
• As for me, I peel them calmly

In neutral everyday Italian, omitting io is more natural.

Yes, con calma is very common. It means:

• calmly
• slowly
• without rushing
• sometimes even take it easy

In this sentence:

• le sbuccio con calma = I peel them calmly / without rushing

It is a fixed, natural expression in Italian.

Other examples:

• Parla con calma. = Speak calmly.
• Faccio tutto con calma. = I do everything calmly.
• Aspetta, con calma! = Wait, take it easy!

Yes, that would be grammatically correct, but it sounds repetitive.

Italian, like English, usually avoids repeating the same noun when a pronoun can replace it.

So:

• Prima di cuocere le patate, sbuccio le patate con calma
  is correct but less natural

• Prima di cuocere le patate, le sbuccio con calma
  is the more natural version

Using le makes the sentence flow better.

The given word order is very natural, but Italian allows some flexibility.

Standard version:

• Prima di cuocere le patate, le sbuccio con calma.

You could also say:

• Le sbuccio con calma prima di cuocere le patate.

This still means the same thing, though the focus shifts a little.

What you generally cannot do is place the object pronoun incorrectly after the conjugated verb, for example:

• Sbuccio le ❌

With a normal conjugated verb, the pronoun goes before it:

• Le sbuccio ✅

Often, yes.

Both pelare and sbucciare can mean to peel, especially with foods like potatoes.

• pelare le patate
• sbucciare le patate

Both are used, though sbucciare specifically suggests removing the skin/peel, while pelare can also be used more broadly for peeling.

In everyday speech, both may be heard, but sbucciare le patate is completely natural.

Sbuccio is in the present indicative.

• sbucciare = infinitive
• sbuccio = I peel

Italian often uses the present tense for:

• habitual actions
• general procedures
• describing what one does in a typical situation

So this sentence can mean something like:

• Before cooking the potatoes, I peel them calmly
• When I’m about to cook potatoes, I peel them first, without rushing

It does not have to mean only something happening right now; it can also describe a normal routine.

Because le as a direct object pronoun refers to a feminine plural noun in this sentence: le patate.

So here:

• le patate = feminine plural
• le sbuccio = I peel them

Italian object pronouns agree with the noun they replace.

A quick comparison:

• la patata → la sbuccio = I peel it
• le patate → le sbuccio = I peel them

So the context makes it clear that le means them, not a singular person.