Recipes
Il Gran Bollito Misto
Mixed Boiled Meats
This is a great winter celebration dish for a large gathering. It is found in other regions, but this version is very typical of Piedmont. Gran bollito combines at least five different types of meats, and has several little accompanying sauces: salsa verde, salso rossa (tomato and onion), salsa bianca (onion-based), and mostarda do Cremona (fruits candied slowly in a heavy sugar syrup flavoured with essence of mustard).
Insalata di Fagiolini alla Menta
French Bean Salad with Mint
What could be simpler than French beans in a salad? It is important to have very fresh beans, without string. The combination of the garlic and mint, along with the oil and lemon, gives a totally unexpected flavour.
Insalata di Peperoni Arrostiti
Roast Pepper Salad
This is without a doubt one of my favourite recipes. It is an example of the way in which the flavour of sweet peppers can change completely according to whether they are fried or roasted, or indeed have their skins removed, as here. The peppers can be eaten by themselves, with some good bread, or as an accompaniment to meat dishes - especially pork.
Insalata Primaverile
Spring Salad
The spring salad, in short, should be a mixture of vegetables: obviously all the things that can be found in abundance in spring - young lettuces, both red and green, the small shoots from perennial plants in your garden such as mint, chives, parsley etc. If you cannot find these, then buy some fresh spinach. The only rule is that everything should be perfectly fresh.
La Costoletta del Curato
Veal Chop of the Priest
In Italy, as we know, the clergy treat themselves proverbially well. You will find this recipe on the restaurant menus in Orvieto during May, when wild herbs are available in the fields. It was a challenge for me because the exact 'mixture' is apparently a secret. The only known fact is that there should be at least 18 herbs. Gather together as many as you can find, but go easy on the more pungent varieties.
La Parmigiana di Melanzane
Baked Aubergine with Cheese and Tomato
I've never known whether this dish is called 'parmigiana' because it comes from Parma, or because it's made with Parmesan cheese. It is originally from Sicily, but it is cooked all over Italy and can be an excellent vegetarian main course. I've changed the classic recipe slightly. You can use courgettes instead of the aubergines.
Lamponi e More al Limone
Raspberries and Blackberries with Sugar and Lemon
I have often said that the Italians have a sweet tooth, but not necessarily after meals. Day-to-day, fresh, ripe seasonal fruit is the usual way to round off a meal. As a young boy, fruit became my responsibility and I became an expert in monitoring farmers' fruit crops. During autumn, I would obtain wonderful raspberries and pick wild blackberries to compliment them. Use only perfectly ripe fruit for this dessert.
Linguine alla Mollica
Linguine with Anchovies, Capers, Olives and Breadcrumbs
The Italian composer, Ruggero Leoncavallo, who wrote I Pagliacci among other operas, was very partial to this dish. It is traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve in Calabria.
Maccu ('Ncapriata)
Broad Bean Mash
What polenta, the maize porridge, used to be for poor northerners, maccu was for southerners. It is a real peasant dish, reminding us that farmers sometimes had little but this left to eat in winter. Today, however, you can find maccu on the menus of the best restaurants in the whole of southern Italy, but especially in Puglia and Sicily, the main areas of broad bean cultivation. For this dish you have to find dried broad beans without the skin, just the two halves.
Mango con Scoroppo di Limo
Mango with Lime Syrup
An extremely simple recipe with lots of fresh flavour. The best mango to use here would be the Alfonso variety from India, but this recipe will be a success whatever type you use.