Recipes
Peperoni Mandorlati
Almond Peppers
This is one of many ways of preparing peppers in Sicily, where they are also served raw, roasted, sauteed and even air-dried.
Pesche Ripiene al Forno
Baked Stuffed Peaches
A typical recipe from Piedmont where peaches grow in abundance. You will need those lovely big ripe peaches with the yellow or white flesh (or you could use nectarines). This dish can be made well in advance as baked peaches are excellent cold, but not straight from the fridge.
Pesto alla Genovese
Pesto Sauce
This recipe requires a fair amount of fresh basil. If you cannot find enough, supplement one fistful with fresh flat-leaf parsley. This alternative makes an excellent, albeit, different, pesto. In most countries, it is possible to make a lot of pesto when basil is plentiful and not at an exorbitant price. To preserve it, you should take the quantities in this recipe and multiply them by four. This will give you about sixteen or so individual portions, which are best divided between small jars.
Pici o Pinci al Ragu di Maiale
Tuscan Pasta with Pork Sauce
Pici is possibly the only original Tuscan handmade pasta. It is made by pulling on a piece of dough made of durum wheat flour (usually no egg) until you have a lengthy string the size of a bucatino without the holes. It's similar to the Venetian bigolo, so quite substantial. In Tuscany, it is regularly eaten with a ragu of wild boar, hare, rabbit or pork.
Pignolata
Pine Kernel Cake
The name of this pudding-cake comes from the Italian word for pine kernel, pinolo (pignolo in Tuscany). Pignolata can be rather dry, so it is often accompanied by a glass of Vin Santo or 'holy wine' (so called because it was used by connoisseur priests to celebrate mass). Others say, however, that it originally came from the Greek island Xantos.
Pizza
Basic Pizza
There are so many different combinations of ingredients that it is hard for me to give a global definition of pizza. If pressed, however, I will say that it is a species of flat bread, which (as its cooking time is very short) can be topped by anything that takes your fancy. The pizza has become so famed worldwide that even foreigners are now making and inventing their own variations, often adding the most unusual ingredients to the topping.
Pizza alla Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
This classic pizza is both one of the simplest to prepare and the most tasty. In Naples it is customary to eat pizza in one's hands.
Pizza Margherita
Tomato and Cheese Pizza
This is an absolute classic - and is very easy to prepare. It was reputed to have been created to honour Queen Margherita of Italy. In fact its colouring is rather Italian, the red of the tomatoes, the white of the mozzarella and the green of the basil echoing the colours of the Italian flag.
Polenta
Polenta
600g (1 lb 5 oz) maize flour (or pre-cooked polenta)
3 litres (5 1/4 pints) water
100g (3 1/2 oz) Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
100g (3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
Salt to taste
Polenta Svelta con Gamberetti
Quick Polenta with Shrimps
A delightful and simple little dish from Venice, where the little pink shrimps of the lagoon taste very nice indeed.