Pesce in cartoccio (Italian fish parcel)

For ➍
4 whole fish (400 g each), cleaned & scaled*
8 tbs (10 cl) dry white wine
1 ts sea salt
1 ts freshly ground black pepper
parchment paper**
battuto:
1 large white onion, cut into thin strips
2 tbs fresh fennel fronds, chopped
2 fennel bulbs, cored & cut into thin strips
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 tbs (10 cl) extra-virgin olive oil
2 untreated lemons, sliced

Combine battuto ingredients in a large bowl.

Cut four large pieces of parchment paper** long enough to cover length of fish, and fold each in half lengthwise.

Spoon battuto on bottom halves of parchment. Put slices of lemon on top, or chop them in the battuto. Place one fish against the crease of each parchment piece, drizzle with white wine, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put slices of lemon on top, or chop them in the battuto. Cover with fennel fronds.

Fold the parchment at the bottom corner over itself. Continue folding over the previous fold to create a pleat and allow for the paper to be sealed tight. When you have formed a half circle and reached the opposite end of the crease, tuck the paper under the last fold. Place on a large baking sheet.

Bake at 180°C for 20 to 25 m or until the fish is cooked through*. Carefully tear paper** open, allowing steam to escape.

Serve with fresh pasta like cavatelli.***

*Use 4 large fish fillets (200 g each) instead, like seawolf. Adjust cooking time to 15-20 m at 200°C, (or 25 m according to thickness of the fish).
**Use aluminum foil instead.

***Use microwave baked spring potatoes, sprinkled with sea salt instead.

A battuto is a mix of vegetables and herbs that can be used to make a sauce, a stew or a soup. One of the first cookery writers to mention the dish was the great Elizabeth David in her Italian Food. She gives no full recipe, just the method and an ample suggestion of battuto. In fact, the battuto can be made of almost anything, even oranges. (The typical Ligurian battuto, a pine nut sauce for pasta, is not suitable for fish... Read the basic Roman battuto recipe or the one used for the Lazio minestra col battuto alla romana.)
Read more on fish in a parcel: Japanese seafood & vegetables, Moroccan spiced fish, fish & fennel, Burmese steamed fish, chicken or fish with lime & peppers, chicken or fish with basil & tomatoes.
Read more Elizabeth David recipes: roasted peppers, lettuce & almond salad, chicken & rice salad, poaching an egg.

Battuto for meat stew or soup

For ➍
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 tbs celery leaves, chopped
1 tbs parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbs chopped pork*
olive oil

Mix and brown in hot olive oil. 
Use as a base for a meat stew, or add some more vegetables and broth to make a soup.

*Optional.

In Roman cooking, a battuto is an initial preparation, that can be developed into a sauce, a stew or a soup. This basic battuto works also well a pasta sauce.
The ingredients are flexible, as in an Italian fish parcel.
The minestra col battuto soup uses a finely cut battuto, with onion, celery, garlic and a bit of parsley and basil added for more flavour. Read the Lazio variation.

Minestra col battuto alla Romana (Lazio mince soup)

For ➍
100 g pork meat (cheek)
¼ onion
1 clove garlic
parsley
celery
extra virgin olive oil
grated pecorino cheese
1.5 l beef broth
small pasta
salt & pepper

Mince pork, onion, celery, parsley.
Fry slightly vegetables and mince in oil.
Add beef broth and bring to boil.
Add pasta and cook till done.
Serve with pecorino cheese.

This Lazio (the region around Rome) soup uses a battuto as a base. Read more on battuto.
Read more battuto recipes: battuto, Italian fish parcel, Ligurian pasta pine nut sauce.

Carbonara alla romana

For ➋
200 g pasta (penne or straight macaroni)
3 yolks of organic eggs
70 g pecorino romano (18 months old)
80 g guanciale (pork jowl bacon from Amatrice, ideally aged 6-8 months)
penja pepper from the mill

Boil the pasta in strongly salted water (5 to 10 g per l), depending on the time indicated on the package.
In a mixing bowl au bain-marie, beat the egg yolks with half the cheese. Season with pepper to taste.
Bake the pieces of guanciale in a (preferably iron) pan, until golden brown and crispy. Separate the meat from the fat and set it aside so that it can be added later when the preparation is heated in a bain-marie.
Drain the pasta as soon as it is ready and put it in the bowl with the mixture of egg yolks and cheese. Heat au bain-marie like with a sabayon to lighten the dish.
Add 30 g of boiling water and the fat from the cheeks, together with the rest of the cheese and some pepper. If the mixture is too fluid, add some cheese. If it is too dry, add some cooking water from the starchy pasta.
Before serving, sprinkle a little cheese and a large pinch of pepper over the plate. Conclude with the guanciale (who must remain warm during the entire preparation). Serve at room temperature, with a glass of Franciacorta (Lombard sparkling wine)

A recipe from chef Filippo La Vecchia of Osteria Romana in Brussels.

Roman carbonara

For ➍
10 slices of guanciale, chopped (or pancetta)
500 g spaghetti
knob of butter
1 ts black peppercorns
5 egg yolks
1 egg
3 tbs young pecorino romano, softly grated

Cook spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water
In a sauté pan, heat a knob of butter, then put in the guanciale or pancetta and fry until golden and crispy. Take off the heat, and lift out to a warm plate, so that it stays crunchy.
Put about a teaspoonful of black peppercorns into the pan and crush with a meat hammer or the end of a rolling pin, then add a couple of spoonfuls of the cooking water from the pasta and stir it around to take up all the bits of guanciale or pancetta which may have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Beat 5 egg yolks and a whole egg in a warm bowl with 3 tbs of grated young pecorino romano.
1 m before the spaghetti is ready, start to mix in a ladleful of the cooking water at a time until the eggs and cheese become creamy.
Drain the pasta (but reserve the cooking water) and toss it in the pan of pepper, together with the reserved guanciale or pancetta.
Add a little more cooking water if the pasta seems too dry, then transfer it to the bowl of eggs and cheese and toss well, until coated in the silky mixture. The heat of the spaghetti will cook the eggs without scrambling them. Add more black pepper, if you like.

This recipe of Giorgio Locatelli uses guanciale, which comes from the pork cheek, and has less fat than pancetta. Don’t cut it too finely or regularly, as you want a nice chunk to bite into every now and then amid the silkiness of the egg.
Some people add the eggs and cheese to the pan, but it is easy to underestimate the heat of the pan, and the danger is always that the eggs will scramble. So I prefer to mix the eggs and cheese in a warm bowl and then tip in the hot spaghetti, which will cook the eggs but keep their silkiness.
The classic spaghetti carbonare recipe, with links to similar recipes.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca 2 (Naples' hookers' spaghetti)

For ➍
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
salt & black pepper
1 50 g can anchovies packed in oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs tomato paste
½ ts crushed red pepper
750 g box or can chopped or crushed tomatoes
2 tbs drained capers
100 g pitted black olives, chopped
1 tbs chopped fresh basil
grated zest of 1 lemon
340 g spaghetti or other pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 m. Add the anchovies and garlic and cook, stirring, until the anchovies disintegrate and the garlic has softened, 2 to 3 m. Add the tomato paste and continue to stir for 1 m, then add the tomatoes, capers, and olives. Cover the pot, adjust the heat so the mixture simmers gently, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s thick and saucy, 25 to 30 m. Stir in the basil and lemon zest, and taste and adjust the seasoning.
When the water for the pasta comes to a boil, salt it generously and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, usually 7 to 8 m, depending on the package instructions. Reserve about 25 cl of the pasta cooking liquid and then drain the pasta.
Toss the pasta with the sauce, adding the reserved cooking liquid as needed to thin out the sauce. Serve.

Variant & history:Spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana (Amatriciana pasta)

For ➍
500 g bucatini or thick spaghetti
100 g pancetta or guanciale, diced*
100 g ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded & chopped
½ onion, minced
pepper, seeded & shredded
10 cl olive oil
freshly grated pecorino Romano

Set the pasta water to heat, salt it when it boils, and cook the pasta.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet, add the diced meat, and cook until it browns, stirring the pieces about. Remove them to a sheet of absorbent paper with a slotted spoon and keep them warm.
Add the onion to the grease in the pan, together with the hot pepper. When it begins to color, add the well drained tomato pieces. Cook, stirring, for 5-6 m, then return the diced pancetta to the pot and heat it through. Drain the pasta while it's still a little al dente, turn it into the skillet with the sauce, cook 1 m more, stirring the pasta to coat the strands.
Serve with grated pecorino.

*Bacon is not a good substitute, because it is smoked and also contains sugar not present in either pancetta or guanciale.

Named after the city of Amatrice in northern Lazio, Amatriciana sauce derives from a much older sauce called La Gricia, which the shepherds used to make by sautéing diced guanciale so gently as to keep it from browning, and adding freshly boiled pasta, a healthy dusting of pepper, and grated pecorino Romano. The Amatriciana sauce, with tomatoes, was initially enjoyed by the nobility, because only they could afford tomatoes.
In Amatrice, it is prepared without onions, which is not typical of standard recipes from outside the area.

Spaghetti alla carbonara (coal miner's wife's spaghetti)

For ➍
400 g dried spaghetti
175 g piece smoked pancetta (at least 0.5 cm thick), rind removed*
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped**
handful flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
3 large free-range eggs, beaten***
7 cl white wine***
50 g pecorino Sardo maturo cheese (mature Sardinian pecorino), finely grated
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Bring 4 l of water to the boil in a large saucepan with 8 ts of salt. Add the spaghetti and cook for 9 m or until al dente.
Meanwhile, cut the pancetta into short little strips, about 0.6 cm wide.
Heat a large, deep frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil and the pancetta. Fry until lightly golden. Add the garlic and parsley and cook for a few s, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Drain the spaghetti well, tip into the frying pan with the pancetta, garlic and parsley, add the beaten eggs and half the grated pecorino cheese. Toss together well.
Season to taste with a little salt and black pepper. The heat from the spaghetti will be sufficient to partly cook the egg, but still leave it moist and creamy.
Serve in warmed pasta bowls. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

*Belly-meat, not to be confused with ordinary ham.
**Or cut cloves in half, add to the heated oil, remove after finishing the sauce.
***Use only the egg yolks and add white wine to the pancetta, garlic and parsley mix.

Although associated with Lazio, the region around Rome, the origin of this recipe is uncertain. Some say it was taken from Umbria to Rome by revolutionaries in the 19th century; other people say it belongs to a Neapolitan noble, Ippolito Cavalcanti, who published it in a book.
This dish could derive from the union of ingredients and ideas between the U.S. soldiers, arriving in Rome in 1944, and the chefs of the local restaurants. The soldiers supplied bacon and powdered eggs, the chefs their fantasy. This was the version became widely spread after WWII in America and Europe, most of the time with cream (and eventually mushrooms) added to the sauce, making it look and taste like fettuccine Alfredo, an hybrid American-Italian pasta favourite. The charcoal in the name refers to the baking of the bacon. This recipe is close to that favoured by the official Accademia Italiana della Cucina.
Read more on American-Italian hybrids: fettuccine Alfredo, spaghetti alla puttanesca, chicken Marsala, white pizza, American Italian spaghetti with meatballs & tomato sauce.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.
Read the Japanese fusion recipe for pasta carbonara. Or an American café version.
Use the Roman version with guanciale, cured pork cheeks.

Scottadito di agnello al limone (Lazio grilled lamb)

For ➍
16 lamb rib chops
zest of 2 lemons*
4 tbs fresh mint (or rosemary)*
5 tbs/8 cl olive oil
2 cloves garlic
sea salt & cracked black pepper
lemon wedges (for serving)

Place all the ingredients except the lamb (and lemon wedges) in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped together.*/**
Rub the mixture into the lamb chops and refrigerate them for 2 h.*/**
Bring the lamb to room temperature.
Preheat the grill, and then grill the chops until they are medium rare, or about 2 m on each side.
Place the chops on a serving platter with the lemon wedges and serve hot with a tossed green salad (arugula, radicchio, dandelion greens, lettuce ...).

*Use 2 tbs of lemon juice to have a stronger lemon taste. Replace mint with rosemary, laurel & thyme. Let it work for 3 h.
**The Marche interpretation of this recipe adds 100 g grinded cured lard (or prosciutto) to the rubbing mixture and let it work for 12 h.

'Scottadito' roughly translates as 'burned fingers', as it is said that this dish is so delicious that you will not be able to wait until it cools before you dig in and enjoy it, burning your fingers in the process.

Cacio e pepe (spaghetti with cheese & pepper)

For ➍-➑*
4 tbs olive oil
500 g dried spaghetti (or the thicker tonnarelli)
2 tbs butter
120 g Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated**
1½ ts finely ground black pepper
salt***

Cook spaghetti in well-salted water in a large, wide-bottomed pot. Drain spaghetti, reserving 30 cl of pasta cooking water.

Dry out your pot, then heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add drained spaghetti and 20 cl of pasta water. (This will splatter, so step back).****

Add butter, 80 g of cheese, ground pepper and toss together with tongs. Taste, adding more pasta water, cheese, pepper or salt (which should not be necessary, as Romano is very salty) to taste.

Serve immediately, sprinkling with cheese and an extra grind or two of black pepper.

*4 as a main course, 8 as a starter.
**Use a mix of Pecorino and the smoother Cacio di Roma.
***Optional.
****To minimize spattering, add butter first. You can add pepper to the oil. A very basic variant would be to avoid the oil, add the cheese and some cooking water to the pasta, finishing it with the pepper.

'Cacio e pepe' is a classic from the Rome region. As usual, there are a zillion ways to make it.

Sophia Loren's omelet Napoletana

For ➍-➑*
150 g spaghetti
50 g unsalted butter
8 large eggs
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs whole milk
⅛ ts freshly grated nutmeg
¼ ts salt
¼ ts black pepper
75 g ham, cut into 0.5 cm dice
50 g fresh mozzarella, cut into 0.5 cm dice
10 g finely grated Parmigiano cheese

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well in a colander, then return to pot and immediately toss with 2 tbs butter.

Lightly whisk together eggs, oil, milk, nutmeg, salt, pepper, ham and mozzarella in a bowl.

Preheat broiler.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Cook egg mixture, lifting up cooked edges with a heatproof spatula to let raw egg flow underneath, until set on bottom and almost set but still moist on top, 3 to 5 m. Arrange spaghetti over eggs, pressing lightly with spatula to help pasta settle into eggs, then sprinkle with Parmigiano.

Broil omelet 10 to 15 cm from heat until top is pale golden, 2 to 3 m.

Cut into portions. Serve immediately. Add some tomato sauce if wanted.

*4 as main course, 8 as starter.

This recipe comes close to a frittata, the Italian oven finished omelet. Read more Sophia Loren recipes & history: tiramisu, vermicelli with sauce or spaghetti. Picture shows her as a Naples' Materdei neighbourhood pizza maker in Vittorio di Sica's “L’Oro di Napoli”.

Shrimps Fra Diavolo

For ➍
500 g large shrimps, peeled & deveined
salt & pepper
½ ts red pepper flakes
6 tbs extra virgin olive oil
12 garlic cloves, minced (about 4 tbs)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
½ ts sugar
500 g spaghetti
2 tbs minced fresh parsley

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, salt the water and add the spaghetti. Cook al dente. Drain spaghetti and return it to the pot, making sure to reserve a cup of the starchy cooking water.

Meanwhile, toss the shrimp with ¾ ts salt and ⅛ ts of the red pepper flakes. Heat 2 tbs of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp to the skillet in a single layer and cook, without stirring, until the bottoms of the shrimp turn color, about 30 s. Stir the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are colored on both sides. Remove the shrimp to a bowl and let the skillet cool for a few minutes.

Add 3 tbs of the oil back to the cooled pan. Add 3 tbs of the garlic and cook over low heat, stirring often, until the garlic foams and is sticky and straw-colored, about 10 m. Stir in the remaining ⅛ ts red pepper flakes, the tomatoes, sugar and ¾ ts salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 8 m.

Stir the remaining 1 tbs garlic, the parsley and the reserved shrimp and any accumulated juices into the tomato sauce. Continue to simmer until the shrimp are heated through, about 1 m.

Stir the tomato/shrimp mixture, plus the remaining tablespoon of olive oil into the drained spaghetti. Toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen up the sauce before serving. Sprinkle with additional parsley.

In several cultures, the name of the devil turns up when a sauce get spicy... (Read Italian fennel in a devil's way).
Fra Diavolo, 'Brother Devil', is the popular name given to Michele Pezza (April 7, 1771 – November 11, 1806), a Neapolitan guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples. Pezza figures prominently in folk lore and fiction, he appears in several works of Alexandre Dumas.
The nickname 'Fra Diavolo' came from an old custom in Itri, a small town between Naples and Rome where he was born. Until early in the 20th century boys and girls where who had recently recovered from serious illnesses were dressed as monks on the second Sunday after Easter, for a procession in honor of St. Francis of Paola, the patron of sick children. On one of these solemn occasions little Michele proved so naughty that someone called him 'Fra Diavolo' which stuck. It continued a long Italian tradition of portraying the devil disguised as a monk.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Pesce all'acqua pazza (Naples fish stew)

For ➍
4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 l water****
2 tbs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
12 grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
¼ ts red pepper flakes*
1 ts sea salt
2 tbs fresh oregano
1 kg sea bass or red snapper fillets**

You need an ovenproof pan, deep and large enough to hold the fish in one layer and contain the boiling water.
Add the water, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, red pepper, oregano and salt to the pan. Put on heat.
Turn the heat to medium and allow the water to simmer for 20 m.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200° C.
Put the fish in the pan skin side down. Make sure it is covered by the water.
Put pan in the oven and cook for about 15-20 m.***
A few m before serving, add the parsley.
Put the fish on warm plates, with a little bit of the liquid and some tomatoes.
Serve with good tasty bread, that will absorb some of the liquid. A dry white wine, preferably South Italian or Sicilian, will make a nice companion.

*Use dried red peppers instead, or chop some peperoncini.
**Use any firm white fish, like codfish (merluzzetti).
***Another method keeps the pan on the stove, covers it and let the fish slowly cook for 15 m or so.
****Reduce the amount of water to get a thicker sauce.

The 'acqua pazza', meaning crazy water, is a method rather than a strict recipe. It is known all over the South of Italy as a kind of fish stew. (In Tuscany, a soup is called aqua pazza, but that is a different thing.) The name seems to be derived from a dish conceived by Neapolitan fishermen of the Isle of Ponza, before the coast of Naples. To avoid paying taxes on salt, an expensive state monopoly in the late 19th century, they went crazy and used salty seawater to cook fish. (No one uses seawater anymore, just add salt to the water...).
Depending on the kind of fish, the added ingredients might vary. Add fennel for instance or grilled artichokes. Replace some of the water with some white wine.
Try the posh gamberoni all'acqua pazza with shrimps, and fennel.

Friuli winter salad

For ➍, ➏ as a starter
230 g (green) leaves, a mixture of radicchio*, watercress & endives
150 g speck or raw bacon in 1 piece
150 g spicy Italian sausage
125 g cooked chestnuts
1½ tbs groundnut oil
30 g toasted walnuts
seeds from ½ pomegranate**
dressing:
½ tbs balsamic vinegar
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Cut the speck into cubes, about 2 cm square. Take the skin off the sausages. Break the sausage meat up into little chunks. Cut the chestnuts in half. (When already broken into chunks, leave them alone.)
Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together. Tear the radicchio leaves into pieces and pull the leaves off the endives. Put them into a broad shallow bowl.
Heat 1 tbs oil in a frying pan and cook the speck and sausage over a high heat until well coloured and cooked through. Throw this onto the leaves.
Heat the remaining ½ tbs oil and quickly sauté the chestnuts until they are hot. Season with salt and pepper.
Throw them, and the walnuts onto the leaves. Add the dressing and toss.
Sprinkle the pomegranate* seeds over the top and serve immediately.

*Replace with (purple) endives.
**Pomegranate seeds can be replaced by a fried egg.

The (Süd-Tiroler) speck is a juniper-flavored ham from the Tyrol region, now split between Italy and Austria. Speck bears both the tradition of Mediterranean salt curing and central European smoking.
Read more Friuli recipes: Friuli cherries' strudel, Trieste beef stew.
More pomegranate salads: pomegranate,endives & feta, pomegranate, tomatoes & garlic, warm lamb salad with pomegranate & mint, pomegranate & cucumber salad, pomegranate & quinoa salad, pomegranate fruit salad

Schiacciata con l'uva (Etruscan grape-filled bread)

For ➏
1 kg blue grapes (or blueberries)
500 g flour
1 package dry yeast
100 g sugar
4 tbs olive oil
1 branch rosemary
25 cl warm water
honey
grape juice

Heat the rosemary branch in olive oil. Let it cool.
Dissolve the yeast in 25 cl of warm water.
Place the flour in a large bowl. Pour yeast mixture into the center and stir.
Remove the rosemary from the oil. Add the cooled oil to the dough.
Add 4 tbs of sugar and knead until smooth, for 10 m.
Put in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch down the dough and divide in half.
Roll out half of the dough to fit in a round or rectangular pan.
Cover with half the grapes, removed from their stems.
Sprinkle with half the remaining sugar and drizzle with olive oil.
Roll out the other half of the dough to fit. Cover the grapes, sealing the edges with the bottom layer of dough. Push down to crush the grapes. Cover top layer of dough with remaining grapes and repeat the process. Sprinkle with sugar, drizzle with olive oil, and crush the grapes.
Sprinkle with sugar and drizzle with olive oil. For an Etruscan touch, drizzle with honey.
Bake at 180°C until golden. Baste with some grape juice while it's baking. Bake for 45 m.

Nowadays, this is traditionally served as a dessert bread, or a nice comfort bread, and some special treat during the Tuscany wine harvest season. As is often the case in Tuscany, it is said to have already been popular with the Etruscans, well known for their lust of life. Schiacciata comes from the Italian verb 'schiacciare' meaning 'flattened' or 'crushed'. The recipe is related to the American pizza bianco and to the schiacciata alla Fiorentina.
Image shows dancing Etruscans with a wine flask on a tomb wall in Tarquinia.
Read more on 'Etruscan' food: Etruscan tuna fish.

Pizza e fichi (pizza with figs)

For ➋
It's also a Roman style, to top the pizza bianco with figs, served on a bed of some gorgonzola dolce cheese and decorated with some thinly sliced prosciutto.

Fettuccine al burro e panna (fettuccine Alfredo)

For ➍
40 cl heavy cream*
80 g (6 tbs) unsalted butter
240 g Parmesan or Asagio cheese, grated
1 ts salt
fresh-ground black pepper
pinch of fresh-ground nutmeg
400 g very thin fettuccine pasta**

Combine the butter and 30 cl of the cream in a large pan. (It must fit the sauce and the pasta.) Heat over a low flame, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted and the cream comes to a bare simmer. Remove the pan from the heat once the butter is evenly incorporated into the cream. Avoid cooking.***

Cook the pasta, draining it before it reaches the al dente stage (3 m). (The pasta should be slightly undercooked because it will continue to cook while the sauce is being finished.)

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, along with the remaining cream, the cheese, the salt, the nutmeg, and several grinds of the pepper mill.

Heat the pasta and sauce over a low flame, tossing continuously, until the cheese melts into the sauce and the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 to 2 m.

*There are several versions of this recipe, some with cream deleted, and with equal portions of butter and cheese (150 g). The cheese is melted in the soft butter until smooth.
**Fresh if possible. All thin pasta, like tagliatelle, will do.
***Try a quick & innovative way of cooking.

This recipe was created in Rome in 1914 by Alfredo Di Lelio for his pregnant wife. It refers to a traditional way of making butter sauces for pasta, but the cook doubled the quantity of butter. It become popular in the US after some Hollywood stars ate the dish in Rome and brought it back home, where it became known as Fettuccine Alfredo. The original restaurant is still a tourist restaurant in Rome. The family opened a new Alfredo's and franchised restaurants in the US, proudly bearing the image of the master, as seen in the picture.
Americans tend to add chicken or shrimps. This is really a primo piatto, a first course, to be followed by something substantially meaty or fishy.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca (Naples' hookers' spaghetti)

For ➋
200 g regular whole-wheat thin spaghetti, vermicelli or capellini
50 g grated Parmigiano cheese*
puttanesca sauce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions.

Meanwhile make the puttanesca sauce.

When the pasta is done, drain it well* and add it to the sauce skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine.

Serve on warmed plates. Top with grated cheese. Pour a generous glass of red wine.

*Alternatively, when the pasta has been drained, sprinkle with grated Parmigiano to make it rougher, so it will make the sauce stick better to the pasta.

The dish originated in Naples, its name derived from 'puttanesca', the hookers' way, as it was quick for the girls to prepare between customers. Or it was used to entice possible clients with a cheap, heated and aromatic meal into a brothel, nobody is really sure. Except that it is a very quick dish to make with ingredients straight from the (Italian) cupboard, even for regular housewives.
Picture shows WWII American GI searching entertainment in Naples.
Spicier variant: Spaghetti alla puttanesca.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Sugo alla puttanesca (Naples' hookers' sauce)

For ➋
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley
6 pitted chopped black olives
2 tbs capers
1 ts anchovy paste (or 2 anchovy fillets)
1 tbs fresh oregano leaves or 1 ts dried
⅛ ts crushed red pepper flakes (or chili powder)*
1 can diced tomatoes (420 g)**
3 tbs chopped fresh rucola***

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium fire. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 m. Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet, and sauté for 2 m more. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 m. Stir in the rucola*** and simmer for 1 m more, until the greens wilt slightly.

Serve with spaghetti, rigatoni or a (non-stuffed) pasta of choice.

*Or chop a small chili pepper.
**Use ripe Italian flesh tomatoes instead.
***Replace with Belgian endives for a special taste. Make a quicker version by deleting rucola.

The sauce originated in Naples, its name derived from puttanesca, the hookers' way. Read the story. Picture shows Italian women offering entertainment in Naples after WWII.
Spicier variant: Spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes, capers & mint

For ➍
8 tbs salt
4 l water
400 g spaghetti
500 g small ripe vine or cherry tomatoes, skins removed, roughly chopped
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed
pinch crushed dried chilies
1 tbs salted capers, rinsed & drained
2 ts fresh mint, chopped
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Bring 4 l of water to the boil. Add the salt, the spaghetti and cook al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan. Add the crushed garlic cloves and fry over a low heat until they start to turn golden-brown. Remove the garlic.

Add the crushed dried chilies and chopped tomatoes and fry for 1 m, until the tomatoes release their juice.

Add the capers and mint, and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Drain the cooked spaghetti and add to the pan. Stir well to coat in the sauce.

Spoon portions into bowls and serve.

A basic Palermo dish.
Picture shows the Risorgimento fights in the streets from the Visconti epic Il Gattopardo, based on the Lampedusa novel on social changes in Sicilian 19th century Sicily.
Read more Sicilian recipes: Sicilian swordfish, Sicilian olive sauce, tartar of shrimps & artichokes, a Sicilian salad, Sicilian broccoli.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.