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.

Borlotti with garlic & olive oil

For ➏
2 kg fresh borlotti beans, shelled, or 1kg frozen or dried (soaked overnight if dried)(or use cannelini)
3 plum tomatoes, quartered
10 large unpeeled garlic cloves
8 large (or 16 small) fresh sage leaves
18 cl extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Combine beans, tomatoes, garlic, sage and oil in a medium pot. Add cold water to cover by 1 cm (about 40 cl). Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered and adding water as needed to keep beans submerged. Cookuntil tender, 35–45 m for fresh or frozen and up to 1½ hours for dried. Skim any foam from the surface. Season with salt, pepper, and more oil, if desired.
Beans can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool in cooking liquid; cover and chill. Return to room temperature before serving.
Serve beans warm or at room temperature.

Red negroni

For ➊
4 cl gin
4 cl Campari
4 cl sweet (red) vermouth

In a mixing glass, add ingredients and cracked ice. Stir for at least 15 s.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Twist an orange peel and garnish.

The negroni was invented in Florence, Italy in 1919, at Caffè Casoni. Count Negroni invented it by asking the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water.
The 'negroni sbagliato' ("wrong negroni" in Italian) uses sparkling wine (e.g., prosecco) instead of gin.
Negroski is a recipe with vodka again as substitute for gin.
Cardinaloski is a negroski with some angostura drops.
Punt e Mes negroni instead replaces standard red vermouth with a specific, distinctively more bitter-tasting brand called Punt e Mes.
The cin cyn uses Cynar an artichoke based liquor, instead of Campari.
Pinkish negroni is made with pink wine (instead of gin).
A raultini is a variation using Aperol instead of Campari, giving its distinctive orange color, lighter alcohol content, and a bit of sweetness.
The most basic variation is served straight up in a martini glass with a splash of carbonated water floating on top of the alcohol mixture and a twist of lemon zest replacing the orange peel, known as the American version.
Other Italian versions substitute spumante brut or vodka for gin. A sparkling negroni is made with champagne or prosecco.

Zuppa Inglese (Italian trifle)

For ➍-➏
200 g Savoiardi or ladyfingers biscuits
75 cl milk
50 g flour
100 g sugar
30 g bitter cocoa powder
4 egg yolks
10 cl of rum
10 cl Alkermes or other aromatic liqueur, for example Strega or Amaretto (or use a self-made quick coffee liquor)
whipped cream & maraschino cherries for decoration

Have ready a deep, smooth-sided mold, lined with aluminum foil or oiled paper.

Put all but 10 cl of the milk in a pot. Heat over a very gentle flame.

Beat the yolks in a deep bowl with 75 g sugar, then sift in the flour, beating steadily.

Put the remaining sugar in another pot,d mix the cocoa into it, stir 2 tbs of cold milk into the mixture. Heat it over a low flame, avoiding lumps.

Gently stir the remaining cold milk into the egg mixture. Stirring constantly, add the hot milk to the cream. When the cream is well mixed, gently pour it back into the pot. Return it to the slow burner. Heat, stirring, until it barely reaches a boil, and cook for 2 m, stirring gently. Remove the pot from the fire, pour half the cream into a bowl, and gently stir the chocolate into the remaining half to obtain both pastry cream and chocolate cream.

Mix the rum and liquor with 5 cl of water in a bowl, brush the Savoiardi lightly with the mixture, and use them to line the pudding mold.

Pour the pastry cream over the Savoiardi. Cover it with a layer of brushed Savoiardi, and finish with the chocolate cream, followed by a final layer of brushed Savoiardi. Cover the pudding with aluminum foil and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 12 h.

Remove the foil, cover the mold with a serving dish and upend it, so the pudding comes to rest upon the serving dish. Remove the aluminum or oiled paper of the mold.

Serve it either chilled, or partially frozen. Decorate with dollops of whipped cream, and maraschino cherries cut in half.

'Zuppa Inglese' (meaning: English soup) is a close variant of an English trifle, especially common in Tuscany, because the English tourists who lived in the region a century ago often asked for it. Recipes first appeared in the towns of the Emilia-Romagna region, in the late 19th century. Some date it back to the 16th century kitchens of the Ferrara Dukes of Este, who asked their cooks to recreate English trifle.

Pastasciutta con la ricotta (pasta with ricotta sauce)

For ➍
400 g dry pasta like fettuccine
225 g ricotta
100 g spinach or beet greens
1 tbs butter
nutmeg
Pecorino
green salad

Set pasta water to boil, salt it lightly, and put pasta in.

Push the ricotta through a strainer to soften it. Melt 1 tbs of unsalted butter. Fork it through the ricotta. Season with salt and pepper.

Add some cooked minced beet greens or spinach to the ricotta mixture. Season lightly with nutmeg.

When the pasta is done, drain it, and before it has stopped dripping transfer it to a bowl.

Stir the ricotta into the pasta and serve with tangy grated Tuscan pecorino on the side.

Serve with a tossed salad.

A traditional and quick recipe from the Casentino mountains in South East Tuscany.
It comes close to a rich version of a quick Alfredo pasta.

Strozzapreti al sugo di carne (Italian meat sauce for filled pasta)

For ➏
6 tbs butter
2.5 kg chuck roast, cut into 3 cm cubes
3 onions, halved & thinly sliced
75 cl bottle Chianti or other fruity red wine
750 g can peeled tomatoes with juice
1 cup brewed espresso
500 g strozzapreti* or other twisted pasta

Preheat oven to 200°C. Melt 1 tbs butter in large ovenproof pot over medium high heat. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Working in batches, cook beef until browned, about 4 m per batch.
Transfer beef to large bowl. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 5 tbs butter to pot and melt. Add onions and cook until soft, stirring frequently, about 5 m. Return beef and any accumulated juices to pot. Add wine, tomatoes with juice, and espresso. Bring to boil, cover, and transfer to oven.
Braise beef until tender, about 2 h. Using 2 forks, break beef apart into more manageable chunks. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta.
Stir strozzapreti or other filled pasta into beef mixture and serve.

*'Strozzapreti' means 'strangled priest' or, rather, 'priest choking himself on food'. A similar name, 'strangelopreti' is used in the North for a gnocchi-like food.

Tonno all'Etrusca (Etruscan tuna fish)

For ➍
4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
½ red pepper, skinned & seeded, cubed thinly
30 cl canned tomatoes, crushed
4 fresh tomatoes, skinned & seeded, sliced thinly
7 dl fish stock
5 tbs pitted (Italian) black olives, chopped
4 tbs capers, drained
4 tuna steaks, 200 g each
(salt &) freshly ground black pepper

Mix oil, garlic, onion and red pepper and cook for 5 m over medium heat. Add tomatoes, stock, olives and capers and cook on medium heat for 30 m or until thick.
Add the tuna steaks and cover the pan. Cook for 5 to 10 m, depending on thickness. Turn steaks after half the cooking time.
Add (salt &) pepper.
Serve steaks, and spread sauce over them.

Serve with oven-warm Italian bread.

*Serve sauce with  a good pasta, or grilled chicken.

Etruscans have laid the base of Tuscan cuisine (or at the very least giving their name to the region...) This, of course, is based on a modern recipe, tomatoes not being part of the Italian diet before the 16th century.
Read more 'Etruscan' recipes: Schiacciata con l'uva (Etruscan grape-filled bread).

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.

Schiacciata alla Fiorentina (Florentine orange cake)

For ➏
250 g flour
200 g sugar
4 tbs sunflower seed or corn oil
7 tbs warm milk
2 eggs
juice & zest of 1 orange
1 tbs baking powder
confectioner's sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Beat the eggs, and mix all the ingredients together except the confectioner's sugar. Sift in the baking powder and pour the batter into a baking pan (something like 20x24 cm).

Bake the schiacciata for 20 to 30 m, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.

Let cool it, then remove it from the pan. Dust with the confectioner's sugar.

Serve or stuff it with a generous layer of lightly sweetened whipped cream, or with crema pasticcera. In either case, slice the cake open as if it were a book, spread a layer of filling over the bottom half, and replace the upper half.

This traditional Easter cake is an (even) sweeter variation on Tuscan flatbread which goes by the same name: schiacciata con l'uva. Adding to the confusion, a schiacciata can also be salted: see the recipe of pizza bianco.
Image shows the ancient Via degli Strozzi in Firenze.

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.