EGGPLANT ‘PARMIGIANA’

Ingredients (4 servings): 3.3 lb (1,5 kg) eggplants, 7 oz (200g) crushed  tomatoes, 10.5 oz (300g) mozzarella cheese, some basil leaves, 5 oz (150g) grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt.

Wash eggplants, cut the top away, slice into half a centimeter thick rounds and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt to eliminate their typical bitter taste.

Leave to stand for half an hour, then squeeze gently to eliminate water.

Heat oil in a skillet, then fry eggplant rounds. Dry them up with blotting paper.

In a separate skillet, prepare a sauce with oil, pulped tomatoes and basil, and cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile, cut mozzarella into cubes.

Preheat oven to 200°.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of sauce into a baking-pan; cover the bottom completely with a layer of eggplant rounds then top with mozzarella cubes, parmesan and basil leaves. Repeat this step until the pan is full.

Bake at 200° for about 40 minutes.

BAKED ‘FUSILLI’ WITH VEGETABLES AND BACON

4 servings – Easy – Preparation 20 min – Cooking 40 min

Ingredients: 11 oz (320g) ‘fusilli’ pasta, 150g bacon, 1 eggplant, 2 spring onions, 1 carrot, vegetable stock, 10.5 oz (300g) mozzarella, 5 oz (150g) shelled or frozen green peas, marjoram, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Non-stick skillet, pot, oven-proof pan and bowl required.

1.PREPARE THE INGREDIENTS . Cut bacon into julienne strips  and brown in 3-4 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick skillet. Remove when crisp and set aside. Cut spring onions into slices and carrot into cubes. Brown in the same skillet for 4-5 minutes. Set aside and cook green peas for 5 minutes adding  a few  tablespoons of vegetable stock. Remove and set aside, then fry the eggplant cut into cubes on a high heat for 3-4 minutes.

2. COOK AND SEASON . Group all the ingredients into the skillet, add pepper, salt and some marjoram leaves and allow to flavour for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, cook the “fusilli”  in a pot with plenty of salt water, drain when “al dente”  and add the prepared  ingredients with the bacon.

3. FINISH AND SERVE. Put half of the pasta into an oiled baking-pan then scatter 200g of sliced mozzarella on the pasta;  finish with the remaining pasta and the remaining mozzarella cut into small cubes. Bake in preheated oven at 200° for 15 minutes, take out and serve while still hot.

Mozzarella

Drain mozzarella slices and dry up with some blotting paper. Alternatively, in order to add more flavor to your pasta, you can use smoked ‘Scamorza’ cheese.

What to drink?

San Lorenzo , Rosso Conero , red wine from Marche region.

FRIED MOZZARELLA WITH TUNA

Another summer dish our chefs suggest to cook is this fried mozzarella with tuna. According to experts, mozzarella has been made since ancient Roman times and the first written footprint of this food is a 12th century document found in Capua at the  bishop’s record office.

Ingredients (4 servings): 4  Mozzarellas (4.2 oz,120g each), 3.5 oz (100g) sliced cooked ham, 3.5 oz (100g) tuna in olive oil, 3.5 oz (100g) all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, 3.5 oz (100g) breadcrumbs, 3.5 oz (100g) chicory, 1.7 oz (50g) carrots, extra virgin olive oil, salt.

Make a cut in the mozzarellas and put cooked ham in pieces and tuna inside. Flour, dip in beaten egg and coat in breadcrumbs  then press to close them. Fry mozzarellas in olive oil in a skillet until golden brown, dry with blotting paper, salt and serve with sliced carrots on a bed of chicory.

Preparation: 20 min.

MEAT RAVIOLI  BUTTER AND SAGE STYLE

6 servings – Quite easy – Preparation 45 min – Cooking 15 min

Ingredients for egg pasta:  10.5 oz (300g) of all-purpose sifted flour and 3 eggs, 3.5 oz (100g), lightly beaten, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the filling:  loin of pork, 3.5 oz (100g) Mortadella, 3.5 oz (100g) row ham (not too lean), 1 egg, nutmeg, 1.4 oz (40g) bread’s soft part, meat broth, 1dl milk, 3.5 oz (100g) grated Parmesan cheese, 2 oz (60g) butter, 6 sage leaves.

Skillet, food processor, pasta machine and pastry cutter required.

MAKING THE EGG PASTA:

1. Sift the flour  onto a board and make a well or depression in the center

2. Put the salt, lightly beaten eggs and oil into the well and work them with your fingers into the flour until you have a firm dough. Continue kneading for about 20 min. , or until dough is smooth and elastic. During the kneading flour your hands and the board frequently. Divide dough into two, three parts  and roll out each part  through the machine to make thin, labout 25-30 inc long, and (3 inc) wide stripes. When thoroughly  rolled out , place over a clean cloth before proceeding with the next piece. When all the pasta has been rolled out , dry it for 30 minutes. It is now ready for cutting and cooking.

1. PREPARE THE FILLING: Cut the loin into small slices. Melt 10g of butter in a skillet then add the pork, brown for 2-3 minutes on a medium heat and set aside. Put the pork into a food processor, then add the egg, mortadella and ham cut into cubes. Mix until medium consistency. It is also possible to use a meat grinder by grinding the ingredients twice. Add 2 oz (60g) of Parmesan cheese, a little salt, a bit of nutmeg and bread softened into milk and squeezed. Mix the ingredients for few seconds until well blended.
2. PREPARE RAVIOLI:  In the center, of  the pasta put one tablespoon of filling every two cm. Fold the dough in half over the filling and join the two layers by pressing with your fingers to remove air.
3. COOK AND SEASON. Cut the dough around the filling by using a pastry cutter, thus obtaining squared ravioli. Bring meat broth to a boil, add ravioli and cook for about 3-4 minutes after they surface. Drain with a straining ladle and transfer to a large skillet together with the remaining butter and the sage cut into strips. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Alternatively, you can put drained ravioli into a preheated baking pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, melted butter and sage.

‘MARINARA’ VERSION

Following the same directions, you can prepare delicious bass ravioli: you just need to change filling and seasoning.  Melt a knob of butter in a skillet and brown 21 oz (600g) of bass fillet on both sides for some seconds. Remove skin and fish bones and mix in the food processor with 1 egg and 1 yolk, the leaves of 2 little branches of marjoram, 1 tablespoon of fresh cream and white pepper. Cook ravioli and dress with tomato cut into cubes and browned in a pan with a knob of butter, salt and pepper.

LINGUINE WITH BLACK OLIVES

4 servings – Very easy – Preparation 20 min – Cooking 10 min

Ingredients: 11 oz (320g) ‘linguine’ pasta, 20 black olives (Greek Kalamatas preferably), 2 spring onions, 1 clump of parsley, 1 untreated lemon, 3.5 oz (100g) ‘Primo Sale’ cheese, powdered chili, extra virgin olive oil, salt,  pot, colander, grater, bowl and jar with cap required.

1. STONE OLIVES  then slice and transfer them to a large bowl.

2. PREPARE THE seasoning: Remove the radicles and 2/3 of the green part of the onions and slice into thin rounds. Cut cheese into small cubes. Wash parsley, strip leaves off and chop. Grate the yellow part of the lemon rind. Put all the prepared ingredients together with sliced olives into the bowl

3. COOK PASTA AND SERVE. In a pot, bring water to a boil, salt and cook pasta following time instructions on the package. Meanwhile, pour 5-6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, a little salt and a bit of chili into the jar. Close and shake rapidly. Drain pasta and transfer to the bowl with the dressing. Sprinkle with prepared citronette, stir and serve.

WHAT TO DRINK?

TREBBIANO LA CACCIATORA,

White wine from Emilia-Romagna

Sauzicchiu sfrittu ccu li vruòcculi

FRIED SAUSAGE WITH BROCCOLI

Ingredients: sausage, broccoli, oil, salt.

Preparation: the sausage used to be fried, cut a sunettu (like a barrel-with a cutting in the middle). It allowed the sausage to roast also inside and the greasy could melt, so that you could ‘mbruscinà (to add)  the broccoli to let them become flavoursome. 

Giuseppe Lapelosa cit., di Sala Consilina, contrda Valle (ac 1935/B, 15.10.97) 
 

Cavàti senza-cavàti ccu li fasùli

DUMPLINGS WITH BEANS

Ingredients: Flour, beans, pùrivi (chilli powder), garlic, oil, salt.

Preparation: people used to give the dough the form of long fingers, as it happens for cavati; they used to cut them into small pieces, the size of a chickpea, with a knife or a rasùla (paddle); they were cooked in a tijèlla (a large pot); beans, cooked in the pignàta, were paired with the cavati in the tijèlla after draining by pressing the lid on it; people used to fry garlic in the sartanijèddu (small pan) and it, brown, was put away of the flame to add pùrviri; it had  to be mixed with oil and poured in the tijèlla with a tablespoon; people ruzzulavanu (tossed) the whole and let it cream on a flame for a short time.

In Polla, small cavatielli, not rolled, were called mulacchj (hybrid): they were prepared with beans and fried póre(v)e (chili powder), or as a soup. 

F: Filomena Linfante cit., Sala Consilina, contrada San Raffaele (ac 1083A, 24.4.98).

Filomena Palladino cit., Polla (ac 1085/A, 30.4.98). 
 

Panzaròtti or cauzùni ccu la ricòtta (Sala Consilina, Sanza), or ravaiuoli (San Rufo), or rafaiuòli (Sassano)

RAVIOLI

Ingredients: flour, eggs, ricotta cheese, grated pecorino cheese, parsley, pepper (used in Sala Consilina) or sugar. 

Preparation: people used to add eggs in the flour-based dough; prepare ricotta cheese stricinata (squeezed) with a fork in a tureen, add a pinch of sugar (in Sanza and Sassano) or salt (salt was used in most of the villages; in Sassano both versions are recorded) and grated pecorino cheese, parsley and a pinch of pepper could be added; after preparing the pastry, put tablespoonfuls of filling on one half of the pastry , put the unfilled half over the filled one and cut each “raviolo” with a glass or a pastry cutter that was used to press the dough. Traditional ravioli used to have a large edge, called pìttula , which was tighten with fork (furcìna) tines or with a chiavino (an old key with a ring at the tip). In Sassano ravioli  were served with pork or fat-sausage ragout . People couldn‘t  do without the grattata, addition of grated cheese and ricotta cheese, with a pinch of powder pepper. 

Typical occurrence: when the curd formed  in the casiére. 

Giorgio Garone cit., Sala Consilina (ac 871B, 17.2.96)

      Clara Pacifico cit., San Rufo (ac 869°, 16.2.96)

      Luisella Rocco, 1920, Sanza (ac 883°, 19.3.96, Michele Marotta cit.)

      Pasquale Orlando, 1961, (ac 882°, 12.3.96) e prof. Nicola Di Novella cit.,     Sassano (ac 999, 13.5.97).