Molise is a region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Italy. The region covers 4,438 square kilometres/1,714 sq mi making it the second smallest region in Italy with a population of about 300,000. The region is split into two provinces, named after their respective capitals, Isernia and Campobasso. Campobasso also serves as the regional capital.
Molise is also one of Italy’s less developed and poorest areas. In Molise, one can see two different centuries existing side by side when, on one side of the street grandmothers all in black are purchasing produce in the market and on the other side of the street there are young girls dressed in Benetton carrying mobile phones. Outside the cities are underdeveloped villages that seem to have been forgotten in time, while in the big cities progress is pushing ahead. However, one does not travel to Molise to explore the big cities but to enjoy the region’s natural beauty, the unspoiled beaches and the archaeological excavations.
More than 40% of Molise is covered by mountains. In the Matese area, located on the border of Campania, you will find magnificent mountain ranges. The region is also home to eagles, bears and wolves in the deep forests and it is one of the best locations to harvest mushrooms.
Though there is a large Fiat plant in Termoli, the industrial sector is dominated by the construction industry. With small and medium-sized farms spread widely throughout the region, food processing is another important industry. Pasta, meat, milk products, oil and wine are the traditional regional products. In the service sector the most important industries are distribution, hotels, catering, transport, communications, banking and insurance.
After the earthquake of 2002, some of the communities in Molise adopted a policy which contributed state money to individuals willing to make their homes more resistant to seismic activity. Larino, near Termoli, was a particular beneficiary of this policy and the town, already one of the most beautiful in the province, was transformed. The policy included returning the houses to their historical colors and, based on careful research, the structures were painted in a range of soft pastel tones. As a result, Larino has become an important center for tourism and scores of expatriates from all over the world are returning to live in the revived center. Larino is also famous for the Festa di San Pardo (Larino’s patron saint) and you will witness more than one hundred cattle drawn carts completely covered in flowers made by local families during the three days of festivities.
International tourism is becoming more prevalent as a result of the international flights from other European countries, Great Britain and North America which enter Pescara, not far to the north in Abruzzo. The tourists are attracted by large expanses of natural beaches, a relative lack of congestion and a gentle pace of life.
The cuisine of Molise is similar to the cuisine of Abruzzo, though there are a few differences in the dishes and ingredients. The flavors of Molise are dominated by the many herbs that grow there. Some of Molise’s typical foods include spicy salami, locally produced cheeses, lamb or goat, pasta dishes with hearty sauces and regional vegetables. In addition to bruschetta, a typical antipasto will consist of several meat dishes, such as sausage, ham and smoked prosciutto.
Main dishes of the region include:
- Calcioni di ricotta, a specialty of Campobasso, made of fried pasta stuffed with ricotta, provolone, prosciutto and parsley and usually served with fried artichokes, cauliflower, brains, sweetbreads, potato croquette and scamorza cheese
- Cavatiegl e Patane, gnocchi served in a meat sauce of rabbit and pork
- Pasta e fagioli, pasta-and-white-bean soup cooked with pig’s feet and pork rinds
- Polenta d’iragn, a polenta-like dish made of wheat and potatoes, sauced with tomatoes and pecorino
- Risotto alla marinara, a risotto with seafood
- Spaghetti with diavolillo, a chili pepper sauce
- Zuppa di cardi, a soup of cardoons, tomatoes, onions, pancetta and olive oil
- Zuppa di ortiche, a soup of nettle stems, tomatoes, onions, pancetta and olive oil
Typical vegetable dishes may include:
- Carciofi ripieni, artichokes stuffed with anchovies and capers
- Peeled sweet peppers stuffed with bread crumbs, anchovies, parsley, basil and peperoncino, sautéed in a frying pan and cooked with chopped tomatoes
- Cipollacci con pecorino, fried onions and pecorino cheese
- Frittata con basilico e cipolle, omelette with basil and onions
Fish dishes include red mullet soup and spaghetti with cuttlefish. Trout from the Biferno river is notable for its flavor and is cooked with a simple sauce of aromatic herbs and olive oil. Zuppa di pesce, a fish stew,is a specialty of Termoli.
The cheeses produced in Molise are not very different from those produced in Abruzzo. The more common ones are Burrino and Manteca – soft, buttery cow’s-milk cheeses, Pecorino – sheep’s-milk cheese, served young and soft or aged and hard, Scamorza – a bland cow’s-milk cheese, often served grilled and Caciocavallo – a sheep’s-milk cheese.
Sweets and desserts have an ancient tradition here and are linked to the history of the territory and to religious and family festivities. Most common are:
- Calciumi (also called Caucioni or cauciuni), sweet ravioli filled with chestnuts, almonds, chocolate, vanilla, cooked wine musts and cinnamon and then fried
- Ciambelline, ring-shaped cakes made with olive oil and red wine
- Ferratelle all’anice, anise cakes made in metal molds and stamped with special patterns
- Ricotta pizza, a cake pan filled with a blend of ricotta cheese, sugar, flour, butter, maraschino liqueur and chocolate chips
Traditional Molise Recipes
Polpi in Purgatorio
Spicy Octopus, Molise Style
Serves 4
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 sprigs Italian parsley, minced
- 2 teaspoons peperoncini, or more to taste
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds young octopus
- Salt
Directions
Clean the octopus in salted water and rinse well.
Heat half the oil in a medium skillet with a cover over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, parsley and peperoncini and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions soften, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the octopus to the onion mixture with the remaining oil. Season lightly with salt.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook over very low heat for 2 hours, stirring the octopus from time to time with a wooden spoon. Serve as an appetizer.
Baked Fettuccine with Tomato and Mozzarella
Fettucine con salsa d’aromi
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 8 fresh basil leaves, finely shredded
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1-15 oz can Italian tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 peperoncino or 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes, more or less to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano (or other pecorino)
- 1/4 lb scamorza (you can substitute mozzarella)
- 1 lb fettuccine
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté garlic until golden.
Add basil, parsley, mint and peperoncino. Sauté a minute or two more.
Stir in the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat (a fast bubble) stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile bring pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta al dente. Do not overcook.
Preheat oven (while pasta cooks) to 425 degrees F.
Drain the pasta very well and mix with the sauce in the pan.
Transfer all to a greased ovenproof dish.
Sprinkle on the cheese and lay the slices of scamorza or mozzarella on top.
Bake for a few minutes until the cheese melts and bubbles. Serve hot.
Molise Style Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 medium green bell peppers
- 5 cups day old bread, cut into small cubes
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 small can anchovies, chopped
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the filling
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash the peppers. Cut a hole around the stem. Remove the stem. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and ribs.
In a bowl, combine the bread, parsley, garlic and anchovies. Mix together. Sprinkle with olive oil and toss to coat; do not saturate the bread with oil. Fill the peppers evenly with the stuffing.
Put 1/2 cup of olive oil in a baking pan. Lay the peppers on their sides in the pan. Bake for 20 minutes, turning occasionally to cook evenly.
Sprinkle each pepper fresh Parmigiano Reggiano at the end of the cooking time and allow it to melt over the pepper.
Isernian Calzones
Calzoni d’Isernia are named after the town of Isernia in Molise
Makes 12 Calzones
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1/4-1/2 cup water
Filling
- 4 ounces pancetta
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup mozzarella, grated or diced into small cubes
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
Oil for frying
Marinara sauce for serving
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the whole eggs and mix into the flour. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water slowly until all the flour is incorporated. Don’t add too much water or the dough will become sticky. Once the dough is formed, knead for about 5 minutes.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut the dough into squares that are 4 inches by 4 inches. You should be able to get about 12 squares.
For the filling:
Cook the pancetta in a skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes until well browned. Cool.
Combine the ricotta, egg yolks, mozzarella, pancetta, parsley, salt and pepper together in a mixing bowl.
Place some of the filling in the center of each square of dough. Fold the dough over to form a triangle. Use the tines of a fork to pinch together the seams of the dough. Be careful not to over-stuff the dough or the filling will come out during frying.
Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with about 3 inches of oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Once the oil is hot, drop the calzones in (1 at a time if using a smaller pot, or just a few at a time using a larger pot).
Remove the calzones with a slotted spoon or spider when they have gotten a golden brown color on both sides. Let them drain on a paper towel.
Serve warm with marinara sauce, if desired.
Calciuni del Molise
Chestnut Fritters
Adapted from Italian Regional Cooking by Ada Boni, published 1969, Dutton (New York) (Note: this was the first cookbook I owned.)
Makes 15 fritters
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- 1/4 pound fresh chestnuts
Filling
- 1 1/2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
- 1 1/4 teaspoons semi-sweet chocolate
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Oil for frying
Powdered sugar for garnish
Cinnamon for garnish
Directions
Put the flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg yolks, water, wine and olive oil. Mix the components slowly until a dough has formed. Once the dough is formed, put it on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover the dough and set aside. (You can also do this in an electric mixer.)
Using a paring knife make an X on one side of each chestnut. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the chestnuts and let boil for about 10 minutes. Drain the chestnuts and remove the shell and the skin from the chestnuts.
In a food processor, chop the toasted almonds until finely ground. Add the chestnuts and continue to grind until no large pieces remain.
Put the ground chestnuts and almonds in a bowl. Grind the chocolate in the food processor until no large pieces remain. Add to the chestnuts and almonds.
Add the honey, Amaretto, cinnamon and vanilla to the nut/chocolate mixture. Stir well.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3-4 inch circle cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut out circles from the dough. You should be able to get 15 rounds.
Place about 1 tablespoon in the center of each circle. Do not overfill the pastries. Fold one end over and pinch tightly around the edges to close. Seal edges completely so the filling does not come out while frying.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Fry the fritters, a few at a time, until golden brown on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider and place on a paper towels to drain.
Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Lazio located in central Italy, stretches from the western edges of the Apennines to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The region is mainly flat with small mountainous areas in the most eastern and southern districts. Lazio has four very ancient volcanic districts, where the craters of extinct volcanoes form the lakes of Bolsena, Vico, Bracciano, Albano and Nemi. Lazio is the third most populated region of Italy and has the second largest economy of the nation. Rome is the capital of Italy, as well as the region. Other important cities are Frosinone, Latina, Viterbo and Rieti.
Until the late 19th century, much of the lowland area of Lazio was marshy and malarial. Major reclamation work in the early 20th century resulted in drainage and repopulation of the plain that transformed the region. Migratory grazing was greatly reduced and wheat, maize, vegetables, fruit and meat and dairy products were able to flourish in the lowlands, while olive groves and vineyards gradually began to cover the slopes.
Light industry developed with the help of regional development programs, particularly in and around the new satellite towns of Aprilia, Pomezia and Latina, south of Rome. Rome is the region’s commercial and banking center, but it has little industry apart from artisan and specialized industries, such as fashions. Large numbers of persons are employed by the government. In the rest of the region only chemical and pharmaceutical plants, food industries, papermaking and a few small machine industries are of significance.
Rome, including the Vatican, is Italy’s largest tourist center and tourism is also important at resorts in the Alban Hills, the Apennines and along the coast.
Lazio’s transportation is also dominated by Rome’s railways and roads and the city has one of Europe’s busiest international airports. Civitavecchia, the only port of importance, is noted chiefly for its trade with Sardinia.
Take a tour of the Lazio region with the video below.
Lazio has developed food that is a great example of how the simple dishes of the poor working classes (farmers, miners, craftsmen) have formed the cuisine for all. Add to this a heavy influence of Jewish cooking and a variety of flavor combinations emerge.
Typical Roman food has its roots in the past and reflects the old traditions in most of its offerings. It is based on fresh vegetables (artichokes, deep-fried or simmered in olive oil with garlic and mint) and inexpensive cuts of meat (called “quinto quarto,” meaning mainly innards, cooked with herbs and hot chili pepper). It also consists of deep-fried appetizers (such as salted cod and zucchini blossoms) and sharp Pecorino cheese (made from sheep’s milk from the nearby countryside).
The hills in Lazio are rich and fertile making it easy to grow vegetables of all types which in turn makes them an important part of the cuisine. They are cooked with liberal amounts of oil, herbs and garlic and, more often than not, a good portion of anchovies.
Lazio appetizers feature fresh seafood, preserved meats, ripe produce, artisanal breads, olives and olive oils produced within the region. Lazio cuisine may use fresh or dried pasta in many different shapes. Fresh pasta is usually found in lasagne or fettuccine. Lazio recipes for pasta often call for tubes, as this shape is more effective for holding onto hearty sauces. Potato, rice or semolina gnocchi dumplings are also commonly prepared. Suppli al telefono are hand held balls of rice stuffed with mozzarella cheese and sometimes flavored with liver or anchovies.
Chicken is used more here than in other regions and they also eat a fair amount of rabbit. Pork is used to make Guanciale or cured pork cheek, Ventresca or cured belly meat, Mortadella di Amatrice, sausages or salsicce, lard and prosciutto. Often the salumi are spicy and flavorful.
Much of the fish consumed in Lazio comes from the Tiber River and Bolsena Lake, including ciriole, caption and freshwater eels.
Even when it comes to desserts, they keep it simple. Maritozzi, a type of cream-filled pastry, doughnuts, fried rice treats and ricotta tarts are all popular.
Lazio is known for Est Est Est a wine that is produced in the area near Lake Bolsena and Falerno.
Oven-Baked Gaeta
This deep dish pie is probably named for the town of Gaeta and the pan they used to prepare the pie. It was popular for the farmers and fishermen, so that they had a meal that could keep for a few days. It consists of a rustic pizza round that usually contains olives, fish (such as anchovies and / or sardines, octopus and squid), ricotta cheese or other cheeses and vegetables, such as tomatoes or onion.
Dough Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz (300 gr) Italian flour (00 flour)
- 7 oz (200 gr) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 3/4 cup warm water
Ingredients for the filling
- 1 1/4 lbs (500 gr) octopus
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup (60 gr) black olives
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup (200 gr) tomatoes, diced
- 2 tablespoons (20 gr) parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons (3 gr) crushed red chilli pepper
- Salt to taste
Directions
Combine the dough ingredients and let it rise, push the dough down and let it rise again.
Roll out half the dough to fit a 10 inch baking pan.
Put the octopus in a large pot of boiling salted water with the vinegar and boil until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and peel as much of the skin off the octopus as you can while it is still hot. Chop the octopus into bite-size pieces.
Combine the filling ingredients.
Place the filling in the dough covered pan.
Roll out the remaining dough and cover the filling. Seal and brush the dough with extra virgin olive oil.
Bake at 350 degrees F (180-200) for about 25-30 minutes.
Spaghetti and Roman Broccoli
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 head Romanesco broccoli or regular broccoli
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 2 ¼ cups (500 ml) of vegetable broth
- 8 oz (220 gr) of spaghetti, broken into pieces
- Salt and Pepper
- 5 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
For Romanesco broccoli:
Clean and dice in small pieces. Set aside in a bowl.
If using regular broccoli:
Wash the broccoli, clean the tops and cut off the florets. Dice the stalks. Set aside in a bowl.
Fry the garlic in the oil until golden in a large saucepan. Add the broccoli to the pan and stir well.
Add the vegetable broth and the tomato paste, stir and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes until the broccoli is tender.
Add salt and pepper according to taste.
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water. Drain and add to the broccoli in the saucepan and heat. Serve sprinkled with grated cheese.
Bucatini Gricia
Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, Amatriciana and Gricia are the four most popular pasta dishes in Rome. Together they form the backbone of Primi courses at every trattoria in the Eternal City, where the locals have strong, vocal opinions on where to find the best execution of each, never all at one place.
4 people
Ingredients
- 12 oz (320 gr) bucatini pasta
- 3 ½ oz (100 gr) Pecorino romano cheese, grated
- 3 ½ oz (100 gr) guanciale or pancetta or bacon
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Directions
Dice the bacon and brown over low heat in a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil.
Cook the pasta in plenty of lightly salted boiling water, al dente. Drain well. Add to the skillet with the bacon and sauté for 1 minute.
Sprinkle with the cheese and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.
Salt Cod Fillets Roman Style
4 people
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 lbs (600 gr) salted codfish (baccalà), soaked
- 3 ½ oz (100 gr) flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 (1/4-ounce) packet dry active yeast
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- Olive oil
Directions
Soak the baccalà in cold water for at least 3 days prior to preparing this dish. Change the water each day.
Combine butter, flour, water and yeast in a mixing bowl. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
Dry and cut the cod into serving pieces.
Coat each fillet in batter, then fry in a large pan with very hot oil.
Place fillets on paper towels to drain before serving.
Hazelnut Cake Viterbo
Ingredients
- Cake pan – 10 inches or 26 cm diameter
- 1/2 cup (50 g) potato starch
- 7 1/8 oz (200 gr) 00 Italian flour
- 1 2/3 cups (350 gr) sugar
- 1/3 cup (60 gr) milk chocolate, chopped
- 1 ¼ cups (200 gr) chopped toasted hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup 50 gr raisins softened in a little milk
- 6 oz (170 gr) milk
- 3 eggs
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 5 ¼ oz (150 g) butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Powdered sugar for garnish
Directions
In a large bowl mix the potato starch, flour, baking powder, sugar, chocolate, chopped hazelnuts and softened butter.
Add one egg at a time and mix it into the mixture before adding the next. Add the drained raisins, lemon zest and milk.
Butter the pan and sprinkle with flour mixed with a little sugar.
Pour the cake mixture into the pan and bake in the oven at 325 degrees F (160-170) for 45-50 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
A painting by Italian master, Sebastiano Ricci, long presumed to be lost, has turned up in Texas after a 300-year journey from the hands of a European nobleman playboy to a fur trader and finally through generations of one family.
Italian Painting
Italian art has influenced several major movements throughout the centuries and has produced numerous great artists. Today, Italy has an important place in the international art scene, with several major art galleries and museums. Major artistic centers in the country include its capital city, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Naples and Turin.
Until the 13th century, art in Italy was almost entirely regional. After 1250 the art of the various regions developed characteristics in common, so that a certain unity, as well as, great originality was established. During the Middle Ages, painters and sculptors tried to give their works a spiritual quality. They wanted viewers to concentrate on the deep religious meaning of their art work. But Renaissance painters and sculptors, like Renaissance writers, wanted to portray people and nature realistically.
During the early 1300s, the Florentine painter, Giotto, became the first artist to portray nature realistically. He produced frescoes (paintings on damp plaster) for churches in Assisi, Florence, Padua and Rome. Giotto attempted to create lifelike figures showing real emotions in realistic settings.
Another Florentine painter, Masaccio, produced his finest work in a series of frescoes he painted around 1427 in the Brancacci Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. The frescoes realistically show Biblical scenes of emotional intensity. In these paintings, Masaccio utilized Brunelleschi’s system for achieving linear perspective, a mathematical system with which painters could show space and depth on a flat surface.
Art in the late 1400s and early 1500s was dominated by three artists: Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci.
Michelangelo excelled as a painter, architect and poet. He was a master of portraying the human figure. For example, his statue of the Israelite leader, Moses (1516) gives an overwhelming impression of physical and spiritual power. These qualities also appear in the frescoes of biblical and classical subjects that Michelangelo painted on the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. The frescoes, painted from 1508 to 1512, rank among the greatest works of Renaissance art.
Raphael
Raphael’s paintings are softer in outline than those of Michelangelo. Raphael was skilled in creating perspective and in the delicate use of color. He painted a number of outstanding portraits. One of his greatest works is the fresco, The School of Athens. The painting was influenced by classical Greek and Roman models. It portrays the great philosophers and scientists of ancient Greece in a setting of classical arches.

Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci painted two of the most famous works of Renaissance art: The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci wanted to know how everything that he saw in nature worked. In over 4,000 pages of notebooks, he drew detailed diagrams and wrote his observations. Leonardo made careful drawings of human skeletons and muscles, trying to learn how the body worked and, as a result, he became a symbol of the Renaissance spirit of learning and intellectual curiosity.
Other Italian Art Movements:
- Futurism was an Italian art movement that flourished from 1909 until about 1916. It was the first of many art movements that tried to break with the past in all areas of life. Futurism glorified the power and speed of the machine age.
- Metaphysical Painting is an Italian art movement, born in 1917 with the work of Carlo Carrà and Giorgio de Chirico in Ferrara. The word metaphysical, adopted by De Chirico himself, is core to the basics of the movement. They illustrated a dreamlike imagery, with figures and objects seemingly frozen in time and in unusual arrangements as dummy-like models in strange, illogical contexts depicted in unreal colors.
- The Novecento Movement, a group of Italian artists formed in 1922 in Milan, advocated a return to the great Italian representational art of the past. This group sought to renew Italian art by rejecting European avant-garde movements and embracing Italy’s artistic traditions.
- A movement founded by the Italian artist, Lucio Fontana, was the Movimento Spaziale (1947 and 1954) that combined elements of concrete art, dada and tachism. The movement’s devotees rejected easel painting and embraced new technological developments, seeking to incorporate time and movement in their works and utilized dabs or splotches of color to define this art form.
- Arte Povera, an artistic movement that originated in Italy in the 1960s, combined aspects of conceptual, minimalist and performance art that made use of worthless or common materials, such as bricks or newspapers, in the hope of subverting the commercialization of art. The phrase is Italianand literally means, “impoverished art.” Arte Povera, was introduced in Italy during the period when artists began attacking the values of established institutions of government, industry and culture. The movement centered on a group of Italian artists who attacked the corporate mentality with an art of unconventional materials and style.
Modern Italian and Italian American Painters
Michelangelo Pistoletto was born in Biella (in the northern Italian region of Piedmont) in 1933. His artistic training began in the studio of his father, a painter and restorer, where he went to work at the age of fourteen. He subsequently attended Armando Testa’s advertising design school.
In 1955 he began to exhibit self-portraits that characterized his painting in the late fifties. He received the San Fedele Prize in Milan in 1958. In 1960 he had his first solo show at Galleria Galatea in Turin. That same year he made several life-sized self-portraits on gold, silver and copper monochrome backgrounds. In 1961 he created a series of works entitled, The Present, painting his own image on a black background to which a layer of transparent varnish gave a mirror gloss.
Mirror Painting: Man and Woman on a Balcony, 1962
In 1962 he perfected the technique of Mirror Painting: he produced an image on tissue paper by enlarging a photograph to life size, painting it with the tip of a brush and then affixing it onto a sheet of mirror-finished stainless steel. After 1971, the painted tissue was replaced by a silkscreen of the photographic image. The Mirror Paintings, shown for the first time in March 1963 at Galleria Galatea, quickly brought Pistoletto international acclaim and led to his inclusion in major exhibitions of Pop Art and Nouveau Realisme. During the sixties the artist had solo shows in important galleries and museums in Europe and the United States: in 1964 at Galerie Sonnabend in Paris, in 1966 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, in 1967 at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels and in 1969 at the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam. In 1967 he received the Belgian critics’ prize and the São Paulo Biennale award. Pistoletto is considered one of the leading figures of Arte Povera because his works, which precede the official birth of the movement, are most representative of the utilization of common materials in an art form, like the piece, Venus of the Rags, 1967, containing the rags that were initially used by Pistoletto for cleaning the mirror paintings.
Maltagliati with Leek Sauce
A favorite pasta dish in the Piedmont region of italy.
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb all-purpose flour
- 6 whole eggs
- 6 leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup light cream
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Garnish with thin strips of leek
Directions
Mix the flour with the eggs in a processor, mixer or by hand.
Roll out the dough thinly, using a pasta roller or rolling pin.
Cut the pasta sheets into medium-size diamonds.
In a large skillet, brown leeks in butter. Salt to taste.
In the meantime, cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water: drain and add to the browned leeks in the skillet.
Add the cream, adjust salt and mix well. Finish with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese and leek strips.
Bice Lazzari (1900–1981), whose career balanced design and fine arts, created compositions by drawing free-hand lines, often over washes of soft color. Her poetic works resemble graphs, maps, and representative of her lifelong passion for music—musical staffs and notes.
Born in Venice, Lazzari, who would become one of Italy’s most revered modern artists, was discouraged from studying the human figure in art school in the 1910s because of her gender. She pursued the visual arts, adopting the informal style of the prevailing movement, abstract European painting in the mid-twentieth century. Lazzari’s earliest works, including still lifes, landscapes and portraits, demonstrate her skill as a figurative painter. However, she began to experiment with abstraction as early as 1925. Lazzari increasingly explored abstract form while continuing to work in the applied and decorative arts.
As her career developed, she further simplified her imagery, drawing or painting grids, lines, rows of dots and dashes and irregular shapes against a monochromatic background. Though her marks are exact and rigorous, Lazzari created her compositions freely and drew by hand creating rhythms that interact, emphasizing the play between surface and depth and brilliantly bringing her works to life.
Self Portait in oil.
Bice Lazzari: Signature Line was on view at NMWA May 10–September 22, 2013, as part of the 2013—Year of Italian Culture in the United States, an initiative organized by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Italy, Washington, D.C. This exhibition presented a selection of 25 paintings and drawings from the Archivio Bice Lazzari in Rome.
Zaletti
(Cornmeal, pine nut and raisin cookies)
Zaletti are a traditional cookie from the Veneto region. They are often enjoyed together with a glass of sparkling wine, like Prosecco.These cookies are called zaletti due to their yellow color. “Zaletti” means “little yellow things” in the Veneto dialect.
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb cornmeal
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- 1/2 lb all-purpose flour
- 5 oz butter
- 3 oz raisins, soaked in warm water
- 2 ½ oz pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 easpoon vanilla
- Zest of 1 lemon, grated
Directions
Mix the cornmeal, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Beat the butter with the sugar in a mixer, then add the flour mixture. Add the raisins, previously soaked in warm water, the pine nuts, milk, grated lemon zest and vanilla. Mix well.
With your hands, shape the mixture into small oval cakes about 3 inches long. Place them on a lightly buttered baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven set at 375 degree F. Cooking time is generally 20-25 minutes, but it can vary according to the size of the “zaletti”.
Robert Henry De Niro (May 3, 1922 – May 3, 1993) was an American abstract expressionist painter and the father of actor Robert De Niro. Robert De Niro, Sr. was born in Syracuse, New York, to an Italian American father, Henry Martin De Niro (1897–1976), whose parents emigrated from Ferrazzano, in the province of Campobasso, Molise and an Irish American mother, Helen (née O’Reilly; 1899–1999). Robert De Niro Sr. studied at the Black Mountain College under Josef Albers from 1939 to 1940. While Albers’ highly analytical approach to painting did not appeal to De Niro’s more instinctive style, the experience and international perspective of the Bauhaus master, nonetheless, left a lasting impression. De Niro next studied with Hans Hofmann at his Provincetown, Massachusetts summer school. Hofmann’s teaching focused on Abstract Expressionism and Cubist formalism that had a strong influence on De Niro’s development as a mature artist.
After getting married in 1942, De Niro moved to New York’s Greenwich Village, where he was able to paint and surround himself with an illustrious circle of friends including writers, Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller, playwright Tennessee Williams and the famous Berlin dancer, Valeska Gert.
Being a self-proclaimed perfectionist, De Niro painted and repainted his canvases again and again. He would do hundreds of studies before he decided to paint the subject. In 1945, De Niro was included in the Fall exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim’s, The Art of This Century Gallery on 57th Street in New York. Reviews of the exhibition praised the work of De Niro, as well as, that of Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. He had his first solo exhibition at The Art of This Century Gallery the following year.
Flowers in a Blue Vase
De Niro had a series of solo exhibitions at the Charles Egan Gallery in New York and by the mid-1950s, De Niro was regularly included in important group exhibitions, such as the Whitney Annual, the Stable Annual and the Jewish Museum.
From 1961-1964, De Niro traveled to France to paint in Paris and in the surrounding countryside. Collector Joseph Hirshhorn purchased a number of the artist’s paintings and works on paper during this period through De Niro’s gallerist, Virginia Zabriskie, which are now in the permanent collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. In 1968, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. His work is included in several museum collections including the Brooklyn Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, Mint Museum, Hirshhorn Museum, Kansas City Art Institute and the Yellowstone Museum Art Center. Robert De Niro was a visiting artist at Michigan State University’s Department of Art in the early 1960s. He died of cancer at age 71, on May 3, 1993.
Spicy Stewed Octopus
In this dish, typically found in Molise along the Adriatic coast, the octopus is flavored with spicy peperoncino (chili peppers), giving it an extra kick.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb baby octopus
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- Whole chili peppers, to taste
- 1 ½ oz parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Clean the octopus in salted water and rinse well. Saute the onion in a skillet with the olive oil and peperoncino.
Add the octopus, parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook over low heat for 2 hours, stirring the octopus from time to time with a wooden spoon.
Add a little water to keep the pan from drying out. Serve warm.
Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia (June 14, 1909 – September 17, 1982) was an American impressionist painter. DeGrazia is known for his colorful images of Native American children of the American Southwest and other Western scenes. Born to Italian immigrants, DeGrazia’s family emmigrated from Amantea, Calabria (Southern Italy). His parents, Dominic and Lucia DeGrazia, were strong people who worked very hard for their family of seven children. His father and uncles were copper miners in Morenci, Arizona Territory, where DeGrazia was born in 1909. After graduation from high school, DeGrazia worked the mines with his family. It was then he realized, he did not want to live life as a miner and said that he couldn’t live without the sunlight.
“Market #29,” by Ted DeGrazia
With almost no possessions, DeGrazia caught a ride and headed for Tucson. With fifteen dollars in his pocket, he enrolled at the University of Arizona in 1933. He played his trumpet at night and landscaped at the University of Arizona during the day, to pay for his classes. He studied music and received his first Bachelors degree in Art Education. His second Bachelors degree was in Fine Arts. DeGrazia would eventually go back to school to earn a Master’s degree in Art Education in 1945.
Any money he could save went towards art supplies. Any extra time he had went to his art. He was searching, trying to find his own style. In 1941, Arizona Highways Magazine began to publish DeGrazia’s work. In 1942, DeGrazia traveled to Mexico City where he met Diego Rivera, Mexico’s master muralist. Rivera was taken with DeGrazia’s artistic talent and agreed to take him on as an apprentice. DeGrazia assisted Rivera with murals at the Palacio Nacional and the Hospital de Jesus. DeGrazia also worked with José Clemente Orozco during this apprenticeship. The two Mexican masters sponsored an exhibition of DeGrazia’s paintings at the Palace of Fine Art in Mexico City in 1942.
Excerpts from DeGrazia’s politically-based mural painted on a University of Arizona interior wall circa 1932. Photograph by Reggie Russell
DeGrazia returned to the University of Arizona, studying under Katherine Kitt. In 1944, DeGrazia was hired by the University of Arizona, to complete a mural in exchange for the cost of art supplies for the project. He was given freedom to paint whatever subject he wanted in a portion of the Old Main building located in the center of the campus. Since this mural painting took place two years after his apprenticeship under Diego Rivera, DeGrazia chose to paint a politically based mural. The mural was titled, “Power of the Press.” DeGrazia was rebelling against commercialism in education. He felt that universities were growing too political, greedy and corporate minded. DeGrazia’s mural depicted the lives lost in World War II and how the interests of businesses were what really controlled the educational system- not the educator.
By the late forties, the city of Tucson began encroaching on DeGrazia’s gallery. He felt cramped with so many people moving to Tucson and he wanted to escape its growth. In 1949, he bought 10 acres of land in the Santa Catalina Foothills, north of Tucson. Once DeGrazia had his new home, he was free to start work on his dream gallery, the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun. During this time, the gallery replaced the first DeGrazia gallery constructed in 1944.
From 1960 to the mid-1970s DeGrazia became very successful and the gallery flourished with hundreds of thousands of yearly visitors. To protest inheritance taxes on works of art, DeGrazia hauled about 100 of his paintings on horseback into the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix and set them ablaze in 1976. This infamous event was reported in such publications as, “The Wall Street Journal” and “People Magazine”, becoming part of DeGrazia’s legend before his death in 1982. By this time, the artist had established the DeGrazia Foundation to ensure the permanent preservation of his art and architecture for future generations.
Eggplant Meat-less Balls
This version of traditional meatballs, made with eggplant rather than meat, is a typical Calabrian appetizer and is quite easy to prepare.
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb eggplant
- 1 egg
- 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- 1 ¾ oz Pecorino cheese, grated
- Vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
- Chives
- Tomato Sauce, optional
Directions
Peel the eggplants, cut them in half, put them into a pot and cover with water.
Bring the water to a boil and cook for about 45 minutes; drain and cool.
Mix the bread crumbs with the chopped garlic, parsley, basil, grated cheese and salt.
Squeeze out the eggplants and mash them with the bread crumb mixture and the whole egg, mixing until thoroughly combined.
Shape this mixture into elongated, fairly flat ovals and fry them in vegetable oil. Drain.
These may be served hot or cold and, if desired, covered with a spicy tomato sauce.
Artist Georgia O’Keeffe was of Italian descent. Her mother was Ida Totto and the artist was named for her maternal grandfather, Giorgio Totto, who was born in Italy. Georgia O’Keeffe was born on a wheat farm near Sun Prairie, WI, on Nov. 15, 1887.
Soon after 1918, O’Keeffe began working in oil, a shift away from having worked primarily in watercolor in the earlier years. By the mid-1920s, she began making large-scale paintings of natural forms at close range, as if seen through a magnifying lens. In 1924 she painted her first large-scale flower painting, Petunia, No. 2, which was first exhibited in 1925. She also completed a significant body of paintings of New York buildings, such as City Night and New York—Night, 1926 and Radiator Bldg—Night, New York, 1927.
By 1929, O’Keeffe acted on her increasing need to find a new source of inspiration for her work. Between 1929 and 1949, O’Keeffe spent part of nearly every year working in New Mexico. She collected rocks and bones from the desert floor and made them and the distinctive architectural and landscape forms of the area subjects in her work. O’Keeffe became increasingly frail in her late 90s and moved to Santa Fe in 1984, where she died on March 6, 1986 at the age of 98.
As an interpreter and manipulator of natural forms, as a strong colorist and as the depictor of her beloved New Mexico landscape, Georgia O’Keefe left her mark on the history of American art and made it possible for other women to explore a new gamut of symbolic imagery.

Petunia, No. 2
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The Veneto is a large, beautiful region in northeastern Italy. It reaches northwards into the Dolomite Mountains, where you will find some of Italy’s most exclusive tourist and ski resorts, and westward to Lake Garda with its olive trees and its majestic views. Following along the course of the Brenta River, you will come to Palladio’s splendid villas. Picturesque towns seem to sprout up from the gently rolling hills. Vineyards feed off the water of the Adige river which passes through Verona on its way south to the Venetian lagoon.

Almost Switzerland – The Dolomite Mountains, Northern Italy
Lake Garda
For nearly 1400 years, the two or three miles of shallow water separating Venice from the mainland of Italy, had not only protected Venice from invaders but effectively isolated the Venetians from Italian politics.
Untouched by imperialist warfare, feudalism and territorial squabbles; Venetians fixed their attention on the East and the rich markets of Levantine and Constantinople to become a great mercantile empire called the Venetian Republic.
A city built out of fear of invasion, was soon to be known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. While the Florentines were regarded as great thinkers, the Venetians would be regarded as great doer’s, since they alone conquered Veneto’s malaria-ridden swamps to build a great city, Venice, from nothing.
The diverse landscape of the Veneto is reflected in the region’s varied cuisine, influenced in large part by the region’s history, cultural open-mindedness and the presence of the sea. Grains, like corn and rice, are grown in the flatlands. Rice is a popular crop around Verona, where you will find the only Italian I.G.P rice variety, Vialone Nano Veronese. (D.O.P. means Protected Denomination of Origin. Products that are assigned the D.O.P denomination must be produced exclusively in very limited and strictly defined areas. These rice products may come from wider areas than D.O.P labeled products, but are certified I.G.P., that the typical characteristics of each product are within the approved standards for the whole area.)
These two grains, rice and corn, are the main ingredients of the region’s first courses, which include many types of risotto and polenta. Rice is a particularly versatile ingredient, and here you will find risotto made with everything from chicken giblets or eel, to fresh peas or radicchio from Treviso or asparagus from Bassano.
The Grand Canal, Venice
As you head north towards the mountains, polenta becomes the grain of choice. Polenta is often served with baccalà, a dried salted cod, calf’s liver and onions or braised beef or horsemeat.
Along the Adriatic coast, fish soups or brodetti, are traditionally served as first courses. Chioggia, a picturesque costal town located just south of Venice, is particularly famous for its fish soup and its massive fish market.
The mountainous areas of the Veneto are known for their excellent cheeses, the most famous of which is Asiago (DOP). The regional salumi (meats/salami) are also well known, including Prosciutto Veneto Berico-Euganeo (DOP) and Soppressa Vicentina. ( Soppressa, unlike salami, which is made from good cuts of pork, sopressa is made with just about everything: the hams, shoulders, sides, and so on. About the only thing that doesn’t go into it, is the skin.)
When it comes to dessert, the Veneto is home to one of Italy’s most well known sweet breads, the Pandoro. This rich bread is produced in and around Verona according to an ancient recipes. In Venice, be sure to look for Scalete, Pandolo, and Baicoli, all traditional sweets favored by Venetians.
Rialto Market
For a seafood lover, there is perhaps no better place in the world to visit than Venice, Italy. The cuisine of this historic city relies heavily on the abundant bounty of the Venetian Lagoon, and the vast array of sea creatures which inhabit it. Every morning, the Rialto Market of Venice is overflowing with exotic catches of the day, from tiny snails called bovoleti to razor clams (cape longhe) and gigantic swordfish. Besides the lagoon, some fresh seafood is obtained from fish farms, or from the mountain streams of the Alto Adige. Wherever the source, the fish of this region is of amazing quality and variety.
While in Venice one can sample some of the seafood delicacies of the region found nowhere else in the world. Simply sticking to old Italian staples, such as cheese pizza or spaghetti with meatballs, would be an unfortunate choice, when presented with Venice’s unique dining options. The following list represents some of the most popular seafood dishes found in Venice, today. Preparation of these dishes is generally simple, relying on the quality of the ingredients and basic cooking techniques.
Pesce Fritto Misto (Fried Mixed Fish) Typically these mixed-fries will include seafood choices, such as calamari, scallops, small shrimp, some large prawns or a small-sized whole fish. This hearty meal is usually served with Polenta and lemon wedges and, perhaps, no more than a sprinkling of salt and parsley for seasoning.
Seppia al Nero (Squid in its Own Ink) Seppia, or cuttlefish, is a squid-like fish which sprays black ink when threatened. The meat of the seppia is sweet and tender when grilled, and is often served in Venetian restaurants over a bed of linguine or risotto, colored black by its ink. The ink gives the pasta or rice a rich, briny flavor.
Sarde in Saor (Marinated Sardines) This classic dish is one of the most popular Venetian first courses. Sardines are fried and placed in a sweet-and-sour marinade of vinegar, onions, raisins and pine nuts. If one’s only experience with sardines are those of the canned variety, then trying this specialty of the Venice region is a must.
Pizza con Pesce (Seafood Pizza) Seafood pizza in Venice is unlike pizza served anywhere else in the world. It is prepared with a topping of calamari and mixed shellfish such as shrimp, clams and mussels – often still in their shells. The shells open as the pizza bakes in the oven, releasing their juices onto the very thin crust with a tomato sauce base. Of course, there is absolutely no cheese served on such a pizza, as in true Italian cooking, cheese and seafood are considered highly incompatible.
Branzino Me Alati (Salt-Crusted Mediterranean Sea Bass) A classic Venetian way to prepare a whole branzino (sea bass) is to bake it in a thick salt crust. The salt forms a hard shell around the fish while it cooks, and the scales are left on the fish while cooking to prevent the salt from penetrating the flesh. The crust must then be carefully cracked and peeled away before filleting the fish. The resulting flavor is sweet and tender and usually served with risotto or pasta.
Folpetti Consi (Boiled Baby Octopus) Tiny young octopus are boiled with carrots and celery until tender, then seasoned lightly with oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Rombo, also known as Turbot, is a uniquely Mediterranean fish, not unlike the flounder. It is a flat fish that is quite popular in Venetian restaurants for its delicate flavor. It can be prepared in a number of different ways, but it is usually baked in a light tomato sauce.
Recipes For You To Make At Home
Venetian Rice and Peas – Risi e Bisi
Risi e bisi (rice and peas) is a classic Venetian dish. In the past it was prepared only on the feast days decreed by the Doge (Venice’s ruler), and though one can now prepare risi e bisi at any time, the dish really shines when freshly harvested baby peas are available. However, quality frozen peas can work very well, if fresh peas are not available. Venetians use a risotto rice called Vialone Nano, but Arborio rice will be fine if the Venetian rice is not available in your area.
Ingredients:
- 7 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons butter (or Smart Balance Butter Blend), divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup minced onion
- 1/4 cup diced pancetta (about 2 oz.) or prosciutto
- 2 cups arborio rice or vialone nano rice (about 14 oz.)
- 4 cups shelled fresh or thawed frozen peas
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Bring vegetable stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Cover and keep warm. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft (do not brown), about 5 minutes. Add pancetta and cook until light brown, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring until coated, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup stock. Stir constantly until stock is almost absorbed, about 1 minute. Continue adding stock by the cupful in 5 more additions, stirring constantly and allowing stock to be absorbed between additions, until rice is almost tender. Add peas and remaining cup of stock and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is creamy and tender but still firm to the bite, about 22 minutes total.
Remove pan from heat. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, Parmesan, and parsley. Season rice and peas with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowls or plates, and serve.
Mediterranean Flounder or Sea Bass Fillets
Ingredients:
- 6 flounder or sea bass fillets (about 6 ounces each)
- 1 tablespoon butter or Smart Balance
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 small jar capers, rinsed
- 1/2 cup white wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lemon slices for garnish
Directions:
1. To cook fillets: Heat olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
2. In a separate dish, combine flour, salt and pepper. Flour the fillets and place in the sauté pan. Cook until golden brown on each side. Remove to a serving platter.
3. Keep the drippings in the sauté pan and add the parsley, capers and wine. Cook over a low flame for 3 minutes.
4. Spoon the sauce over the fillets and serve immediately.
6 servings
Pork Stewed in Milk – Mas-cio al Late
Pork Stewed in Milk is one of the most popular second course entrees in the restaurants of the Venice, and, as a result, there are many variations. Some use white wine vinegar rather than white wine, others omit the garlic, and others use pork loin rather than pork rump.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 pounds pork rump
- 3 pints whole milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or Smart Balance
- White wine vinegar
- 6 fresh sage leaves
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A little unbleached flour
Directions:
Tie the meat with butcher’s twine to give it as regular a shape as possible, and put it in a pot that’s just large enough to hold it. Add good, but not too strong or acidic white wine vinegar to cover, cover the pot with a cloth, and set it in the refrigerator for 48 hours, turning the meat four times each day and adding more vinegar if need be to keep it covered.
When the time is up, remove the meat from the vinegar and dry it well. Flour it and brown it in the butter, turning it so as to brown all sides. In the meantime, heat the milk, and, while the meat is browning, tie together the sage leaves and rosemary. Add the herbs to the pot, and season the meat with salt and pepper; next, slowly pour the milk over it. Let it come back to a boil, reduce the heat to a slow simmer, cover the pot, and cook for two hours, turning the meat every now and again, but being careful not to puncture it.
Half way through the cooking, add a large clove of peeled, crushed garlic. By the time the meat is done the milk will have condensed into a creamy sauce.
Slice the meat fairly thickly, arrange the slices on a heated serving dish, spoon the sauce over them.
Potato Gnocchi with Salsa Nera
If calamari and black squid ink are not your thing, I would use small shrimp or bay scallops for the calamari and 1 tablespoon basil pesto for the squid ink.
Ingredients:
For gnocchi:
- 6 pounds potatoes
- 2 cups flour or Eagle Brand Ultra Grain flour
- 2 eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
For salsa nera:
- 4 ounces tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 pound calamari, sliced thin
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 tablespoon fresh, black squid ink
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
To make gnocchi: Scrub the potatoes and place, unpeeled, in a large pot of boiling water (lightly salted).
Cook for 45 minutes until tender but not overcooked. When cool, peel potatoes and mash. Add flour, eggs, salt and pepper.
Roll dough into long thin rods, and cut into small pieces about 1-inch in length to form the dumplings.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop gnocchi in and cook for approximately 1 minute until they float to the top. Scoop out with a mesh strainer.
To make Salsa Nera: In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add parsley, tomato paste, white wine, black squid ink (or pesto), salt and pepper; cook for 20 minutes then add the calamari ( or shrimp or scallops) and cook for 3 minutes more.
To assemble: Place cooked gnocchi on a large serving platter. Add the salsa nera and gently toss to cover gnocchi with sauce.
Crespelle with Berries and Cognac
Ingredients:
For crespelle:
- 2 cups all purpose flour or Eagle Brand Ultra Grain flour
- 1/4 cup sugar or 2 tablespoons Truvia for Baking
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups low fat milk
- 2 large eggs or 1/2 cup egg substitute
- 1 tablespoon butter or Smart Balance Butter Blend, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cooking spray to coat crêpe pan, as needed
For berry sauce:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or Smart Balance)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar or 1/4 cup Truvia for Baking
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 3 cups mixed berries
- 1/2 cup cognac
Directions:
1. To make crepes: In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, butter and vanilla extract. Whisk batter well to remove any lumps, and then let the batter rest for at least 1 hour to ensure tender crêpes.
2. In a small, flat, round crêpe pan, heat the pan over medium heat and grease lightly with butter to prevent sticking.
3. With a ladle or small measuring cup, quickly pour a small amount of batter into the pan. Immediately tilt and swirl the pan to spread the batter in a thin, even layer that just covers the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes, and then check the doneness of a crepe by carefully lifting one edge and looking underneath it for a golden color with specks of light brown. With a spatula, loosen the edge of the crêpe from the pan, flip it over, and cook on the other side until golden, about 30 seconds. Set aside crepes on individual dessert plates.
4. To make berry sauce: Melt butter in a sauté pan large enough to hold all of the ingredients. Add sugar and cook until it begins to caramelize. Add orange juice and reduce by half. Add berries and heat through.
5. To assemble: Once berries are hot, add the cognac, and ignite. Spoon over crepes and serve immediately.
4 servings
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When I was growing up, my maternal grandparents lived in the same city as I did in New Jersey. They had a large house ( because they needed it for 7 daughters) and a large yard. My grandfather was a great gardener and he loved it. He could make anything grow and was eager to share his bounties with you. He had row after row of stunning roses, gladioli and lilies of the valley. Whenever I went to his house, he would send me home with a big bunch of whatever flowers were in season or a bag of zucchini and tomatoes. I loved that my grandfather had such a gift. After my husband and I bought our first house that was not too far from his house, he would come over and spruce up my yard for me. He saved a great, little magnolia tree in the center of my yard and, boy, did my tomato plants thrive. Wish I could remember, now, what he did to those tomatoes to make them so fine.
Italians have had a very close relationship with food throughout history, but the famine endured by most Italians during World War II, shaped their cuisine into a more simple and inexpensive one. The hardship of war meant that Italians grew vegetables in their own backyard gardens, even if the garden was only 10 yards across. Owning land and the cultivation of a vegetable garden have always been popular for Italians and a right they have taken full advantage of in Italy and in the US.
My grandfather certainly espoused that philosophy and most of his yard was dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables. He even grew grapes – for wine, of course. The grapes, he grew, were white and light red, but I don’t recall what kind of grapes they were. He would cut off a bunch, usually the white ones, with his pocket pen knife and hand them to me for a snack. I would eat a couple but they tasted awful – tart and full of seeds. I would eat a few because I did not want to hurt his feelings. He was very proud of those grapes.
The grapes were grown on a trellis that overlooked a large bench he had for sitting in his yard. The trellis was impressive and I would sit there under all those grapes and feel quite cozy in what felt like another world. My grandfather did make wine with those grapes and he would bring the wine to Sunday dinner, usually in a big jug. My father would put the jug on the floor near his feet and occasionally hoist the jug up and fill the glasses on the table – not mine, of course. You may have heard that European children drink wine with dinner, but not in our house. Wine was for grown-ups. I remember my mother passing on my grandfather’s wine, saying, it was a bit too strong for her, but my father and grandfather enjoyed it.
Using Wine in Your Recipes
The function of wine in cooking is to intensify and enhance the flavor and aroma of food – not to mask the flavor of what you are cooking but rather to fortify it. Use wines in your cooking that you would drink for dinner. Wines, labeled cooking wines, are not quality wines and they often contain salt and food coloring.
When you take some of the fat out of dishes, you usually need to add another ingredient to replace the lost moisture. Here are some examples of how wine can do just that:
- Instead of sauteing veggies in butter or oil, you can saute them in a smaller amount of oil plus some wine for flavor and moisture.
- Instead of making a marinade with 1/2 cup of oil, decrease the oil to 1/4 cup and add 1/4 cup wine.
- You can add wine to the pan while fish is cooking or drizzle fish with a tablespoon or two of wine and bake it in a foil package
- For certain types of cakes, using wine or sherry in place of some of the fat not only lightens up the cake but adds flavor.
Appetizer course 
Italian Octopus Stewed in Wine and Tomatoes
This is a recipe for Southern Italian stewed octopus with white wine and tomatoes. Octopus requires long, slow simmering over low heat to keep it tender. Serve with crusty bread. This recipe serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb small octopus
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves finely chopped garlic
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes or peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons capers
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
Cut the octopus into pieces and saute in olive oil over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and saute for another minute or two.
Add the wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir well and let it cook down for 3-4 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and chili flakes and bring to a simmer.
Add the salt and the honey. Mix well, cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add the capers and half the parsley.
Check the octopus — sometimes small ones will be tender in just 30 minutes.
If they are still super-chewy, cover the pot again and simmer for up to another 45 minutes.
When you think you are about 10 minutes away from being done, uncover the pot and turn the heat up a little to cook down the sauce.
To serve, add the remaining parsley, basil and black pepper.
Soup Course
Zuppa di Cipolle: Italian Onion Soup
Ingredients:
- 5 large yellow onions
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced
- 6 cups beef stock, low sodium
- 3/4 cup dry red wine
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 slices country-style bread, about 1/2 inch thick
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated or shaved
Directions:
Peel the onions and cut in half. Thinly slice the onions crosswise.
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add in the diced pancetta and cook for about 3-5 minutes until some of the fat has been rendered.
Add in the sliced onions, stir. Cover the pot. Lower the heat to medium low and slowly cook the onions until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir often.
Stir in the stock and wine. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Toast the bread slices. Rub the toasted slices with garlic. Place the bread slices in individual soup bowls. Pour the soup over the bread.
Either sprinkle grated cheese or shave cheese over the soup. If your bowls are oven proof, you can then place them under the broiler until the cheese melts.
Second Course
Osso Buco is another traditional dish that uses veal, in this case, veal shanks. There are many recipes for Osso Buco that also use pork, beef or lamb shanks. Turkey thighs are not traditional but create the same effect and contain less fat than shanks.
Turkey Osso Bucco
Ingredients
- 6 turkey thighs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups dry white wine
- 5-6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 large sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Pat the turkey with paper towels to dry and ensure even browning. Season the turkey with salt and pepper and dredge the turkey in the flour to coat.
In a heavy roasting pan large enough to fit the turkey thighs in a single layer, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the turkey and cook until brown on both sides, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the turkey to a plate and reserve.
In the same pan, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Season vegetables with salt. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and simmer about 3 minutes.
Return the turkey to the pan. Add enough chicken broth to come 2/3 up the sides of the turkey. Add the herb sprigs, and bay leaf to the broth mixture. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan tightly with foil and transfer to the oven.
Braise until the turkey is fork-tender about 2 hours, turning the turkey after 1 hour. Serve this dish over risotto or polenta with a side of green peas.
Side Dish
Broccoli Sautéed in Wine and Garlic – Roman Style
Makes 6 servings
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 3 pounds broccoli, cut into spears
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- Grated zest of 1 orange
In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil with the garlic over medium-high heat until just sizzling. Add the broccoli and cook, tossing frequently and gradually adding the wine to keep the garlic from browning until the stalks are tender 8 to 10 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes lemon and orange zest and toss well.
Dessert Course
Biscotti, means twice-baked, and these cookies have grown to become an Italian classic. As its name implies, the cookies are baked twice, first in the form of a log. They are then baked again after the log is sliced into diagonal strips. The crisp, crunchy cookie is perfect for dipping in coffee or dessert wine or even simply for snacking. Because they don’t need to be moist, biscotti are naturally low in fat.
It is said that biscotti were originally created as a provision for Venetian sailors and businessmen who went to sea for long periods of time and required foods that wouldn’t spoil. Many Italians eat the cookies as part of their breakfast with café latte. The varieties of biscotti differ throughout the many regions of Italy, but they are famous for their classic anise, almond or hazelnut flavor.
Vin Santo ( the wine of saints) is a late-harvest wine from Italy, generally Tuscany. It’s usually made from white grapes, namely Trebbiano or Malvasia, that are semi-dried before being pressed and fermented; then the wines are stored in small barrels for up to 10 years, usually in attics which turn hot and cold with the seasons. There is a wide diversity in styles, from sweet dessert versions to dry, sherry-like styles, and quality varies.
Biscotti al Vin Santo
Makes about 20 biscotti
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (3 oz) sliced almonds
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cups sugar
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup (4 oz butter), cut in small pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 3/4 cup sweet white wine, (substitute a sweet Madeira or sweet Marsala for Vin Santo, if unavailable in your area)
Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Let them cool.
Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt in a bowl and stir in the sugar and lemon zest. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, then stir in the almonds. Make a well in the center and add the wine and almond extract. Stir gradually drawing in the flour to make a smooth soft dough that holds together. If it seems dry, add a little more wine.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and shape the dough into a log about 1 inch thick, 4 inches across and 12 inches long. Wrap it in plastic wrap, then flatten it slightly. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours and longer if you wish. The dough can also be frozen.
For the first baking:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap the log, set it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until lightly browned and firm on the outside 35 to 40 minutes. A skewer inserted in the center should come out clean. Let the log cool on the baking sheet and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
For the second baking:
When cool, cut the log with a serrated knife into 1/2-inch slices – they will be quite soft, almost cake-like in the center. Space the biscotti on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake, turning halfway through, until they are dry and lightly browned on the cut surfaces, 20 to 25 minutes. Let them cool on a rack and store them in an airtight container.
Related articles
- A Renaissance of Sicilian Wines (williams-sonoma.com)
- PRIMER: How To Choose Wine During The Summer (businessinsider.com)
- http://cullarivinyards.samsbiz.com/page/1dzp5/About_Us.html
- http://cookingformark.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/1-bottle-of-marsala-wine-five-different-italian-recipes/