Two Greedy Italians Recipes

Two Greedy Italians - Lemon and Ricotta Tart)

Two Greedy Italians - Double Layered Panettone and Ricotta Pudding )

Panettone originated in the early 1900s and was made by poor people at Christmas time with leftover bread dough and whatever dried fruit they could find. After World War I, the confectionery companies Motta and Alemagna copied the idea, and the cake achieved worldwide fame. Zuccotto, a traditional northern Italian dessert, is usually made with plain sponge, but during the festive season it is a wonderful way for using up leftover panettone.

Two Greedy Italians - Sweet and Sour Bread Salad)

This is a twist on the traditional panzanella, a classic cucina povera dish which is usually made with tomatoes and bread. In this recipe I have used a variety of vegetables and cooked them with sugar and vinegar to give them an extra kick! If you can find fresella, the Pugliese hard double-baked bread, in your local deli, I suggest you use it, otherwise good country bread slowly cooked in the oven will do. This dish can be served warm or cold and, if you increase the quantities, makes a lovely light lunch.

Two Greedy Italians - Easter Lamb with Peas )

It is very traditional to eat the new season’s lamb with fresh peas at Easter in Italy, and a dish such as this is not uncommon for lunch on Easter Sunday when the whole family will gather together to celebrate one of the most important religious feasts of the year. The secret of success is in leaving the lamb to cook on a very low heat; in this way the lamb and the rest of the ingredients will cook through well, and all the juices will ooze out to create a lovely sauce.

Two Greedy Italians - Pork Fillet with Honey and Ginger )

Dishes using slightly more exotic ingredients are becoming popular in Italy now. People are experimenting with more unusual spices as they become more readily available, especially in cities, probably because this is where immigrants have settled. This is a really simple way of cooking pork and the addition of honey and ginger (the unusual ingredient here) gives the meat a flavoursome kick!

Two Greedy Italians - Apple Strudel )

This dish is usually associated with Germany and Austria, but in the regions of Italy that border these countries various food influences (such as speck, sauerkraut and goulash) have crossed national boundaries. Although the classic strüdel is made with apples, it can be made with various fillings – such as cherries, apricots, or even peaches – and can be eaten warm or cold, as a pudding, or served at tea-time. You could make a strüdel dough from scratch, but it is fiddly and time-consuming. It’s much easier just to use filo pastry, which you can buy anywhere.

Two Greedy Italians - Pasta Ribbons with Chicken Liver Sauce)

Tajarin is the Piedmontese dialect name for tagliolini or tagliarini (thin ribbons of pasta). They are particularly connected with the town of Alba – where this dish, with its sauce of chicken livers, is also known as tajarin all’albese where a topping of the famous local white truffle is added. Tajarin are served with many sauces, and one famed for its simplicity is sugo di arrosto, the drippings left over in the pan from a Sunday roast.

Two Greedy Italians - Linguine with Prawns and Mussels)

This is a regional dish par excellence, and perfect for a Friday night supper. Everywhere you go along the coastline of Italy it will be offered to you in some form or another, perhaps with cozze e vongole (mussels and clams), patelle (limpets) and moscardini (baby octopus), scallops, squid, and/or a combination of all of them. The name of the dish may vary too, but basically it is pasta ai frutti di mare – seafood pasta.

Two Greedy Italians - Ricotta and Lemon Tart )

This is a delicious, inter-regional lemon tart – made with fresh ricotta cheese, typical of the south, and a little mascarpone, a cream cheese of the north. Try to get sheep’s milk ricotta if you can as it is much tastier. When we filmed the making of this tart, I served it with pears in red wine. To make them, tuck eight pears into a suitably sized dish with high sides and bake in the same temperature oven for half an hour until the skins start to bubble. Pour over enough good red wine to cover, sprinkle with caster sugar and bake for another half an hour, by which time the wine will have reduced to a sweet syrup.

Two Greedy Italians - Ragù alla Napoletana )

This has to be my favourite dish, as it’s so reminiscent of my childhood. Historically meat ragù was slow-cooked in terracotta pots for up to 12 hours, which may seem absurd, but believe me the taste was amazing. Ragù is the traditional Sunday lunch for most southern Italian families: the tomato sauce dresses the pasta and the meat is served as a main course. Ragù is so popular that it is even featured in a 1990 Sophia Loren film, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. In one scene Sophia goes to the butcher and ends up in quite a fiery discussion with other housewives as to what makes the perfect ragù! I dedicate this recipe to my mother, Zia Maria, and my sisters who themselves have never stopped arguing about this incredible dish…