Traditional dishes:

Riso e verza: rice with savoy cabbage

Ingredients for 4 – 6

1 savoy cabbage
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
200 g rice
50 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Small pan of hot water
Handful grated Parmesan cheese
50 g pancetta, fried, drained and cut in small pieces

Clean the cabbage carefully and chop finely. Heat the oil in a large terracotta casserole and cook the onion until it becomes transparent. Add the cabbage and cook for a further five minutes. Add the tomatoes and the rice, salt to taste and sauté for 5 minutes then start adding the hot water, a little at a time until the rice is cooked and the mixture is still loose. Remove from heat, and leave for a couple of minutes, stirring once or twice. Sprinkle over the grated Parmesan, stir and garnish with the crispy pancetta. Serve immediately.

Tagliolini di Campobasso: tagliolini from Campobasso

Ingredients for 4

300 g fresh tagliolini
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
½ chili pepper
75 g prosciutto crudo
1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, ready to cook the pasta. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the sliced onion and the chilli pepper. Cook over a low heat until the onion becomes soft and transparent, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Meanwhile cook the pasta in the boiling water. Cut the prosciutto into thin strips and add to the frying pan. Cook for a couple of minutes, add a little of the pasta water and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. As soon as the pasta is cooked, drain and place it in the pan with the onion. Toss together well, add the parsley and serve immediately.

Agnello e piselli: lamb with peas

Ingredients for 4

75 ml olive oil
1 onion, very thinly sliced
1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 kg lamb (leg or shoulder), cut into small chunks
1 glass dry white wine
800 g fresh peas (subsequently shelled) or 300 g frozen peas
6 eggs
100 g grated Pecorino cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a pan or terracotta pot and add the onion and half the parsley. Cook over a medium heat until onion begins to change color. Throw in the chunks of lamb and cook for a few minutes stirring often to stop it sticking to bottom of pan. Pour in the wine, season with salt and pepper and cover with lid. Once lamb is well on its way to being cooked (after 40 minutes or so) add the peas. Adjust seasoning and continue to cook. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the grated pecorino, salt and pepper and the remaining parsley. Once the peas are cooked, add the egg mixture to the lamb, simmer for 5 minutes, then put in an oven preheated to 300 ºF until a golden brown crust forms on the surface. Remove from oven, allow to sit for 5 minutes, then serve.

Capone imbottito: stuffed Capon

A capon is a young cockerel that has been castrated and fattened, an antique practice that yields particularly tender meat. Of course a good quality free range chicken could be substituted but will take a bit longer to cook.

Ingredients for 6 - 8 people

1 capon, 3 – 4kg, with giblets

For the stuffing
25ml olive oil
300g homemade breadcrumbs
Pinch salt
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
Handful flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
50g Parmesan
4 eggs, beaten

For the sauce
50ml olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
Cup of water
200g tomato concentrate
½ liter water

To make the stuffing, chop giblets into small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the giblets. Once cooked, mix with the breadcrumbs, salt, garlic, parsley, Parmesan, and beaten egg. Sprinkle the cavity of the capon with a pinch of salt, add the stuffing and sew the opening closed.

Place the capon in a large terracotta pot along with 50ml of olive oil, the onion and the cup of water. Cook uncovered over a medium heat until the water has almost completely evaporated, turning capon from time to time to give it a nice golden brown color all over. This stage normally takes 40 – 50 minutes. Next, mix the tomato concentrate with the ½ liter of water and add to pot. Cover and cook over a low heat until an obvious layer of oil has formed on the surface of the tomato sauce. (3 hours or more, depending on size of bird.) This is a sign that the capon is perfectly cooked. Glaze capon with a few spoonfuls of the sauce and serve with slices of the stuffing and perhaps some fried polenta chips.

(Traditionally the sauce would have been used to flavor pasta - usually a long pasta like spaghetti or bucatini - for the first course of the Christmas dinner, but it can just as easily be kept for Boxing day. Skim some of the oil from the sauce and simmer, uncovered, over a medium heat until it has reduced somewhat.)

Pere sott’aceto: pickled pears

Ingredients

Firm ripe pears
White wine vinegar