Fava Beans Puree with Chicory

Ingredients 

250 g of fava beans

400 g of wild chicory

1 hot red pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

Cook the fava beans in salted water. Stir with a wooden spoon to obtain a thick puree. Clean and wash the chicory. Cook in unsalted water. Drain thoroughly. Serve on each plate a portion of fava beans puree and a portion of chicory, without mixing them together. With a spoon, form a little well in the puree and pour in a little olive oil (to which you can add some hot pepper). To eat it, take a forkful of chicory and dip it in the fava beans puree.

Focaccia with Tomatoes

Ingredients 

500 g of pizza dough

300 g of ripe tomatoes

1 onion

Oregano

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

With the pizza dough, prepare a focaccia with a whole in the centre. Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C (350° F). Cool the focaccia at room temperature. Dice the tomatoes and spread on the focaccia. Add the finely sliced onion. Season with salt. Sprinkle with a pinch of oregano and a drop of olive oil.

This type of focaccia can also be stuffed.

Pizza with Pork Cracklings and Pork Rind

Ingredients 

300 g of pork cracklings and pork rind

600 g of pizza dough

Lard

Preparation 

Divide the dough in two. Cover an oiled baking dish with the dough. Fill with the pork crackling and the pork rind coarsely chopped. Cover with the other half of the dough. Distribute a little lard on the surface. Bake at 180° C (350° F), 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Rafanata

Ingredients 

400 g of potatoes

100 g of horseradish roots

100 g of crumbled stale country bread (crumb only)

2 eggs

Flour

Extra virgin olive oil or lard

Salt

Preparation 

Boil and peel the potatoes. Mash them. In a bowl, mix the grated horseradish root, the bread crumb, the eggs, a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. Combine the mix with the mashed potatoes. Shape little balls the size of an olive. Roll them in flour and fry in olive oil. Serve hot. It is a typical Carnival or winter Holiday dish.

Focaccia with Honey

Ingredients 

300 g of flour

1 envelope of baking powder

200 g of melted honey

10 g of oregano

50 g of lard or butter

Preparation 

Place the four in a mound on a pasta board and make a well in the centre. Put the baking powder, the honey and the oregano in the centre. Knead until well mixed. Grease and flour a baking sheet. Spread out the dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (335°F), 20 minutes. Serve with Moscato or

Malvasia.

Pork Rind and Beans

Ingredients 

600 g of pork rind

500 g of beans

100 g of freshly grated Pecorino

30 g of chopped parsley

125 ml of extra virgin olive oil

100 g of peeled tomatoes

6 garlic cloves, minced

Pepper to taste

Chili pepper to taste

(or 1 hot red pepper)

Preparation 

Wash and clean the pork rind. Cut six equal squares. Sprinkle with pecorino, parsley, salt and pepper. Roll up each square to make a bundle and tie with twine. Soak the beans overnight. In a large pot of water, cook over low heat the pork rind bundles and the beans. While cooking, remove the fat and other impurities with a spoon, from time to time. In a separate saucepan, heat the olive oil and brown the garlic, the parsley and the hot pepper. Add the peeled tomatoes and cook about 15 minutes. When the pork rind bundles and beans are cooked, season with the sauce. Cook over low heat for an additional 20

minutes. Serve as a one dish meal.

Calzone with Chard

Ingredients 

100 g of flour

35 g of brewers’ yeast

1 kg of chard

200 g of pitted black olives

Hot red pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

Prepare the dough with the flour, a pinch of salt and the brewers’ yeast dissolved in a little bit of water. Add olive oil and lukewarm water and knead in order to obtain a smooth and pliable dough. Wrap the dough in a moist kitchen towel and put it in a warm place to rise, 3-4 hours. Wash the chard and cook it in salted boiling water. Drain thoroughly and coarsely chop it. Sauté in a spoonful of olive oil with chopped hot pepper and black olives. Set aside. Divide the dough into two equal parts and roll out two circles. Oil a baking dish and cover it with a circle of dough. Spread over it the chard filling and cover with the second circle of dough. Fold and seal the edges. Bake the calzone in a preheated oven at 170° C (335° F), 40 minutes approximately. Once cooked, you can serve the calzone with spoonfuls of tomato sauce.

Baked Mushrooms

Ingredients 

600 g of porcini mushrooms

150 g of bread crumbs

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon of parsley

Pinch of oregano

175 ml extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Preparation 

Clean the mushrooms. Remove the stems from each mushroom and set aside. Oil a baking dish and place the caps turned upwards. Season with salt. In a bowl, combine the chopped garlic clove with parsley. Add a pinch of oregano, bread crumbs and a little olive oil. Spoon stuffing into the

mushrooms’ caps. Bake in a preheated oven at 170° C (335° F), 20 minutes approximately.

Cardoncelli Mushrooms

(with wild herbs, ossocollo and ericante cheese, and Aglianico vinegar sauce)

Ingredients 

100 g of cardoncelli mushrooms

100 g of ossocollo

15 g of wild herbs (borage, rocket etc.)

400 g of purslane

400 of fava beans

125 ml extra virgin olive oil

80 g of Ericante cheese

80 ml Aglianico vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation 

Clean the mushrooms. In a skillet, sauté the ossocollo cut into strips in olive oil. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Remove the mushrooms and the ossocollo from the skillet. Strain cooking juices through a fine sieve and cool. Emulsify with olive oil and Aglianico vinegar.

Serve the ossocollo with the cardoncelli mushrooms and the ericante cheese on a bed of mixed wild herbs and a side dish of steamed fava beans. Season with the sauce.