Gastronomy of Italy

uccellini scappati
a meat dish
The name of this dish from Lombardy means ‘the little birds that have flown away’. In fact the birds were never there, but the dish looks as if it was made with little birds, and this makes it very popular with Italians. It is made with an assortment of pork or veal, little pieces of pig’s or calf’s liver rolled in PANCETTA slices and then skewered between sage leaves. The uccellini are sautéed in hot butter, and then cooked in white wine. They are always served with POLENTA

By the early decades of the 20th century, ravioli, firmly established as stuffed pasta shapes, were made in most regions. In Genoa they are stuffed with batavia, borage, brains, sweetbreads, minced pork and the usual eggs, Parmesan and soft breadcrumbs. In Liguria ravioli di MAGRO are stuffed with white fish, ricotta, borage, beets and Parmesan and

Primizie were more in evidence, and much more of a real treat, in the past when the

primizia
early crops

MEZZALUNA, parsley is a flavouring that goes into many sauces, RISOTTI, fish, seafood

herb mixture
A mixture of wild herbs and plants – including beet, borage, dandelion and mint – used to make a stuffing. Like

a is scampi alla busara, in which the scampi are thrown into hot oil highly flavoured with garlic

‘A scapece’ refers to a method of preparing and preserving fish and vegetables. This sweet and sour preparation is found all round the Mediterranean, but with different names. It is called saor in Venice and CARPIONE in Lombardy, where freshwater fish was originally used

portulaca
purslane
Also called porcellanetta, this is an annual that grows wild along the coast. It has typically Mediterranean, thick, fleshy leaves and a pleasantly acid taste. Portulaca was more widely eaten in the past, as it was in Elizabethan England

e. In Venice they are often prepared ‘in saor’ – as in the recipe for sole on page 391 – and they are also fried together with tiny artichokes or fennel wedges