Easy Italian Recipes

This bread is from the town of Recco on the Ligurian coast. It contains no yeast, but the oil and water make the dough very elastic and strong. This means it can be rolled out very finely and stretched over huge pans, topped with cheese and then covered with a second fine layer of pastry. It is baked very quickly in an extremely hot oven and served straight away. Every restaurant in Recco offers this bread as an appetiser; it is so delicious that it's hard to leave room for anything else. Crescenza cheese is a soft, creamy cow's milk variety, but Taleggio tastes good, too.

Serves 8

250g strong white flour or '00' flour
1 level teaspoon salt, plus a good pinch for scattering over the focaccia
4 tablespoons olive oil
125ml tepid water
350g crescenza

Mix the flour and the salt together in a large mixing bowl. Pour in 1-1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the tepid water, then work the ingredients into a smooth dough using your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Leave to rest in the bowl, covered, for at least 40 minutes.
Meanwhile select your thinnest metal baking tray or roasting tin, around 35cm x 45cm. It must have a 2-3cm lip. Line the base only with baking parchment and grease well with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil. Mix the remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons of oil with 11/2 tablespoons of cold water and set aside. Preheat the oven to maximum, usually 240°C/475°F/gas mark 9.
Turn out the dough and cut it in half. Roll out both pieces on a well-floured surface until each one is 1mm thick and the shape of the prepared tin. (You should be able to blow the side of the rolled-out dough and see it lift from the surface.) Roll up one piece of dough, lay it in the tin and unroll it to lie flat, up to and onto the lipped edges. Cut it off around the edge of tin.
Tear the stracchino into small pieces and dot them over the surface of the dough. Now place the second piece of dough over the top and secure the edges by pressing them onto the dough beneath. Make small tears in the surface to allow the steam out and then drizzle over the oil and water mixture. Sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven, cut into large rectangles and serve straight away.

Buon appetito!

Golden Cuisine
 

If Rome is Italy's political capital, Milan is its financial center, and the food of Lombardy reflects that prosperity. It is no coincidence that many of the region's best-known dishes are golden—once a symbol of wealth—from saffron-tinged risotto and breaded veal cutlets to pale yellow panettone. The fiat plains of the Po River valley extend across most of the region, affording an abundance of corn and rice. These find their way onto the menu as polenta and risotto, which are generally preferred here over pasta. Ampie grazing land ensures plenty of butter, cream, and cheese, all of which are used lavishly in !oca! kitchens, a culinary legacy of nearby France, as well as plenty of beef and veal. Cooking here tends to be low and slow, with meats more often braised and simmered than grilled or roasted. Small freshwater fish are a specialty of the region's lakes: Como, Garda, and Maggiore.

Culinary Signature: Rice

Short-grain rice, with its small, plump kernels,has a higher starch content than medium-or long-grain rice. When simmered slowly and stirred constantly, it becomes creamy and tender, with a delicate al dente firmness, making it the rice of choice for risotto. Among Italian short-grain rices sold abroad, Arborio is the best known and easiest to find, but other varieties are worth tracking down. Carnaroli, sometimes called the "caviar" of Italian rices, is prized for its creaminess and firm core, which makes it more resistant to overcooking. Vialone Nano also produces a creamy risotto and is a good choice when parcooking risotto for finishing later.

Regional Specialties

Bresaola air-cured, salted beef tenderloin, served in thin slices like prosciutto as an antipasto

Risotto alla milanese golden risotto made with saffron, butter, and Parmigiano-Reggiano

Tortelli di zucca ravioli with a pumpkin filling

Pizzocheri buckwheat pasta with potatoes, cabbage, and cheese

Minestrone classic vegetable-and-pasta soup, often served with fresh basil pesto

Osso buco veal shanks braised with wine and sometimes tomatoes, served with gremolata, a garnish of minced parsley, lemon zest, and garlic

Costoletta alla milanese breaded veal cutlet, often served on the bone

Mascarpone a fresh, thick cow's milk cheese similar to cream cheese and used in desserts and as a garnish for risotto

Taleggio a semisoft cow's milk cheese

Panettone a sweet yeast bread studded with candied citron and raisins, originally served at Christmas and Easter, but now available year-round

Photo: Slowly braised, tender Osso buco is traditionally served with risotto alla milanese golden saffron, risotto and gremolata, a raw citrus-herb garnish