Giuseppe Carollo, Castelbuono (Palermo), Sicily 

Ingredients

serves 2

200 g leftover saffron risotto, 50 g aged caciocavallo cheese, grated, 1 egg,1 pinch grated nutmeg, salt, 50 g breadcrumbs, 50 g ragù, 100 g fresh caciocavallo cheese, diced, extra-virgin olive oil for frying, tomato sauce for serving.

Carefully mix the risotto with the aged caciocavallo. Beat the egg in a bowl with the nutmeg and salt to taste. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on a clean work surface.

Take a small amount of risotto in the palm of one hand, press it out and put a large spoonful of ragù and a few pieces of fresh caciocavallo in the middle. Cover with a little bit more risotto and form into a ball with the ragù in the middle. Dip into the egg and roll in breadcrumbs, gently flattening the base so that the ball can stand on its own. Continue to form balls until the risotto is finished.

Fry the rice balls in very hot extra-virgin olive oil, placing them on their base in the frying basket, if using. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, then serve immediately with tomato sauce on the side.

Preparation time
1 hour

Giuliana D’Este, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna

Ingredients

serves 6

200 g cooked squash, extra-virgin olive oil, 1 handful spinach leaves, salt, toasted bread slices for serving, 50 g ricotta, leaves from 1 thyme sprig, minced. 

Puree the squash, then, with the blender or food processor running, pour in a stream of olive oil until the puree becomes soft and creamy.

Steam the spinach and dress with salt and a drizzle of oil.

Spread the squash puree on the toast slices, then top each one with a little ricotta, spinach and thyme.

Preparation time
20 minutes

Gino Zampolini, Magione (Perugia), Umbria

Ingredients

serves 4

2 eggs, 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, a few basil leaves, torn, 50 g Parmesan, grated (optional), 200 g roasted peppers, salt and pepper, 100 g spelt flour, 100 g fine cornmeal (e.g. Fioretto), 2 tsps baking powder. 

Beat the eggs in a bowl with the oil, basil, Parmesan (if using) and most of the peppers, saving a few for garnish. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mix the spelt flour, cornmeal and baking powder in a bowl, then stir in the egg mixture. Divide the mixture between 4 individual ramekins.

Decorate the top of each one with the remaining peppers and bake for 30 minutes, until the surface is golden.

Preparation time
40 minutes

Bianca Remelli, Goito (Mantua), Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 2

200 g cooked capon,1 handful walnuts, Parmesan shavings, leaves from 2 celery stalks chopped, salt, extra-virgin olive oil, Modena traditional balsamic vinegar.

Shred (or cut into small pieces) the capon. Soak the walnut kernels in boiling water, then peel them.

Mix the capon and walnuts together in a bowl, then add the Parmesan and celery leaves. Dress to taste with a pinch of salt, oil and a drop of balsamic vinegar.

This simple salad can be enriched with pomegranate seeds, raisins, candied fruit, toasted sliced almonds, pine nuts or anything else to your taste.

Preparation time
30 minutes

Gilberto Venturini, Mantua, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 2

300 ml white-wine vinegar, 1 garlic clove, peel from 1 orange chopped, a few sage leaves, a few peppercorns, salt, 200 g fried fish, mixed salad leaves for serving.

Put the vinegar, garlic, orange peel, sage and peppercorns in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Salt to taste.

Leave the marinade to cool, then pour over the fish so that it covers it completely. Refrigerate and leave to marinate for a week before serving with mixed salad leaves.

This interesting recipe from the Po Delta around Ferrara is most typically used for chunks of fried eel, but can be adapted to any small fish, such as smelt or sardines, or deboned pieces of larger fish. The salad garnish is a contemporary addition, but the basic structure of the recipe appears in the work of Anna Gosetti Della Salda, celebrated collector of regional recipes. The flavours of the dish come together so harmoniously that it might even be worth buying some extra fish in order to have leftovers.

Preparation time
1 hour, plus marinating time 

Antonella Biagioni, Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 4

2 garlic cloves

200 g smoked herring

300 g cooked chickpeas

3 spring onions, sliced

extra-virgin olive oil

white-wine vinegar

salt and black pepper

Tuscan bread for serving

Remove the green shoot from the garlic and mince the cloves. Take the herrings (the ones with eggs have a stronger flavour) and cut into strips.

Reheat the chickpeas and mix with the herring, garlic and spring onion, then dress to taste with oil, vinegar, salt and a generous amount of pepper.

Serve warm, accompanied by slices of toasted Tuscan bread.

Preparation time
30 minutes

Francesca Ronco, Dusino San Michele (Asti), Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 4

300 g leftover nettle risotto
1 egg white (optional)
2 garlic cloves
150 g walnuts, roughly chopped
80 g aged toma cheese, roughly chopped
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 140°C.

Spread the risotto out on a baking sheet in a thin layer and bake for 1 hour. For greater firmness, mix the risotto with an egg white beaten with a pinch of salt before spreading.

Meanwhile, remove the inner shoot from the garlic cloves if you want a milder flavour. Put the cloves in a food processor with the walnuts, cheese and salt to taste and blend, then slowly pour in oil with the machine running until a smooth cream forms. 

Remove the risotto from the oven. Once cool, cut it into bite-size pieces. Top each one with a small amount of walnut and cheese pâté.

Preparation time
20 minutes 

Osteria dell’Unione, Treiso (Cuneo), Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 4

4 medium onions, peeled
150 g roast veal
150 g roast pork
2 parsley sprigs
1 handful grated Parmesan
2 eggs
salt and pepper
30 g butter
1 handful breadcrumbs
2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Boil the onions in abundant water, removing them from the water when they are almost soft but not entirely (check by poking with a fork).  

When they are cool enough to handle, cut the onions horizontally just above the halfway line and scoop out the insides using a small spoon, reserving them for the filling.  

Mince the roast meats, parsley and onion insides together on a cutting board, using a mezzaluna or a chef’s knife. Stir in the Parmesan and eggs to make a firm but workable mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stuff the onions halves with the filling, top each one with a knob of butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Oil a baking tray with oil and butter. Set the onions on top and bake for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

A leftover piece of roast meat is always a useful thing to have on hand. In the past, in the houses of Piedmont’s Langa area, this dish would have been made with the leftovers from the Sunday roast or the roast meat used to stuff agnolotti pasta, sometimes with a little cooked salami mixed in. The pairing with the onion makes this simple dish a classic of Piedmontese cuisine.

Preparation time
20 minutes

Ofelia Facco, Cavallino-Treporti (Venice), Veneto

Ingredients

serves 2

400 g chard stalks, chopped
4 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
2 parsley sprigs, minced
salt
2 tbsps white-wine vinegar

Put the chard stalks in a pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. After 15 minutes cooking, drain off most of the water. Add the oil, garlic, parsley and salt to taste, then cover the pan.

Continue cooking until the stalks are tender. Remove the lid so that any excess liquid is cooked off, then stir in the vinegar and let that cook off. Remove from the heat and serve.

This recipe is perfect if you have used the leafy green parts of the chard for another dish and don’t want to waste the tougher ribs. You could also try them fried after dipping in egg and then flour, or baked in béchamel.  

Preparation time
40 minutes

Ludovica Sasso, Genoa, Liguria 

Ingredients

serves 2

1 handful dried porcini mushrooms

2 potatoes

1/2 onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 knob butter

extra-virgin olive oil

200 g cooked green beans and carrots

2 eggs, beaten

100 g Parmesan, grated

leaves from 1 marjoram sprig, minced

salt and pepper

breadcrumbs for sprinkling

Soak the mushrooms in warm water for an hour. In the meantime, peel the potatoes and boil until tender.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Brown the onion and garlic in a frying pan with the butter and a little oil. Drain and squeeze out the mushrooms, then chop and add to the frying pan along with the vegetables and continue cooking over low heat.

Mash the potatoes in a bowl, then stir in the vegetable mixture, eggs, Parmesan, marjoram and salt and pepper to taste. Form the mixture into balls the size of a walnut or slightly larger.

Oil a baking dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, then place the croquettes on top. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle over some more breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 minutes.

Preparation time
2 hours 

Letizia Palesi, Champorcher, Valle d’Aosta

Ingredients

serves 4

150 g plain flour
100 g buckwheat flour
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
salt
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
500 ml milk
butter
400 g mixed cheeses, preferably melting cheeses and blue cheeses, cubed

Sift the two flours together into a bowl. Beat the eggs and yolk with a pinch of salt, then stir into the flour with the oil. Warm the milk, then slowly pour into the bowl, whisking constantly to avoid lumps forming. When the mixture is smooth, cover with cling film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Melt a knob of butter in a non-stick frying pan, then add a spoonful of batter, spreading it around evenly. Cook over medium heat for one minute, then use a spatula to flip the crêpe and cook on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter, placing the prepared crêpes on a plate and covering with cling film so they don’t dry out.

Top each crêpe with some cheese, then fold in half and place in a baking dish. Top the crêpes with pieces of butter, then bake for 10-15 minutes.

Preparation time
1 hour, plus resting time

Clemente Gaeta, Salerno, Campania

Ingredients

serves 2 

100 ml béchamel (recipe on page 66)
150 g cooked spaghetti
40 g cooked peas
60 g ham, diced, or ground beef browned in the frying pan
30 g Parmesan, grated
2 eggs
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs for breading
oil for frying

When making the béchamel, ensure it is quite dense, so that it can hold everything together. Mix the béchamel together with the spaghetti, peas, ham, Parmesan and one of the eggs beaten with salt and pepper.

Spread the mixture out on a baking dish or tray, creating a layer at least 2 centimetres thick and pressing down on the surface to compact it. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove the spaghetti from the refrigerator and cut out circles using a round pastry cutter, then, using your hands, mould together the remaining spaghetti in order to cut more circles. Dip the circles first in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs.

Heat abundant oil in a deep frying pan, then fry the circles until both sides are golden. Serve hot or warm.

Preparation time
40 minutes, plus refrigeration time 

Luigia Bevione, Monteu da Po (Turin), Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 2

2 Parmesan rinds

Scrape the rinds with a small knife to clean them, pass them quickly under running water then carefully dry with a clean cloth.

Cut them into pieces, and brown in a hot frying pan until both sides are golden and crisp.

Preparation time
30 minutes

Osteria di Montecodruzzo, Roncofreddo (Forlì-Cesena), Emilia-Romagna

Ingredients

serves 4

8 artichoke stalks
juice of 1 lemon
extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, sliced
mint leaves
basil leaves
salt and pepper
1 loaf bread, sliced
100 g raviggiolo cheese, cubed

Peel the artichoke stalks, placing the cores into a bowl of water acidulated with lemon juice. Drain and dry the cores, then cut them into small cubes or julienne strips. Sauté briefly in a frying pan with oil, the shallot and mint, basil, salt and pepper to taste.  

Toast the slices of bread and top with cheese and the artichoke mixture.

Preparation time
45 minutes

Ilda Cardinali, Passignano sul Trasimeno (Perugia), Umbria

Ingredients

serves 4

1 onion, thinly sliced
extra-virgin olive oil
2 peppers, chopped
1 garlic clove
150 g sausage meat
salt
500 g cooked polenta
butter
seasonal fresh herbs, minced

Preheat the oven to 180-200°C.

Gently sauté the onion in 4 tablespoons oil until golden, then add the peppers and cook for 6-7 minutes.

In another frying pan, brown the garlic clove in a little oil, then remove and discard the garlic. Add the sausage meat and sauté until cooked through, breaking it up with a fork.

Remove from the heat and stir into the pepper mixture. Salt to taste.

Cut the polenta into diamond shapes and arrange them on a buttered baking dish. Top each one with the pepper-and-sausage mixture. Bake for around 10 minutes. Before serving, top with a sprinkle of herbs.

Preparation time
45 minutes 

Pino Osella, Carmagnola (Turin), Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 4

extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

200-300 g leftover roast or boiled meat, finely chopped

50 g salame cotto or other cooked cured meat, finely chopped

salt

2 eggs, beaten

50 g Parmesan, grated

2 parsley sprigs, minced

12 courgette flowers

oil for frying 

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan, then gently fry the garlic cloves over medium heat. Add the leftover meat and salame cotto and continue cooking for a few minutes. Salt to taste.

Drain off any fat from the mixture and pat dry with paper towels, then transfer to a bowl. Remove and discard the garlic. Add the eggs, Parmesan and parsley and stir gently until combined.

Wash the courgette flowers and dry them carefully. Stuff with the filling and twist closed at the end. Fry in hot oil until golden (around 10 minutes). As soon as they are done, remove from the oil and salt them. Eat while hot.  

Preparation time
50 minutes

Luigia Bevione, Monteu da Po (Turin), Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 4

500 g organically grown broad bean pods
salt
2 eggs, beaten
500 ml thick béchamel (recipe on page 66)
100 g Parmesan, grated
butter
plain flour

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Wash the pods thoroughly. Boil them in salted water until tender, then drain and pat dry. Pass them through a vegetable mill with small holes, then mix the puree with the eggs, béchamel and Parmesan. Stir until combined.

Divide the mixture between buttered and floured ramekins. Bake in a bain-marie for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and wait 10 minutes before unmoulding.

For this recipe, you must know exactly where your broad beans came from: they must not have been chemically treated nor grown near sources of pollution.

Preparation time
1 hour

Giulia Ballarino, Mantua, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 2

200 g cooked polenta, chopped

plain flour

oil for frying

Work the leftover polenta with enough flour to make a dry dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out a thin sheet (3-4 millimetres thick) and cut it into lozenge shapes.

Fry the fritters in plenty of very hot oil. Drain with a slotted spoon, dry on paper towels and serve with cured meats.

These typical fritters from the Bassa Padana, the lower Po Valley, are excellent served hot or at room temperature. They can also be served as a dessert: after frying, roll them in a mixture of sugar and grated lemon zest.

Preparation time
30 minutes

Gino Zampolini, Magione (Perugia), Umbria

Ingredients

serves 2

4 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

leaves from 1 bunch radishes, chopped

salt and pepper

2 eggs

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan, then add the spring onion and sauté until golden. Add the radish leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for around 10 minutes, then let cool.

Drain any liquid off the radish leaves. Beat the eggs in a bowl, then stir in the leaves.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a clean frying pan, then pour in the egg mixture. Cook the frittata for 5 minutes on each side.

The little-used leaves from a bunch of radishes can also be made into a delicious soup, thickened with a couple of potatoes. 

Preparation time
30 minutes

Maria Rosaria Esposito, Pozzuoli (Naples), Campania

Ingredients

serves 2

2 eggs

milk

any leftover cured meats and cheeses, cubed

grated Parmesan

200 g cooked bucatini, spaghetti or penne with ragù

salt

extra-virgin olive oil 

Beat the eggs with a little milk. Stir in the cured meats and cheeses and some grated Parmesan.

Pour the mixture over the leftover pasta, stir, salt to taste, then transfer to a hot, oiled frying pan. Cook over low heat on both sides for around 10 minutes.

This is an excellent way to use up not only cooked pasta but also any leftover salami, prosciutto, cooked ham or cheese (smoked provola works particularly well) you might have lying around. The frittata can also be cooked in a buttered baking dish for 20-25 minutes in a 180°C oven.

Preparation time
30 minutes

Maria Rosaria Esposito, Pozzuoli (Naples), Campania

Ingredients

serves 4

5 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

1 handful of luvertin (wild hop shoots), minced

2 parsley sprigs, minced

1 green garlic shoot, minced

200 g leftover roast meat, finely chopped

100 g salame cotto or other cooked cured meat, finely chopped

50 g Parmesan, grated

4 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan and sauté the hop shoots, parsley and green garlic for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.

Stir in the roast meat, salame cotto, Parmesan, eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to combine.

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan then pour in the egg mixture. Cook over low heat for around 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Serve hot.

In many houses in the Langa, a frittata rognosa was traditionally prepared the day after a big lunch, using any leftover bits of roasted or boiled meat and adding salame cotto and any vegetables that happened to be lying around.

Preparation time
40 minutes

Italo Fassuoli, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 6

extra-virgin olive oil

green parts of 2 leeks, thinly sliced

peelings from 1 kg of potatoes

4 eggs

300 g plain flour

salt and pepper

oil for frying

Heat 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a non-stick frying pan then sauté the leek greens until soft. Add the potato peelings and cook until soft. Remove from the heat and let cool. 

Beat the eggs in a bowl, then whisk in the flour and salt and pepper to taste to make a fairly thick batter. Stir in the potato peelings.

Fry spoonfuls of the mixture in very hot oil, removing the fritters with a slotted spoon once they are evenly golden.

Preparation time
40 minutes

Franca Gallo, Aosta, Valle d’Aosta

Ingredients

serves 6

400 g cooked polenta

2 eggs, beaten

breadcrumbs for breading

extra-virgin olive oil for frying

salt

Cut the polenta into sticks around 6-7 centimetres long and 1 centimetre thick.

Dip them in egg, then breadcrumbs, then fry in very hot oil until golden. Drain and dry on paper towels. Salt to taste.

These polenta chips are very easy to prepare and are also excellent in a sweet version. Just sprinkle with sugar instead of salt at the end.

Preparation time
40 minutes

Clara Sennewald, Rome, Lazio

Ingredients

serves 4

For the biscuits:

250 g plain flour

50 g Parmesan, grated

salt

1 egg

125 g butter, softened

For the cheese cream:

25 g plain flour

250 ml milk

leftover pieces of cheese, finely chopped

salt and pepper

For the artichokes:

4-5 artichoke stalks

1 garlic clove, minced

1 onion, minced

extra-virgin olive oil

To make the biscuits, mix together the flour, Parmesan and a pinch of salt. Mound on a pastry board or other work surface, make a hollow in the middle and add the egg and butter, then work together to make a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Meanwhile, prepare the cheese cream. Gently toast the flour in a non-stick frying pan, then pour in the milk, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. After 2-3 minutes add the cheese and stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Clean the artichoke stalks, trimming off the tough external layer. Sauté the garlic and onion in a frying pan with some oil, then add the stalks and cook until tender over low heat, adding water as necessary. Leave them to cool, then puree. Mix into the cheese cream and adjust the seasoning.

Roll out the biscuit dough, cut out squares measuring 3 centimetres each side, lay on a baking sheet and bake for around 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Use a pastry bag to pipe the artichoke mousse on top of each biscuit.

Preparation time
1 hour 15 minutes 

Maria Teresa Assante, Naples, Campania

Ingredients

serves 4

130 ml milk

8 thick slices of stale rustic bread

3 eggs

salt

250 g old mozzarella (close to expiry date), cut into four pieces

200 g plain flour

oil for frying

Put the milk into a bowl and dip the bread slices into it briefly, then squeeze to remove excess liquid.

In another bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt.

Sandwich each piece of mozzarella between two slices of bread. Dip the four sandwiches first into flour and then beaten egg, pressing the edges together to seal.

Heat abundant oil in a frying pan then fry the sandwiches one or two at a time, cooking until they are golden on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and serve immediately, while the mozzarella is still melted.

This traditional Campanian recipe was invented to use up stale bread and the slightly dried-out mozzarella from the day before. Another way to use up any old mozzarella is to cook it alla pizzaiola, in a frying pan with a fresh tomato sauce and a handful of oregano.

Preparation time
45 minutes

Rodrigo Bosani, Pregnana Milanese (Milan), Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 4

2 1/2 tsps active dry yeast

150 ml warm water

200 g plain flour

200 g carrot leaves

150 g fresh pecorino cheese, finely chopped

salt and pepper 

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, then mix with the flour. Knead into a dough, then form into 12 balls. Cover and leave to rise somewhere warm and dry for at least 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.  

Boil the carrot leaves until tender, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid. Roughly chop, then mix with the pecorino and season to taste with salt and pepper.

On a wooden board or other work surface, roll the dough balls out to a thickness of around 3 millimetres and a diameter of around 10 centimetres. Divide the carrot leaf mixture between them, then fold over each circle to make a half moon. Press around the edges with a fork to seal.

Bake on a baking tray for 30 minutes.

Preparation time
1 hour, plus rising time

Antonella Iadevaia, Cuneo, Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 2

2 potatoes

salt

100 g organically grown radish leaves, chopped

1 spring onion

3-4 capers

1 salted anchovy, rinsed

extra-virgin olive oil

20 g aged pecorino cheese, grated

Boil the potatoes for 30 minutes in salted water.

Meanwhile, puree the radish leaves, spring onion, capers and anchovy in a food processor, adding oil in a thin stream as the machine runs until a creamy pesto forms. Stir in the pecorino at the end.

Drain the potatoes, peel them while still warm, then crush with a fork and top with the pesto.

This pesto can also be tossed with pasta or spread over toasted bread.

Preparation time
40 minutes 

Giuliano Fantin, Polcenigo (Pordenone), Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Ingredients

serves 4

vegetables used to make stock (2 carrots, 1 celery stalk, 1 small onion)

1 boiled potato

300 g boiled or roasted meat, finely chopped

150 g ham, finely chopped

2 tbsps mayonnaise

2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

salt

Mash the vegetables and potato together with a fork, then stir in the meat, ham, mayonnaise and oil. Mix well and salt to taste. Press with the hands to bring the mixture together, then press into a loaf tin, or roll into a log and wrap in foil. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before unmoulding and slicing. 

Preparation time
30 minutes, plus resting time

Lucia Giglioli, Guastalla (Reggio nell’Emilia), Emilia-Romagna

Ingredients

serves 2

100 g chickpea flour

fresh herbs, finely chopped

salt and pepper

4 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

100 g cooked spaghetti with tomato sauce

Mix the chickpea flour with enough water to form a thick batter. Stir in the herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the spaghetti and then pour over the chickpea batter, spreading it around evenly. Use a fork to make sure the ingredients are combined. Once the bottom is golden, flip the pizza and continue cooking over low heat for around 10 minutes.

Many recipes exist for using up leftover pasta (see the pasta frittata on page 35, for example). This one is ideal for anyone who doesn’t like eggs or is following a vegan diet, and can be enriched with added ingredients to your taste.

Preparation time
30 minutes

Nina Fumo, Perugia, Umbria

Ingredients

serves 2

extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, minced

1 garlic clove

200 g cooked beef, minced

200 g cooked green beans, chopped

200 g cooked carrots, diced

4 boiled potatoes

2 eggs, beaten

60 g Parmesan, grated

leaves from 1 marjoram sprig, minced

salt

breadcrumbs for sprinkling

1 knob butter

milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until golden. Add the beef, beans and carrots and continue cooking over low heat for a few minutes, then let cool. Remove and discard the garlic.

Mash 2 potatoes in a bowl, then mix in the beef mixture, eggs, 30 grams of Parmesan, marjoram and a pinch of salt.

Oil a baking dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Transfer the mixture and spread it out evenly. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with more breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 minutes, until a golden crust forms on top.

In the meantime, mash the remaining 2 potatoes and transfer to a saucepan with the butter and a pinch of salt. Over medium heat, start adding milk, stirring constantly, adding enough to make a smooth, velvety puree. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining 30 grams of Parmesan and serve with slices of the meatloaf. 

Preparation time
45 minutes 

Pier Antonio Cucchietti, Stroppo (Cuneo), Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 4

green parts of 2-3 leeks, thinly sliced into rings

plain flour

oil for frying

Dip the leek greens in flour, then shake in a sieve to remove any excess.

Fry the leeks in very hot oil until golden and crisp.

Preparation time
20 minutes

Stenio Santini, Forte dei Marmi (Lucca), Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 2

leaves and stalks from 1 cauliflower, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

1 handful grated Parmesan

For the béchamel:

30 g butter

30 g plain flour

250 ml milk

1 pinch grated nutmeg

salt and pepper  

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Boil the cauliflower leaves and stalks in a pan with a little water for around 20 minutes, then drain and puree.

Prepare a béchamel with the amounts given above (see recipe on page 66), then let cool. Stir in the eggs and mix well. Stir in the Parmesan and cauliflower puree.

Butter a baking dish, pour in the mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Preparation time
1 hour

Anna Maria Carnevale, Capracotta (Isernia), Molise

Ingredients

serves 2

100 g carrot leaves

2-3 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained

1 tbsp pine nuts, almonds or walnuts

1 small garlic clove

50 g ricotta

extra-virgin olive oil

stale bread for serving 

Trim off the tough stalks of the carrot leaves. Wash the leaves and puree in a food processor with the sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic and ricotta, adding oil in as the machine runs until a smooth pesto forms.

Slice and toast the bread, then serve topped with the carrot leaf pesto.

This simple and tasty pesto is perfect for using up the often-discarded carrot greens. Covered with extra-virgin olive oil, it can be stored in the refrigerator, and can be softened with a little ricotta to make an unusual but tasty pasta sauce. Carrot peelings can also be turned into a similarly delicious dip, pureed with a handful of almonds, a garlic clove, a pinch of chilli and a drizzle of oil.

Preparation time
30 minutes

Leti Federici, Jesi (Ancona), Marche

Ingredients

serves 2

100 g leftover pieces of cheese

2 eggs, separated

salt and pepper

grated zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tbsps breadcrumbs

1 pinch cinnamon

1 pinch grated nutmeg

1 knob butter

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grate any hard or semi-hard cheeses and cut soft cheeses into chunks. Vigorously beat the egg yolks with a pinch of salt, then stir in the cheeses, lemon zest, breadcrumbs, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then fold into the yolk mixture. Pour into a buttered round baking tin and bake for 20 minutes.

Preparation time
45 minutes

Giuliana D’Este, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna

Ingredients

serves 2

100 g roast veal, finely chopped

extra-virgin olive oil

1 bay leaf

fresh herbs, minced

200 g spinach leaves

100 g rice cooked with leeks

2 parsley sprigs, minced

2 eggs, beaten

1 handful grated Parmesan

salt and pepper

1 pinch grated nutmeg

1 knob butter

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Brown the veal in a frying pan with a little oil, the bay leaf and other fresh herbs, then remove and discard the bay leaf. Steam or boil the spinach, then drain, squeeze out any excess liquid and chop.

In a bowl, mix together the veal, spinach, rice, parsley, eggs, Parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour into a buttered baking tin and bake for 30 minutes.

Preparation time
1 hour

Giulia Ballarino, Mantua, Lombardy 

Ingredients

serves 4

250 g stale bread, chopped

500 ml milk, warmed

1 egg, beaten

200 g sausages, casings removed and meat crumbled

2 parsley sprigs, minced

1 tbsp plain flour

salt and pepper

extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Soak the bread in the warm milk until cooled. Stir in the egg, sausage meat, parsley, flour, salt and pepper. Pour into an oiled baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

Preparation time
45 minutes

Taverna de li Caldora, Pacentro (L’Aquila), Abruzzo

Ingredients

serves 4

300 g garlic scapes

extra-virgin olive oil

salt

lemon juice

Clean the scapes, wash them and briefly cook them in boiling water. Drain and cool, then dress to taste with oil, salt and a drop of lemon juice. 

Garlic flower stalks, known in some parts of Italy as zolle or talli, are always found on the menu of Taverna de li Caldora during the month of May. They are excellent in a frittata or can be blanched in vinegar and preserved in extra-virgin olive oil, in which case they should eaten around 5 months after preparation.

Preparation time
20 minutes

Rosina Marcon, Treviso, Veneto

Ingredients

serves 4

250 g chicken giblets

40 g butter

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

a few sage leaves

salt and pepper

130 ml dry white wine

2 ladlefuls of broth, plus extra if necessary

350 g bigoli pasta

50 g Parmesan, grated 

Carefully clean the chicken giblets and chop them into small pieces. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the onion and sage until the onion is soft, then add the giblets. Sauté for a few minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the wine into the pan, let it evaporate, then add the broth and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, stirring every so often and adding more broth if needed.

In the meantime, cook the bigoli in boiling salted water. Drain when al dente, and toss with the giblet sauce. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

Preparation time

45 minutes

Oberraindlhof, Senales-Schnals (Bolzano-Bozen), Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 4

8 wholemeal bread rolls

100 g wholemeal flour

200 g leftover pieces of cheese

2 eggs

milk

50 g butter, melted

salt

Cut the bread rolls into cubes of about a centimetre on each side. Set aside a little hard cheese for grating, then cut the rest into similar-sized cubes. Mix together with the flour.

Beat the eggs with a little milk (the quantity will depend on whether you are using fresh or stale bread) and a pinch of salt, then stir into the bread and cheese mixture.

Form into balls around 4 centimetres in diameter. Cook in boiling salted water for 15 minutes.

Drain the dumplings and serve topped with melted butter and the remaining cheese, grated.

Preparation time

30 minutes

Stenio Santini, Forte dei Marmi (Lucca), Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 2

200 g pods from very fresh broad beans

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 leek, sliced

700 ml vegetable broth

salt and pepper

1 piece ginger (optional)

Wash the pods, removing the stalk and any stringy fibres along the sides, then cut into small pieces. Place in a large saucepan with the potatoes, leek and broth. Adjust the salt and pepper.

Cook until the vegetables are tender (20-30 minutes). Leave to cool, then puree until smooth. Before serving, top with a little grated fresh ginger, if desired.

For this soup to be successful, the bean pods must be very fresh and have been grown organically, to ensure that they were not treated with any pesticides or other chemical substances. After peeling the potatoes, save the peels: fry them or bake in the oven for at least 20 minutes to make delicious chips (page 24). For a more flavourful soup base, sauté the leek in a little olive oil before adding the potatoes and bean pods to the pan.

Preparation time

40 minutes, plus cooling time

Rosetta Gandini Boselli, Volta Mantovana (Mantua), Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 4

500 g stale bread

4-5 ladlefuls of hot lean beef broth

2 eggs, beaten

200 g Grana Padano cheese, grated, plus extra for serving

1 pinch grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

melted butter

a few sage leaves, fried in olive oil

Grate the stale bread fairly coarsely. Mound it on a wooden board or other work surface, and wet it with 4 or 5 ladlefuls of hot broth. Mix together and leave to cool.

Mix in the eggs, cheese, nutmeg, pepper and garlic. Adjust the salt and knead together vigorously to form a dough.

Form the dough into cylinders around 3 centimetres in diameter. Cut into pieces about 2 centimetres long, then work each one in the palms of the hands to form little spindles. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Cook the dumplings in broth or boiling salted water and drain with a slotted spoon as soon as they rise to the surface. Serve topped with melted butter and fried sage leaves, finished with grated cheese.

These bread dumplings, typical from the area above Mantua, are a well-known dish for using up stale bread and a classic of the poor cuisine of the past. They could be enriched with lard and minced parsley, and are also excellent served in broth or topped with pancetta or ragù.

Preparation time

1 hour, plus resting time

Giuliana Baroni, Mantua, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 4

stalks from 400 g white and green asparagus

1/2 onion, minced

extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbsps dry, full-bodied white wine

salt and freshly ground pepper

250 g potatoes, boiled and peeled

500 ml vegetable broth

Trim any tough stringy parts from the asparagus stalks and cut them into chunks.

Sauté the onion in a little oil in a saucepan. Add the asparagus and wine and continue cooking until the wine has cooked off. Salt to taste, then add the potatoes and broth and continue cooking until the asparagus is tender.

Puree using a food mill. Serve hot, with a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper.

Preparation time

45 minutes

Lidia Balzanelli, Rovereto (Trento), Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 4

4 stale bread rolls

2 eggs, beaten

salt

milk

plain flour (if necessary)

mix of parsley, chives, thyme and chervil, minced

100 g butter

leaves from 2 sage sprigs

Cut the crusts off the rolls and break up the crumb. Place the crumb in a bowl and stir in the eggs, a pinch of salt and enough milk to make a fairly firm dough. If it does not hold together, add a little flour. Lastly, stir in the minced herbs and salt to taste.

Using wet hands, shape the dough into small dumplings. Cook them in batches in boiling salted water. As soon as they rise to the surface, drain them with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small frying pan with the sage leaves. Toss the dumplings with the sage butter and serve immediately.

Preparation time

40 minutes

Rina Mossini, Modena, Emilia-Romagna

Ingredients

serves 4

500 g steamed or roasted pumpkin

250 g plain flour

30 g Parmesan, grated

1 egg

1 pinch grated nutmeg

salt

milk (if necessary)

sage butter or tomato sauce for serving

Puree the pumpkin then mix with the flour, Parmesan, egg, nutmeg and salt to taste. If the mixture seems too firm, stir in a little milk. Work with the hands until a soft but dry and compact dough forms, adding more flour if necessary, then set aside to rest for at least 1 hour.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, salting it when it starts boiling. Drop spoonfuls of the dough into the water. As soon as they rise to the surface, scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Serve with sage butter or tomato sauce.

Preparation time

40 minutes, plus resting time

Clara Sennewald, Rome, Lazio

Ingredients

serves 2

2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1/2 celery stalk, finely chopped

50 g smoked pancetta, diced

1 piece chilli pepper

1 tbsp tomato paste

300 g potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 Parmesan rind, scraped and washed

200 g cooked macaroni with ragù

salt

2 parsley sprigs, minced

a few basil leaves, minced

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion, carrot and celery until soft, then add the pancetta and chilli.

When everything is browned, add the tomato paste and potatoes. Cover with water, add the Parmesan rind, then continue cooking until the potatoes are almost done (around 15 minutes).

Add the macaroni, stir to combine, salt to taste and continue cooking until all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with parsley and basil before serving.

Preparation time

45 minutes

Preparation time
1 hour

Giulia Ballarino, Mantua, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 4

2 l beef broth

500 g dry bread, broken into pieces

4 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

150 g Parmesan, grated

salt

Bring the broth to a boil, then add the bread, oil and Parmesan.

Continue cooking until the bread breaks down and the soup is smooth and creamy. Adjust the salt before serving.

Variations of this humble soup can be found across Italy, from panade in Piedmont and the northeast to the pancotti of the central-south regions. In Alpine areas, butter from mountain dairies would be used instead of oil. Historian Aldo Bertoluzza wrote of Trentino’s panada: “They say, ‘it’s done when it talks’, and this is a beautiful expression, because it is from that burbling, that soft, muffled sound, that we can be sure that the panada is ready.”

Preparation time

40 minutes

Su Tzilleri e Su Doge, Cagliari, Sardinia

Ingredients

serves 6

For the broth:

700-800 g mutton, chicken or beef

1 onion

2 carrots

1 celery stalk

2-3 bay leaves

1 pinch of salt

For the gratin:

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

extra-virgin olive oil

6-7 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped

salt

1 kg stale Civraxiu or other rustic bread

leaves from 2 basil sprigs, torn

300 g aged pecorino cheese, grated 

Prepare the broth by putting all the ingredients in a large saucepan with 2 litres of water, bringing to a boil then simmering, covered, for a couple of hours, skimming off the foam from the surface when necessary. Strain and defat the broth.

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

To make the gratin, sauté the onion, carrot and garlic in oil until golden, then add the tomatoes. Lower the heat and continue cooking, covered, for 15 minutes. Salt to taste. Meanwhile, cut the bread into medium-thick slices, removing the crust.

Begin to assemble the dish: soak the bread in a bowl of broth, then make a first layer in a baking dish. Top with a little tomato sauce, basil and a generous handful of pecorino. Continue until the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to sit for around 10 minutes before serving in individual terracotta dishes warmed in the oven. The dish should be well sauced and the bottom should be soft but not brothy. 

Preparation time

2 hours 40 minutes

Trattoria Sora Lella, Rome, Lazio

Ingredients

serves 4

10 artichoke stalks

a few broccoli or cauliflower stalks

2 fennel tops with leaves

salt and pepper

2 celery stalks

2 carrots

2 white onions

1 tomato, plus 500 g tomatoes (fresh or canned)

extra-virgin olive oil

2 basil sprigs, minced

2 parsley sprigs, minced

250 g mixed dried pasta (see below)

grated Parmesan for serving 

Trim any tough fibrous parts from the artichoke stalks, broccoli or cauliflower stalks and fennel tops. Chop them roughly, then add to a pot of salted water along with 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 1 onion and 1 tomato. Bring to the boil and cook until the vegetables are tender. Remove the artichoke and broccoli stalks and fennel tops, chop and set aside. Strain the broth and set aside.

Finely chop the remaining celery stalk, carrot and onion and brown in oil with the basil, parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the remaining 500 g tomatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the reserved vegetables from the broth and continue cooking.

Assemble approximately 250 g of pasta from different types that you might already have at home in open packages: perhaps 50-60 grams of spaghetti, a handful of penne, a nest of fettuccine or trenette, maybe some reginelle, bavette, etc.

Put all the pasta in a clean cloth and using your hands or something heavy (such as a tin of tomatoes), roughly crush the pasta.

Add the vegetable broth to the tomato mixture and when it comes to a boil add the pasta. Cook until tender.

Serve topped with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of oil.

Preparation time

1 hour

Rosanna Dotta, La Morra (Cuneo), Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 4

1 handful dried cannellini beans

1 handful dried black-eye beans

1 leek, minced

3 celery stalks, minced

2 carrots, 1 minced and 1 chopped

extra-virgin olive oil

1 bay leaf

1 fennel bulb, chopped

1/2 cardoon stalk, chopped

1 potato, chopped

1 piece pumpkin, chopped

2 Savoy cabbage leaves, chopped

2 Jerusalem artichokes, chopped

chicken bones

1 piece Parmesan rind

salt and pepper

Leave the beans to soak overnight in cold water.

Sauté the leek, celery and minced carrot in olive oil with the bay leaf very gently for around an hour, then add the soaked beans and all the other ingredients except the salt and pepper. Cover with 2 litres of water and cook for 5 or 6 hours over medium heat, adding more hot water as necessary.

Just before removing from the heat, remove and discard the chicken bones and season to taste with salt and a pinch of pepper. Serve with a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil on the table for drizzling on top.

This is a winter version of minestrone, but the recipe can be adapted to any season depending on what vegetables are most available at the time. In the spring, for example, you could use courgettes and their flowers (pistils removed), eggplant, onions, chard, lettuce leaves, fresh peas, tomatoes and herbs. And the minestrone broth can always be enriched with the offcuts from a butchered pig or a ham bone instead of a chicken carcass.

Preparation time

6-7 hours, plus soaking time

Osteria ’E Curti, Sant’Anastasia (Naples), Campania

Ingredients

serves 8

10 raisins

800 g spaghetti

extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and squashed with the palm of the hand

70 g walnuts, chopped

70 g hazelnuts, chopped

16 pine nuts

18 salted capers, rinsed

250 g Piennolo cherry tomatoes, seeded and chopped

salt

8 pitted black olives

dried oregano

2 parsley sprigs, minced

Soak the raisins briefly in warm water, then drain.

Bring water to a boil for the spaghetti, and in the meantime prepare the sauce. Heat some oil in a frying pan and gently sauté the garlic clove until golden. Add the walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, raisins and capers and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes, salt to taste then cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the olives, a pinch of oregano and the parsley, sauté briefly then remove from the heat and let sit, covered.

Cook the spaghetti until al dente, then drain and transfer to a large frying pan. Add the sauce and stir well. When serving, ensure that the sauce is divided equally between each plate.

The name of the dish, which translates as “rubbish bin” spaghetti, might not be so appealing (Angela, who gave us this recipe, now prefers to present it as “Christmas spaghetti”) but it is significant: this is a sauce made using the nuts and dried fruit leftover from Christmas lunch, paired with herbs and Piennolo tomatoes grown on the slopes of Vesuvius and stored for the winter, making them even more flavourful. The walnuts would be from Sorrento, the hazelnuts from Giffoni, the spaghetti from Gragnano, and once upon a time the other ingredients would be from home: the pine nuts extracted from cones collected along the coast and the raisins made with grapes picked from the family vines.

Preparation time

30 minutes

Nella Di Ciommo, Lavello (Potenza), Basilicata

Ingredients

serves 6

1 kg broccoli rabe (broccoli raab, turnip tops or cime di rape), top parts only

salt

400 g stale bread, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 piece chilli pepper, minced

extra-virgin olive oil

grated aged pecorino for serving (optional)

Blanch the broccoli rabe in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until almost tender, then add the stale bread and continue cooking until soft.

Drain off the excess liquid: the soup should not be too brothy.

Sauté the garlic and chilli in olive oil, then pour over the soup before serving. Serve with grated pecorino, if desired. 

The recipe for this dish reflects a simple, poor cuisine, rooted in tradition, though nothing would stop you adding some sautéed diced pancetta. Another flavourful alternative involves preparing a slightly more elaborate sauce – with two garlic cloves, two salted anchovy fillets and a few cherry tomatoes – on the side to pour over the soup as soon as it is removed from the heat.

Preparation time

45 minutes

Nuccia Barile, Termoli (Campobasso), Molise

Ingredients

serves 4

2 garlic cloves

1 piece chilli pepper

extra-virgin olive oil

liquid from opening 500 g mussels, strained

300 g spaghetti or other dried pasta

salt

2 parsley sprigs, minced

Sauté the garlic and chilli briefly in olive oil in a frying pan until golden, add the mussel liquid, cook for a few more minutes then remove from the heat.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, drain when al dente, then add to the pan with the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and stir well.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and any leftover mussels.

Preparation time

30 minutes

Trattoria Marianaza, Faenza (Ravenna), Emilia-Romagna

Ingredients

serves 4

For the broth:

1/2 free-range chicken

500 g stewing beef

1 celery stalk

1 carrot

1 onion

salt

For the passatelli:

100 g breadcrumbs

100 g Parmesan, grated

grated zest of 1 organic unwaxed lemon

2 eggs

salt and pepper

1 pinch grated nutmeg

Put the broth ingredients in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and let simmer over a low heat for 2-3 hours.

When the broth is almost done, prepare the passatelli. Mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and lemon zest together on a wooden board or other work surface, then add the eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix together to form a compact dough. If necessary, add more breadcrumbs and Parmesan, in equal amounts.

Strain the broth, bring to a boil, then use a passatelli press, spaetzle press or potato ricer with large holes to press noodles a few centimetres long directly into the pot. Lower the heat so the broth does not boil too vigorously, and cook for a few minutes, just until they rise to the surface.   

Serve the passatelli immediately in shallow bowls with the hot broth. They are excellent reheated.

The secret to making passatelli is to mix the ingredients well on a hard surface, rather than stirring them in a bowl, and to maintain a one-to-one ratio between cheese and breadcrumbs. A traditional Sunday dish, passatelli are traditionally served in broth, but can also be drained and served with a sauce, either tomato and basil, a white meat ragù or a fish sauce, in which case lemon zest is not added to the dough.

Preparation time

3 hours

Giulia Ballarino, Mantua, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 4

For the ragù:

3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, minced

1 garlic clove

100 g prosciutto, cut into strips

50 g pancetta, cut into strips

300 g minced beef

1/2 glass red wine

tomato passata

salt and pepper

2 parsley sprigs, minced

For the béchamel:

25 g butter

25 g plain flour

250 ml hot milk

salt

1 pinch grated nutmeg

For the pasta:

300 g leftover pasta

1 handful grated Parmesan 

Prepare the ragù: heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion, garlic, prosciutto and pancetta until golden. Add the beef, sauté until browned, then add the red wine.

Once the red wine has cooked off, add some tomato passata – the quantity depends on your personal taste – salt to taste and leave to cook, covered, over low heat for around 1 hour. Remove from the heat and stir in a pinch of pepper and the parsley. Remove and discard the garlic clove.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C and prepare the béchamel: melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Stir in the hot milk, a pinch of salt and nutmeg and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened.

Stir together the leftover pasta, the ragù, béchamel and a generous handful of grated Parmesan. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes.

This recipe is one of the many ways for using up leftover cooked pasta, transforming it into a hearty and delicious dish that can also be served to guests. A similar pasticcio (“mess”) can also be prepared with leftover polenta, stirred in this case with milk and a liberal quantity of strong and mild cheeses. 

Preparation time

1 hour 30 minutes

Sbarbacipolla Biosteria, Colle di Val d’Elsa (Siena), Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 8

700 g dried cannellini beans

3 celery stalks, 1 whole and 2 finely chopped

4 parsley sprigs, 1 whole and 3 minced

extra-virgin olive oil

2 large red onions, sliced

1 leek, sliced

2 carrots, finely chopped

500 g tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

500 g potatoes, chopped

1 bunch cavolo nero (Tuscan kale), chopped

1/2 Savoy cabbage, chopped

1 kg chard, chopped

salt and pepper

500 g stale Tuscan bread, sliced

2 spring onions, sliced

minced onion for serving the next day 

Soak the beans in cold water for 12 hours, then boil them in water with the whole celery stalk and whole parsley sprig until tender. Remove and discard the celery and parsley.

Meanwhile, heat some oil in a large pot and add the red onions and leek. As soon as they start to turn golden, add the remaining celery and parsley, carrot and tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add the potatoes, cavolo nero, Savoy cabbage and chard. When the leaves start to wilt, cover the vegetables with hot water, add salt and pepper to taste and leave to cook for 1 hour 30 minutes over medium heat.

Puree half of the cooked beans then add them, along with the whole beans and their cooking liquid, to the pot. Stir, bring to the boil and leave cooking over very low heat for another 30 minutes.

Transfer the soup to a tureen, alternating layers of soup with slices of bread. Leave to sit for a few minutes so that the bread softens, then serve topped with spring onions and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

The next day, any leftover bread soup becomes ribollita. Heat it in a terracotta or other ovenproof pot, adding a little water. Top with a drizzle of oil, pepper and minced onion, then bake, without stirring. It is ready when a crust forms on top. Serve with oil and fresh onion.

Ribollita is the result of a cuisine that wastes nothing, dictated by poverty and parsimony. But the leftover bread soup, reheated the next day, becomes a miraculous new dish, with a different, fuller flavour. Marilena Grosso uses the oven but usually the soup is reboiled (ribollire, hence the name) in a large pot on the stove, adding a little broth or water.

Preparation time

3 hours 30 minutes, plus soaking and resting time

Simonetta Riva, Giussano (Milan), Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 2

25 g butter

200 g leftover Milanese risotto

50 g Parmesan, grated 

Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Add the risotto, flattening it with the back of a wooden spoon to form a thin disc.

Continue cooking until a crust forms on the bottom, then flip the risotto like a frittata, using a lid or plate to help, and cook until golden on the other side as well.

Serve topped with grated Parmesan.

This tasty recipe calls for leftover risotto alla milanese, which is traditionally prepared with beef bone marrow, but a simplified version can also be made with just Carnaroli or Arborio rice, onion, beef broth, butter and saffron. At the end, grated Granone Lodigiano or a top-quality Grana Padano can be stirred in. Risotto al salto is a quick way to use up any leftovers, and the only tricky part is not breaking the disc when flipping it. A few tips for a perfect result: move the frying pan around so the rice doesn’t stick, cook it over a low heat and flip it using a lid only when you see the edges becoming browned. Another more contemporary idea for using leftover risotto alla milanese is crisp schiacciata, cooked in the oven or in a pan: two layers of rice sandwiching a filling of sautéed mushrooms, stewed snails or even frogs’ legs in a wine and tomato sauce.

Preparation time
20 minutes

Giulio Alessandrini, Venice, Veneto

Ingredients

serves 2

extra-virgin olive oil

external layers from 2 fennel bulbs, leftover from preparing a salad or crudités, cut into strips

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

200 g Vialone Nano or Arborio rice

750 ml vegetable broth

30-40 g butter

50 g Parmesan, grated

salt and pepper

Heat some oil in a frying pan and sauté the fennel, celery and onion until golden. Add the rice, sauté for a few minutes, then add a ladleful of broth. Continue cooking, adding a little broth at a time and stirring frequently, until the rice is al dente.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation time

50 minutes

Filippa Gatì, Palermo, Sicily

Ingredients

serves 2

100 g sun-dried tomatoes

300 g tenerumi (Cucuzza squash stems, leaves, shoots and tendrils)

salt

2 garlic cloves

1 dried red chilli pepper, broken into pieces

extra-virgin olive oil

200 g spaghetti, broken in half

100 g caciocavallo or pecorino cheese, shaved

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in warm water until soft, then drain and roughly chop.

Carefully wash the squash greens, discarding the tough external leaves and keeping only the youngest and most tender. Cook in abundant boiling salted water for around 20 minutes, then drain, reserving the water for cooking the pasta. 

Sauté the garlic and chilli in oil in a large frying pan. Add the greens and tomatoes and continue cooking for around 10 minutes.

Bring the vegetable cooking water back to the boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain and add to the pan with the greens and sauté for a few minutes, adding some of the pasta cooking water if necessary. Sprinkle with cheese, stir and serve immediately.

Preparation time

45 minutes

Nereo Pederzolli, Cavedine (Trento), Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 6

300 g stale bread, chopped

milk

600 g wild spinach leaves

salt

butter

1 onion, minced

2 eggs

4 tbsps plain flour

grated aged cheese for serving

Put the bread in a bowl and pour over enough milk to cover.  

Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water, then drain, squeeze out excess liquid and pass through a food mill.

Melt some butter in a pan and sauté the onion until soft.

Break the eggs into the bowl with the bread and milk, add the spinach and mix well, stirring in enough flour to make a soft, elastic and smooth dough.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. When it starts to boil, begin making the dumplings, taking a tablespoon of dough and compacting it with the hand. Drop them into the boiling water as they are formed, dipping the spoon in cold water in between each dumpling so that the dough detaches easily.

Scoop out the dumplings with a slotted spoon as soon as they rise to the surface, drain well and transfer to a serving dish.

Top with the sautéed onion and sprinkle with grated cheese.

A cult dish from Trentino tradition, the name of these dumplings translates as “priest-stranglers”. A popular legend, shared by scholar Giambattista Azzolini in the mid-19th century, tells of the greed of a priest who was also a keen hunter. After an exhausting hunt during which he found himself short of provisions, he returned home “so famished that he would have devoured a huge plain polenta just as eagerly as a nice fat chicken”. His housekeeper had prepared him a dish of dumplings with herbs, which he set about eating with such voracity that they stuck in his throat and he would have suffocated had not the maid, seeing no other solution, began hitting him harder and harder on the back until the offending food flew out of his mouth.  

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes

Ristorante Ai Cascinari, Palermo, Sicily

Ingredients

serves 4

50 g strattu tomato paste

extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsps anchovy paste

4 salted anchovies, rinsed and deboned

30 g raisins

20 g pine nuts

1 pinch sugar

salt and pepper

5 tbsps breadcrumbs

1 bay leaf

360 g tripolini pasta

Dissolve the strattu in 300 ml water and boil for 20-25 minutes.

Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté the garlic. Add the anchovy paste and anchovies and cook over low heat until they dissolve. Add the strattu mixture, raisins, pine nuts and sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

In a small frying pan, heat a spoonful of oil and toast the breadcrumbs with the bay leaf, stirring frequently so that they turn colour without burning.

Boil the pasta in abundant salted water, drain when al dente, then stir in the breadcrumbs and toss in the large frying pan with the anchovy mixture.

Preparation time

40 minutes 

Luigia Bevione, Monteu da Po (Turin), Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 4

500 g fennel scraps (outer layers, stalks and fronts)

extra-virgin olive oil

1 leek, thinly sliced

2-3 potatoes, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

stale bread, cubed, for serving

Set aside a few fennel fronds for garnish. Roughly chop the remaining pieces and finely mince the fronds. Heat some olive oil in a deep saucepan and gently sauté the fronds. Add the leek and sauté until wilted, then add the remaining fennel and potatoes.

Sauté until golden, then cover with abundant water, salt to taste and bring to a boil, uncovered. Lower the heat, cover and continue cooking for 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat and pass through a fine food mill. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Toast the bread cubes in the oven, then place in the bottom of a soup tureen and pour over the hot soup. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and garnish with reserved fennel fronds.

Preparation time

45 minutes

Rosaria Salvatore, Tropea (Vibo Valentia), Calabria

Ingredients

serves 4

500 g broccoli stalks, chopped

salt

extra-virgin olive oil

1 pinch ground turmeric

1 pinch curry powder 

Put the broccoli stalks in a heavy pot with 4-5 tablespoons of water and a little salt. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, until very soft.

Leave to cool then puree in a blender or food processor, adding a drizzle of olive oil as the machine is running. Adjust the salt and season with turmeric and curry.

Preparation time

50 minutes 

Franca Gallo, Aosta, Valle d’Aosta

Ingredients

serves 4

50 g butter

4 slices of stale rye bread, cubed

700 ml milk

salt

350 g cornmeal for polenta (not instant)

150 g fontina cheese, diced

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and sauté the bread cubes until golden.

Bring 1 litre of water and the milk to boil together in a copper pot. Add salt then start sprinkling in the cornmeal, whisking constantly to avoid lumps forming. Cook the polenta, stirring constantly, for at least 1 hour.

10 minutes before the polenta is done, stir in the bread cubes, fontina and remaining butter.

Serve in soup plates or bowls while still very hot.

Preparation time

1 hour 30 minutes

Rocco Iannone (Pappacarbone), Cava de’ Tirreni (Salerno), Campania

Ingredients

serves 4

extra-virgin olive oil

250 g organically grown pea pods, finely chopped

1 spring onion, sliced

1 l vegetable scrap broth

salt

skin from 20 red mullet

1/2 lemon 

Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the pea pods and spring onion. Add the vegetable broth and leave to cook for 40 minutes.

Puree half of the soup, then return to the pan with the remaining half. Adjust the salt to taste.

Cook the mullet skin between two sheets of parchment paper, in a frying pan rubbed with the lemon half.

Serve the soup in shallow bowls, topped with pieces of mullet skin.

Preparation time

1 hour 30 minutes 

Augusto Manfredi, Massa, Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 4

1 kg whole fish for soup (scorpion fish, tub gurnard, monkfish etc.) with heads, skin and bones

extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2 potatoes, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

salt

stale bread, sliced and toasted, for serving

Clean all the fish, discarding the guts, skin and backbones. Use the heads and bones to make 2.5 litres of fish stock.

Heat some oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion, potatoes, tomatoes and fish fillets over low heat for around 20 minutes. Add the stock, adjust the salt and continue to cook over low heat for around 1 hour.

Pass the soup through a food mill, using first the coarse disc and then the fine disc.

Serve with the toasted bread slices.

Preparation time

2 hours

Rina Mossini, Modena, Emilia-Romagna

Ingredients

serves 4

150 g raisins

extra-virgin olive oil

2 onions, sliced

4 tbsps wine vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

salt and pepper

600 g offcuts from roast or boiled beef, roughly chopped 

Soak the raisins in warm water for 10 minutes then drain and squeeze out.

Heat some oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions until soft, then add the vinegar and sugar. Continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated, then add the raisins and adjust the salt and pepper.

Put the beef in a serving dish and cover with the onion mixture. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

If you have any cooked white meat in the fridge, try it with this marinade: sauté three or four salted anchovies (rinsed and backbone removed) in olive oil with a garlic clove over low heat until they dissolve. Add a handful of chopped capers, three or four pickled green chillies, a piece of onion and some minced parsley. Add salt and pepper and a splash of vinegar and cook for another 10 minutes. Pour over the meat and refrigerate to allow flavours to blend.

Preparation time

40 minutes, plus marinating time

Peppino Bisceglia, Lavello (Potenza), Basilicata

Ingredients

serves 4

2 onions, chopped

extra-virgin olive oil

300 g cherry tomatoes, chopped

salt and pepper

4 eggs

stale bread for serving 

Sauté the onions in some olive oil in a deep saucepan, then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. As soon as the tomatoes start to become soft, add about 200 millilitres water (enough so that it is a couple of centimetres deep), bring to the boil and then break in the eggs (this is an excellent way to use up eggs that are about to expire).

Poach the eggs, removing the pan from the heat before the yolks are completely cooked. Serve with pieces of bread for dipping into the eggs and sauce.

Preparation time

30 minutes

Paolo Giangrande, Monopoli (Bari), Puglia

Ingredients

serves 4

2 round aubergines, thinly sliced

salt and pepper

150 g roast beef, finely chopped

150 g ham, finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

150 g mozzarella, finely chopped

1 handful grated Grana Padano cheese

extra-virgin olive oil

few knobs butter

leaves from 2 mint sprigs 

Preheat the oven to 160-180°C.

Salt the aubergine slices and leave to sit in a colander for a few minutes.

Meanwhile mix together the beef, ham, egg, mozzarella and Grana Padano and add salt and pepper to taste.

Place spoonfuls of the beef mixture on the aubergine slices and roll up, closing with toothpicks if necessary.

Arrange the rolls in an oiled baking dish, top with a few knobs of butter and the mint leaves and then bake for around 20 minutes.

Preparation time

1 hour 30 minutes

Filippa Gatì, Palermo, Sicily

Ingredients

serves 4

trimmings from 2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

salt and pepper

3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

2 salted anchovies, rinsed and backbones removed

1 handful breadcrumbs

1 tsp capers

1 pinch ground chilli pepper

grated aged pecorino cheese 

Blanch the fennel trimmings for a few minutes in boiling salted water, then drain.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the anchovies until they dissolve. Add the breadcrumbs and a pinch of pepper.

Stir together the breadcrumb mixture, fennel, capers, chilli pepper and abundant grated pecorino and serve.

Preparation time

40 minutes 

Ristorante Al Fornello da Ricci, Ceglie Messapica (Brindisi), Puglia

Ingredients

serves 4

4 pork fillets, each around 5 cm thick

4 slices semi-aged pancetta

2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsps Mediterranean herb salt

6 outer Savoy cabbage leaves

150 g potatoes, peeled, peels reserved

100 ml vegetable broth

5 wild fennel seeds

salt and pepper

oil for frying

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp Primitivo mosto cotto reduction

2 wild fennel sprigs

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Wrap the pork fillets in pancetta slices. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan and brown the pork evenly on all sides. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towels. Season with herb salt.

Blanch the cabbage leaves in boiling water, drain, immerse in iced water then drain and dry with a cloth. Remove (and reserve) the central stalks from four leaves and use the four leaves to wrap the pork fillets.

Arrange the wrapped fillets in a baking dish and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Boil the peeled potatoes until soft, then drain and mash.

To prepare the sauce, season the vegetable broth with the wild fennel seeds, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes. Sauté the spring onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan. Add the Savoy cabbage stalks and remaining 2 leaves and mashed potatoes. Stir in the vegetable broth, then puree the mixture and pass through a food mill.

Meanwhile, leave the potato peels to soak in iced water for 20 minutes, then drain, pat dry, and fry in hot oil until crisp.

Arrange the fillets on individual dishes with the cabbage sauce and potato skins. Finish with the mosto cotto and garnish with wild fennel.

Preparation time

1 hour 30 minutes

Franca Gallo, Aosta, Valle d’Aosta

Ingredients

serves 4

2 potatoes

1 knob butter

2 onions, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

300 g leftover boiled beef, thinly sliced

grated nutmeg

cinnamon

salt and pepper

4 tbsps broth

Boil the potatoes until soft, then drain, cool, peel and slice thinly.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the onions until golden, then add the garlic. Add the beef and potatoes and stir well.

Season to taste with nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper, then add the broth. Cover and leave to cook for around 30 minutes over low heat.

When all the liquid has been absorbed, remove the lid and allow to brown, forming a crisp crust. Serve immediately.

Preparation time

1 hour 30 minutes

Leti Federici, Jesi (Ancona), Marche

Ingredients

serves 2

200 g white chard stalks

200 g béchamel (recipe on page 66)

grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Steam the chard stalks until crisp-tender and pat dry. Arrange in layers in a baking dish, alternating with layers of béchamel and a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Finish with a layer of béchamel and a sprinkling of Parmesan, then bake for 20 minutes.

Preparation time

40 minutes

Stenio Santini, Forte dei Marmi (Lucca), Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 4

10 beet leaves

1 pinch ground chilli pepper

200 g cooked lentils

2 eggs, beaten

salt

breadcrumbs

4 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

1 pinch turmeric

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Blanch the beet leaves until tender, the drain and puree with the chilli. Stir in the lentils, eggs and a pinch of salt. Add enough breadcrumbs to create a compact mixture that can be formed into burger patties.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and toast more breadcrumbs (enough to bread the burgers) with the turmeric.

Coat the burgers with the breadcrumbs, then arrange on a baking sheet and bake for around 30 minutes.

Preparation time

1 hour

Antonella Iadevaia, Cuneo, Piedmont

Ingredients

serves 6

500 g organically grown pea pods

salt

1 garlic clove, minced

extra-virgin olive oil

wine vinegar

Wash the pea pods very well and remove any stringy filaments and the inner skin. Blanch in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes after the water returns to the boil.

Drain and leave to cool, then dress with the garlic, salt, oil and vinegar.

Make sure your peas have not undergone chemical treatments nor been grown close to sources of pollution.

Preparation time

30 minutes

Edmondo Fava, Treviso, Veneto

Ingredients

serves 4

100 g chicken livers, roughly chopped

20-30 g soppressa salami, roughly chopped

1/4 onion, roughly chopped

extra-virgin olive oil

juice from 1/2 lemon

200 g roast guinea hen with its cooking juices

salt and pepper

Sauté the chicken livers, soppressa and onion in a little oil until they start to brown, then add the lemon juice, guinea hen cooking juices, salt and abundant pepper and continue cooking until livers are cooked through. 

Remove the guinea hen meat from the bones and cut into narrow strips or shred. Arrange in a dish and top with the chicken liver sauce.

There are many variations on peverada sauce, a classic Venetan accompaniment for roast guinea hen and duck, in this case used to dress a salad of leftovers. The chopped chicken livers and onion can also be flavoured with five or six salted anchovies, garlic or herbs (such as rosemary, sage, parsley, marjoram or thyme) and always plenty of pepper, before being browned in a pan and finished with vinegar.

Preparation time

30 minutes

Antonio Rizzo, Naples, Campania

Ingredients

serves 4

1 cauliflower

salt

1 pickled sweet pepper, cut into strips

50 g cornichons

1 handful pitted green olives

1 handful pitted black olives

1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed

4 salted anchovies, deboned, rinsed, dried and chopped

white-wine vinegar

extra-virgin olive oil

Trim the cauliflower, removing the central core and the tougher outer leaves. Boil in salted water until tender, then drain, cool and cut into florets. Transfer to a salad bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, dressing to taste with a little vinegar and plenty of oil.

A traditional Christmas Eve dish in Campania, the name derives from the fact that traditionally what was leftover was “reinforced” for eating at New Year’s. As the days passed, the salad acquired more flavour as new ingredients were flavoured with the dressing.

Preparation time

1 hour

Sara Mambrini, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 4

150 g roast veal, finely chopped

50 g breadcrumbs

2 eggs

50 g Parmesan, grated

2 parsley sprigs, minced

salt and pepper

8 chard leaves

3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

200 g canned plum tomatoes or passata 

Mix the veal with the breadcrumbs, eggs, Parmesan, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Lay the chard leaves out on a work surface and place spoonfuls of the veal mixture on top. Roll up and close the edges with toothpicks.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Place the rolls in the sauce, cover and cook for around 45 minutes.

This recipe can also be made with Savoy cabbage leaves, though they must be blanched first. If you prefer a stronger flavour, add some chopped lardo (cured lard) and garlic to the filling. A vegetarian version can be made using cooked rice, egg, Parmesan, parsley and chives for the filling, then cooking the rolls for 30 minutes in a sauce of onions and peppers.

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes

Trattoria Il Cibreo, Florence, Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 4

4 red onions, thinly sliced

extra-virgin olive oil

6 canned plum tomatoes

salt and black pepper

500 g boiled beef, cubed

2-3 ladlefuls beef broth 

Sauté the onions in oil gently until completely soft, then add the tomatoes crushed with a fork and salt to taste and continue cooking over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the beef and cover with broth. Season generously with pepper and cook over low heat until the liquid has cooked off (about 20 minutes).

Serve with a salad of raw or cooked vegetables.

This revival of leftover boiled beef is a typical Tuscan dish for “the day after” which uses beef that has been boiled for stock or is leftover from a main course of boiled beef. 

Preparation time

1 hour

Rina Mossini, Modena, Emilia-Romagna 

Ingredients

serves 2

2 round aubergines

100 g frittata, chopped

grated Parmesan

salt and pepper

extra-virgin olive oil

4 tbsps tomato sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

leaves from 2 basil sprigs, torn 

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Cut the aubergines in half, scoop out the flesh and chop it finely. Mix the chopped flesh with the frittata, some Parmesan and salt and pepper.

Fill the aubergine halves with the mixture and place in a baking dish. Top each one with a drizzle of oil, a spoonful of tomato sauce, a little garlic and some basil. Cover with aluminium foil and bake until the aubergines are soft, around 30 minutes.

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes

Anna Lorenzetti, Florence, Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 2

4 large tomatoes

100 g cooked rice

15 g parsley, minced

a few nepitella or mint leaves, minced

extra-virgin olive oil

salt

4 basil leaves 

Cut the top off the tomatoes and scoop out the insides with a melon baller or spoon.

Mix the rice, parsley and nepitella together and stir in oil and salt to taste. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture and top each one with a basil leaf.

A very simple dish, this is perfect for a summer dinner. The filling can also be enriched with anchovies, tuna or boiled eggs. Many recipes recommend salting the tomatoes so that they become less watery, but in this case, as they are not cooked, this step is unnecessary. Other herbs can be used instead of basil, like chives or marjoram.

Preparation time

30 minutes

Osteria Al Bacco, Milan, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 4

1 stale bread roll, crust removed

milk

300 g boiled beef, chopped

150 g mix of veal and beef meat, chopped

100 g sausage meat, crumbled

100 g liver mortadella, minced

1 potato, boiled and mashed

2 eggs, beaten

2 parsley sprigs, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp grated Parmesan

grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1 pinch grated nutmeg

salt and freshly ground pepper

breadcrumbs for breading

butter for pan-frying 

Soak the stale bread in milk until soft then drain and squeeze out. Mix with the boiled beef, veal and beef, sausage meat, liver mortadella, mashed potato, eggs, parsley, garlic, Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg and pepper and salt to taste.

Leave the mixture to rest somewhere cool for at least 30 minutes, then shape into round meatballs.

Dip the meatballs in breadcrumbs and pan-fry them in plenty of butter. Drain on paper towels before serving.

The distinctive thing about this leftovers recipe of Arab origin, which seems to have come to Milan with Spanish rule, is that the meatballs are particularly fluffy and light due to the use of chopped cooked meat, giving a different texture than when using only raw mince. Roast beef can also be used instead of boiled meat.

Preparation time

30 minutes, plus resting time

Elena Montagnosi, Bergamo, Lombardy 

Ingredients

serves 4

outer leaves of 2 Savoy cabbages

salt and pepper

40 g butter

1 garlic clove, minced

2 parsley sprigs, minced

150 g salami or sausage meat

150 g roast veal or beef, finely chopped

1/2 glass dry white wine

100 g stale bread

130 ml milk

100 g Grana Padano cheese, grated

1 egg

1/2 onion, minced

2 sage leaves

extra-virgin olive oil

broth (optional)

Bergamo-style polenta for serving 

It’s best if the Savoy cabbage leaves have been frozen, in other words hardened by the frost. Blanch them in boiling salted water, then drain, cool in cold water, drain again and leave to dry on a cloth. Trim off any particularly tough ribs. Cut the leaves into squares of 5 centimetres each side, reserving the offcuts. Finely chop the offcuts.

Melt 20 grams of butter and sauté the garlic and parsley.

In an unoiled frying pan, brown the salami or sausage meat, breaking it up with a fork, then drain off the fat.

Melt the remaining butter in another frying pan and brown the roast veal or beef. Add the wine and cook for a few minutes, then add the cabbage leaf offcuts. Remove from the heat and stir in the salami or sausage meat.

Soak the bread in the milk until soft, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid.

Once the meat mixture is cool, stir in the Grana Padano, egg, soaked bread and garlic mixture. Adjust the salt and pepper and leave to rest for 30 minutes in a cool place.

Put a teaspoonful of the mixture in the middle of each cabbage square and wrap them up to form round balls, just slightly bigger than a walnut. If necessary, tie them closed with kitchen string.

Sauté the onion and sage leaves in a saucepan with a little oil. Add the cabbage rolls, turning them carefully so that they seal. Add salt and pepper and cook, covered, for around 20 minutes, adding hot broth if necessary.

Serve with Bergamo-style polenta.

Preparation time

1 hour, plus resting time

Ristorante Il Carlino d’Oro, Gaiole in Chianti (Siena), Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 4

1 kg stale bread

5 salad tomatoes, peeled and chopped

2 onions, minced

2 basil sprigs, minced

extra-virgin olive oil

wine vinegar

salt

Soak the bread in water for around 20 minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid. Crumble it, rubbing it with the hands, into a salad bowl.

Add the tomatoes, onions and basil and dress to taste with oil, vinegar (not too much) and salt. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

In addition to these ingredients, other vegetables can also be added, depending on what’s available, turning this simple summer recipe from rural Tuscan tradition into a delicious dish that could even serve as a main course when it’s too hot to turn on the stove.

Preparation time

15 minutes, plus soaking and resting time

Clemente Gaeta, Salerno, Campania

Ingredients

serves 4

2-3 medium potatoes

salt and pepper

wine vinegar

400 g boiled octopus, chopped

extra-virgin olive oil

grated zest of 1/2 lemon

leaves from 2 mint sprigs

Peel the potatoes, reserving the peels for use in the recipes on pages 24 or 36, and cut into cubes. Transfer to a pan of cold water with a pinch of salt, then bring to the boil and cook for around 20 minutes. Before removing from the heat, add a splash of vinegar to the water to stop the potatoes falling apart. Drain, transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Add the octopus to the potatoes and dress with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, grated lemon zest and mint leaves.

Use a round biscuit or pasta cutter to form discs of salad in the middle of the serving dish, and finish with a drizzle of oil.

Preparation time

1 hour

Sara Mambrini, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 2

2 boiled potatoes

200 g ragù

grated Parmesan

1 ladleful tomato sauce 

Cut the potatoes lengthways and scoop out the middle, chopping and reserving the flesh. Fill the hollowed-out potatoes with the ragù and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Spread the tomato sauce over the bottom of a baking dish then add the reserved potato flesh. Set the stuffed potatoes on top and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Preparation time

45 minutes

Marcella Cigognetti, Mantua, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 2

260 ml white-wine vinegar

2 peppers, cut into strips

1/2 onion, minced

1/2 garlic clove, minced

extra-virgin olive oil

2 salted anchovies, rinsed and deboned

2 parsley sprigs, minced

3 tbsps capers

200 g cooked chicken, beef or fish, cubed or cut into strips

salt and pepper 

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the vinegar. Blanch the peppers, draining while still crisp-tender, and set aside.

Sauté the onion and garlic in oil in a saucepan. Add the anchovies and cook gently, without frying, until they fall apart. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and capers. Sprinkle over a little vinegar.

Mix together all the ingredients, dressing with a little oil and adding salt and pepper to taste. Leave to rest for a few hours before serving.

Preparation time

45 minutes, plus resting time

Sara Bertolina, Valfurva (Sondrio), Lombardy 

Ingredients

serves 2

200 g cooked chickpeas

green part of 1 leek, thinly sliced

extra-virgin olive oil for frying

1 handful cooked spinach

1 egg

grated Parmesan

salt and pepper

breadcrumbs (optional)

plain flour for coating

Puree the chickpeas in a food processer.

Gently sauté the leek greens in oil, add the spinach and chickpeas and sauté for a few minutes.

Beat the egg in a bowl, then add the chickpea mixture, some grated Parmesan to taste and salt and pepper. If necessary, add some breadcrumbs to bind the mixture. Form into little balls.

Dip the balls in flour then fry in very hot oil (they are also excellent when baked in a 180°C oven for around 20 minutes).

Drain with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels before serving.

Preparation time

40 minutes

Clemente Gaeta, Salerno, Campania

Ingredients

serves 6

200 g crustless stale bread

milk (optional)

300-400 g grilled or fried vegetables (peppers, courgettes, aubergines, potatoes, etc.), thinly sliced

2 eggs, beaten

50 g Parmesan, grated

leaves from 2 basil sprigs, torn

salt and pepper

breadcrumbs (optional)

1 tbsp plain flour

oil for frying

tomato sauce or pesto for serving (optional)

Soften the bread by soaking in water or milk, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid.

Mix together the vegetables, soaked bread, eggs, Parmesan and basil and adjust salt and pepper to taste. If necessary, add some breadcrumbs to bind the mixture.

Form the mixture into small balls, dust with a little flour and fry in hot oil until golden-brown. Serve on their own or with a tomato sauce or pesto.

Preparation time

30 minutes

Trattoria La Sosta, Cremona, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 6

400 g bread without crusts

200 g single or whipping cream

100 g almonds

150 g sugar

1 pinch vanilla seeds

grated zest of 1 orange

4 eggs, separated

70 g dark chocolate, shaved

1 knob butter

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Soak the bread in the cream. Toast the almonds in the oven, then rub off the skins and chop the nuts coarsely.

Stir the almonds, sugar, vanilla, orange zest and egg yolks into the bread mixture. Beat the egg whites until firm, then fold into the mixture, and lastly fold in the chocolate shavings. Transfer to a buttered pudding mould and bake for 40 minutes.

This is a delicious way to use up old bread. A more traditional recipe has the bread soaked in milk and adds raisins and candied fruit as well as cinnamon and sometimes a shot of brandy or grappa.

Preparation time

1 hour

Lucia Giglioli, Guastalla (Reggio nell’Emilia), Emilia-Romagna

Ingredients

serves 4

50 g sultanas

400 g cooked polenta

milk

50 g granulated sugar

25 g butter, plus extra for buttering

50 g candied peel, diced

50 g pine nuts

1 pinch cinnamon

icing sugar for dusting

Soak the sultanas in warm water until soft, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid.

Soften the polenta in a saucepan over medium heat with a little milk, the granulated sugar and the butter. Stir in the sultanas, candied peel, pine nuts and cinnamon.

Pour the mixture onto a non-stick work surface and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Using wet hands, break off pieces of the mixture and shape into ovals. Arrange on a buttered baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot, dusted with icing sugar.

Preparation time

45 minutes, plus cooling time

Leti Federici, Jesi (Ancona), Marche

Ingredients

20 artichoke bracts

1 very small handful of yarrow flowers

a few mint leaves

450 ml Cognac

50 g sugar

1 organic unwaxed lemon

3 cloves

a few cardamom seeds, crushed

450 ml dry white wine

Put all the ingredients except the wine in a jar with an airtight seal and leave to macerate for 3 days, shaking the jar once a day.

On the fourth day, add the wine, and leave to sit for another 3 days, then strain and bottle the liqueur. Wait 4 months before serving.

Preparation time

30 minutes, plus resting time

Clemente Gaeta, Salerno, Campania

Ingredients

serves 6

500 g stale bread, chopped

milk

1 tbsp melted butter

400 g sugar

4 eggs

1 pinch vanilla seeds

grated zest of 1 orange

grated zest of 1 lemon

oil for frying

1 tsp cinnamon

Soak the bread in some milk for a few minutes, then drain, squeeze out excess liquid and stir until smooth. Stir in the melted butter, 200 grams of the sugar, the eggs, vanilla and lemon and orange zest.

Mix together the remaining 200 grams sugar and cinnamon.

Form the mixture into small ovals with your hands. Heat abundant oil in a deep frying pan and fry the ovals until crisp and golden. Drain and dip in the cinnamon sugar.  

Serve hot, accompanied by a lemon- or chamomile-flavoured custard sauce if desired.

Preparation time

40 minutes

Gino Zampolini, Magione (Perugia), Umbria

Ingredients

serves 4

6 tbsps cooked rice

1 knob butter

1 tbsp granulated sugar

grated zest of 1/2 lemon

3 eggs, separated

1 dash rum

50 g plain flour

oil for frying

icing sugar for dusting

Stir together the rice, butter, granulated sugar and lemon zest. Beat the egg yolks and add to the mixture, along with the rum. Add the flour while stirring. Leave to rest for a few hours.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then gently fold into the rice mixture.

Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into very hot oil and fry until golden and crisp. Drain and serve dusted with icing sugar.

Preparation time

30 minutes, plus resting time

Paolo Giangrande, Monopoli (Bari), Puglia

Ingredients

serves 4

500 g cherries, pitted

200 g asparagus stalks, peeled and thinly sliced

juice of 1/2 lemon

120 g sugar

1 egg white

Puree the cherries and asparagus stalks with the lemon juice in a food processor. Pass through a sieve or food mill and put the mixture in the freezer for 2 hours, stirring every so often to stop it freezing solid.

Meanwhile, put the sugar in a saucepan with 200 millilitres of water, bring to the boil and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.

After the cherry mixture has been in the freezer for 2 hours, beat the egg white to stiff peaks. Stir the sugar syrup into the cherry mixture, then gently fold in the egg white. Return to the freezer for 1 hour, then serve.

Preparation time

20 minutes, plus freezing time

Antonio Rizzo, Naples, Campania

Ingredients

serves 4

rinds of 5-6 lemons

1 l alcohol (90%)

60-70 g sugar

Carefully trim all the white pith off the lemon rinds, then put them in a jar with the alcohol and seal tightly. Macerate for 7 days.

Strain the lemon rinds from the alcohol. Dissolve the sugar in 1.5 litres of water, then cool and mix with the alcohol. Leave to rest for 2-3 days. The finished result will be yellow or green depending on the lemons used. 

Preparation time

30 minutes, plus maceration and cooling time

Rosanna Dotta, La Morra (Cuneo), Piedmont

Ingredients

650 g sugar

100 g apple seeds

650 ml alcohol (90%)

Make a syrup by bringing 1 litre of water to a boil, adding the sugar, stirring until dissolved then removing from the heat and allowing to cool.

Put the apple seeds, alcohol and syrup in a glass jar for 40 days, shaking every so often. Strain with a paper filter and bottle. The liqueur will be ready to drink after 2 months.

Preparation time

1 hour, plus maceration and resting time

Sara Mambrini, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 4

rinds of 2 citrons

480 ml alcohol (90%)

500 g sugar

Cut the yellow part of the rinds into strips, trimming off the bitter white pith. Leave to macerate in the alcohol for 5 days.

Dissolve the sugar in 500 millilitres boiling water, then cool. Strain the alcohol and mix with the syrup, then transfer to a large bottle. Shake to mix well, then leave to rest for 5 days. Bottle and store in a cool place. The liqueur is excellent served at 4°C.

Preparation time

1 hour, plus maceration and resting time

Sara Mambrini, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 4

150 g sultanas

rum for soaking

100 g butter, plus extra for buttering

150 g granulated sugar

400 g cooked polenta

150 g dried figs, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsps wild fennel seeds

2 tbsps plain flour, plus extra for flouring

3 1/2 tsps baking powder

icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Soak the sultanas in the rum, then drain.

Cream the butter and granulated sugar together.

Mash the polenta with a ricer or potato masher, then stir in the raisins, figs, eggs, butter and sugar, fennel seeds, flour and lastly the baking powder.

Stir well then transfer to a buttered and floured loaf tin. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven, unmould and dust with icing sugar. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Preparation time

1 hour

Eugenia Barusco, Milan, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 4

500 g stale bread, cubed

500 ml milk

50 g raisins

1 apple, peeled and sliced

1 pear, peeled and sliced

3 amaretti biscuits, crumbled

50 g dark chocolate, shaved

20 g pine nuts

2 eggs

100 g sugar

100 ml amaretto liqueur

1 tbsp plain flour

40 g butter, chopped

Put the bread in a large bowl with the milk and leave to soak for a couple of hours.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Soak the raisins in warm water until soft, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid. Mix together the raisins, apple, pear, amaretti, chocolate shavings and pine nuts.

Beat the eggs with 75 grams sugar.

Break the bread up in the milk, then add the raisin mixture and amaretto liqueur. Stir in the eggs.

Transfer the mixture to a buttered and floured cake tin, sprinkle with the remaining 25 grams sugar and top with small pieces of butter.

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 150°C and bake for 15 minutes more. Serve warm.

Preparation time

1 hour, plus soaking time

Maria Luisa Leoni, Milan, Lombardy

Ingredients

250 g apricot kernels

3 l alcohol (95%)

2 kg sugar

Peel and break up the kernels and leave to soak in the alcohol for 15 days, shaking the jar every so often.

Strain the alcohol and transfer to a bowl. Dissolve the sugar in 2.5 litres of water to make a syrup, then add to the alcohol.

Bottle the ratafia, then leave to rest somewhere cool and dry for 1 month.

Preparation time

1 hour, plus maceration and resting time

Ristorante Dolada, Pieve d’Alpago (Belluno), Veneto 

Ingredients

serves 8

For the flans:

50 g sultanas

350 ml skim milk

100 g sugar

100 g stale panettone

flour for dusting

1 egg

1 egg yolk

grated zest of 1 orange

2 tbsps Fior d’Agno liqueur

15 g butter, plus extra for buttering

For the sauce:

8-10 oranges

500 g sugar

10 g leaf gelatine

Make the flans: Soak the sultanas in water for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Bring the milk to a boil, add the sugar (reserving 2 tablespoons) then pour over the broken-up panettone.

Drain the raisins and dry, then dust with flour, shaking off any excess. Stir into the milk mixture, then leave to cool

Beat the egg and yolk together, then add to the cooled mixture, along with the orange zest and liqueur. Stir well.

Butter individual ovenproof ramekins and sprinkle with the reserved sugar, the pour in the mixture, filling three-quarters full. Cut 15 grams of butter into small pieces and place on top, then bake for 20 minutes before raising the oven temperature to 180°C and baking for another 10 minutes.

To make the sauce, peel the oranges and cut the peel crossways to make thin matchsticks. Blanch them three times in boiling water. Squeeze the orange juice and strain it. Put the juice in a wide saucepan and cook down until reduced by one-third.

Soak the gelatine in cold water. Bring 500 millilitres of water to a boil with the sugar. Switch off the heat and stir in the soaked gelatine and orange zest and juice.

Remove the flans from the oven, leave to cool and serve with the orange sauce.

Preparation time

1 hour 30 minutes

Libero Federici, Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto), Tuscany

Ingredients

serves 4

For the flan:

300 g cooked chestnuts

3 slices stale bread

milk

1 egg, separated

1 egg yolk

30 g sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

30 g potato starch

salt

1 knob butter

For the sauce:

100 g dark chocolate

1/2 shot rum

candied orange peel, chopped 

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Make the flan: Pass the chestnuts through a potato ricer or mash them. Soak the bread in milk, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid. Beat the 2 egg yolks with the sugar. Beat the egg white until it forms stiff peaks.

Mix together the chestnut puree, soaked bread, yolks, potato starch and a pinch of salt, then fold in the egg white. Butter an ovenproof mould and sprinkle with sugar, then pour in the mixture and bake in a bain-marie for 30 minutes.

Make the sauce: Melt the chocolate over a double-boiler with the rum and a little water. Remove from the heat when smooth and stir in the candied peel. 

Remove the flan from the oven, unmould on a serving dish and cover with the chocolate sauce.

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes

Antonella Biagioni, Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Tuscany

Ingredients

250 g rice cooked in milk

1 lemon

1 pinch vanilla seeds

3 eggs, separated

50 g granulated sugar

1/2 shot rum

50 g plain flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

extra-virgin olive oil for frying

1 handful icing sugar

Heat the rice with a piece of lemon rind and the vanilla seeds. Remove the rind and let the rice cool.

Beat the egg yolks with the granulated sugar, then add the rum, flour, baking powder and a little grated lemon zest and stir until smooth. Stir in the rice. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then fold into the mixture.

Heat the oil until very hot, then drop in spoonfuls of the mixture. Cook the fritters until golden, then remove with a slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain.

When dry, dust with icing sugar.

Preparation time

1 hour, plus cooling time

Klaus Mayr, Renon-Ritten (Bolzano-Bozen), Trentino-Alto Adige

Ingredients

serves 4

1 handful raisins

200 g cooked pumpkin, cubed

2 apples or pears, peeled and sliced

100 g sugar

1 pinch cinnamon

juice of 1 lemon

1 dash rum

40 g hazelnuts, chopped

250 g plain flour

1 egg

1 1/2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

salt

1 handful breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Soak the raisins in water until soft, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid.

Put the pumpkin and apples in a bowl. Add the sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, rum, hazelnuts and soaked raisins.

Make a dough by mixing the flour, egg, oil and a pinch of salt with a little warm water. Roll out into a thin rectangle and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Top the dough with the pumpkin mixture, then roll up into a log. Place on a baking tray and bake for 40 minutes.

Leftover pumpkin can also fill a savoury version of this strudel: mix with the same amount of cheese (a good opportunity to use up any remnants you might have in your fridge), 100 grams chopped speck, minced parsley, abundant grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes

Lucia Savelli, Pergola (Pesaro and Urbino), Marche

Ingredients

serves 6

500 g inner white part of watermelon rind

1 kg granulated sugar

1 lemon, sliced

250 g raw cane sugar

200 g butter

250 g spelt or emmer flour

250 g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

2 eggs

milk

Leave the watermelon rind to soak in water for 6-8 hours, changing the water every so often, then boil until tender.

Dissolve the granulated sugar in 1 litre of water, then add the lemon and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the watermelon rind.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Cream together the cane sugar and butter.

Mix together the spelt and plain flours, then mound on a work surface. Place the creamed butter and sugar in the middle and stir in the baking powder and eggs and enough milk to make a soft but compact dough.

Form the dough into a disc and bake until golden. Leave to cool then cover the top with the watermelon rind jam. Any leftover jam can be jarred in sterilized jars.

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes, plus soaking time

Giuliana Baroni, Mantua, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 6

50 g plain flour, plus extra for flouring

2 tsps baking powder

4 egg whites

100 g almonds, finely chopped

100 g granulated sugar

grated zest of 1 lemon

50 g butter, melted, plus extra for buttering

icing sugar for dusting 

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Sift the flour with the baking powder.

Whisk the egg whites in a bowl for a long time, then add, stirring constantly, the flour, almonds, granulated sugar, lemon zest and, lastly, the melted butter. Transfer to a buttered and floured cake tin, ensuring that the batter is not more than 2 fingers deep.

Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 140°C and leave for another 30 minutes before removing from the oven.

Dust with icing sugar then leave to cool before serving.

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling time

Bianca Remelli, Goito (Mantua), Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 6

500 g pumpkin roasted with its skin, chopped

milk

1 egg

1 egg yolk

salt

150 g almonds, toasted and ground

100 g sugar

50 g cacao powder

1 pinch cinnamon

25 g butter

breadcrumbs for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the pumpkin in a saucepan and cover with milk. Cook over low heat until all the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and cool.

Beat the egg and egg yolk with a pinch of salt.

Puree the pumpkin, then stir in the almonds, sugar (add more sugar if a sweeter taste is preferred), cacao, eggs and cinnamon. Stir well.

Butter a cake tin and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Pour in the batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes

Daniela Boscariolo, Vicenza, Veneto

Ingredients

serves 4

100 g rice flour

70 g almond meal

70 g corn starch

3 tsps baking powder

90 g raw cane sugar

250 g plain yogurt

50 g organic rice or sunflower oil

leftover juicer pulp from 2 carrots and 2 peaches or apricots, or apples or pears in the winter

2 tbsps muscovado sugar 

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the rice flour, almond meal, corn starch, yeast and cane sugar in a bowl and stir. Add the yogurt and oil and continue to stir until smooth.

Put the juicer pulp in a frying pan with 1 tablespoon muscovado sugar and 2 tablespoons water and cook for a few minutes until it begins to caramelize. 

Line a cake tin with parchment paper, sprinkle the bottom with the remaining tablespoon of muscovado sugar and spread with the juicer pulp. Pour over the batter.

Bake for 40 minutes (10 minutes less if using apples or pears). Remove from the oven and cool, then turn out onto a serving dish.

Preparation time

1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling time

Barbara Torresan, Milan, Lombardy

Ingredients

serves 4

3-4 slices stale panettone

butter

3 organic eggs

2 tbsps raw cane sugar

130 ml milk

1 shot Cognac, brandy or rum

seeds from 1 vanilla pod

sugar for sprinkling

vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving (optional) 

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Butter the panettone slices and use them to line a glass or ceramic baking dish.

Mix together the eggs, sugar, milk, Cognac and vanilla seeds. Whisk together and then pour over the panettone. Leave to sit for a few minutes to allow the liquid to be absorbed.  

Top with a few pieces of butter and sprinkle over a little sugar, then bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then unmould and serve, if desired, with vanilla ice cream or a spoonful of whipped cream.

Preparation time

45 minutes, plus cooling time

Nuccia Barile, Termoli (Campobasso), Molise

Ingredients

serves 4

5-6 slices stale colomba, cut into regular pieces

65 ml maraschino (or other sweet liqueur)

130 ml whipping cream

30 g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

60 g pastry cream

20 g candied peel

20 g almonds, toasted and finely chopped

50 g dark chocolate, melted

cacao powder, for dusting (optional)

Dip the colomba slices into the maraschino without soaking them and use them to line a dome mould, reserving a few slices and some of the liqueur for the middle and the top.

Whip the cream with the icing sugar. Set aside one-third of the whipped cream. Fold half of the pastry cream, the candied peel and the almonds into the two-thirds of the whipped cream. Fold the remaining pastry cream and melted chocolate into the remaining third.

Fill the mould halfway full with the white cream, cover with some of the remaining colomba dipped in liqueur, then pour over the chocolate cream and top with more colomba pieces dipped in liqueur.

Freeze for 4 hours, then unmould and decorate with icing sugar or cacao powder.

Preparation time

30 minutes, plus freezing time

Ingredients

Stale homemade bread (about 200 grams), 400 grams of chopped tomatoes, 1 onion, a few leaves of wild mint (mint), oil, salt, freshly ground pepper.

Cut the homemade bread slices, place these in a terracotta bowl, season with plenty of oil and freshly ground pepper or crushed in a mortar.
Pour into a saucepan 1 litre and a half of water, add salt, add the onion, cut into thin slices, tomato pulp mashed with a fork and a few leaves of mint chopped coarsely.
Bring to the boil and cook gently for about 30 minutes; then pour the flavoured water over bread slices and let the soup simmer on the corner of the stove for a few minutes in a covered container. Serve it hot with acquacotta optional addition of cheese.

Ingredients

Slice the onions, peppers and celery. Fry the oil in a pan, add the onion and let it brown a very gentle heat, and then add the sliced ​​pepper and celery. Mix well, add the chopped tomato into small pieces and keep cooking at moderate heat for half an hour, stirring occasionally.
Pass the sauce in a pot, preferably earthenware; pour 1 litre of water, season with salt and pepper. Take to the boil and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Apart beat the eggs. Align 4 slices of bread in each holster, cover them with beaten eggs and pour the hot soup over all previously well mixed. Serve immediately in the table.

Ingredients

400 grams of mushrooms, 200 grams of tomato pulp, 60 g of grated parmesan cheese, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 eggs, 16 slices of stale bread, 1 dl of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth (or scrape lightly with a small knife) and slice, chop the tomatoes and cut the garlic cloves into thin slices. Pour the oil in a pan, or better, in a terracotta pot, add the garlic and let it colour slightly. At this point, add mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, pour it all with 1 litre of water, seasoned with a little 'salt and pepper.
Take to the boil and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Roasted on the grill or in the oven slices of stale bread. Beat the eggs in a bowl together with 20 grams of parmesan cheese; pour over the acquacotta, stirring vigorously.
Arrange the slices of toasted bread in the diners’ soup plates, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, cover them with acquacotta well mixed and hot.
Wanting to enrich this soup typical of the Tuscan cuisine, you can garnish it after cooking, with slices of boiled sausage.

Ingredients

Rice (leftover), one or more eggs, cheese (parmesan or any other cheese you can cut into squares), bread crumbs, flour.

Mix the leftover rice with one or more eggs and cheese (grated or chopped). Shape it into small balls the size of oranges. Dip into beaten egg and dredge with flour. Dip the floured arancini back in the egg and finally roll them well on the bread crumbs.
Meanwhile heat in a small frying pan (not having to use large amounts of oil), a sufficient amount of oil to 'drown' the entire arancino.
Remove the small balls as soon as they look golden, then leave them for about ten minutes in the oven pre-heated to 180 °.

Ingredients

Potato skins, carrot peels, green part of the leeks, celery leaves, parsley stems, rosemary, sage, two peppers, onions and spring onions, skin the tomatoes, turmeric, garlic, salt, 4 bay leaves.

Wash very well the ingredients, add the salt and put in the oven at 85°.
Turn over occasionally and when everything becomes dry, shake it and pass it through a sieve.
For 1 kg of vegetables you will need 25 grams of salt.

Ingredients

Leftover cheese (hard cheese or soft cheese), fresh milk or cream, spirits (brandy, mugwort-flavoured liqueur, cognac or rum). 

Grate the hard cheese leftovers and chopped the  ones into small pieces. Work them together and put them in glass jars or earthenware pots adding fresh milk or cream. Let it ferment for a few days somewhere cool, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. When the mixture becomes creamy stop fermentation by adding a super some spirits among grappa, mugwort-flavoured liqueur, cognac or rum. The product can be further flavoured with the addition of a bay leaf, garlic, rosemary or other herbs. The brus can be consumed 20-30 days after preparation.

Ingredients

Potato peels, frying oil, 150 grams of flour, 3 egg whites, 1 tablespoon of baking powder.

Wash the potatoes well, scratching them with a stiff brush. Pat dry and remove the peel, leaving a bit of pulp under the skin. To prepare the batter, sieve the flour and the baking powder then collect everything in a bowl. Add the egg whites a little at a time, then the water necessary to obtain a creamy and smooth mixture, stir well. Let it sit for half an hour, season with salt. Heat plenty of oil in a skillet for frying and pass the potato skins into the batter; drain them a bit, fry them a few at a time for about 5 minutes or until they are golden

Ingredients

100 grams of meat (leftovers) 4 slices of stale bread, milk, one egg, two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt, pepper and broth.

Chop the meat (both raw and cooked), finely. Meanwhile soak the stale bread in milk. Mix the meat, bread and other ingredients in order to obtain a smooth and compact mixture then make many small balls. Bring the soup to a boil and cook the canderli for about 15 minutes over low heat. They can be served directly in the soup or dry and then seasoned to taste.
Drain them, pass them on a paper towel and serve hot on a serving plate.

Ingredienti

400 grams of leaves of the fennel, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Wash and steam (or boil) for 20 minutes the outer leaves of the fennel. After letting them cool, break them to remove any threads and blend them in a blender with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
You will thus get a seasoning very suitable to serve with fish.

Ingredients

Leftover fruit (peaches, plums, apricots or cherries), leftover biscuits or sponge cake or pie , a bowl of custard.

Cut into cubes or slices the overripe fruit. In a bowl, add the leftover fruit cake or biscuits and cover with cream
Put in refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours.

Ingredients

200 grams of boiled leftover rice, 150 grams of boiled fish (if raw you can do half), a tablespoon of flour, 1 egg, bread crumbs, a bit zest, plenty of oil for frying..

Skinned and boned fish (if necessary) and crumble. Apart, lightly beat the egg.
Place the fish in a bowl and mix with the rice, beaten egg, flour and lemon zest. With the mixture form small rolls, flatten and pass them in breadcrumbs and fry in hot oil.
Drain the golden brown croquettes and serve with a light side dish.

Ingredients

Onion, lentils (leftover), stale bread, potatoes, carrots, celery

Fry the onion, add the chopped up potatoes.
Separately, make a soup with potato, carrot, onion and celery.
Use it to wet the onion and potatoes just browned.
Add the lentils and blend it all until you get a soft cream. At this point, season the toasted bread with the cream obtained.

Ingredients

Leftover pasta, 4 eggs, Parmesan cheese, bread, olive oil.

Beat 4 eggs and add 5 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.
Put a little oil in a frying pan where you have to heat the leftover of pasta. Once hot, add the beaten eggs mixed with cheese to the pasta and a bit 'of bread crumb.
It is necessary to turn the omelette pasta over exactly as you do with a normal omelette.

Ingredients

3 hundred grams of cooked spaghetti (just boiled or already seasoned with tomato sauce), 4 eggs, a handful of pitted black olives, a handful of chopped parsley, 4 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. Olive oil.

Heat a frying pan greased with oil and pour the mixture. Let form a golden crust on the bottom and turn the omelette with the aid of a plate. 

Continue cooking the omelette and serve hot (or warm).

Ingredients

Leftover of risotto from the day before, 1 egg and oil.

Mix the rice with an egg. Heat a frying pan with a little oil and pour in the mixture. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes and turn the omelette for another 5 minutes.

Ingredients

500 grams of bread, 500 grams of flour, warm water.

Make a fountain with flour on a pastry board. Moisten the bread and put it right in the middle of the fountain. Knead and add more water if necessary to obtain a smooth and soft paste.

Take the obtained mixture and make it into small pieces: work each piece until it becomes a long pencil. Divide it into segments of about one centimetre each. With the index finger apply pressure to the centre of each gnocchetto, so to make it thinner favouring cooking.
Boil for fifteen minutes and verified cooking, remove them with a slotted spoon and season as you prefer.

Ingredients

Leftover boiled meat, chicken, roast, veal (leftover); peppers, parsley, cucumber, onion, celery, extra virgin olive oil.

Cut the meat into thin strips, add peppers of different colours cut into pieces, the chopped parsley, cucumber slices, a bit of finely chopped onion and half a stalk of celery.
Season with olive oil and vinegar or vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and olive oil.

Ingredients

Wilted salad from the day before, oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Put the salad in a pan with a little oil and sauté for two or three minutes.
Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients

Boiled (leftover) (calf’s or pig’s head), chicken’s cut-outs, fats from other meat cuts, egg, garlic, parsley, milk, salt, pepper, grated parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, flour, onion, rosemary, pickles, marsala or vin santo, vinegar, honey.

Cut the fat into strips. With the leanest parts, chopped in advance, make a dough by adding an egg, breadcrumbs, parsley and garlic, salt, pepper and grated cheese. With the preparation obtained, make small balls, roll them in flour and plunge them in boiling water. Remove them as soon as they emerge on the surface.
In another pan, fry oil with onion and rosemary. Add the strips of fat meat, the balls, pickles (onions, mushrooms, gherkins), a splash of marsala or vin santo and a few teaspoons of heated vinegar doctored with a little honey.
Cook for about ten minutes.

Ingredients

Leftover cheeses, milk, an egg, stale bread

Take the leftovers of cheese and put them to soak in the milk even one night long.

Drain the cheese and melt it in a bain-marie adding the milk in which you have them soaked the night before, until they become a cream. At this point, add an egg and thicken well.    Soak the slices of stale bread in the milk left from the previous preparation and put   them in the pre-heated oven for a few minutes. Now you can lay the fondue leftovers on sliced baked bread.

Ingredients

500 grams of stale bread, ripe tomatoes, onion or leek, olive oil, basil, salt and black pepper, vegetable soup.

Put a little 'oil in a pan and fry the onion or leek cut into thin pieces.
Add the tomatoes already peeled and without seeds. Add a bit of salt. Bring to a boil and add the soup. When it comes to the boil, add the stale bread cut into slices. Cook for a few minutes. Add the basil and let it stew with a lid on for about an hour.
Before serving, sprinkle with black pepper and mix all ingredients.
The soup can be eaten warm or heated with the addition of a bit of oil.

Ingredients

Green leaves of celery, a bit of bread crumbs, half a clove of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Purée the green leaves of celery with bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Beat the sauce that you get with a whisk adding plenty of oil in order to obtain a cream to be used on boiled meat, on croutons and, in general, as a dressing.

Ingredients

500 grams of bread crumbs, 500 grams of tomatoes with thin skin, 200 grams of ricotta cheese (from cow or sheep), 150 grams of sesame seeds, water, salt, olive oil, basil.

Crumble the crumb in a bowl and moisten it with a little water.
Wash and clean the tomatoes, put them in a tall container with salt, a little oil, basil and blend them. Add this tomato juice to the bread and mix.
In another bowl work the ricotta until it becomes a cream, add it to the rest of the mixture and mix well. Shape into balls, using both hands.
Toss them in sesame seeds, to cover the entire surface.
If possible, let them rest in the fridge half an hour, then skewered with a toothpick as if they were lollipops and serve.

Ingredients

Boiled or broiled fish from the day before, (leftover) boiled potatoes seasoned with oil, salt, parsley, 1 egg, oil for frying.

Mash the fish with a fork. Add the potatoes pureed with egg and mix.
Shape into balls, roll them in the  bread crumbs and fry in hot oil.

Ingredients

Leftover boiled meat, chicken, roast beef; 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery, parsley, Parmesan cheese, garlic, white wine.

Cut one onion, two carrots, two stalks of celery and brown them in a frying pan. Add the meat and add the chopped rosemary and sage. Finally, pour half a glass of white wine and let it evaporate.
Add salt to taste, parsley, Parmesan cheese and a clove of garlic, then mince it all.

Ingredients

Peel of citrus fruits, sugar.

To candy citrus peel is necessary to use those with the skin rather thick and smooth. Wash, dry and clean them carefully. Peel them, leaving a little bit of white pulp. Boil them in abundant water for 3 minutes. Then weigh the skins and put them in a pan, barely covered with cold water and with a quantity of sugar equal to their weight.
Let them simmer, stirring until the sugared water is completely absorbed. Let dry on a surface lightly sprinkled with sugar.
If you like, you can then make a frosting with hot chocolate.

Ingredients

150 grams of sugar, 500 grams of bread, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 100 grams of raisins, half a litre of milk, a bit of lemon peel, 50 grams of butter, 2 eggs, 200 grams of almond macaroons, a glass of rum.

Soak the bread in the milk and then squeeze it well. Soak the raisins in warm water. In a bowl, add the bread, sugar, crushed almond macaroons, eggs, grated lemon peel, cocoa and finally the rum. Grease a baking pan with butter, pour the mixture in and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake at 160 degrees for about 40 minutes.
Someone add almonds, pine nuts or walnuts. Others add roasted chestnuts, and some others dark chocolate. You can make it according to your taste.

Ingredients

Leftover cooked legumes: chickpeas, beans, lentils or beans; oil.

Puree the leftover vegetables with a little oil. With the cream, you can create a bed on which to lay the other courses (salt cod, for example, goes well with a cream of chickpeas while shellfish sautéed  can be accompanied by lentils cream).

You can add the cream to cereals soups and many others.

Ingredients

Leftover of roast or boiled rabbit or other meats; oil, salt.

Remove the outer leaves of a cabbage. Let simmer the whole cabbage in boiling water and salt. Once seared, let it dry for about ten minutes.
Meanwhile, mince the leftover meat you have to stuff the leaves of the cabbage with. The leaves must be previously opened wide. Afterwards close the stuffed leaves and tie them up with a kitchen string and put them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees, in a baking pan sprinkled with oil. Almost at the end of the baking, sprinkle the stuffed cabbage with half a glass of white wine.
Serve it sliced ​​and hot.

Ingredients

8 outer leaves of cabbage, 500 grams of leftover boiled rice, 1 onion, raisins, pine nuts, 1 egg yolk, 1 lemon, oil, salt.

Wash and scald the cabbage leaves for a few minutes. Afterwards remove the hard part of the cabbage and let the rest dry. Sauté a finely chopped onion with a little oil
Add the rice to 1 handful of raisins previously soaked and squeezed, a handful of pine nuts lightly toasted and chopped, grated lemon peel, onion and an egg yolk
Mix everything and add salt if necessary. Fill the cabbage leaves, roll them up and close them with a toothpick or string.
Arrange the rolls in a baking pan greased with oil and bake at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. During the baking spray them with a few drops of water acidulated with lemon so as not to dry out the leaves.

If there is some ham or cooked salami are left, here is the perfect solution to make a quick omelette, especially for children.

Ingredients

Leftover deli meats, vegetables (carrots, zucchini...), eggs, salt and pepper to taste.

Make an omelette adding vegetables cut into julienne strips (carrots, zucchini, etc.), cook it and make it set. Once ready, cover it with the leftover ham or salami cut into slices and roll it up with plastic wrap, keep it in the refrigerator for an hour.
Cut the omelette roll into thick slices and serve at room temperature.

Simple meatballs made with leftovers from the grill or a roast.

Ingredients

Leftover meat, eggs, milk, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Chop up the  leftover meat in a blender then pour in a bowl. Add 2 eggs, milk, Parmesan cheese, salt, and stir to make a soft mixture. Shape it into balls and roll it in breadcrumbs.
Fry in plenty of olive oil and serve piping hot with a simple salad.

Recipe designed to "reuse" leftover seasoned salami

Ingredients

Leftover salami, tomato, pasta, salt and pepper to taste

Peel the leftover salami , cut into small dices and fry it in a pan without oil and without flavours, for 5 minutes. Add two tablespoons of tomato sauce and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
Finish cooking the pasta directly into the pan with the salami sauce and serve.

Ingredients

Ripe fruits (no citrus fruits), whole pork loin

For the sauce:
Remove the fruits core and seeds (the peel is fine if not damaged) Put all the fruit cut into coarse pieces in a pot with a bit of water Cook over medium-low heat for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you want you can add sugar (10% of the weight of the fruit) Mix finely so that it becomes a smooth puree. You can add a bit of curry and cinnamon to make it more tasty.
Bake the whole loin in a baking pan with olive oil and herbs at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes. Ten minutes before the end of the baking, brush it with the fruit sauce and put back in the oven.

Ingredienti

2 slices of (hard) stale bread, 200 ml of milk, 50 ml of cream, 3 eggs, a bit of cinnamon, 50 grams of sugar

Carefully mix all the ingredients except the bread, then dip the bread slices in it. In a skillet, heat a knob of butter and cook  the bread slices on both sides until they are golden brown. You can sprinkle with powdered sugar, and eat them hot.

La Louche suggestion is to try this recipe  leftover “panettone” or "colomba" together with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients for 12 people 1 litre of milk, 50 g butter, 50 grams of flour, 100 grams of old cheese without rind

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and stir while cooking on low heat for 5 minutes. Add the milk, bring to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat, gradually add the cheese and let it melt.
La Louche suggests: it is very good to put as the final, topping layer for lasagna or the croque-monsieurs.

If you have leftover cooked or seasoned pasta from lunch, you can reuse it in the evening or the next day as an omelette.

Ingredients

Pasta, eggs, salt, pepper, olive oil, a clove of garlic and a sprig of parsley

Chop the pasta, so as to obtain pieces of about 2 cm each. In a bowl beat the eggs (in a quantity sufficient for the amount of pasta) with salt and pepper. Grate as much pecorino or parmesan cheese as you like and add fresh parsley. Add the pasta, stirring to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
In a low pan heat the olive oil on a low flame with a clove of garlic, which must be removed after browning.
When the oil is hot, pour the mixture in the pan and cook well on both sides, until they crust over if you like.

With leftover boiled meat you can prepare a delicious salad to be served cold as an appetizer.

Ingredients

boiled meat, fresh celery, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper to taste

After removing all fats chop the boiled meat into small pieces. Separately, wash the heart of a firm and fragrant celery and cut it into pieces. Season with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste, at least half an hour before serving it at a cool temperature
If you wish, you can add canned cannellini beans.

It a poor soup, at almost zero cost.

Ingredients

Stale bread, leftovers cheeses, a knob of butter, water, salt and pepper

Put on a saucepan full of water with a handful of salt. Add the stale bread and let it simmer for at least an hour, until you get a smooth cream. When ready to serve, complete with cheese and a knob of butter.
In a modern version, a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese is just fine.

Ingredients for 4 people

12 large cabbage leaves, 250g of leftover meat (can be boiled, but also a part of meat sauce, lamb or else provided they are leftovers), 30g dry bread, 200 ml milk, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, a tablespoon of chive, 40g of spring onions, 50ml dry white wine, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Soak the bread in milk and then squeeze it dry. Steam the cabbage leaves until they are quite tender. If the cabbage is very thick, remove part of the central rib. Strain and put them to dry Mince the ham and slice the spring onion thin. Lightly beat the egg with a pinch of salt. Add meat, ham, egg, bread, onion and herbs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Divide the mixture into portions to use as filling for each cabbage leaf. Wrap each one around, bending the ends.  Arrange the rolls in a baking dish greased with olive oil. Sprinkle the surface with the Parmesan cheese. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Beat oil and wine together and pour the mixture on the rolls using a spoon. Bake for about 30 minutes or more, until the surface colours. Serve the capunets warm
The capunets, especially the small ones are also delicious in a soup ... in case you had some left…

The "frittata rognosa" (fritàa rugnusa), typical dish from Novara, but there are many different versions throughout the rural Po valley. This is food farmers’ food, to bring in the fields, to eat even cold during Sunday gatherings, or for a tasty sandwich. The ingredients, except the eggs, vary from country to country: in the Langhe it is often used a salami called ‘salam d’la doja’, preserved in lard, soft and yielding, while in the Canavese area, for example, is more common the version with the ‘salampatata’, which, depending on the season, can be made with pork sausage or black pudding. 

Ingredients for 4 people

8 whole eggs, 200 g sausage, salt and pepper to taste

Crumble the salami in a frying pan with a little butter, brown it and let cool. In a bowl beat the eggs, salt and pepper with a fork (the quantity is to be adjusted according to how tasty is the salami) Mix in the salami with the eggs. Warm up the pan and pour the mixture, cover and wait for it to solidify, moving the pan so that it does not stick When it is a bit liquid just on the surface, turn the omelette over, sauté for another 2 minutes and turn off the heat. The "frittata rognosa" should remain soft and creamy inside.

Ingredients (for about 20 meringues)

100 gr. egg whites, 100 gr caster sugar, 100 gr icing sugar

Before the preparation of the meringues, the oven must be pre-heated to a temperature of 100 °
Put the egg whites in a glass or steel bowl
Keep in mind that the total amount of caster and icing sugar must be equal to twice the weight of the egg whites. You can also use just the icing
Begin to whisk the egg whites adding a tablespoon of sugar at a time as you continue beating them until stiff.
At this point slowly start adding the icing sugar with the aid of a strainer. Mix the icing sugar with a circular motion to incorporate as much air as possible. Put the mixture of egg whites and sugar in a pastry bag with a medium size emery tip and cover a baking pan with a sheet of greaseproof paper.
Form the meringues the size you want and arrange them on the baking sheet
Bake the meringues leaving the oven slightly open (you can, for example, use a steel ladle making sure to remove it using a pot holder) Let the meringues dry for about an hour and a half checking that they do not brown (possibly lower the temperature) After an hour and a half turn off the oven (maybe after tasting one), close it and let them sit until they are completely cooled.

"Plin" is a traditional preparation of Piedmont, and the name (plin) comes from the pinch that is given to the pasta to enclose the filling, between two thin layers of puff pastry, pinched by thumb, index and middle finger.

Ingredients for the pastry (12 people) 

1 kg of wheat flour type 00, 5 whole eggs and 7 egg yolks (you can also use 12 egg yolks, the pasta will only be harder to knead but you can use the egg whites to make meringues) 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients for the filling (12 people)

1 kg of meat (roasted or boiled), 3 eggs, 100 g of parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. 

The cold meat should be finely chopped. If you also have leftovers of  cooked vegetables (cabbage or spinach, for example), you can add them into the mixture. In a bowl blend the minced meats with parmesan cheese, three eggs, a pinch of nutmeg and pepper. Proceed preparing the puff pastry by making a well of flour on a pastry board, and adding the other ingredients. Mix with care and roll out the dough in a thin sheet._ To prevent the dough from drying, you begin the preparation of "Plin" by making small balls with the filling, the size of hazelnut; use your fingers or a pastry bag. Arranged each ball on the pastry at about a centimetre (less than half an inch) distance from the edge and from one another.

 Folds the pastry over the stuffing and seal lengthwise by pressing your finger along the edges; then cut along the line of "Plin" with a washer. Seal each small pasta envelope by giving it a pinch (the plin) along the edges. Better let them rest on a floured surface until they dry. Plunge the "Plins" in hot salted water for a few minutes. Season with butter, parmesan and sage or gravy, or, following an ancient tradition, you can serve them with just a little olive oil and a good wine.

The tuna sauce can be really considered recovered food when, for example, we roast meat. The trick is to cook it abounding in white wine (1/2 litre at least).

Ingredients

Gravy, 250g tuna, 4 anchovies, salt and pepper to taste

Mince the ingredients with the leftover roast sauce, add oil if necessary to get a smooth but compact sauce. By adding firm yolks the sauce gets creamy and  is often used as garnishing on top of stuffed eggs,  or as dressing for the same cold roast meat the next day.

This is a pie that we do not propose at the restaurant, mainly because offering our own homemade fresh bread we never have any left, so we do not have to deal with the problem of how to reuse stale bread.
But it is a family recipe that I have always loved a lot:

Ingredients

600 gr. stale bread, milk to taste, 100 gr. of sugar, 3 eggs, 100g white flour, yeast

Crumble up the stale bread into a large bowl and cover with the milk. When the milk is soaked up, whisk the eggs with the sugar, and when the mixture is foamy add it to the milk with a knob of butter, softened or melted. Mix well, even with your hands.
At this point let your fantasy or cravings loose and use whatever you like, or have in your home. You can add your choice: 150-200 grams of chopped chocolate (maybe leftover Easter eggs?), crumbled nougat, raisins (sultana), a handful of hazelnuts, pine nuts or almonds, ‘amaretti or biscuits.
Finally add half a teaspoon of baking powder and a half vanilla bean or a vanilla sachet, 100g of white flour and a generous pinch of salt.
Mix everything well, butter a baking pan with a high rim (with a diameter of about 28 cm) sprinkling it with brown sugar and pour the mixture in. Bake at 180 ° for 15 minutes and then for another 25 minutes at 160 °. Remove from oven and let cool.

Here's another classic from Chinese cuisine that allows us to use the leftovers in our fridge.

Ingredients

200 grams of pork loin or chicken, pepper, onion, carrot, pineapple, apple or whatever fruit you have, 1 egg, tomato, potato starch or maize starch, salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar to taste

Cut the loin or chicken into dices, beat the eggs with a little water, dip the meat and then pass it in potato starch and toss in pan with hot oil for two minutes.
Put 400cl of water in a pot together with fruits and vegetables, two tablespoons of sugar and two tablespoons of vinegar. If you want, add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt, to give it colour. Bring to a boil, stirring and adding potato starch to give density to the sauce.
Turn off the heat, add the meat and serve.

Here's another "revisited” classic of the Chinese cuisine.

Ingredients

200 grams of beef shoulder, spring onions (including green), fresh or powdered chili, fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon rice wine or ‘Marsala’ or red wine, peppers, onion, carrot, salt and pepper to taste

In a frying pan sauté the beef previously  cut into strips together with ginger and spring onions cut into strips a little sunflower oil for two minutes. Put 200 g of water in a pan, add onion, peppers and diced carrots, chillies, pepper, salt to taste and bring to a boil.  Add the beef previously sautéed with wine.
Of course, this dish can have endless variations using the leftovers of vegetables such as broccoli, eggplant and celery. Squid or shrimp can also be used instead of beef.

The Cantonese rice is simply a rice sautéed with egg, peas and ham.
Here's a version to reuse leftovers we have in the fridge.

Ingredients

Pilaf rice or leftover rice , 1 egg, half an onion or scallion 1 (even the green onion thinly sliced​​), sliced ​​cold cuts, zucchini, sunflower oil, salt and pepper to taste

In a frying pan cook a scrambled egg with a little sunflower oil, add onion or spring onion, salami (cut into strips or cubes), zucchini and rice.
Mix all ingredients together in the pan, adding oil if the rice is too dry. Turn off and serve.
The variations are endless; you can safely use diced cooked vegetables such as carrots, corn, beans, peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, and eggplant.
So as well as chicken or pork leftovers, all cut into cubes.
Chinese cuisine is really versatile, in the past to save on wood and coal used for cooking they used to 'jump' the food in the wok; the wok, because of its shape, allowed to cook in a very short time. This is also why the food had to be cut into dice so as to allow quick and uniform cooking and to facilitate the use of chopsticks.

Ingredients for 12 people


For the dough:
500 gr. 00 flour, 3 eggs, 1 cup of water

For the filling:
100 gr. boiled mixed vegetables in season, 300 gr. meat of your choice (beef, veal, pork), already cooked, 100 gr. Parmesan cheese, 1 egg

For the sauce:
2 cloves of garlic, 2 chopped onions, a handful of chopped fresh herbs, 400 gr. mixed vegetables in season, 100 gr. of tomato sauce if you have it in the pantry, oil, salt and pepper

Make a flour well on a pastry board; add the egg and start kneading, gradually adding water until the dough is soft and smooth. Form a ball, wrap in a plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool place for an hour. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by using different types of leftover boiled or roasted meat,  along with boiled vegetables, Parmesan cheese and one egg. Once you have a firm and homogeneous dough, cover and let it rest at room temperature. Take the dough, roll it out into a thin sheet with a rolling pin and cut strips of about 8 cm length. Place a teaspoon of filling every 6 centimetres along the bottom strips of dough and close the top, covering the filling with the layer of pasta, pressing the edges well so that they do not open during cooking. Cut other strips of dough at regular intervals and pinch both sides of each filling, to obtain ‘candies’. Put them on a floured surface and let them rest. For the sauce, in a large pan, lightly fry the garlic and the finely chopped onion in olive oil; remove the garlic when it starts to brown and add all the chopped vegetables. Cook on a high flame for 5 minutes, then lower the heat.  Meanwhile, boil salted water, dip the candies into it and cook for 7-8 minutes. Drain and pour the candies into the pan with the sauce, keep cooking for a couple of minutes. Serve very hot, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of pepper and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Ingredients for 12 people

800 gr. chunks of meat of your choice (or that you find in the fridge!), 300g of cereal from the pantry (barley, spelt, quinoa, millet), 300g of dried vegetables from the pantry (chickpeas, beans, peas), 300 gr. thinly sliced onion , 1 litre of soup (which you can make with the vegetables you have in the refrigerator and bones and cartilage), extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

In a high-rimmed pan, brown the thin slices of onion with some olive oil together with small meat cuts. Add the leftover vegetables, the already soaked cereals and a glass of red wine. Let it evaporate. Cover with hot soup and let cook on a low flame for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to absorb the soup. When the goulash has reached a creamy consistency, serve it in soup plates, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil together with whatever you have in the pantry: leftover boiled pilaf rice, polenta (maize porridge) or boiled potatoes.

Ingredients for 12 people:

300 gr. mixed vegetables , cut into chunks, 500g of cereals from the pantry (barley, spelt, quinoa, millet), 200g of pasta (ditalini, mezze penne), 1 litre of soup (which you can make with the vegetables you have in the fridge with leftover bones and cartilage), extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

In a high-rimmed pan, brown the diced mixed vegetables with some olive oil for a few minutes. Blend with a ladle of soup and add the already soaked cereals. Cover with hot soup and let cook on a low flame for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to absorb the soup. Then, add the pasta and finish cooking until complete absorption of the soup. Let it cool and serve with olive oil, Parmesan or crushed fresh herbs to taste. This can be a light summer dish and be enriched with other ingredients that you have in your fridge or pantry: tuna, anchovies, mozzarella cubes, slivers of Parmesan cheese, olives, etc ...

Ingredients for 10 people:

1kg of assorted vegetables (preferably easy to cut in long slices: carrots, eggplants, courgettes, peppers, endive), 500g of tomato puree, 200g Reggiano Parmesan, 500g of mozzarella, basil, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper

Slice the washed vegetables and let them dried dry in a colander. Meanwhile, add to the tomato puree a few leaves of basil, oregano, salt and pepper and a dash of extra virgin olive oil. Mix thoroughly and allow it to flavour. Grease a high-rimmed baking dish with a little oil and line its bottom with the slices of vegetables. Sprinkle them with the tomato sauce, cover with slices of mozzarella and a sprinkling of parmesan; start again with a second layer of vegetables. Continue until you have no more ingredients, trying to top it all with the mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake in an oven preheated at 180 ° for 25 minutes ending with 3-minutes grill, so as to form a crispy crust on top. Serve hot with slices of toasted bread and a nice salad.

Ingredients ½ kg of paté:

150 gr. of fowl offal or other bird (chicken, pheasant, hen) (requires approximately 2 Guinea fowls: pâté is a smart way to reuse all the poorer parts that are usually eliminated when you cook a bird), and  ½ breast and 2 collars , 200g of butter at room temperature 1 cup brandy or other semi-sweet liquor, herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary, garlic, onion, bay leaves), 10 slices of stale bread

Sauté the washed and dried offal and the remaining meat, previously cut in small pieces, with the herbs. After a few minutes sprinkle with liquor and evaporate completely. Let it cool in the pan then mix everything together with the soft butter. The mixture should be smooth uniform and must rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Before serving, heat in the oven or on the grill a few slices of bread from the previous day, once crispy and hot, bring it to the table along with the pâté. It is a great appetizer before enjoying this or other fowls.

Ingredients for 10 people: 

for the dough:
500 gr. 00 flour, 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 cup of water

For the filling:
200 gr. bellies of lake fish (the least fleshy part of the fillet, which usually is eliminated), 200g of diced celery, carrots and onions, 200g of green leafy vegetables (chard, spinach, ribs), 2 eggs, salt and pepper

for the sauce:
200g of fish heads and fish bones, 1 bunch of mixed herbs, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 bunch of parsley, 2 tablespoons flour, salt and pepper.

Make a well with the flour on a pastry board, add the egg the tomato paste start kneading, gradually adding water until the dough is soft and smooth. Form a ball, wrap it in a plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool place for an hour. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by frying in a pan all the bellies of fish and any scraps of filleting along with the vegetables and those with green leaves for a few minutes. Blend the mixture with two eggs, salt and pepper. Once you have a firm and homogeneous dough, cover and let it rest at room temperature. Take the dough, roll it out into a thin sheet with a rolling pin and cut strips about 8 cm in length. Put a teaspoon of filling every 6 centimetres along the bottom strips of dough and close the top, covering the filling with the sheet of pasta, pressing the edges well so that they do not open during cooking. Cut the strips at regular intervals with a sharp knife or with the appropriate washer to get the ravioli square. Put them on a floured surface and let them rest. For the sauce: Put the heads, fish bones, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper in a pot with cold water and simmer for at least an hour, until we get a concentrated soup. Strain and pour it in a pan, add two tablespoons of flour, stirring constantly, to thicken the sauce to taste. Dip the ravioli in boiling water for 3 minutes then finish cooking in the pan with the sauce for a couple of minutes. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Ingredients for 10 people

400g of ripe fruit, the least soggy you have at home, 300g of crushed biscuits, 100g of jam
½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon powdered sugar, butter and  flour for the pan, 1 rectangular sheet of already spread puff pastry (ask your baker)

Wash, dry and cut the fruit into small pieces and let it drain. In a large bowl, mix together fruit, cookie crumbs, jam and cinnamon, until you get a soft mixture. Roll out the dough spread the mixture evenly, leaving 2 cm border all around the rectangle of pastry. Gently roll the strudel, not too tight, and put it on the oven plate, previously greased and lightly floured. Brush the surface with a lightly beaten egg yolk and a teaspoon of sugar. Bake for 25 minutes at 200 degrees in a preheated oven and let it cool completely before cutting into slices. Serve the strudel with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Ingredients for 12 people

For the pastry:
350g of 00 flour, 150g sugar, 150g butter, 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, lemon peel to taste

For the filling:
400g of small sweets that you find at home (cookies, Boers, chocolates, waffles, biscuits, meringues, etc), 200g of custard

On a pastry board make a well with sifted flour and sugar, add one egg and the egg yolk, lemon peel and chunks of softened butter. Mix quickly, wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for two hours. Prepare the filling by finely chopping all the leftover sweets and add the custard to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Roll out the pastry into a cake tin, prick the bottom with a fork and pour the filling inside. Level the surface and place the mixture in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Serve with a sprinkling of cocoa powder or icing sugar.