Traditional dishes:

Arancini di riso: fried rice balls

These rice balls are a favorite street food, available at stands and shop fronts all over Naples. But they’re also a great way to use up left over rice or risotto from the day before.

Ingredients for 4 -6 people

500 g Arborio rice
25 g butter
3 eggs
50 g grated Parmesan cheese
100g prosciutto cotto or salami, diced
200 g mozzarella or fior di latte, diced
100 g breadcrumbs
Olive oil for frying

Cook the rice in abundant salted boiling water. Drain well and mix in the butter. Leave to cool a little. Beat the eggs with the Parmesan cheese and stir into the rice, then leave to cool completely. Once rice has cooled, take a little and place it in the palm of your hand. Press a little proscuitto and mozzarella into the centre and cover with some more rice. Roll into a ball shape, making sure the filling is well enclosed in the rice, and ensuring the arancini are firm and compact. (Otherwise they tend to open during frying.) Roll rice balls in the breadcrumbs and fry in abundant hot olive oil. Drain quickly on kitchen paper, then serve.

Gattò di patate: baked potato pie

Who would have thought plain old potatoes could taste so good?

Ingredients for 4 -6 people

1 kg floury potatoes
100 g butter, softened
2 eggs plus 1 yolk, beaten together
100 g grated Parmesan cheese
Handful parsley, chopped
½ - 1 glass milk
50 g breadcrumbs
100g prosciutto cotto (or salami)
250 g mozzarella or fior di latte
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes (complete with skin) in abundant salted boiling water. Once cooked, drain, peel and push through a potato ricer or mash with a potato masher. Add half the butter, the eggs, Parmesan, and the parsley and stir well with a wooden spoon, adding just enough milk to obtain a thick, smooth purée. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into two, and leave to cool for half an hour. Grease a rectangular ovenproof dish with a little olive oil and dust with a few of the breadcrumbs, turning the dish upside down to remove excess crumbs. Spread out half of the potato mixture in the bottom of the dish, then scatter the prosciutto and mozzarella on top. Spread the rest of the potato mixture on top and smooth the surface. Scatter top with remaining breadcrumbs and dot with remaining butter, then cook for 45 minutes in an oven preheated to 180ºC. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then serve.

Vermicelli con le vongole: vermicelli with clams

A real favorite in Campania, you’ll find this dish everywhere from Napoli to Salerno.

Ingredients for 4 -6 people

500 g vermicelli
1 ¼ kg clams
2 large cloves garlic, halved
250 g tomatoes, skinned and chopped (or tinned)
100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 small chilli pepper, crumbled
Handful parsley, finely chopped

Soak the clams for a couple of hours in lightly salted water, after which rinse well under cold running water. Place in a pan with a drizzling of olive oil and toss over a high heat until all clams have opened. Discard those which remain closed, and filter the juices that have formed in the pan.

In a large frying pan heat the remaining olive oil and add the garlic. Once garlic has turned golden brow, discard, then add the chopped tomatoes, crushing the larger pieces with the back of a fork. Sprinkle in the chilli pepper, salt to taste and cook for a further 5 – 10 minutes. Add this point add the clams from the other pan along with the filtered juices and the chopped parsley.

Meanwhile cook the vermicelli in abundant boiling salted water until al dente, then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Add the vermicelli to the other pan and toss all the ingredients well, adding a little of the cooking water if vermicelli are too dry. Serve immediately with a final garnish of chopped parsley.

Coniglio alla Ischitana: rabbit Ischitana style

Ingredients for 4

1 rabbit, cut into pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small chilli pepper, finely chopped
1 ½ glasses white wine
250 g tomatoes, chopped
Handful parsley, finely chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Heat a drizzling of olive oil in a terracotta pot, add the garlic and chilli pepper and brown the pieces of rabbit, turning often, so they color on all sides. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the white wine and cook rabbit over a medium heat for about half an hour. At this point, add the tomatoes and the parsley and continue cooking until rabbit is cooked, another 10 – 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.

La torta caprese: chocolate Caprese cake

Ingredients for 1 cake

150 g butter
250 g sugar
6 eggs, separated
Pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
300 g almonds, ground
250 g dark chocolate