Traditional dishes:

Favetta: fava bean purée

Ingredients for 4

500 g shelled fava beans (broad beans)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blanche the beans in salted boiling water, and drain as soon as they are tender, 2 – 5 minutes, depending how old they are. Run under cold water then remove their outer shells. In a food processor, whiz the fava beans with the garlic, lemon juice, thyme leaves and slowly add as much oil as you need to obtain a rich, smooth cream. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with some braised chicory.

Insalata di arance: orange salad

Ingredients for 4

4 large oranges
Few crisp lettuce leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel orange and cut into segments, taking care to remove any pith and membrane. Arrange the crisp salad on a serving dish and season lightly. Place the orange segments on top, season with salt and pepper and garnish with a drizzling of extra-virgin olive oil. Delicious served with grilled salmon.

Orecchiette con cime di rapa: oricchiette with broccoli rabe

Ingredients for 4 - 6

700 g broccoli rabe
500 g fresh orecchiette pasta
2 cloves garlic
3 salted anchovies, rinsed and chopped
Pinch dried chili pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil

Trim and rinse the broccoli rabe and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and reserve cooking water. Heat a generous drizzling of olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and sauté until garlic turns golden brown. Discard garlic and add the chopped anchovies. Add the roughly chopped broccoli rabe and the chilli pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the broccoli cooking water back to the boil, add a little more salt if necessary, and cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain pasta and add to the broccoli. Toss well together and serve immediately.

Seppie ripieni: stuffed cuttlefish

Ingredients for 4

1 kg cuttlefish, cleaned and boned
100 g homemade breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp capers, rinsed
1 salted anchovy, rinsed and chopped
Handful parsley, finely chopped
25 g pecorino cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil

To make the filling, mix the breadcrumbs with the garlic, the eggs, parsley, capers, anchovy, parsley and pecorino cheese. Season to taste with salt and parsley. Stuff the cuttlefish with the filling and close each one with a toothpick. Place cuttlefish in an oiled ovenproof dish, drizzle with a little olive oil and cook for 40 – 45 minutes at 350ºF.

Torta di mandorla: almond cake

Ingredients for 1 cake

3 eggs
300 g sugar
100 g butter
250 g flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
300 g ground almonds
Icing sugar for decoration