La Cucina Italiana - De Italiaanse Keuken - The Italian Kitchen

Eat your wild greens! In America we would mow over most of these edible greens without a second thought thinking they are pesky weeds instead of seeing delicious frittatas, stuffed pasta, crostini and more growing in our front yard! 

1. Papavero or Papatine (poppy greens) - sweet
2. Giransole (wild chicory) - bitter
3. Grispigno/Cicerbita (when you cut it 'milk' with weep from its stalk) - bitter
4. Orecchie di Lepre/Piantaggine (rabbits ear) - very soft
5. Cima di Rapa (brocoletti/broccoli rabé) - cut off the stalks and eat just the top
6. Tarassco (dandelion green)

[...] Le Marche produces a varied, seasonal cuisine and truly distinctive wines. To fully appreciate the charms of this undiscovered region, combine an off-the-beaten-track tour of the region’s coastal scenery, breathtaking mountain views and evocative history with an exploration of some local culinary highlights.

Olive Ascolane: local stuffed olives

A specialty of the regional capital, Ascoli Piceno, these stuffed olives, painstakingly and lovingly hand-made by local women, make an appearance at big events and special occasions. Green olives are pitted and stuffed with a filling of meat and cheese, dipped in beaten egg and breadcrumbs, and deep-fried to a golden brown in sunflower oil. Served as starters or snacks, these addictive olives can be bought in cartoccio for eating on the go (or in frozen batches for frying at home) from the various wine bars and trattorie in Ascoli Piceno.

Ciauscolo: smoky pork sausage

This soft smoked-pork sausage is flavoured with fennel, garlic and vino cotto, a local non-alcoholic ‘cooked wine’ made from grape must with a unique sweet-and-sour flavour. Served spread on toast as an appetiser or a snack, thick slices or chunks of ciauscolo are also used to enrich winter meat, bean stews or vegetable soups. The best ciauscolo can be found in any norcineria or butcher in Le Marche’s many hilltop towns. Ciauscolo crostini features as one of 15 courses at the atmospheric Il Picciolo di Rame (www.picciolodirame.com), a restaurant specialising in historical Le Marche cuisine that’s set in a medieval olive oil mill in the tiny village of Caldarola.

Vincisgrassi: an epic lasagne

Le Marche’s version of lasagne is a rich, baked pasta dish of epic proportions – 12 layers of soft, slippery pasta sheets are interspersed with veal ragu, chicken liver or lamb sweetbreads, truffles or wild mushrooms, and béchamel sauce. A proper vincisgrassi is (unsurprisingly) reserved for special occasions, but simpler versions of the original can be sampled in Macerata, also home to the Arena Sferisterio, a Roman-style outdoor theatre hosting one of the opera world’s biggest annual events in July and August. Enjoy vincisgrassi with a glass of Rosso Piceno, a full and fruity red wine made from a blend of local Sangiovese and Montepulciano grapes.

Brodetto all’Anconetana: a decadent fish soup

Stop at any restaurant along Le Marche’s coast and you’re bound to find a version of this fish soup. Traditionally made with 13 different types of fish and shellfish (one for each person at the Last Supper), the tomato-based soup, rich with the flavour of fresh seafood, evolved from the local fishers’ dilemma around how to use up by-catch. Brodetto all’Anconetana is a specialty at Uliassi (www.uliassi.it), a seaside restaurant in Senigallia with two Michelin stars that is widely regarded as one of Italy’s best seafood restaurants. In autumn, brodetto afficionados flock to Fano, a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, for the annual Brodetto and Fish Soup Festival. A perfect white wine to accompany fish is the fresh and tangy Verdicchio, Le Marche’s most famous wine, hailing from the areas of Castelli di Jesi and Matelica.

Crema fritta: ‘fried cream’

A Marchigiana delicacy is crema fritta (literally, fried cream), which makes an unusual appearance in the local fritto misto, a mixed fried platter of zucchini, onions, olive ascolane and veal or lamb kebabs. Cooked cream is set in the fridge overnight, then gently coated in egg and breadcrumbs and deep-fried on skewers. Vernaccia, a sparkling red wine unique to the tiny village of Serrapetrona, makes a refreshing accompaniment to fried foods.

[...] Cannelloni are another of Italy’s stuffed pastas [...]

Ingredients

for the filling

1 1/2 lbs. ground pork1 1/2 lbs. ground veal (chicken or turkey may be substituted)2 – 3 tbsp butter1 pkg (10 oz, 283 g) frozen chopped spinach (cooked and well-drained)1 pkg (8 oz, 227 g) cream cheese1 cup grated Pecorino Romano — Parmigiano may be substituted2 or 3 eggs slightly beaten — depending on size¼ tsp ground nutmegzest of 1 lemon, more if you like

for the white sauce

2 – 3 oz (57 to 85 g) cream cheese, softened 2 – 3 oz (59 to 89 ml) milkfor the cannelloniMom’s pasta dough1 quart tomato sauce, with meat or without (See Notes)cheese saucean 8 oz ball of fresh mozzarella1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions

for the filling

Sauté meat in butter. Season lightly with salt.
Use meat grinder to process the meats. Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until well-combined.
Cover the filling and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Once the filling has rested, you can begin making your cannelloni.
for the cheese sauce

Combine equal amounts of cream cheese with milk.
Whisk and set aside.
to make the cannelloni

Shape 2 to 3 tbsp of filling into a small log, about as thick as your index finger. More or less filling may be required depending upon the size of your cannelloni. Do not over-stuff. Filling should leave a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) border on either side of the dough sheet.
Place the filling on the edge of the dough sheet and roll as one would if making a cigar.
Set aside, seam-side down.
Repeat Steps 1 through 3 until all the filling or dough sheets have been used.
assemble the dish and bake

Pre-heat oven to 350˚ F ( 177˚ C).
Liberally butter a baking dish.
Coat the bottom of the dish with 1 to 2 cups (237 to 473 ml) of tomato sauce
Place cannelloni, seam side down, in 2 rows, until dish is filled. Do not over-crowd.
Spoon cheese sauce over all the cannelloni.
Add enough of the remaining tomato sauce to completely cover the dish’s contents.
Sprinkle the top with the grated mozzarella and Pecorino Romano cheeses.
Spray one side of a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and use it to cover the baking dish, sprayed side down.
Bake in pre-heated 350˚ oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese topping is cooked to your satisfaction. Over-cooking may result in dry cannelloni.
Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

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