My allotment Ribollita - a leftover vegetable soup.

Ribollita in Italian means re-boiled, and simply refers to a leftover vegetable soup, mixed with stale bread and then reheated.

My recipe is more like a guideline since the soup has been traditionally cooked with pretty much whatever was available from the vegetable garden.

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 cloves of minced garlic
Salt and ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. tomato paste or 1/3 cup of canned diced tomatoes or 1 fresh tomato
1/2 cup cooked or canned cannellini beans
1L vegetable or chicken stock
250-300g chopped kale
4 large, thick slices whole-grain bread
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 thyme sprigs (leaves only)
crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf

optianal:
Add fresh vegetables:
Sweet potatoes or butternut squash (cook before adding)
Savoy cabbage
Swiss chard
Zucchini
Leeks (white parts only), sliced
...freshly grated Parmesan

How i did it:
- Start by putting the dried beans in salted, cold water – about five times as much water as beans by weight.
Now heat the beans to a gentle simmer – keep the beans at a simmer, never a hard boil.
The time of cooking really varies on the bean variety and there is no better method than… tasting.
Cannellini beans usually take way more than an hour – and possibly over three hours.
When the beans are cooked, drain them, reserving the cooking water.
In a blender or food processor, puree about 3/4 of the beans and return the bean purée to the cooking water with remaining whole beans.
OR: Drain the beans; if they’re canned, rinse them as well.

- Meanwhile, prepare the soffritto: put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
When it’s hot, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the thyme leaves, the remaining fresh vegetables, the tomato paste, the bean purée + whole beans (with its water if You like), along with an additional 1L of stock.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the soup bubbles steadily; cover and cook, stirring once or twice to break up the tomatoes, until the flavors meld, 15 to 20 minutes.

Fish out and discard rosemary and thyme stems, if you like, and stir in kale.
Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add bread in large pieces and wait.
Wait, wait and wait again.
...so the bread essentially falls apart and thickens the soup.
The soup should be thick but not dry, so add a little more cooking water if you need to loosen it.
Then cook again for 5 minutes until boiling but only before serving.
OR: Let soup sit for at least a few hours, ideally overnight.
Then, reheat the soup, boiling for a few minutes at low heat.
Stir, add olive oil and eat.

You can scatter red onion slices over the top, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Parmesan if you like.

There are a few boundaries for your creativity:
Ribollita was originally developed as a way to utilize stale bread.
- cook the dried beans without soaking them: “slowly.”
If you cook the fresh beans and add rosemary and salt in the cooking water, you can use some of that water to thicken and flavor the soup.
Another trick is to use a hand blender to blend sauteed garlic cloves, a some cannellini beans and fried sage together and then add that paste to the soup.
Since cooking the beans takes so long, cook the beans the first day (maybe in the evening, while doing other stuff) and then prepare the soup the next day, which then serve on the third day (!) - the taste will be at its peak the following day.
If you don't have cannellini beans you can substitute:
- White (navy) beans
- Flageolets

- Try to keep the same proportion of vegetables to bread.
Cavolo nero should always be present for an authentic taste.
It is excellent when made with swiss chard, cavolo nero and good Italian stale bread.

- Don't stint on the herbs because the white beans absorb flavor.

- Don't put in the microwave.
Ribollita means "boiled again".

- Cook early in the morning or better the day before.

- Ribollita | authentic recipe | Italian recipes | Tuscan | soup

- Canned Or Dried Beans? 5 Ideas When Buying Beans - DrWeil.com

Frico from Memorie di Angelina

- Frico | Memorie di Angelina:
...frico, is something like a potato pancake, only you pile on lots of cheese, specifically a mild Alpine cheese called Montasio (see Notes).
The cheese melts into the potato and forms a delicious round of goodness, warm and creamy on the inside, golden and crispy on the outside.

Substitute for Montasio cheese - Parmigiano Reggiano OR Asiago.. you could use fontina at a push.
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
700g (1-1/2 lbs) potatoes, peeled and diced
350g (3/4 lb) Montasio cheese, coarsely shredded or cut into small dice
Salt and pepper
Olive oil, lard, or lardo minced into a paste
75g (2-1/2 oz) pancetta, guanciale or speck, cut into small dice (optional)

Sauté the onion gently in the olive oil or lard or minced lardo in a skillet (nonstick is best) until soft and translucent, along with the pancetta, guanciale or speck if using.

Add the potatoes and mix together with the onions.
Season generously with salt and pepper, then add a glassful of water and cover.
Let the potatoes simmer until soft, adding more water if necessary.
Uncover and let any remaining liquid evaporate, smashing the potato with a wooden spoon into a very rough purée.
Leave some of the potato dice whole for a more interesting texture.

Add the cheese and fold it well into the potato and onion.
Stir from time to time over gentle heat until the cheese melts completely.
Continue simmering for another 5-10 minutes, until the mixture has thickened enough that it forms a solid mass.

Now flatten out the mixture and turn the heat up.
Let the mixture form a nice brown crust on the bottom, then flip it over and let it brown on the other side, as if you were making a frittata, about 3-5 minutes per side.
Repeat if need be to get a nice crust.

Serve immediately, while the cheese is still warm and creamy.
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Cantuccini Biscotti.

- Cantuccini Biscotti, are an Italian almond biscuit Recipe

Veal escalopes with prosciutto and chicken livers.

Scaloppine alla Perugina - Veal escalopes with prosciutto and chicken livers.

Ingredients
Serves 4
450g of thinly sliced veal fillet/scaloppine
55 g of prosciutto, diced finely
3 salted anchovies, bones removed
1 chicken liver, chopped as finely as possible
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 sage leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers
the juice and zest of half a lemon
half glass dry white wine
plain flour, for dredging
a few sprigs of parsley leaves picked and chopped finely
a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chop the prosciutto, anchovies, chicken liver and sage leaves as finely as possible.
In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil and cook the anchovies, prosciutto, chicken liver and sage leaves for 3 minutes.
Add the capers, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Stir constantly until all the ingredients are combined and soft.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add the white wine and leave to reduce for a minute or two.
Add a tablespoon of butter and mix well.
Set aside and keep warm.

Dust the veal fillets with the flour.
In a large pan, heat the olive oil and butter on a high heat.
Cook the veal for a minute on each side.
Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
Serve the veal and pour the sauce on top.
Scatter parsley leaves on top.
Serve with rosemary potatoes.

MORE:
- Scaloppine di Pollo alla Perugina - Italian Market
Chicken Fillet with Prosciutto, Chicken Liver and Lemon

Giardiniera (Italian Pickled Veggies).

- Giardiniera (Italian Pickled Veggies) Recipe | Cookooree
1 small head cauliflower
1 carrot
1 celery rib
12 pearl onions
12 olives
2 red bell pepper
2 yellow bell pepper
1 small head serrano or jalapena chile
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup EVOO
water to cover the vegetables
1/4 cup sea salt to stir into the water for the brine

Remove the seeds and ribs from the red, yellow and serrano peppers. Cut into 2 inch strips and then 1/2 inch slices.
Cut the celery and carrot in quarters and cut in 1/2 inch slices.
Cut the pearl onion in half.
Cut the cauliflower in quarters and cut out the core and large stem. Break the florets into pieces about the same size of the other vegetables.
Place the green, red and serrano peppers, celery, carrots, onion, and cauliflower in a bowl. Stir the salt into the water and pour into the bowl to cover the vegetables completely.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day drain salty water and rinse vegetables well.
Cut the olives in half.
Mix the garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper and olives in a bowl. Pour in vinegar and EVOO and mix well. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and mix well.
Spoon the giardiniera into a liter or quart jar and seal tightly.
Refrigerate for 2 days before eating.
Gardiniera will keep in the refrigerator of at least 2 weeks.

- Giardiniera – the Chicago Way | from the Bartolini kitchens
Chicago Giardiniera Recipe
Ingredients

8 jalapeños, chopped (for more heat, serranos may be substituted)
1/2 large cauliflower, cut into florets
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 sweet banana peppers, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
1/2 cup kosher salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp celery seeds
black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil

Directions
Combine vegetables and salt.
Add enough water to cover, stir, cover, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Strain vegetables from brine, rinse well, and set aside.
In a large glass bowl, add garlic and remaining seasonings.
To that bowl, add the vinegars and stir until well-mixed.
Whisk the solution while adding the oils.
Add the reserved, brined vegetables into the bowl and gently mix until well-coated.
At this point, the giardiniera may be left, covered, in the bowl or transferred to clean jars.
Either way, it must be refrigerated for 48 hours before serving.
Because this giardiniera isn’t canned, it must be stored in the refrigerator, where it will keep for a few weeks.

Fermented! Italian la giardiniera.

- The Probiotic Jar - The Probiotic Jar

- Melanzane a scapece (Marinated Eggplant) | Memorie di Angelina

- Homemade Giardiniera | Memorie di Angelina
Giardiniera is an Italian relish of pickled vegetables in vinegar or oil.
The Italian version includes bell peppers, celery, carrots, cauliflower and gherkins.


- Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pickled garden vegetables | Food | The Guardian
Italian la giardiniera, which simply means a preserved mix of seasonal garden vegetables.
This March batch included carrot, turnip, red cabbage, beetroot (leaving no doubt about colour – soft pink or absolute purple depending on proportions) fennel and red onion.
This method makes a pleasing, entry-level pickle, with both crunch and jolt, its flavour sour and assertive enough to fill your mouth in a single bite but just sweet enough not to be abrasive.
The pickle equivalent of easy-listening maybe (serious fermenters and pickle aficionados may like to stop reading now).

As a guide, 1kg of vegetables, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces, needs 750ml pickling liquid made by mixing 550ml white wine vinegar with 200ml water in a pan, then adding a heaped tablespoon each of fine salt and sugar, and whatever you fancy of the following: a crushed red chilli, peeled or crushed garlic, bay, dill, peppercorns, juniper berries or coriander seeds.
Then heat it slowly.
Once at boiling point, add all the vegetables, stir, cover the pan and leave on the heat for one minute.

And that is pretty much it.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of each of two large, sterilised jars (wash them in boiling water and dry in a low oven).
Now use a slotted spoon to lift the vegetables into the jars, cover with pickling liquid, share out the spices and screw on the lids.
If you can, wait a week, although they’re good to eat the next day.
I keep my pickles in the fridge for up to two months.
They taste better when cold anyway: brighter somehow, the sweet and sour and taste even more pronounced – especially next to a cheese sandwich, a slice of savoury pie or boiled meat, or simply savoured straight from the jar against a kitchen counter.

- Melanzane a scapece (Marinated Eggplant) | Memorie di Angelina

Zuppa di orzo (Italian Barley Soup).

- Zuppa di orzo (Italian Barley Soup) | Memorie di Angelina

Maritozzi with whipped cream.

- Maritozzi • Ricetta • BiancoLievito:
Sweet Yeasted Roman Buns with Whipped Cream (Maritozzi)
1 kg Flour 00 strong W360
200 g Lievito Madre
10 g Lievito di Birra - brewer's yeast
300 gr Whole eggs
200 gr Sugar
50 gr Powdered milk/Lattepolvere
200 gr Water
300 gr Butter
250 g Raisins
10 gr Salt
50 gr leavened mix ("leavening mix" to be added for the development of the final dough.)
50 gr Honey

Mix the flour, lievito madre, or the beer, the whole eggs, the sugar, the honey and the powdered milk dissolved in half of the recipe in the mixer or the kneader.
Start kneading, moisturizing the dough with the remaining water adding it little by little.
Continue kneading until gluten is developed.
Taking a piece of dough and enlarging it with your hands, you have to form a veil of elastic dough.
Add the butter, salt and aromas so that everything is incorporated well.
As a last ingredient, add the raisins washed, softened and well squeezed (the processing is more rational if the preparation of the raisin takes place the night before the dough, so as to have a moist and dry fruit).
Cover and leave in the fridge for about 10-12 hours.
After this time break for portions of 40-50gr and preshape.
Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Pick up each piece and round it well giving the final shape.
Put in baking pan to rise for 90min 28C and bake at 180C for about 20min.
Once out of the oven, glaze with a mixture of icing sugar (Stem the icing sugar with water and a drop of alcohol to obtain a smooth consistency) - frosting - Buttercream frosting.
PS
The powdered milk brings sugars, improving the coloring in cooking and helps to have a "thinner" crust.
If you can not find it, you can replace it with about 80g of whole milk, and reduce the amount of water by about 30gr.

As for the leavened mix (https: //www.biancolievito.it/le-ricette/? Category = 184 ...), this is nothing but a paste made of candied citrus fruits, sugars and vanilla, which is used to flavor leavened dough. The practicality of this preparation is that you can keep it in the fridge, once ready!
- Maritozzi | Cooking from Minneapolis to Milan:

- Maritozzi with whipped cream | Emiko Davies:
0.8 ounces (25 grams) fresh yeast (1 teaspoons or 7 grams of dry yeast)

- Italian Maritozzi by BiancoLievito - Food Fanatic:
200 gr Sourdough at 2° refreshment

- Sweet Yeasted Roman Buns with Whipped Cream (Maritozzi) Recipe on Food52
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Crostata from Alice Kiandra Adams.

- crostata, crostata – rustica RETRO:
A crostata is an Italian baked tart or pie.
A crostata – the generic name for a jam or fruit tart – is a kind of mainstay of Italian family cooking.
Italians don’t actually bake a great deal – most often a birthday cake is a fluffy mass of sponge layered with custard and cream from the local pasticceria – but there is someone in every family who prepares the crostata for the occasions where one is called for; a nice afternoon tea, a family lunch, a picnic or a special breakfast.
Indeed, crostate are as much a breakfast food as anything else in the land of cakes for colazione.
A pastry ‘crust’ is essentially just a vehicle for whatever seasonal fruit is calling out from the market stalls, or begging to be used from the bottom of the fridge.
You can use jam you already have in the larder (good reason to always have extra jars of good jam on the shelves) or cook fresh fruit down ready for the tart.
I am constantly experimenting, and love good ripe fruit like plums sprinkled with sugar and just cooked down as part of the baking process, actually a fine way to get a really well baked crust as the fruit needs time to cook.
We made this at Market to Table a couple of months ago and the group decided that it was very good, and also agreed that a little whipped cream goes well with a plum tart.
If you want to see photos of this version they are part of this lovely account of Market to Table by Paola from Italy on My Mind.

crostata con la marmellata, simple jam tart

For short crust pastry:
250 g plain flour (or 150 g plain flour, 100 g fine ground durum wheat flour)
80 – 100 g caster sugar (light brown caster is nice)
125 g butter
1 large egg (or 1 med egg plus one yolk)
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt

Jar of homemade jam
The pastry can be made so easily by hand there is (almost) no advantage to puling out the stand mixer or food processor.
It can also be made in advance and keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge and can be froozen for up to 3 months.
Mix all of the dry ingredients and lemon zest together, then add the chilled butter cut into small pieces.
Rub the butter into the flour using the tips of your fingers and once mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs add a beaten egg and mix well until the mixture comes together in a ball.
If the pastry is still dry add a teaspoon of water.
Turn out onto a well floured surface, knead until it has a uniform consistency, then form a block, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour before using.

Heat the oven to 180°C.

Roll out two-thirds of the pastry out on a well floured surface.
Marble is good because it is cold and helps stop the butter in the pastry from melting.
Lightly flour a tart tin with a removable base and line with pastry.
If the pastry tears or is not quite the right size you can patch and repair the missing bits.
Trim the excess pastry using the back of a butter knife or metal spatula.

Fill the shell with a roughly 1.5 cm layer of jam, making sure not to fill too high.
Remember that the jam will bubble up during the cooking process.
Roll out the remaining pastry and using a knife or a pastry wheel cut ribbons the length of the crostata and the width you prefer.
One by one place the ribbons of pastry on top of the tart to create a lattice.
I believe in slightly wonky rustic style lattice, but if you want perfectly threaded lattice this is a good video.

Bake for 20 – 30 minutes at 180 °C or until the pastry has a deep golden colour.
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Jam tarts and ring tins.

- A ring and a pot | rachel eats:

- jam tarts and ring tins – rustica RETRO: "Ciambellone"
Ciambelle (Ciambella, singular) are Italian bundt cakes that vary by region, including some savoury varieties.
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Cherry and ricotta tart.

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for cherry and ricotta tart | A kitchen in Rome | Life and style | The Guardian:
Cherry and ricotta tart by Rachel Roddy.
You will need a tart or flan tin 24cm in diameter and 3cm deep (those with a loose bottom being particularly good).



Serves 8–10
For the pastry
150g cold butter, diced
300g plain flour (ideally 00-grade)
A pinch of salt
60g sugar (optional)
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

For the cherry layer
500g cherries, sweet or sour, pitted
Strips of zest from 1 unwaxed lemon
A glass of red wine
50 –100g sugar, depending on cherries, or 300g cherry or sour cherry jam

For the ricotta layer
500g ricotta
1 egg
75g sugar
Extra egg, for brushing








- Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the salt and sugar (if using), then the eggs.
Mix into a soft pastry.
Wrap in greaseproof paper.
Chill for at least 1 hour.

- Put the cherries in a pan along with the zest, wine and sugar.
Bring to the boil, reduce to a lively simmer and cook until the cherries are tender and collapsing – but not mushy.
Use a slotted spoon to lift the cherries from the pan, raise the heat and reduce the liquor to a thick syrup that really coats the back of a spoon.
Take the pan from the heat, return the cherries to the syrup and leave to cool.

- Combine the ricotta, egg and sugar.
Set the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

- On a lightly floured surface, roll two-thirds of the pastry into a disc a little larger than your baking tin.
Drape the pastry over a rolling pin, unfurl it into the tin and press into the corners.
Trim the excess pastry away with a knife.

- Spoon the cherries into the shell.
Carefully spoon the ricotta mixture on top.
Roll the remaining pastry into a circle, then cut into strips to make a lattice, which you can lay as simply or as cleverly as you like.

- Brush the lattice with beaten egg.
Bake the tart in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, or until the lattice is golden and the ricotta topping slightly puffed.



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Ricotta cake with sour cherries.

Note by POVERA CUCINA:
Bakers in Rome use ricotta in two typical "cheesecakes" - both called crostata di ricotta.
Filling the first variety is creamy combo of ricotta, chocolate and sugar.
An older recipe shuns cioccolato for cherries.
Sweetened ricotta caps sour cherry jam and a crumbly crust.
This treat gets baked sans crust up top, leaving the ricotta to brown in the oven's heat.
Originally a Jewish sweet made with candied fruit and honey, burnt ricotta cake became a common Roman dolce in the last 200 years.
Crust ingredients:
2.5 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup cold butter
1 egg
2 yolks
Filling ingredients:
1.5 cups whole-milk ricotta
3 eggs (separate yolks & whites)
1/2 teaspoon flour
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 jar sour cherry preserves or amarena cherries
zest of one lemon

First, prepare the crust in a food processor.
Like with any butter-based crust, it's important to use very cold butter.
Personally, I like to keep stick or two frozen in the fridge.
Pulse the flour, sugar and rough chopped butter until a granular mix has formed; it will be sandy in texture.
Then add the yolks and egg and pulse until the dough begins to form into a ball.
Don't over-blend.
Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 30 min.
To make the filling, blend the ricotta, yolks, sugar and smidgen of flour together in the mixing bowl.
Use a spoon and fold the ingredients together by hand.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg-whites until fluffy peaks form.
Fold the whites by hand into the eggy ricotta mix.
Stir in the zested lemon and, if desired, a pinch of cinnamon.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
Roll the crust out and fill a pie pan with it.
You want the crostata crust to spill out over the edges of the pan.
This is a rustic dessert and precision presentation is not the goal.
Spread 3-4 tablespoons of the cherry preserves on the bottom of the crust.
If you want, you can pre-bake the crust for 15 minutes; this ensure that the bottom will not turn soggy during baking.
If you pre-bake, let the crust cool before adding the jam /ricotta.

Pour the ricotta filling over the cherry spread, being sure to keep a bed of preserves beneath the milky mixture.
Fold any "overflowing" dough atop the sweetened ricotta.
To give the crust up top a golden hue, brush with an egg wash before baking.
Bake for 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Let the crostata cool at room temperature before serving.
Verdict:
A great combination!
Delicious!
- POVERA CUCINA: RICOTTA CAKE WITH SOUR CHERRIES:

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Stuffed Cannelloni.

Meat and Ricotta Cheese Stuffed Cannelloni: by Chef Michele Morris.
Made from large tube-shaped pasta that can be either smooth or ridged, cannelloni is usually stuffed with meat, vegetables or cheese.

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef, browned
1 pound whole milk ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
4 cups marinara sauce
8 ounces cannelloni tubes, cooked 1 minute shy of al dente, drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, or more to taste
Instructions
Combine cooked ground beef with ricotta, eggs and Parmigiano cheese; stir together.
Spoon mixture into a large Ziploc bag and cut a ½ corner off the bag.
Spread ¼ of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Pipe filling into cook cannelloni tubes and nestle tightly in baking pan.
Pour remaining marinara sauce over the top, then sprinkle mozzarella over the top.
Bake at 190C for about 30 minutes.
Notes
Alternatively, skip ground beef and mix in 1-2 pounds chopped greens with the ricotta for a vegetarian alternative.
If your marinara sauce is quite thick, cover to bake the cannelloni.
If it is somewhat thin like mine was, leave it open to bake and the sauce will reduce down and thicken as it cooks.
Be sure to watch carefully so that the cheese on the top doesn't burn.




Marinara sauce is an Italian sauce that originated in Naples, usually made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions.
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Spiralised zucchini puttanesca.

For those of us trying to find alternatives to pasta, a spiraliser, which looks a bit like a giant serrated pencil sharpener and shreds chunks of veg into wonderful strands of ‘vegetti’, has become one of the must-have pieces of kitchen equipment.
Ingredients

4 anchovies, from a jar or tin, drained and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼-½ tsp chilli flakes or fresh chilli, deseeded and finely diced
2 tbsp olive oil
200 g tinned chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp capers, rinsed
50 g pitted black olives, sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 large zucchini (about 200g), spiralised
Instructions
Over a gentle heat, fry the anchovies, garlic and chilli in the oil for 2-3 minutes. Press the anchovies against the pan with a wooden spoon to form a paste. Then add the tomatoes, capers, olives and oregano, and cook gently for 20-30 minutes without a lid.

About 5 minutes before the sauce is ready, steam, microwave or boil the spiralised zucchini for 2-3 minutes, so that it is still slightly al dente.

Serve the sauce on top of the spiralised zucchini along with a light salad.
Note
Other spaghetti alternatives:
- Konjac-based low-carb noodles.

- Finely sliced cabbage, steamed or boiled green beans, shredded lengthwise (available in some supermarkets, frozen is fine).

Anelletti Al Forno. Oven Baked Pasta.

Anelletti Al Forno (Ring-shaped Pasta With Meat Sauce, Peas And Cheese) – Sicilia

1. Make Soffritto/odori/battuto (onions, celery, and carrots in a 1:1:1 ratio)
gently sauteed in olive oil:
- 1 onions finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2. Make the Ragu
add to Soffritto:
- 250 grams Ground meat (ground veal or a mix of minced veal and pork)
- half glass (1/2 cup) red wine (or marsala)
- 250 mls tomato sauce (passata)
- 1 bay leaf
- salt
- chili pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 200 grams peas
let the Ragu cook for 20 mins at medium heath.

3. Boil the pasta (I use Fusilli Short) in salted water to a very al dente consistency, drain.
Mix cooked pasta with the ragù until coated and well-combined.
If the mixture is a bit dry or sticky, add some liquid (milk or broth or just some water).
Mix generously with grated Parmigiano/cheddar/pecorino cheese.
- 150 gr grams anelletti/“little rings” pasta (or risoni pasta - also Orzo - “big rice"- a form of short-cut pasta, shaped like a large grain of rice, OR Stelline Pasta - any soup pasta.)
- 100 grams Sharp provolone cheese tastes very similar to cheddar or parmesean.

4. Assemble the Pasta:
Cover generously the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and breadcrumbs,
line pan with slices of fried eggplant,
spread over the top half the quantity of ragù with pasta,
place on top some fontina cheese (gruyere, gouda cheeses may be substituted for fontina cheese) or...mozzarella,
spread the rest of the pasta over the top and press it down firmly.
top with the remaining breadcrumbs!
- 1 eggplant, fried
- 15 grams breadcrumbs

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190°C-200°C for 30-45 minutes, or until it is golden brown.

Serve a slice of Anelletti al forno and enjoy!
Tip: use a kitchen scissors to cut through the top layer of cheese and pasta, and then use a spatula or a knife to cut through to the bottom or the pan.
----------
OR Make the Ragu differently:
Heat 4-6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and sautèe the celery, onion and carrot previously diced;
sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add minced beef over a high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned.
Add the wine and when it has evaporated, add salt and pepper, then the tomato paste and passata and bay leaves.
Mix well, put a lid on and let it simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

And the video of Anelletti Al Forno from:
- BBC iPlayer - Rick Stein's Long Weekends - 10. Palermo: OR
- BBC - Rick Stein's Long Weekends: Series 1 - Palermo - Animmex: watch from 22:45!

There are tens of hundreds of baked pasta recipes across Italy!
Another recipes of Pasta al forno:
- Pasta al forno (Baked Pasta) | Memorie di Angelina: with short, dried pasta such as penne or rigatoni and bechamel sauce.
There are many versions of pasta al forno, many of which are vegetarian.
A typical southern baked pasta dish is zitoni al forno con le polpettine, known among Italian-Americans as Baked Ziti.
But to mind, this version will always be the pasta al forno, the one to master first before trying anything else.

About: Pasta al forno (Sicilian baked pasta).
One of the typical dishes of the Sicilian tradition, also called “pasta al forno” (literally, pasta in the oven), is prepared with “anelletti”, special shape of paste in a ring-like form, that was used to be prepared on Sundays and holidays.
The tradition says that the first such Timballi/Timballo were introduced by Arabs and soon become widespread all over the island for their easiness of transportation.
In addition to the classic recipe with a meat and peas ragout, Sicilian usually add diced hard eggs, fried aubergine, cheese and diced ham.
It is similar to a casserole and is sometimes referred to in English as a pie or savory cake.
Anna Del Conte wrote that Béchamel is the most consistently used ingredient in timballos.

Pasta al forno Siciliana.

Pasta al forno Siciliana recipe - Telegraph:
This mouth-watering recipe for a typical Sicilian Sunday lunch was passed on to the London-born food writer Tessa Kiros, who lives in Tuscany having travelled, and cooked, all around the world.
The recipe is very versatile, and it’s delicious warmed up later.
Eat it, as the Sicilians do, with a green salad.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1.2kg (2lb 10oz) minced beef
1/2 tsp chopped oregano
1/2 tsp chopped thyme
1 bay leaf
250ml (9fl oz) red wine
500ml (17fl oz) tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
200g (7oz) frozen peas
450g (1lb) rigatoni pasta
150g (5½oz) thinly sliced ham, torn up
250g (9oz) mozzarella, roughly chopped
About 4 tbsp grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and sauté the onion until golden.
Add the garlic and sauté until it smells good, then add the minced beef.
Brown the beef over quite a high heat, stirring often to break up any lumps.
Stir in the oregano, thyme and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper.
Stir through the wine and when that has been absorbed add the passata and 250ml (9fl oz) water.
Cover and simmer for an hour, stirring now and then.
It must be a lovely loose ragù, so add a little water towards the end of the cooking if necessary.
Toss in the peas and remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the rigatoni for a couple of minutes less than the instructions on the packet. Drain.
Scoop a couple of ladlefuls of the ragù on to the bottom of 30 x 22 x 6cm (12 x 8½ x 2½in) baking dish.
Add half the pasta, pressing it along to level it.
Ladle over half the remaining ragù and top with all the ham.
Scatter half the mozzarella over, then follow with 2 tbsp of Parmesan.
Now add the rest of the pasta and press it down firmly.
Scrape out the rest of the ragù over the top.
Scatter the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until it is a bit crusty on top here and there, and golden around the edges.
Scoop out portions and serve with extra Parmesan.

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