The Abruzzo, land of farmers and livestock breeders, is the home of many typical products. We have chosen a recipe much loved by the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio - an almond dessert called Il Parrozzo.
Chop up 200 g almonds then add 150 g semolina, the grated rind of 1 lemon and mix together. Whip 6 egg whites into peaks with a pinch of salt, mix into the 6 yolks and 200 g sugar and then combine with the almonds and semolina. Line a bell-shaped mould with foil, pour in the mixture and bake for 3/4 hour at 180-200°C. When cooked, remove from the mould and place on a piece of absorbent paper. Decorate the parozzo when cold with melted chocolate and let it harden. The parozzo is traditionally made at Christmas.

BASILICATA  Pork skin rolls (involtini di cotenne)

A hot dish particularly appropriate for winter containing lard, a typical ingredient of southern Italian cooking. In melted lard brown 3 cloves of garlic, 2 finely chopped chilli peppers and a sprig of parsley. Gently boil the thin pork skin strips for 10 minutes. Remove and cover them with the fried mixture and finely sliced lard (200g in all). Roll up the pork skin strips (cotenne) and secure them with toothpicks. Prepare a simple sauce with tomatoes in a pan large enough to hold the rolls. Cook the rolls in tomato sauce over a high flame. It is a local custom in Basilicata to serve these rolls as a sauce for homemade flour and water pasta.

CALABRIA  Tripe (la trippa)

The flavoursome Calabrian cuisine has red chilli pepper as a basic ingredient in most of its dishes. One of the region’s most celebrated dishes is tripe cooked with beef or pork entrails in a tomato sauce. The dish must be cooked slowly to prevent the tripe becoming tough and to allow the flavour of the spicy red pepper, finely chopped and abundant, to penetrate the dish. Serve with local bread and good red wine to allieviate the effects of the hot red pepper.

CAMPANIA  Stuffed peppers (peperoni ripieni)

This dish of stuffed peppers can be served as a single course meal.
The best peppers to use are large red capsicums. Scorch the peppers and remove the thin outer skin. Fry some aubergine and mix well with breadcrumbs, parsley, capers, garlic, olive oil and a beaten egg yolk. Use this soft mixture to fill the peppers then bake them for about 40 minutes.

EMILIA ROMAGNA  Romagna flat bread (piadina alla romagnola)

The piadina is one of Romagna’s oldest recipes. Whereas once they were cooked over hot coals, today there are specially designed electric griddles for the job. The true piadana is made from combining 500 g flour with 50 g lard, a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp baking powder and sufficient water to bind the dough into a compact stiff ball.
Roll out the dough 1/2cm thick and cut out circles of about 15cm diameter. Prick all over as they cook on the griddle. 
The resulting flat bread can be slit and served with a variety of fillings. We suggest vegetables or the classic filling of raw ham (prosciutto) with stracchino (creamy cheese), lighter than the usual mozzarella.

FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA  Apple strudel

This region is the home of apple strudel, one of Italy’s most famous desserts. 
Prepare the pastry by sifting 250 g flour on a work surface. Add 1 egg, salt, oil and a little water to bind the pastry until it forms a smooth ball of dough. Oil it lightly and leave to rest. Meanwhile mix 2 kg sliced apples with 150g pinenuts, 30 g cinnamon, 300 g sugar and a sprinkling of fine breadcrumbs. Roll out the pastry, cover with the filling and roll up and place on a baking tray. Brush the surface with beaten egg and cook in a moderate oven for 30 mins. When cold, sprinkle abundantly with sifted icing sugar. Strudel is usually served with hot tea; especially good are aromatic teas.

LAZIO  Chicken with sweet peppers (pollo con peperoni)

Roman cooking is simple; to flavour its dishes lots of lightly fried onions and minced meat are used. 
A true typical country style recipe for a second course, and one found in many Roman restaurants, is chicken with sweet peppers.
To serve four people, lightly fry some garlic in a pan (preferably earthenware) until golden. Add 1 kg chicken pieces and brown. Add salt, pepper and half a glass of white wine. After a few minutes add 300 g of tomato sauce and 500 g of peppers that have previously been roasted and cut into slices.

LIGURIA  Genoese pesto (pesto alla genovese)

The Ligurian cuisine has introduced one of its most famous sauces into Italian gastronomy: pesto alla genovese. Used mainly as a pasta sauce, pesto is also excellent spread on slices of salad tomatoes, on crostini (toasted or crispy slices of bread) or added to soup. The main ingredient for pesto alla genovese is basil (3 bunches for 4 people), but also garlic (one clove), pinenuts (1 tablespoon), cheese, and finally a good quality virgin olive oil guarantees the unique flavour of this sauce. Traditionally, a marble pestle and mortar were used to grind the ingredients but today the quickest way is to use a food processor. Blend the various ingredients together paying attention not to set too high a speed which might overheat the oil and cook the basil leaves.

LOMBARDIA (Lombardy)  Il risotto alla milanese

Milan, the capital of Lombardy, gives its name to this delightful dish: risotto alla milanese. Its sunny colour delights the eye and even more so the palate with its delicate flavour of saffron. 
To prepare the genuine risotto alla milanese there has to be the chopped onion slowly fried in butter. The rice is added and mixed well with a wooden spoon until the fried onions are absorbed. Mix in the saffron threads then add hot broth and some wine a little at a time. When the rice has absorbed all the broth, is cooked but still chewy and nearly dry some butter is mixed in well. The rice is then served with lots of grated cheese. 

MARCHE  (The Marches): Ascoli olive balls (olive all’Ascolana)

When these are homemade they are a true speciality. The following recipe serves six people. Melt 130 g lard and beat in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix in 100 g beef and 150 g pork. When the ingredients are well-browned, mince finely. Add breadcrumbs soaked in a little broth, 1 egg, 50 g parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. When well-mixed, make into small balls with an olive in the centre of each. The mixture should be enough to cover 60 olives.
Dip the balls in the flour then in 2 beaten eggs and finally roll in fine breadcrumbs before frying in plenty of boiling oil.
Roll on kitchen paper to absorb excess fat then serve hot.

MOLISE  Dried salted cod with potatoes (baccalà con patate)

This is an excellent and well-known dish. For 4 people, remove the bones from 600 g of ready to use salt cod. Cut the fish into pieces and place in a pan lined with small pieces of bay leaf. Add a chopped white onion and 400 g diced potatoes. Put the pan in a hot oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Add wine and chopped parsley and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf pieces and serve very hot. 

PIEMONTE  (Piedmont): Potato gnocchi (gnocchi di patate)

In Piedmont where potaoes are a staple food, one of the tastiest local dishes served is based on potato gnocchi. Simple to prepare, their tastiness derives from the quality of potato used, in this case old ones. To prepare the gnocchi, boil the potatoes in their skins (1/2 kg for 3-4 people), then peel and mash them. Add a pinch of salt and 100 g flour. Work until a smooth, even dough is obtained. Make long rolls from the dough of about 1 cm diameter, then cut the rolls crosswise into small, even pieces. Sprinkle them with flour and make a small dent in each with the ball of the thumb, or alternatively press each gnocco lightly over the back of a fork to give it a ridged effect. 
Drop the gnocchi into boiling water. They are cooked when they rise and float. They can be served with various sauces. We suggest a special and splendid one of mushrooms and shrimp fried in a little butter.

PUGLIA  ‘Little ears’ pasta with turnip-tops (orecchiette con cima di rapa)

In Puglia much use is made its excellent vegetables, as well as olive oil and chilli pepper. These tasty ingredients are the basis for the following recipe.
For 2 people, 1 kg turnip-tops, some chilli pepper and half an onion are required. Soften the chopped onion in the hot oil with the chilli pepper and add the prepared turnip-tops and salt to taste. Cook the orecchiette pasta then drain it and mix it into the cooked vegetables. Serve piping hot. An alternative is to mix some ricotta into the vegetables just before adding the pasta. Mix and add pepper.

SARDEGNA  (Sardinia) Sardinian tripe (trippa alla sarda)

Chop 150 g lard, 1 carrot, 1 onion, some celery, a handful of parsley and a garlic clove and fry gently in a wide earthenware pan.
Add 150 g of fresh tomato suce. When the mixture thickens add 900 g of tripe cut into regular thin slices and let the ingredients mingle.
Add 150 g of dried beans that have been boiled in salted water and 300 g diced potatoes. Cover with water, add salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook slowly.
Serve the tripe in plates over slices of toasted bread sprinkled with grated Sardinian ewe’s milk cheese (pecorino).

SICILIA  Sicily Pasta with sardines (bucatini alle sarde)

Now for one of the most famous Sicilian dishes: bucatini alle sarde.
Brown a finely chopped onion in olive oil, add 600 g sardines, 30 g raisins, 20 g pinenuts, 50 g finely sliced almonds and a sachet of saffron threads. Bone the sardines and fry them. Parboil the wild fennel and add nearly all the sardines, mashing the mixture together with a wooden spoon. Boil 400 g of bucatini pasta (also add the water from the cooked fennel). Season the pasta with the sardine sauce and remaining fried sardines, sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs and serve with a dry white wine.

TRENTINO ALTO ADIGE  Roast deer (Capriolo al forno)

Roast deer is a typical recipe for preparing Trentino’s excellent game. The ingredients necessary are a kilogram of saddle of deer, seasonal mushrooms, juniper berries, a small measure of gin, a decilitre of dry white wine, garlic, parsley, bay leaves and salt and pepper. Brown the meat in a large pan with the oil and bay leaves then pour in the wine letting it bubble, steam and evaporate. Place the pan in the oven adding broth to keep the meat moist. Meanwhile cook the mushrooms with the juniper berries, garlic and chopped parsley adding the gin at the end. When the meat is cooked, slice it and serve hot with the mushrooms.

TOSCANA (Tuscany)  Soaked bread with vegetables (panzanella)

For those lovers of regional country dishes, Tuscany offers its famous panzanella. Opinions differ over the origin of this dish: some say it comes from the old custom to use up dry bread by soaking it and seasoning it with vegetables; others claim it was the fishermen who soaked the dry bread in sea water then seasoned it with tomato juice, oil and vinegar.
Dry bread is soaked in cold water for 15 minutes then wrung out until dry. The bread is then seasoned with finely sliced cucumber, ripe tomatoes, onion, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper and a drop of vinegar. An excellent cold dish to serve on hot summer days.

UMBRIA  Strangozzi pasta with truffles (strangozzi al tartufo)

Umbrian cooking relies on the many products its land produces: truffles, mushrooms and excellent olive oil. These ingredients frequently season the region’s pasta dishes – pasta such as pici (like long, fat spaghetti) or strangozzi (loose twists of pasta). Here is an easy recipe for strangozzi with truffles.
For 4 people, boil about 500 g of strangozzi pasta until al dente (chewy). Crush the black truffle in a wooden mortar and tip it into an appropriate amount of slightly warmed, good quality olive oil and add a little anchovy paste. Pour this mixture over the cooked pasta and serve. We suggest a good local wine to accompany the pasta and a second course of cheeses flavoured with black pepper, truffles or chilli pepper, and sliced cooked meats from Norcia.

VAL D’AOSTA  Fondue (la fonduta)

An excellent dish for cold winter evenings, fondue adds to the charm of this small region in northern Italy.
Cut 400 g fontina cheese into cubes and let it steep for at least 2 hours or better still overnight in 1/4 litre of full cream milk. 
Add 40 g of butter to the cheese mixture and melt, stirring continuously over a pan of hot water. Add 4 egg yolks while stirring brisky until the fondue has obtained a soft, creamy consistency. Toast slices of bread and serve the fondue in an earthenware pot. Excellent accompanied by mushrooms, fresh truffles and sliced cooked meats.

VENETO  Venetian risotto with courgettes (risotto con zucchine alla veneziana)

Trim and slice 300 g courgettes. Slowly fry a finely chopped onion in 40 g butter then add the courgettes and mix with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes before adding 300 g rice. Add salt and pepper and cook in hot broth added a little at a time. When the rice is cooked, add the butter, optional grated parmesan cheese and finely chopped parsley.