PEPPERS STUFFED WTH PASTA AND MOZZARELLA

Complete meal - vegetarian

3 red bell peppers
3 yellow bell peppers
10 1/2 oz of mozzarella, thinly sliced (in about 24 slices)
1/2 lb of orzo pasta (or other small one)
1 eggplant, diced
2 tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
6 anchovy fillets, chopped (optional)
7 basil leaves, minced
4 sprigs parsley, minced
5 sprigs chive, finely chopped

Put a pot with water to a boil and preheat oven to 350.
In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, warm 1 tbsp of olive oil, add the eggplants and cook until tender and golden (about 10 minutes, depending on the size of the cubes).
When the water boils, add salt and pasta and cook for half of the cooking time, drain and place it in a bowl together with all other ingredients (except for the mozzarella), adjust with salt and pepper, drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil, mix to combine and set aside.
Cut the top off of each pepper and save it; remove the core and inner white ribbing and discard.
Arrange peppers on an ovensafe baking dish, brushed with the remaining olive oil, and fill each one halfway with pasta mixture.
Layer 2 slices of mozzarella and cover with the remaining mixture; finish with one more layer of mozzarella and put top back on.
Transfer the baking dish into the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and peppers are soft.
Serves 6 people.

You can use any kind of small pasta shape you like (tubetti, orzo...) or farro or rice, in which case you have to adjust the timing. You should cook them about 3/4 of their usual cooking time.

BABY SPINACH SALAD WITH PINENUTS

Side dish - vegetarian

2 bags of fresh baby spinach
4 tbsp of roasted pinenuts
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Arrange spinach, pinenuts and onion in a big bowl and mix to combine.
In a separate bowl prepare a balsamic vinaigrette: combine oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and beat with a fork or a whisk for a few moments in order to obtain a thicker seasoning.
Season the salad with the vinaigrette and serve immediately. Serves 4.

To better combine the pinenuts, you can roughly chop half of them and mix the chopped ones into the vinaigrette.

SEA BREAM (OR SEA BASS) COOKED IN SALT

Second course - vegetarian

8 cups coarse salt
1 whole Sea Bream about 2 - 2 1/2 lbs.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pepper (optional)

Heat oven at 475F.
Pour half salt in a baking dish, place fish on top and cover with the remaining salt.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from ove, gently crack the crust and transfer the fish to a serving dish, brushing off all the salt.
Open the fish, remove the fishbone, drizzle with a good extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with pepper (if you want).
Serve it with roasted potatoes or toasted bread brushed with garlic (bruschetta-style) and a fresh green salad; in this way you'll have a complete meal.

If you carefully brush away the salt, the fish will result perfectly seasoned.

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

(Bucatini Amatriciana style)
First course

1/2 lb Bucatini
2 oz pancetta, diced
2 big ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tbsp pecorino romano, grated

Put a big pot (better taller than wider) with water to a boil.
In the meantime put a big non-stick skillet on high heat and saute the pancetta for about 2 minutes, than add wine and let the alcohol evaporate.
Add tomatoes, lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 more minutes.
When the water boils, add salt and pasta; cook for 8-10 minutes (depending on your taste but remember that "al dente" pasta is easier to digest than overcooked one).
Drain pasta and reserve a few tablespoons of the cooking water; toss the pasta in the skillet with the sauce and sautee for a couple minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved cooking water.
Serve drizzled with grated pecorino romano.
This recipe serves 2 people.

Substitutions, in case you don't find the original ingredients

- 6 slices of thick, non-smoked bacon; just remember that it is fatter than pancetta so try to remove part of the fat before cooking it and drain part of the cooking one.
- 1/2 can of peeled tomatoes (diced) or crushed tomatoes
- Grated parmesan can work.

Theoretically, in Italy every sauce has its pasta shape but, in case you don't like it or you can't find it, you can use any shape you like.
This recipe has been created in Amatrice (hence the name) a town not too far away from Rome and calls for Guanciale (salted pork cheek), unfortunately not easy to found so you can use pancetta (or bacon in our case) without big problems.

RISOTTO WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH

First course - vegetarian

1 1/2 cup carnaroli or arborio rice
2 cups butternut squash (or other pumpkin), diced
1 leek (white part only) or 1 small onion, minced
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (at least)
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
2 tbsp ricotta (or cream cheese)
4 tbsp parmesan, grated
Salt

Put the stock to a boil, remember that's always better a little more that not enough.
In the mean time put a big, non-stick skillet over medium heat and warm the oil; when ready, add the leeks (or onion) and sautee until tender.
Add squash or pumpkin and stir to combine, cook about 2-3 minutes, then add rice and sautee a couple minutes, always stirring: heat must be medium-high and the rice must become translucent; now it's the time to add wine.
As soon as it evaporates, start adding the stock (that must be boiling, otherwise it stops the rice cooking) 1/3 cup at a time; wait until the stock has been absorbed before adding some more.
Stir often to prevent sticking. When rice is "al dente", after 15/18 minutes, add the ricotta (or the cream cheese), melted in a little quantity of milk, and the parmesan.
You should use butter instead of ricotta or cream cheese, this variation is used to give a creamy texture without exceeding with calories or cholesterol.

Don't be afraid of the wine content: the alcohol will evaporate cooking, leaving just the wine flavor.

TUNA STEAKS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

Second course - vegetarian

1 lb of cherry tomatoes
4 Tuna steaks, about 7 oz. each
3 basil leaves
1/2 red onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 anchovy fillets, minced (optional)
2 tbsp capers, packed in salt, rinsed
1 tbsp oregano
Extra virgin olive oil

Combine onion, garlic, anchovies, capers and oregano in a bowl, mix and cover with olive oil; set aside to marinate for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes, put them in another bowl with basil, 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt, mix well to combine and let it marinate for about 15 minutes.
After the 20 minutes, transfer the onion mixture to a skillet over medium heat and warm until the anchovies dissolve, about 5 minutes. Add now the tuna and cook about 3 minutes on each side; toss the tomatoes in the skillet and cook for 8-10 minutes more. Season with salt.
Serve immediately, arranging 1 steak with its sauce on each individual plate and accompanying with a green salad.
Instead of tuna you could also use salmon or swordfish.

EGGPLANT "BALLS"

Second course - side dish - Vegetarian

POLPETTE DI MELANZANE

4 Eggplants, cut in half lengthwise
1 Egg, big
2 oz of dried bread
2 oz of grated parmesan
Bread crumbs
Salt, pepper and nutmeg
Olive oil to fry

Preheat oven to 375F and roast eggplants for about 20 minutes (or boil them whole).
Warm up the milk and soak the bread.
When the eggplants are warm enough to be handled, scrape the pulp out of them and arrange it in a bowl together with the soaked bread (squeezed from the milk), parmesan, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Mix well to combine all ingredients and make "balls" with the mixture.
Warm up the oil in a deep pan on high heat; roll "balls" into the breadcrumbs making sure that they are well coated.
Fry the "balls" little by little and drain them on paper towel.
You can serve them either hot or cold. If you don't like to fry them, you can cook the "balls" in oven at 375F for about 20 minutes or until golden.