I am totally meteoropathic… I can only function if my natural rhythms work, if my reference points are right. A year like this, with a never ending summer and a never coming autumn confuses me. And my stomach.

Normally, I would welcome the first cold days happily snuggled under a blanket on the sofa with a cup of thick hot chocolate in my hands.

Or toasting bread in the fireplace to prepare the first bruschette with our bright green new olive oil. Or maybe roasting a sausage on slow burning embers… That is November comfort food to me: the smell of food must mix smoothly with the smell of burning firewood.

This year, it has been too warm to even cook a soup… and I have… but we have had to eat it with our windows open!

When I sat down to write this post for this month’s Italy Blogging Roundtable, I realized that all food is comfort food to me (and that is not necessarily a good thing… LOL), and that different seasons come with different comfort foods.

Fall Comfort Food

When the autumn comes, there are three things that really need to be on our table at a certain point: polenta with wild boar, castagnaccio and pumpkin risotto.

I grew up in a family of hunters, so game meat has always been available in our home. As soon as the first clouds start gathering upon the Cappelli family’s roof, my mum digs out corn flour and my dad is sent out to shoot some stuff! The fireplace is lit and the first layer of hot polenta appears soon after on the old wooden pastry board, where my grandmother gravely proceeds to cut it with a piece of cooking string. Apparently that is a sacred operation and there is absolutely no other way to test the quality of the polenta… Portions are distributed on everybody’s plates and literally buried under wild boar stew! The occasional guests might ask for the vegetarian option… polenta with olive oil and parmesan cheese. They are usually indulged, but they are likely to get my mum’s and grandmother’s sullen look, which unveils a mix of wonder, astonishment, pity and condescension and translates as “Who could possibly not want to stuff his face with wild boar stew?! There must be something wrong with them… maybe they might prefer a bit of sausage instead?! ” (I know Rebecca and Alexandra will cringe when they read this! LOL)

(Photo by Okapix)

They will be ok with castagnaccio and pumpking risotto, though! Castagnaccio is a thin, dense cake made with chestnut flour, water, olive oil, raisins, pine nuts or walnuts and rosemary. Very simple, but another “must” of my autumn cravings. As soon as the first chestnut flour is available on Monte Amiata, out comes the old castagnaccio baking tin! It’s perfect with the first vino novello!

(Photo from Tuscanfoodie)

I won’t say much about pumpkin risotto as it is not really a traditional Tuscan dish, except that in our variant, the pumpkin is likely to be sautéed in olive oil rather than butter.

(Photos from Memorie di Angelina)

Winter Comfort Food

Winter is a terrible season for my figure (not that the other seasons are any more merciful…). As soon as winter arrives, so does Christmas with the holiday sweets: ricciarelli, cavallucci and panforte. No point in even trying to resist: I have to have ricciarelli at least. For those of you who don’t know what these heavenly sweets are, well, they are traditional Christmas almond cookies typical of the Siena area. You can buy the industrially prepackaged ones, but if you happen to spend some time in a place where there is a bakery that makes them fresh every day, stock up.

(Photo from MyMySays)

Of course, with Christmas also comes the traditional boiled meat meal: you use the meat to prepare broth where you cook some tortellini or home made egg pasta, and then you eat the boiled meat as a second course with some sauces (usually home made mayonnaise and salsa verde, a green sauce made with parsley). This for me means essentially fighting with my cousin over a plate of boiled tongue. I know… it does sound revolting, but it is one of those things that I need to have before the holiday season is over (did I mention that besides being hunters, my family is also a family of butchers?) and it’s delicious!

Then New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day come. And there is no lucky end or beginning without a steaming hot plate of zampone or cotechino with stewed lentils!!! “Every lentil is a golden coin“, my great-grandmother used to say, and who doesn’t need that or the high cholesterol level brought about by a large portion of cotechino?!

Then Carnival comes (I told you winter was tricky…) with all the traditional fried sweets: crogetti (the local name for cenci – thin fried pasta covered in pastry cream, or honey and icing sugar), zeppole (small balls of fried pasta filled with pastry cream and rolled in sugar), and bomboloni (doughnuts or cream puffs).

(Photo from Amiche Cuoche)

Last but not least, Father’s Day comes on March 19 (St. Joseph’s Day) with the traditional rice fritters!

No wonder, the spring starts full of good intentions for future diets…

Spring Comfort Food

Spring means only two things to me: nespole (loquats) and strawberries. As soon as the first nespole become available I have to have them at the end of every meal. Too bad they don’t last for very long!

And of course strawberries with whipped cream, and maybe cherries! Lots of them!

Summer Comfort Food

Summer too is mostly about fruit and vegetables: the sweet tomatoes, the succulent peaches, and the watermelons!

But there are two things that I absolutely have to have: prosciutto and melone and ice-cream.

(Photo from Cool Cook Style)

I think I am a very generous person in many ways, but there is one thing I do not share: ice-cream. When ice-cream crosses the threshold of our apartment, I have no friends: I become territorial with the freezer and very protective! LOL

There is no sharing when it comes to gelato: it can take all my sorrows away, and it has to be all mine! My husband says that I “morph” when it’s around! If I am stressed, the smile comes back on my face after the first bite. If I am happy and he steals a spoonful of my ice-cream I turn into a real harpy! So beware!

Year-round Comfort Food

There is one thing that can always cheer me up and I think it’s pretty much a universal thing in Italy: Nutella. Nutella is a hazelnut chocolate spread, as if there were any need to introduce it…

It’s soul-healing power is such a stereotype in this country that there is a scene in Nanni Moretti’s movie “Bianca” which has become a symbol of this! If I had a euro for every time that I have dreamt of a jar of Nutella like his!!!

A Journey Down Memory Lane

There is one very Tuscan comfort food that I remember from my early childhood years and which my great-grandmother Tilde used to prepare whenever she was looking after me. It was typically my “merenda“, my mid-afternoon snack, and it has always had a special place in my heart and stomach: pane col vino e lo zucchero, that is a slice of stale bread soaked in red wine and covered in sugar.

(Photo from I love spaghetti and you)

I know that many of my non-Italian readers will be horrified by the idea of a granny incorporating wine in a child’s snack (probably as much as reading about my soft spot for boiled tongue! LOL), but, believe me, it hasn’t killed me or any other child over the centuries and I am ready to bet that that was a much healthier snack than most processed stuff that our children eat on a daily basis.

I remember licking the plate!

The winter variant, when it still used to snow regularly in the village, was to use  a glass full of the first snow from our kitchen’s window-sill instead of bread!

Delicious, and unforgettable!

Italy Blogging Roundtable

This is the sixth post in a monthly series called The Italy Blogging Roundtable. Here you can find the posts of the other bloggers who participate in the roundtable. Our topic this month was “comfort food“:

Alexandra (Arttrav) – Minestrone: my winter comfort food

Jessica (Italylogue) – Comfort Food is a Cultural Thing

Melanie (Italofile) – Comfort me with potatoes: A tale of two tuber dishes in Italy

Rebecca (Brigolante) – Eating in the Comfort Zone

“Pane e coperto” literally means bread and tableware but it is essentially a service charge that restaurants add to the bill for each guest.  It can be as little as 50 cents and as much as 3 or 4 euros in more touristy places. If the restaurant applies these service charges, the amount is always indicated in the menu. Please note that it will be charged at village festivals too.

Up until a few years ago, restaurants were obliged to charge for “pane e coperto“, but now restaurant owners may decide whether to charge their clients or not. As a matter of fact, many of the restaurants that cater to locals or where people go for lunch on work days don’t charge it anymore. In Pisa, I haven’t paid any service charges for a long time at either Vineria di Piazza or Osteria dei Santi.

The most common complaints I have read online are…

Why should I pay for bread if I don’t eat it or if I didn’t order any?

The fee doesn’t really have anything to do with bread per se, even if the word pane is in the name. It’s is simply a service charge. It is part of the Italian way of life… you simply have to know that you might be charged for it, so make sure to check how much it is on the menu and deal with it.

Bread is brought to you whether you eat it or not. If you ask for more bread, you will not be charged extra, similarly to what happens with water in most north American restaurants.

Why should I pay for unsalted bread that I don’t like?

Bread in Tuscany is mostly unsalted. Restaurants serving you with unsalted bread are not trying to give you the cheapest stuff they could get: that’s what people eat here. Tuscan bread is not to be eaten alone. It is meant to accompany savoury food, such as cured meats, game meat, or crostini sauces.

The charge is too expensive

Charges will be higher in the most touristy areas. Restaurants have the right to choose their own prices. The only thing you can do is avoid restaurants in very popular spots (where people invite you in, or where you can see pictures of food…) and always check the prices on the menu before sitting down. Many restaurants publish their menu outside, and there is nothing wrong with asking to see a menu if this is not the case. Most smaller restaurants or restaurants outisde the touristy areas will in fact not have menus on display because they assume you know the average price for food in the area. If you sit down and you order, you commit to paying the service charge if applied.

I had no idea that I would be charged for pane e coperto

As I always tell our guests, if you don’t like finding out about cultural differences once you are already here, you need to “do your homework“. Most guidebooks will mention these charges. Every country has its own habits: when you visit you need to adjust to the local way of life. Please see my post about “Expecting the Unexpected” for further cultural differences which might come as a surprise to you.

Being charged for service is unacceptable

It always amazes me when I hear this comment from North American guests. I always need to point out how tricky it is for an Italian to go to a North American supermarket or restaurant and find out that the prices advertised are before taxes and that tips are mandatory, only when the check comes. All in all, pane e coperto is incredibly cheap compared to adding taxes and a tip to the final bill, and this way the price list is much more transparent.

It’s the way things are done in the States and Canada though, just like pane e coperto is how things are done in Italy. As we say… paese che vai, usanza che trovi, that is, when in Rome, do as Romans do… which is particularly appropriate in this case!

But at least at home I can choose not to tip for bad service

The “pane e coperto” service charge is not a tip.  The money goes to the restaurant, not to your server. Tipping your waiter is optional in Italy. Waiters, as a rule, don’t expect tips although they do appreciate them. If you get bad service you can choose not to tip your server just like you would back home, but you’ll still need to pay the “service” charge. It’s just the way things work here.

My husband was brave enough to venture to the Coop supermarket in the nearest village, while I was left contemplating the sad state of our provisions. And then it is when I realized I had very little, but I had everything I needed to prepare pappa al pomodoro!

Pappa al pomodoro is a bread and tomato “minestra“, that is, a thick soup, and one of the oldest and most typical dishes of the Siena area. It is definitely one of the most representative dishes of the Tuscan cucina povera, the poor people’s culinary tradition.

I hadn’t made pappa al pomodoro in a long time, and it seemed the perfect choice to really get to the bottom of whatever was left of the food we had in the house before my husband came back with two large bags of fresh supplies from the supermarket.

So here is my recipe for a very authentic pappa col pomodoro, handed down to me by my grandmother!

Ingredients for 2 people

• abundant extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion
• pepper or red pepper
• fresh or canned tomatoes
• 200 gr of stale unsalted bread
• 750 ml of broth or hot water
• salt and sugar
• fresh basil

Slice the garlic and the onion coarsely and sauté in abundant olive oil. Add pepper (or red pepper). Chop the tomatoes and add to the garlic and onions. Cover and cook for at least 10 minutes (fresh tomatoes might need 15 minutes) at medium-low heat, stirring regularly and adding a bit of warm water if the tomatoes start to dry up. Cut the bread into large cubes and add to the tomatoes. Mix and keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bread is well mixed in with the tomato sauce. Add 500 ml of broth or hot water and stir until the bread and tomato mix becomes a “pappa”, a mush. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes, adding an extra 250 ml of water if necessary. After 15 minutes,  take the lid off, taste and add some salt if you used hot water instead of broth and a pinch of sugar if the tomato still tastes too acidic. Keep cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated and the pappa is thick. Pappa col pomodoro is ready when all the broth has evaporated and the only liquid left is some olive oil. Add fresh basil leaves and… buon appetito!

I prepared a delicious pea cream with saffron with crispy pancetta and croutons on the side.

Here is my recipe! Let me know if you try it!

Ingredients for 2 people

• 50 grams of butter
• 1 medium sized onion
• 500 gr of peas (fresh or frozen)
• 500 ml of chicken stock
• milk (you can use fresh cream or Greek yogurt instead)
• saffron
• 100 gr of firm bread (better if at least a couple of days old)
• 1 small packet of pancetta cubes

Melt half the butter at a low temperature while you slice the onion. Sauté the onion in the butter until golden. Add peas and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chicken broth and let simmer at a medium temperature for 10 more minutes until the liquid is significantly reduced, but not completely evaporated.

While the peas cook, cut the bread into little cubes. Melt the remaining butter in a large frying pan, add the pancetta cubes and let cook at a low temperature so that the pancetta fat melts with the butter. Increase the temperature and add the bread cubes. Let them roast for 5 minutes making sure they don’t burn.

Pre-heat the oven to 250°C (480°F). Cover an oven tin with waxed paper and spread the bread and the pancetta cubes on it evenly. Place in the oven for 5 minutes and then for 2 more minutes under the grill. Turn the oven off, but leave the bread and the pancetta in it until you are ready to serve the soup.

Take the peas off the stove and place them in a blender. (I use an immersion blender: I find it much easier. If the pot you are using is tall enough you don’t even need to transfer the contents. Mine was a bit too low and I transferred everything in the jug that comes with the blender to avoid spattering my kitchen wall with pea soup!) Reduce to a smooth cream and place it back in the pot and heat it up at a low temperature. Add a bit of milk and stir to incorporate it well. Add saffron to your liking.

Pour the soup into two bowls, add the crispy pancetta cubes and the bread croutons and… Buon Appetito!

So I decided to make peposo and zucca al tegame! Peposo is a traditional beef stew… but I can’t give more details now because I have promised a guest post to my dear friend Letizia so… The recipe will be coming soon!

[UPDATE NOV. 22, 2011 - The recipe and my guest post on Letizia's amazing food blog is here: Gloria's peposo stew.]

Zucca al tegame is also a very typical summer side dish in Tuscany. Zucca means pumpkin but the dish is actually made with zucchini (or courgettes if you are from this side of the pond), and it essentially consists in slowly cooking coarsely cut zucchini, onions and tomatoes in a large pan (tegame) with a lot of olive oil and basil.

But besides the menu itself, the interesting thing (well… for me at least…) is that I realized that I was actually cooking a real “cena a km0″! For those who have never heard of this new “label”, “a km0“, it indicates locally produced ingredients. It’s a quality seal, usually it means that what you are buying or eating is organic, and produced by smaller farms.

In our case, though, the dinner was actually made with ingredients which were produced less than a km away!

The meat came from a farm 200m away from our countryside home. The wine, olive oil, zucchini, basil, onions and tomatoes all came from my father’s vegetable garden, vineyard and olive groves just outside the garden! And of course, we also had some delicious peaches and plums from our orchard!

Isn’t that cool? Ok… the peppercorns were not from our farm. But still, it seemed still very cool to be able to cook a full meal with what we and our friends actually grow and produce!

I always make fun of my dad who spends all his time in the countryside now that he’s retired. But if he didn’t, we wouldn’t be able to have such a wealth of organic products right in our backyard. And the things you produce yourself taste so much better than anything you buy at the supermarket! Too bad you are tied to the seasonal products, and they don’t last long. When they’re finished, they’re finished… But as long as the vegetable garden is in full swing, let’s enjoy it!

Now… the thing is I don’t even particularly like meringue. But the first and only time I tried to make it, the result was “less than satisfactory” to use a euphemism… (a disaster…). So when I stumbled on an older post by Giulia on her her beautiful blog Juls’ Kitchen, Ginger Meringues, I knew it was time for a second attempt. Truth be told, I had been thinking about it for a while, at least since I saw her Pavlova with strawberries… but yesterday it seemed the perfect day.

It was essentially the first day of summer weather here in our corner of Tuscany. We packed up and moved to my parents’ house in the countryside for the day, and since they were not there, we had it all to ourselves.  We had the full afternoon to relax and read in the garden, under the oak trees. We took a short walk with the dog, I baked my meringues and prepared a nice filet with green peppercorns and roast potatoes for dinner… It felt like being on holiday!

Back to my meringue recipe then!

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites (I used super fresh eggs… and when I say “super fresh”, I mean that the hen was still sitting on them when I got them)
• a pinch of salt
• 150 grams of regular sugar (50 gr. per egg white)
• a few drops of lemon juice

I got rid of the egg yolks and put the egg whites in a very clean glass container (there must be no traces of grease). I whipped them for 3 minutes with an electric whisk at a very low speed. When the whites started to froth, I added the pinch of salt and mixed some more. I then started to slowly add the sugar one bit at the time, and kept mixing at a low speed for 5 more minutes. I then added the lemon juice and increased the speed of the mixer for 5 more minutes until the meringue cream was smooth and so thick that it would not drop from the mixer’s whisks when I took them out of the bowl.

I preheated the oven bringing the temperature to 100°C (212°F). I then covered a flat baking tin with baking paper  poured the meringue cream in a pastry bag and made lots of little meringues (which in my village are called “signorine“, meaning “young ladies“!).

I put them in the oven and I left the door slightly ajar (10cm) so that the temperature could go down and the humidity could come out. I cooked the meringues for 2 hours, turned the oven off, open the door and let them sit in the oven until they cooled down.

The result was very good! I think the fresh, room temperature egg whites might have had something to do with it. Next time I think I will cook them for slightly less time, so that they remain softer inside.

I think what also made the difference from my failed first attempt was the egg beating at a very low speed, which allows the air to really get in there, and the oven door left slightly open for the humidity to get out.

Ok… now I will have to go eat one…! Let me know if you try!

Nothing you couldn’t buy at one of the bakeries in the village but so much better. No matter how “less perfect” they look: home-made traditional sweets and cakes are so delicious!

Maybe because they taste of home: if I close my eyes, I can almost see my grandmother and my mother working in the kitchen for a couple of days preparing trays and trays of sweets to give to friends and relatives! Plus, they are made with my dad’s hens’ eggs, with locally produced “unto” (melted and then filtered pork lard – the traditional alternative to butter in Tuscany), with home made jam. Nothing can beat that.

Ciambellini con l’unto and ciambellini rossi are the traditional sweets of my village, Civitella. They are biscuits which last for a long time. Traditionally they were made around Easter and they lasted for months. They sometimes constituted the whole meal in the fields, sometimes accompanied by whatever fresh fruit was in season.

My husband always makes fun of them, because he says they are just dry biscuits, but they are delicious, believe me! Ciambellini rossi are biscuits covered in sugar and alchermes, hence the red colour.They are perfect for dunking them in red wine or vinsanto!

It was only a few weeks ago that I was talking with Letizia of the beautiful Madonna del Piatto about how alchermes brought back memories of our childhood’s dessert and a couple of days ago I saw that she posted this delicious recipe on her blog: ciaramicola! I loved it!

I’ll have to ask her to make me one next time we meet!

Up until not long ago, the most popular apéritif drinks were Campari and Cinzano. Then prosecco, a dry sparkling wine similar to French Champagne, took its place.  Soon, essentially any cocktail became available as an aperitivo, some of which, such as Negroni, are strong purely alcoholic drinks.

Italians, at least up until to my generation, were not heavy drinkers. Drunkenness was a social taboo, and most people would not drink at all, with the exception of a glass of wine with their meal. For this reason non-alcoholic drinks and cocktails have always been quite popular. For those who were brave enough to venture an alcoholic drink on an empty stomach, bars started to provide something for people to nibble on while drinking. It was mainly very simple snacks such as chips, salatini (variously shaped and flavoured crackers), olives, and capers.

Little by little, the aperitivo became a fashionable thing to do, rather than just a way to kill time before dinner. Now, to go out for an aperitivo means to go to a bar where you order and pay for a drink and help yourself to a rich buffet of finger foods, pasta or rice salads, vegetable salads, cured meats, pizzette, and other more elaborate dishes for free. The drink might be slightly more expensive than it would be in a bar that does traditional apéritif (with no buffet), but the difference is minimal and sometimes the price is exactly the same. Aperitivo is usually served between 7 pm and 8.30 pm. If you go to a very popular bar, you might not find a table to sit at: but that’s normal. Most people just stand around as they would at a cocktail party.

Aperitivo has become very popular in Tuscany, especially in the larger centers. My favourite places for an aperitivo in Pisa are:

• Modus Bibendi: a very stylish wine bar, with a great interior design. It’s in Via Cavalca, just a few steps away from the vegetable market of Piazza delle Vettovaglie.
• Argini e Margini: a recently opened bar on the river bank (Lungarno Galileo – Scalo dei Renaioli), with tables on a deck by the river and a floating restaurant serving seafood. They have a stand which serves fried seafood for as little as 4 euros a portion. They often have live music. A really nice spot in town and perfect for the hot summer evenings.
• Caffetteria delle Vettovaglie: one of the first bars to offer aperitivo. It is very popular. It has tables in Piazza delle Vettovaglie itself: a really nice spot.

There are many more for sure, but these are the ones I’ve tried so far.

In Grosseto I’ve been to Bar Siracusa in Via Matteotti (it’s ok), and Bar Dribbling in Via Ximenes. I’ve heard it’s become too crowded now. I’ve also heard of a new bar in Piazza Volturno, Bar Cristall, but I don’t think that it’s my kind of place (I like informal, relaxed places rather than trendy places).

In Siena I have been several times to a bar in Via di Vallerozzi, only a few steps away from Porta Ovile, called Caffè La Piazzetta.

As you can guess, I love aperitivo. Here are my top 5 reasons to choose an aperitivo over a seated dinner:

• It’s at the perfect time in the evening. I often don’t have the strength to go back home after work and go out again and maybe stay up late. This way I can just stay out a little longer, and by 9 pm I’m home.
• It’s inexpensive. Unless you plan on drinking like a fish, you can really have a full meal with as little as 5 euros.
• It’s fun. I like the selection of different finger foods, some of which are really creative. Often there is live music, so it is almost like being at a party.
• It’s informal. No need to spend much time sitting down. You can stand outside, you can walk around, take it easy.
• It can be social. It’s the perfect place to mix and mingle and make new friends.

Did I mention that it is very inexpensive…?

A side-note: spelt is called farro in Italian. It is a very nutritious type of grain which contains high levels of proteins and vitamins. Spelt is the oldest known cereal and was already cultivated in 7000 BC. In Tuscany, the Garfagnana area near Lucca is probably the “homeland”. I discovered spelt only after I moved to Pisa. While it’s now quite popular all over the region, up until not too long ago it wasn’t very common in Italian homes. Luckily, it’s back in fashion and is very easy to find even in smaller stores.

Chicken spelt salad

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 200g spelt
• olive oil
• garlic
• sage
• salt and pepper
• yogurt

Cut the chicken breast into small pieces.

Cook the spelt in a pot of boiling water for as long as indicated on the package (I use the pre-soaked spelt which cooks in 18 minutes, but most shops sell spelt that you need to soak overnight before cooking).

While the spelt is cooking, fry a clove of garlic and some leaves of sage in olive oil and add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is well cooked. Add salt and pepper and the yogurt. Mix with the cooked spelt. If you like the salad warm, sauté for a couple of minutes, otherwise let it cool down before serving.

Shrimp and pepper spelt salad

Ingredients

• 200 g spelt
• 2 red bell-peppers
• olive oil
• garlic
• 400 g of shrimp (fresh or frozen)
• salt

Cook the spelt in a pot of boiling water for as long as indicated on the package (see above). Slice and dice the red bell-peppers. Fry a clove of garlic in abundant olive oil. Add the peppers and let cook for at least 10 minutes. Add the shrimp. Let cook for 10 more minutes. Add salt and pepper. If there is water in the pan, make sure it evaporates. Add the spelt and let cook for 3 more minutes. I like this salad warm, but if you prefer it cold, it goes really well with mint sauce.

Not long ago, two friends living near Assisi, Letizia of Alla Madonna del Piatto and Rebecca of Brigolante Guests Apartments, got together to film the recipe for farrotto, the equivalent of risotto but made with spelt (farro). To watch this amusing video, check Letizia’s lovely food blog!

Risotto is considered a “primo“, a first course, to have as an alternative to a pasta dish. Rice recipes are very popular in Italy and risotto is, in my opinion, one of the easiest things to prepare and one of the best dishes to cook when you don’t have much left in the fridge.

Risotto prugne, pancetta and yogurt

Ingredients

• butter
• 1 onion
• pancetta cubes or a thick slice of pancetta
• prunes ( you can use fresh plums in the summer)
• rice (40 to 60 grams per person)
• vinsanto (or any other sweetish wine)
• water or vegetable broth
• plain whole-fat yogurt

Melt butter in a pan or casserole and add thinly sliced onions. Let cook for 5 to 10 minutes on low heat. Add pancetta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Add prunes and cook for 5 minutes more. Add rice and stir for 3 minutes so that it does not burn. When it becomes transparent, add a drop of vinsanto and let it evaporate. Add hot water or vegetable broth to cover the rice, and keep adding it until the rice is cooked. Do not add too much water if the rice is almost ready, as it must have completely evaporated by the time to rice is properly cooked. Add a few tablespoons of yogurt, let the risotto thicken on low heat and… buon appetito!

The various phases are “documented” in the slide show below. To see larger photos, click on the symbol in right-hand bottom corner.