Recipes list
Potatoes with Garlic and Chilli
Broad Beans, Artichoke Hearts and Potato Stew
Roast Vegetables Lucania Style
Basilicata has much in common with its neighbours, especially Apulia. But it is the poor relative, being almost entirely mountainous, beset by floods and landslides, and having only a short coastline where the mountains rise abruptly from the sea. Here, too, pasta made at home is the queen of the table. The difference is that here the sauces are very hot with chilli. Cooks in Basilicata put peperoncino (red chilli pepper) into everything. There are many varieties, ranging from very hot to mild and sweet. They are used fresh whole or chopped up, dried (they can be seen hanging everywhere, in flakes, or in powdered form or preserved in oil – this gives the oil a very powerful kick). In the days when there was malaria in this region, peperoncino was thought to cure it.
Another characteristic is the preponderance of pork. Sheep, goat and game are eaten, but every family has at least one pig. There is an old saying in dialect: ‘Cu’ si marita sta contentu ’nu giornu, cu’ ammazza ’u porcu sta contentu n’annu’, which means, ‘He who gets married is happy for one day, he who kills a pig is happy for a year’. Pigs are reared for sausages, cured ham and salami. Older people in Basilicata say they want something to give their children when they visit and something for them to take away. (Most of the young people leave the region.) The famous lucaneca, which can be fresh, smoked or dry and is said to have been made since Roman times, derives its name from Lucania, the other name for Basilicata. Pezzente is a poor man’s salami, made with liver, lungs and other offal seasoned with garlic and pepper. Soppressata, a large flattened, oval sausage made with ginger and plenty of black and red pepper, is preserved in oil. It can be eaten raw, grilled or fried and is also dried and smoked. Salsicce sott’olio (sausages preserved in oil) are typical of Basilicata, where it is often too hot and sometimes not high and windy enough to cure them properly.
The usual cheeses of the south – manteca, provolone, caciocavallo, provola, mozzarella, buttiro and pecorino – are made here; but strong, sharp flavours are preferred, and cheeses are aged for even longer here than elsewhere. Ricotta forte, a creamy fermented ricotta is so strong the smell overpowers you when you open its container.
The sweets of Basilicata – sciù from Avigliano; sospiri di Matera (literally, sighs), tiny macaroons; panzarotti, filled with mashed chickpeas and chocolate; scarcedda, stuffed with ricotta and sugar – appear on festive occasions.
Basilicata’s one great wine is the red Aglianico del Vulture, made from grapes of ancient Greek origin that grow two thousand feet up the side of the extinct volcano Monte Vulture.
[ polpo affogato ]
Boiling octopus – affogato means ‘drowned’ – and dressing it with olive oil and lemon, is very popular all around the coast in the south.
SERVES 8
2 small octopuses, about 500g each
Salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Clean the octopus (see here). Blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, or until the scum rises and the tentacles curl up; then throw away the water and boil in fresh salted water for 25–45 minutes until tender. Drain and dress with olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper and a sprinkling of garlic and parsley. The octopus is usually served hot or warm, cut into slices, but it is also very good cold.
POTATOES WITH GARLIC AND CHILLI
[ patate con diavolicchio ]
Serve this hot as a side dish, or cold as an appetiser.
SERVES 4
500g new potatoes
Salt
2–3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped, or a generous pinch chilli flakes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water until tender. Peel and slice them. Sweat the garlic with the chopped chilli or chilli flakes in 1½ tablespoons of the oil until the garlic only barely begins to colour. Remove from the heat, stir in the rest of the oil and dress the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and parsley.
[ peperoni in agrodolce ]
This aromatic and refreshing cold dish can be served as an antipasto, a first course, or a side dish to accompany cold meats. You can also spread it on crostini. There are those who add 3 or 4 chopped anchovy fillets and 1 or 2 tablespoons of capers, but I prefer the simple basic version with perhaps only olives.
SERVES 4
4 large fleshy red or yellow peppers or a mix of the two
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut in ½ and sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or marjoram
3–4 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
12 black olives (optional)
Roast, peel and deseed the peppers as explained on here and cut each one into 8 strips lengthways.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, put in the onions and cook, covered over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes, until they are very soft and just beginning to colour. Put in the garlic and stir for about 5 minutes, then add the peppers. Season with salt and pepper and add the marjoram. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar, sprinkle over the peppers and mix well. Cook for another 15–20 minutes.
[ pasta al pomodoro ]
I was once asked by a Sunday magazine to telephone Italian celebrities – political, sporting, in films, in the arts, and so on – and to ask them for their favourite pasta recipe. Someone at the paper was charged to give me the telephone number of where I could find them. Luciano Pavarotti was in America and I called his hotel. His assistant passed the phone to him and I was thrilled to hear him describe this sauce in his beautiful voice. It is one that everyone in the Italian South makes. Some cook the sauce to a jammy consistency sometimes with an added 1–2 tablespoons tomato paste. Pavarotti made it with lightly cooked fresh tomatoes.
SERVES 4
1kg fresh tomatoes or 2 × 400g tinned peeled and chopped tomatoes
2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
350–400g spaghetti
3 tablespoons chopped basil leaves or flat-leaf parsley
Grated parmesan to serve with
If using fresh tomatoes, peel and chop the tomatoes or blend them as I do in the food processor – put them in quartered with the hard white bits at the stem end removed. The skins all but disappear and remain as little red dots.
Fry the garlic in oil until it just begins to colour. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper and simmer 10–25 minutes. Pavarotti cooked it for 10 minutes. When it cooks longer – for 30–45 minutes, the sauce is reduced to a jammy consistency and the flavour is more intense. Add the herbs just before serving.
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and toss with the sauce. Serve with grated parmesan.
VARIATION: For baked macaroni with tomato sauce, maccheroni al pomodoro al forno, for 4, mix 400g pasta with a hole, such as penne or rigatoni, cooked a little less than al dente, with the above tomato sauce and 4 tablespoons grated parmesan in a baking dish. Stir in 250g diced mozzarella and, if you like, also ricotta. Cover with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs and a few shavings of butter and bake in the oven at 180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4 for 30 minutes or until golden.
BROAD BEANS, ARTICHOKE HEARTS AND POTATO STEW
[ ciaudedda ]
I use frozen artichokes. To use fresh ones see here.
SERVES 6
1 large onion, sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
125g pancetta or unsmoked bacon, chopped
500 young broad beans
4–8 frozen artichoke hearts or bottoms, defrosted
500g potatoes, peeled and sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
Fry the onion in the oil with the bacon until golden. Add the broad beans, the artichokes, cut in ½ or a ¼ and the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, barely cover with water and cook, stirring often, and moistening with a little water, for 20–30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, adding the chopped mint towards the end. Serve hot.
LAMB STEW
[ cutturiddi ]
SERVES 6
1kg lamb from the shoulder or neck fillet
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 little onions
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 tomatoes, peeled
Sprig of rosemary
2 bay leaves
Salt
A good pinch of chilli flakes
350ml dry white wine
Cut the meat into 3cm pieces and remove some of the fat. Brown the pieces all over in hot oil in a large pan. Put in the rest of the ingredients, cover with water and cook, covered, for 1½–2 hours, until the meat is very tender, adding water to keep it covered.
[ polpettine fritte ]
These patties came to Basilicata from Sicily. They make very good finger food for a party – just make them a little smaller.
SERVES 4
500g minced pork
4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons grated parmesan
½ mild onion, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons raisins, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
Oil for frying
Blend the meat with the breadcrumbs, tomato, cheese, onion and seasoning in a food processor, then work in the raisins and pine nuts with your hand. Take lumps the size of a large egg, shape into little cakes and fry in a non-stick pan filmed with hot oil until done, turning them over once to brown them all over. Drain on paper towels.
NOTE: You can dip the cakes in flour or fine breadcrumbs before frying. It gives them a crust.
ROAST VEGETABLES LUCANIA STYLE
[ erbe alla lucana ]
Lucana refers to Lucania, the old name for Basilicata. Serve it hot or cold with bread or toast and pass the sauce around for people to help themselves.
SERVES 6–8
700g aubergines, cut into 2.5cm chunks
3 medium onions, cut into wedges
2 large red or yellow peppers, seeded and cut into chunks
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
700g tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
A good pinch of hot chilli flakes or powder
4 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
8 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Line a large baking tray or dish with foil and brush the foil with olive oil. Put in the aubergines, onions and peppers, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with about 6 tablespoons of oil. Turn the vegetables over so that they are well greased. Cover with another sheet of foil and bake in a 180°C/160ºC fan/gas 4 oven for about 1½ hours until the vegetables have softened. Uncover, put the oven heat up to 240°C/220ºC fan/gas 9 and continue to roast for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables begin to brown and caramelise.
Prepare a tomato sauce. Cut the tomatoes, unpeeled into quarters. Remove the hard white bits at the stem end and blend to a cream in the food processor. In a large pan, fry the garlic in 2 tablespoons of oil until the aroma rises, add the blended tomatoes, salt, sugar, ginger and chilli powder, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Add the basil and parsley and serve hot or cold with the hot or cold vegetables.
[ gremolata di albicocche ]
You will find orange flower water in Middle Eastern stores. Jasmine water is very rare – I found it in Sicily and in Thailand, and jasmine essence in New York. But if the apricots have a good flavour of their own they will not need these perfumes.
SERVES 6
125g or more sugar
250ml water
Juice of 1 lemon
500g very ripe apricots, pitted
1–1½ tablespoons orange flower water (optional) or a few drops of jasmine essence
Boil the sugar and water until the sugar melts, add the lemon juice and let the syrup cool a little, then blend with the apricots to a cream. Pour into ice-cube trays, cover with cling film and freeze overnight until hard. Just before serving, put the frozen apricot cubes in the food processor, a few at a time, and process to a very soft cream. Put it in a serving bowl and return it to the freezer, covered with cling film. Take out 10 minutes before serving.
ROAST PEACHES
[ pesche arroste ]
SERVES 4
8 peaches, unpeeled, cut in ½ and stones removed
120ml amaretto or Marsala
2–3 drops vanilla extract
4 tablespoons caster sugar or to taste
Put the peaches in a baking dish cut side up. Mix the amaretto or Marsala with the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and pour over the peaches so that a little settles in each of the hollows.
Bake for 10–20 minutes or until soft (the time depends on the size and ripeness of the fruit). Then sprinkle the tops with the remaining sugar and put under the grill until caramelized or use a mini blowtorch to do that.
