Ingredients for 1 focaccia

Dough
- “00” flour, 250g
- manitoba flour, 250g
- brewer’s yeast, 15g
- room temperature water, 300g or a little more
- extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons
- salt, 1 tablespoon and ½

Brine
- room temperature water, 65g
- extra virgin olive oil, 65g
- salt, 20g (3 teaspoons)

Timing
- Dough: 5 min
- Rising: 10+10+20+20 = 60 min
- Cooking: 25 min
Total: 90 min, just as long as a football match

1. In a wide bowl, mix both the flours together with the salt. Make a hole in the middle and pour the oil inside, as well as the yeast, dissolved in the water. I suggest you dissolve the yeast in a little of the water needed, adding the rest little by little afterwards. The reason for this is that if the dough is too dry you can always add a little more water, whereas if it is too damp it will be harder to fix it. You should get a soft dough, only by stirring with a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients, without kneading with your hands. Grease the surface with a little oil, cover with a cloth and leave to rest for 10 minutes, away from airstreams (inside the turned-off oven, for instance).

2. Brush a baking tin with oil and pour the dough inside it. Grease the surface with oil again, let rest for another 10 minutes, still covered.

3. Spread the dough very delicately with a rolling pin, from the center outwards, once in one side and once in the other. Do not press too hard, to avoid breaking the air bubbles that will have formed inside during rising. Let rest for 20 minutes.

4. In the meantime, prepare the brine by emulsifying all the ingredients with a whip (or a fork), until you reach a green, creamy texture.

5. After time has passed, with the tip of your index make a lot of dimples over the whole surface of the focaccia. Mix the brine again and pour it over the focaccia, filling all the dimples. Let rest for another 20 minutes.

6. Bring the oven to a temperature of 220°, then bake the focaccia until golden, for about 25 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the baking tin to avoid the bottom from overcooking.

The recipe I am suggesting today is one of my specialties. It’s very simple to make and it can be easily personalized to one’s taste, by changing vegetables or spices. For example, you can replace curry powder with paprika and you will get a completely different result, starting from the same base. To make it light, yet creamy, I choose low fat yoghurt for the sauce, which gives it a slight sour twist. Otherwise, you can choose a soft coconut milk, for a more exotic touch. I do not advise to use cream as, to my opinion, it evens all flavours and makes the dish too heavy. But it’s up to you!

Ingredients for 4 persons
- chicken breast, 500g
- zucchini, 2
- low fat yoghurt (non too thick), 500g
- garlic, 1 clove
- fresh ginger or in powder, 1 teaspoon
- curry powder (medium hot), 2 teaspoons
- turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon
- soya sauce, 2 tablespoons
- dry white wine, 1 glass
- flour, a few tablespoons
- salt and pepper
- extra virgin olive oil

Rinse and dry the chicken accurately, then chop it into small dices of about 2cm. Slightly dust with flour and sift to remove excess flour. Crush a big garlic clove keeping the skin on and put it in a wok with 3 tablespoons of oil. Turn the flame on at a medium heat and, as soon as the garlic starts getting blond, add the chicken. Turn to a high flame and brown well on each side without tossing too often, as to obtain a nice golden crust, for about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini into circles 1cm thick, then cut each circle into 4 quarters. Quickly brown in a small pan at a high heat, being careful not to overcook (the vegetable has to remain firm).  When the chicken is ready, add salt to taste, a little ground black pepper, pour the wine and let it evaporate at a high flame. Add yoghurt and spices and toss well. Bring to a boil, then turn the flame to a low heat and cook semi-covered for about 20 minutes. After this time, add soya sauce and zucchini, toss and let the sauce dry to a creamy consistence, keeping in mind that once you will turn off the fire the sauce will thicken a little. If the sauce is too thick (this depends a lot on which kind of yoghurt you are using), add a little hot water, a bit at a time. When cooking is over, adjust with salt. For a balanced main dish, serve with pilaf rice and some sauté or steam-cooked carrots.

Ingredients for 40 macaron of 3cm
- almond powder, 200g
- icing sugar, 200g
- sugar, 200g
- egg whites (3-4 days old), 2 x 80g (1 white = ca 30g)
- raspberry jam, 1 pot
- water, 7,5cl
- red food colorant (liquid if you wish to obtain a subtle colour, in paste if you wish to obtain a stronger colour)

Instruments
- electric beater
- blender
- soft silicon palette knife
- sac-à-poche with 8mm opening
- perfectly straight baking tin
- silicon non-stick oven carpet
- thermometer for sugar (up to 200°C)
- precision digital scale
- sieve

1. The TPT (tant pour tant): mixer icing sugar and almond powder in a blender, then sift accurately.
2. The syrup: in a small pot, put water and sugar and, without giving a stir, bring to a boil not over a temperature of 115° (approximately 10 minutes). If you don’t have a thermometer, take a little syrup with the tip of a teaspoon, dip it into cold water and feel the syrup between your index and thumb: if, while opening your fingers, the syrup makes a thin trickle, it means you have reached the temperature.
3. The Italian meringue: firmly whip 80g of egg whites. When the syrup is ready, let it drizzle into the whites, while continuing to whip for another 10 minutes.
4. The almond paste: in a bowl, mix the TPT together with the rest of the non-whipped egg whites and the food colorant, until you get a smooth and even paste. If you use liquid food colorant, consider that, compared to the colour you see in the paste, the macaron will be of a much lighter colour. To obtain the result you see in the picture, the paste has to be raspberry pink.
5. The macaronage: with a soft silicon palette knife, incorporate 1/3 of the meringue into the almond paste to soften it. Then add the rest of the meringue, working from the side of the bowl to the centre and from the bottom of the bow upwards. Do not overwork or you won’t get the typical collar during cooking.
6. The pochage: put the silicon pad over the baking tin and fill the sac-à-poche with the mixture. Wrap the sac-à-poche, keep the opening with your left hand and make a slight but firm pressure on the bag with your right hand, keeping the sac-à-poche in a vertical position compared to the tin. Make several disks 2,5cm big, keeping them quite distanced one another as they will expand eventually. You don’t need to “draw” the circles, just press by keeping the bag vertical at a distance of 1cm from the tin.
7. The croûtage: let your macaron shells rest out of the oven for at least 30 minutes. This phase is extremely important as it creates a resistant coat on the surface which will prevent the shells from cracking while baking.
8. Bake: in a preheated oven at 145-150° (the temperature might slightly vary from oven to oven), for 14 minutes.
9. Take out of the oven: put the tin over a wet cloth, in order to create a thermal shock which will help detach the shells from the pad once they will be cold.
10. Assemble: very carefully detach the shells from the pad. Fill the sac-à-poche with raspberry jam and press in the middle of the shell. Put the other shell over the jam and press very slightly. Once assembled, store in the fridge for about 1 hour before serving. For further details, I suggest the book “Macaron” by José Maréchal, Bibliotheca Culinaria editions.

Ingredients for 4 persons
- thin slices of veal, 12
- bread crumbs, 1oog
- Sicilian aged caciocavallo cheese (or Parmigiano), grated, 50g
- Sicilian fresh caciocavallo cheese (or provola), 100g
- garlic, 1 clove
- onion, 1
- laurel leaves
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- long skewers
- white wine, 1 glass (only if you choose to cook in the pan)

Lay the veal slices over a chopping board and beat slightly with a meat mallet, being careful not to shred them. In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs together with the grated caciocavallo cheese, the fresh caciocavallo cheese cut into small dices, salt, pepper and oil enough to soften the whole stuffing. Grease the meat with a little oil, place a tablespoon of stuffing over each slice of meat and roll. Put the rolls on the skewers, alternating with slices of onion and laurel leaves. Sprinkle a little olive oil over the rolls then place them in a greased baking tin. Cook in a hot oven at 180°C for about 25 minutes. Salt while still hot and serve immediately. If you prefer a softer result, quickly brown the rolls in a pan with a little olive oil then add the white wine and let it evaporate. This will give you a tasty sauce too.

Ingredients for 4 aspics

- asparagus, 500g
- red onion, 1
- agar agar, 2 teaspoons
- butter, 40g
- salt
- roasted sesame seeds, for decoration
- thyme, for decoration

Wash the asparagus and don’t dry them. Remove the hard part at the bottom, cut off the
tips and keep them aside. Cut the rest in little pieces and steam cook together with the peeled and chopped onion. I used a very useful microwave bag by Toppits, and I cooked at 750W for about 5 minutes.
Blend everything with a  mixer, until you reach a smooth cream. Put it in a pot, add the agar agar, stir well and put over the fire to boil for about 3 minutes, adding 1 glass of warm water. Turn off the fire, adjust with salt, add the butter and stir. Pour the mixture in 4 wet ramekins.
Store in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Take each aspic out of the mould over a plate, decorate with sesame seeds, thyme leaves and the steam cooked asparagus tips.

With the goal of moving my mum to tears, this year I decided to bring the tradition back, that since a few years has been buried under the memories. Grandma’s recipe has unfortunately got lost in the ephemeral destiny of unwritten words. The one I suggest you was taken from a book of Sicilian cuisine, taken years ago as a supplement of the newspaper “Giornale di Sicilia”. I didn’t make it on time to inherit the decoration ability, so I tried to manage the thing instinctively. The aesthetic result is absolutely questionable, considering I have only found yellow and red colorants. Despite its jaundiced aspect, though, the taste was really appreciated. Who knows if I didn’t gain the same, great resources of secret ingredient that my grandma owned.

Ingredients for per 1 lamb
- almond flour, 250g
- icing sugar, 250g
- water, 1/2dl
- bitter almond essence, a few drops
- cinnamon
- vanillin
- food colouring in powder, brown and red

Put water and sugar in a pot and, after having stirred, heat it up at a low flame. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes. Remove from fire, add a few drops of bitter almond flavouring essence, a pinch of cinnamon and vanillin. Add the almond flour and stir well with a wooden spoon, until you get a dough. Help yourself with your hands if it is necessary. As
soon as you get a “ball”, put it over a chopping board covered with cling film. Knead the dough until smooth and compact. If it is too dry, just rinse your hands quickly under tap water and knead again. Once ready, make a fat sausage out of it and press it over the lamb-shaped mould. Close with the other half of the mould and press well. With a knife, remove any almond paste in excess from the bottom. Delicately detach the lamb and put it aside to dry for 24 hours. The day after, dissolve the colours in a little water and, with a thin brush,
paint over the wool and trace the face features of the lamb. Let dry for another 24 hours, then place the lamb in an enclosure. Decorate with an Easter flag on the back, a ribbon on the neck and a few chocolate eggs all around.

Ingredients for 6 persons
- sardines, 1kg
- bread crumbs, 150g
- anchovies preserved in salt, 2
- pine nuts, 30g
- raisin, 50g
- lemons, 2
- Extra virgin olive oil
- laurel leaves
- salt and pepper

Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small pan and gently roast the bread crumbs and a low heat until it reaches a golden, red-brown colour. Be careful not to burn it. Transfer to a bowl and keep 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs aside. Rinse the anchovies, remove the spine, mince them and dissolve them in a little olive oil. Add to the bread crumbs, together with the raisins, the pine nuts, a little salt, a pinch of black ground pepper and some olive oil. Toss well.
Clean the sardines by removing the head and the spine, then open them flat (skin side facing downwards), quickly rinse them, put them on a chopping board and sprinkle with salt. Put a tablespoon of bread crumbs mixture over each sardine, then roll them over themselves to form several roulades. Put them in a baking tin greased with oil, and alternate them with laurel leaves and thin slices of lemon.
Sprinkle with lemon juice and a little olive oil, spread the rest of the bread crumbs all over and bake in a hot oven at 200° for 15 minutes.

Even though being far from this little manifestation of earthly perfection, my recipe is inspired by that of the Silver Spoon. The advantage is that this version does not require to caramelize the apples by putting the tin directly over the fire, so you can make it even if you don’t have the special Tatin cake tin. Don’t you even think, though, of using a springform one. Unless you want to go through the entertaining lava flow of melted sugar over the bottom of your oven and challenge the effectiveness of you oven cleaner. Trust my personal experience.

Ingredients
- apples, 5 big
- sugar, 125g
- “00” flour, 150g
- butter, 75g + to grease tin
- lukewarm water, ¼ glass
- lemon, 1

Prepare the dough by mixing together the flour, the softened butter cut into pieces and the water, in order to obtain a very soft texture. Make a ball out of it, wrap it in cling film and keep aside for about an hour. Peel and cut the apples into 8 slices. Pour the lemon juice over them to avoid from making them turn brown. Grease the tin and sprinkle with a lot of sugar. Put the apples in the tin in a round circle. Sprinkle with a lot of sugar. Repeat this action with another layer of apples and sugar. Take the dough and keep the cling film in which it was wrapped underneath. Take another sheet of cling film and place it over the dough. Press it with your hands to obtain a disc shape. Stretch it at a thickness of 3mm, passing the rolling pin over the cling film. This will prevent the dough from sticking. Place the stretched dough over the apples. To make this action easier, roll the dough delicately around the rolling pin, raise it and unroll the dough over the apples. Make it go within the border of the tin and the apples. Cook in a preheated oven at 250°C for about 30 minutes. Overturn the cake upside down in an oven resistant plate. Be very careful as the pie might easily slip. Place the plate in the oven under the grill function for around 10 minutes, until the surface is golden and caramelized.

Ingredients for 6 mini sformatos
- leeks, 200g
- potatoes, 250g
- ground pistachio, 12 tablespoons
- extra virgin olive oil
- butter
- salt and pepper

Remove the green part and the roots from the leeks, rinse them, dry them and slice them. Cook them in a pot with a teaspoon of butter and a little oil, add salt, pepper and, before they start to brown, add about 1 cup of hot water. Let them stew until all water is absorbed and until leeks are soft. If they aren’t soft yet when all water has evaporated, add a little more and continue cooking. Keep aside.
Clean the potatoes and slice them thinly, keeping the skin. Sauté them in a pan with some oil, until golden. Add salt and pepper.
Grease 6 ramekins, put a few potato slices at the bottom, proceed by layering leeks and a tablespoon of pistachio. Continue this way and make sure to finish with a layer of pistachio. Cook in a preheated oven at 200° for around 15 minutes. Serve them inside the ramekins or reverse them in a plate as to maintain a pie shape.

Ingredients for 4 servings
- medium to large sized squids, 4
- shelled, precooked prawns, 300g
- ligurian pesto, 4 full teaspoons
- bread crumbs, 4 full tablespoons
- Pizzutello tomatoes, 12g
- juice of 1 lemon
- extra virgin olive oil
- oregano
- salt and pepper
- toothpicks, 4

Prepare the filling: cut the prawns into pieces, put them in a bowl, add pesto, bread crumbs and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add a pinch of salt, some ground black pepper and toss.
Clean the squids, cut the head at the bottom, over the eyes, so as to obtain a bag. Keep tentacles aside. Peel them, rinse them and dry them accurately with some kitchen paper.
Stuff the squids with the filling, close them at the bottom with a toothpick and, with a sharp knife, make some cuts on the “bag”, as to cut them almost into rings. Brush with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano.
Grill the squids and the tentacles for around 5 minutes per side on a very hot grilling plate, until they reach a nice, roasted colour.
Serve over a bed of concassé tomato, deprived from seeds, dressed with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt, black pepper and oregano. Serve with a couscous pie, made with a fish stock.

Original pictures by Laura Renieri. Post production: Nero di Seppia.