Carciofi ripieni = Artichokes filled with bread and….

• Artichokes (two per person)
• One bunch of parsley
• Garlic (3 coves)
• Olive oil
• Breadcrumbs
• Salt and pepper

Clean the artichokes cutting off the stalk and the tough leaves.
Grind the parsley and the garlic together, in a bowl place: a cup of breadcrumbs, add water, salt a little oil, the parsley and the garlic and mix all (the breadcrumbs will soak up about 1 or two glasses of water).
Open the leaver of the artichokes and with a tea spoon insert the mixture among the leaves. Place the filled artichokes in a saucepan so that they are standing one near the other. Cook (adding some water if necessary) until they are tender (test with a fork)

Melanzane / Pomodori in forno = Baked eggplants / tomatoes

If you did not use all the mixture (garlic, parsley…) of the previous recipe, you can use it to bake eggplants and tomatoes: Do not bake them together because tomatoes need more time to cook.
In a baking tin place olive oil and some slices of eggplants (two centm) make an incision in them and insert a teaspoon of the mixture. Bake for about 10/15 minutes)
The same thing with the tomatoes, divide them into two parts, take away the seed fill with the mixture and bake for 30/40 minutes. Always control if you have to add a little water.

Verdure fritte = Fried vegetables

• Cardoons
• Artichokes
• Zucchini
• Zucchini flowers
• Onions
• Potatoes
• Cauliflower
• Peanut oil (1,5 lt)
• Salt
• One ore two eggs
• Flour (500 grams)
• Beer

You need not prepare all these vegetables together, but only any of them.
Cardoons and cauliflowers have to be boiled before.
Cut the vegetable in pieces: cardoons in rectangular pieces (7cm)
Artichokes in segments, onions in rings potatoes in slim slices and so on.
(Cardoons and artichokes must be left into the water with lemon juice)
Now prepare the batter: Place the flour (about 250 grams) into a bowl, add beer until you have a batter like a cream, add the yolk, and then whip the white and add also it.
Dredge each piece of vegetable, dip it into the batter and then in frying oil. The oil for frying must be placed into a deep pot and fry when you fry the vegetables. Serve hot with salt and (optional) some lemon drops.

Fagioli all’uccelletto = Beans in tomato sauce

• One can of “Cannelllini” beans (500 grams)
• Peeled tomatoes
• Garlic (3 cloves)
• Sage (10 leaves)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

In a pan place 8 spoons of olive oil the squashed cloves and the sage; before the garlic is brown add the beans, mix for a while and the add the tomatoes. Stew for 30 minutes mixing with a wooden ladle.

Verdure grigliate = Grilled vegetables

• One/two eggplant
• 3 peppers ( yellow, green and red)
• Two onions
• Tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt

Cut the vegetables in wheels (1/2 cm), the peppers in quarters and place on a red hot grill, grill all until cooked.
To peel the peppers, grill them on the peel side, when you take them off the grill, Put them into a pot and cover it. After about 30 minutes you can easily peel the peppers.
I like to serve all these vegetable all together in a tray only with salt and a very little olive oil, they are perfect also on a “fettunta”.

Melanzane alla parmigiana = Parmigiana eggplants

• 3 or four eggplants (the violet ones)
• Tomato sauce (a bottle ready made with nothing more than tomatoes and salt)
• Mozzarella cheese (2 or three)
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Olive oil

Peel the eggplants, cut them in slices (less than 1 cm), the true recipe will the eggplants fried, as they are heavy for the stomach and for the diet, I suggest to grill them, grill all the slices and place hem into a bowl, break up in small pieces the mozzarella and put it into a bowl, prepare the tomato sauce and the parmesan
In a baking tin place a little oil, a bed of grilled eggplants, pour some spoons of tomato sauce (not too much but enough to make the eggplant red), sprinkle some mozzarella salt and parmesan. Start again with a bed of eggplants and so on until you finish all the ingredients. Finish with the parmesan. Bake into the oven 200° for about 30 minutes until it has a brown crust.

Spinaci alla fiorentina = Florentine spinaches

• Spinaches (1 kg for four people)
• Eggs (1 or 2 each)
• Garlic (1-3 cloves)
• Butter (100 grams) or olive oil
• Milk (half liter)
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Flour
• Salt and pepper

Boil the fresh spinaches for 10 minutes or boil the refrigerate ones until they are cooked.
In a frying pan place half butter the spinaches you had previous cut in rough pieces, let them become tasty.
Prepare the béchamel sauce:
You can prepare it into the microwave: first dissolve the butter (50 grams), when it is liquid add two full spoons of flour and mix, add hot milk and two spoons of parmesan and salt. Cook into the microwave for until it boils and then mix well all.
Place the spinaches into a pyrex dish, make some little holes and place one egg in each hole, cover all with the béchamel sauce and the parmesan.
Bake into the oven for about 20 minutes.

Tuttoinsieme = Alltogether

• Potatoes
• Zucchini
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Salt and pepper (chilli)
• Olive oil (6 spoons)

Cut the vegetables in pieces (one apricot size) the onions in smaller pieces
In a saucepan put the oil and the vegetables: first the onions and then the others.
Stew for 20/30 minutes. This is a very tasteful dish which allows you to finish the vegetables you have into the fridge