Primo, Secondo, What's that mean, anyway?

My pasta with artichokes.

What's a "primo"? I get that question a lot from from people who aren't Italian. Well, it's one of the first courses in an Italian meal. The "primo" (first course), usually a plate of pasta, risotto (rise dish), or gnocchi (little potato dumplings) which comes after the antipasto and before the "secondo" (the main course) the meat with a vegetable side. "What? That sounds complicated" they say. "No", I say, "It's easy". Here in Italy it's all about the food.
 Look, if you were invited to an typical Italian meal here in Italy it would go something like this:

Typical antipasto.

1.  The Antipasto: cold cuts and cheese, usually, a variety of salami, prosciutto( a cured ham), all kinds of cheeses, a variety of olives, maybe some grilled vegetables like eggplant or artichokes, the options are endless.

Pasta with clams.

2.  A Primo: (first course) any pasta dish, or risotto, gnocchi or, maybe, soup.

3.  A Secondo: (main course) beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, rabbit, fish, or pork, etc. and a side dish of any kind of vegetables.

Cannolli, OMG!

Mmmmm Cake.

Profitorol, to die for!

4. My favorite....Dessert or "Il dolce": Which could be a ton of things like, tiramisu, gelato, cake, amaretto cookies, a variety of pasteries, etc, etc, ect.! (So plan on saving some room for it. Good luck with that!)

5.   Cafe': An espresso coffee (never, ever a cappuccino, that's only for breakfast or mid-morning).

6.  A digestive liqueur, like, amaretto, grappa (a sort of moonshine made from the grape skins after they've been used to make wine), or an amaro (a bitter liqueur made from herbs or even artichokes to aid in digestion).

• All of this would be accompanied, of course, by local wine, usually red, or sometimes white, depends on the area.

Now if it were a fancy occasion, like a wedding or a formal lunch or dinner, or you could just meet up with your friends at  a local cafe around 6 or 7 in the evening, you would start everything off with an "Aperitivo". A lightly alcoholic drink to spark the appetite (cause you're going to need it) like Compari, Aperol, or a sparkling white wine, or even Spumante. Served with something salty like olives, chips, or crackers.

Typical aperitivo

See, easy-peezy!  You are now an expert.

Buon Appetito!

A Light Summer Lunch

Summers can get hot here in Calabria, so today I decided to make a quick and easy "summer" lunch.

Zucchini frittata and veggie salad, yum. So what is a Frittata? Well, it's kind of like an omelette that you don't fold over and the ingredients are cooked into the egg. It's a very common dish here in Italy. You can make one with literally with any ingredients you want. It can be made for any meal, lunch, dinner or even breakfast (although not many Italians would make it for breakfast). Eggs aren't a big breakfast item over here. This is how i made mine:

Zucchini Frittata

What you'll need:

• One zucchini sliced thin
• some onion sliced thin, I used red onion.
• fresh chopped herbs, I used basil , parsley and mint.
• Eggs, one for each person plus one for the pan. I used four.
• A hand full of grated parmisan cheese. 
• And some other firm cheese that melts nicely. I used Provalone.

Now, saute' the onion and Zucchini in a non stick pan with a little olive oil for about 5-10 minutes on medium high heat.

While that's happening , crack open your eggs in a bowl and mix them up with a fork, like your making scrambled eggs. Add the fresh herbs, parmesan, salt and pepper and mix some more.  Now, with your fork, spread the zucchini and onions out flat in the pan, pour the egg mixture over the top, then sprinkle with your firm cheese.

 Turn the heat down to medium and cover the pan. Cook for about ten minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Flip the frittata over, now this can be tricky, I slide it onto a plate, then flip it over back into the pan, so it doesn't break up. Cook it for another ten minutes and it's done. (Of course, if you're making  a bigger frittata it will need more time to cook.) Once it's done, slide it on a serving dish and it's ready!

We have a big choice of fresh, local veggies this time of year from our local vendor. In this salad i used :

• green beans (steamed)
• yellow pepper
• tomatoes
• cucumber
• red onion
• fresh herbs, parsley, basil, mint.
• Extra virgin olive oil and a splash on vinegar. Oh, and salt & pepper.

Chop everything up , throw it in a bowl, toss with the olive oil & vinegar and you're all set!

And why not, enjoy a nice glass of white wine with that!

Buon Appetito!