An Italian Meal For The Week

For those living in the US, this week is rather like the week before Christmas is in Italy: A time to eat lightly, to compensate for the coming feast. And since I am American, and will be getting together with some American friends for a belated T-Day dinner next Saturday (too many things happen during the week, from school to jobs, to make taking time off practical), I'll be eating lightly too. So no antipasto. Rather:

• Orecchiette coi Broccoletti: Orecchiette are a kind of pasta shaped like ears, hence the name, which translates as little ears. And they're wonderful with broccoli, which are cooked with the pasta. A little cheese, some garlic, and they're just about perfect.
• Involtini di Vitello Coi Carciofi: Veal scallops, rolled up around slivers of artichoke and simmered. This is one of the most standard Italian winter main courses, and rightly so.
• Insalata Verde: The lettuce of your choice (I like Romain), coarsely shredded and lightly seasoned with extravirgin olive oil, vinegar (I prefer red wine) and salt. Italians don't pepper their salads.
• Frutta: Oranges have begun to appear in the markets, and they are wonderfully refreshing.

Wine? Since I'm cutting back, I'll pass, though if I weren't I'd think about Torrevento's Matervitae Bombino Bianco (see the post below), because it will work well with the pasta and won't clash with the artichokes in the involtini the way red wines often do. And to finish up? An Espresso.