To begin with, a slightly belated best of Passovers to those who celebrate it, and a best of Easters to those who celebrate it. You'll find recipes for a Neapolitan Easter celebration, including Pastiera alla Napoletana, the classic Neapolitan grain pie here, and a slightly simpler Roman celebration too, here. The classic meat dish is in both cases lamb, as is true for much of Italy, and so many lambs are slaughtered that Italy's animal rights people protest every year, suggesting that people do something vegetarian instead. One could, perhaps doing some sort of stuffed vegetable dish, for example Erica De mane's Artichokes Stuffed With Baked Fennel and Pecorino . However, Italians in the past, especially those who were poor, would have felt shortchanged by the absence of meat, both because Easter marks the end of the privations of Lent, and because few had the wherewithal to be able to enjoy much more than boiled meat once a week, if that. Because of Easter's importance it was a perfect excuse to loosen the purse strings, and people did.

For example, one of the possibilities in Sardinia was Agnello allo Zafferano, lamb with saffron, which Alessandro Molinari Pradelli presents in La cucina Sarda. To serve 6:

• 2 2/3 pounds (1.2 k) lamb -- you'll want a boneless piece
• 1 teaspoon powdered saffron, stirred into a quarter cup of warm water
• A small bunch parsley, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2/3 cup tomato sauce
• Salt and pepper

Chop the lamb into bite-size pieces. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the herbs, adding the lamb before the garlic browns, and cook, turning the pieces until they're browned on all sides. Stir in the tomato and the saffron, reduce the heat, and simmer covered for about an hour, adding a little more warm water should the meat look like it's drying out. Check seasoning part way into the cooking, and serve hot when the meat is fork tender.

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Torta di Verdura

Moving in a different direction, Frances writes, "My late father used to make, every Easter, a "pie" called "Torta Verde." This is a dish that originates in the Piedmont section of Italy, where he was born. I have been searching for a recipe for this pie and have been totally unsuccessful. It's made with chopped spinach, rice, eggs, Parmigiano cheese, and baked. I would love to have an idea of the proportions. Can you help with this?"

I've found a couple of recopies in Alessandro Pradelli's La Cucina Piemontese (Newton Compton Eds; he's done about half their cookbooks). The first is Torta Primavera, di Riso Verde -- Spring Pie with Green Rice. To serve 6, you'll need:

• 1 cup (200 g) Vialone Nano or other short-grained rice
• 1 1/3 pounds mixed greens, including collard greens, spinach, young nettles (use gloves until you've scalded them), onion grass, shallot tops, fresh celery leaves, and violets
• 6 ounces (150 g) flat (as opposed to rolled, which will work if need be) pancetta, diced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 ladles broth
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 ounces (50 g) minced salami (you'll want something mild)
• 1 basil leaf, minced
• The leaves of a sprig of thyme, minced
• 2 sage leaves, minced
• 2 mint leaves, minced
• A bunch of marjoram, minced
• A heaping cup (60 g) freshly grated Parmigiano
• A heaping cup (60 g) shredded Gruyere or Fontina
• 1/4 cup plus one tablespoon (60 g) unsalted butter
• Bread crumbs for lining the baking pan
• Salt and pepper

Wash the greens well, and shred them coarsely.

Heat the oil in a large pot and sauté the minced pancetta; once the pancetta has browned (don't let it burn) add the shredded greens and the rice. Mix well and stir in the broth; let cook until the rice is about half cooked. At this point turn off the flame and let the mixture cool. Crumble the salami into it, mix in the eggs, and then the minced garlic and the herbs, finishing with the cheeses. Add the butter as well, and check seasoning.

Preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C).

Butter and dust an oven pan large enough to hold the ingredients (figure a pie a little more than an inch, 2.5 cm, high), then pour them out into it. Bake for about 10 minutes, then flip the pie onto a serving dish and remove the pan. Let it cool, and serve it slightly warm, cut into wedges or squares.

As a variation, you can cook the rice in lightly salted water until it reaches the al dente stage, then drain it and turn it out onto a clean dishtowel to dry it, and combine it with the other ingredients. This way you'll have more of a contrast between the rice flavors and the flavors of the rest of the filling.

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A second Torta Verde. To serve 6:

• 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) tender wild greens (poppy, nettles (handle with gloves until you've wilted them in the pot, spinach, collard greens, dandelion greens)
• 2/3 cup (120 g) Vialone Nano or similar short-grained rice
• An onion, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 ounces (50 g) ground cured lard or pancetta
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon mixed ground spices (nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, mace -- you might want to reduce this a bit)
• 3/4 cup freshly ground Parmigiano
• Meat broth
• Bread crumbs
• Salt

Clean, wash, drain, and shred the greens.

Heat the oil and some of the butter in a pot and sauté the onion until it begins to turn gold but not so much that it browns, then add the garlic and cured ground lard and mix well. Now add the greens, check seasoning, cover, and cook them over a low flame until they're done, 10-15 minutes. When they are done add the rice and a ladle of broth, and keep cooking at a very low simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally lest the mixture stick down and burn. When 20 minutes are up, turn off the flame and let the mixture cool, then stir in the eggs, spices, and cheese, and check seasoning again.

Next, preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C). Butter a pan of a size such that the pie will be an inch or so high, dust it with bread crumbs, fill it with the mixture, dust the surface lightly with bread crumbs, and bake it for about 50 minutes. Slice it, and serve it cold.

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Interested in the traditional savory Easter pie from Liguria? It's called Torta Pasqualina, and contains a great many eggs, to celebrate the arrival of spring.

WineFests

Moving in a decidedly different direction, while at Vinitaly this week, I picked up Le Città Del Vino's annual winefest listing. Here are a few of the things that caught my eye:

May
3	Randazzo (Catania, Sicily): Sagra del Vino, with the wines of Etna, bruschetta, and local cheeses and cold cuts.
4-6	Aquileia (Udine, Friuli Venezia Giulia): 30th roundup of Aquileia DOC wines
5-6	San Casciano (Florence, Tuscany): Alle Corti del Vino, a very interesting show that gathers the best Tuscan producers. On a beautiful estate, too.
5-6; 12-13; 19-20; 26-27	Gattinara (VC, Piemonte): Mese dei Nebbioli del Nord Piemonte -- There are other great Nebbiolo wines in addition to Barolo and Barbaresco!
13	Predappio (Forli, Emilia Romagna): Festa del Sangiovese e della Bruschetta. Forli has some first-rate Sangiovese
18-20	Soave (Verona, Veneto): Soave fest.
19-20	San Vincenzo (Livorno, Tuscany): Gastronomia del Mare, a seafood fest.
25	Bardolino (Verona, Veneto): Bardolino Chiaretto, blush Bardolino. Perfect in summer.
27-Jun 3	Montespertoli (Florence, Tuscany): 44th annual Chianti show
27	Ovada (Alessandria, Piemonte): Historic cart parade
27	Cantine Aperte, wineries throughout the land will open their cellars to the public.
June
1-3; 8-10	Faedis (Udine, Friuli Venezia Giulia): The wine-and-strawberry fest
2-3	San Stefano Belbo (Cuneo, Piemonte): The Italian Moscato Show
16-17	Calosso (Asti, Piemonte): Barbera and Moscato show
16-17	Canelli (Asti, Piemonte): Reenactment of the siege of 1613
16-18	Genzano di Roma (Roma): The wines of the Colli Lanuvini
16-17	Moncalvo (Asti, Piemonte): Mediterranean Cuisine Festival
17-24	Frascati, Alban Hills: A wine and food fest in San Rocco
24	Pantelleria (Trapani, Sicily): The cous cous festival
30	Gragnano (Naples): the pasta fest
30-8 July	Montecarrotto (Ancona, Marche) 14th show of Marchegian wines
July
1-10	Taurasi (Avellino, Campania) Agricultural and gastronomic fair.
2	Siena (Tuscany): The Palio, a spectacular horse race not for the faint-hearted
4-7	Controguerra (Teramo, Abruzzo): Controguerra DOC wines and local dishes
13	Conegliano (Treviso, Veneto): Renaissance fair and banquet
28-29	Cortiglione (Asti, Piemonte): Agricultural and wine fair
August
1-7	Annone Veneto (Venice): Sagra di San Osvaldo and 30th local wine show
1-5	Castiglione in Teverina (Viterbo, Lazio): the wines of the Colli del Tevere
4-5	Piombino (Livorno, Tuscany) Wine fest in the city halls
5	Monti (Sassari, Sardegna): Vermentino festival
6-12	Staffolo (Ancona, Marche): 36th Verdicchio Festival
10-12	Serrone (Lazio): Wine fest
11-12	Manduria (Taranto, Puglia): Primitivo di Manduria show
11-20	Petruro Irpino (Avellino, Campania): Fusillo fest (pasta) and Greco di Tufo (wine).
13	Serrapetrona (MC, Marche): Vernaccia fest, with open cellars, museums and more.
15-16	Montescudaio (Pisa, Tuscany): Summer winefest
16	Siena (Tuscany): The Palio, a spectacular horse race not for the faint-hearted
19	Suno (Novara, Piemonte): the Concord Grape fest
22-2 September	Matelica (MC, Marche) Reenactment of Roman Matelica and Verdicchio show.
24-6; 31	Gavi (Alessandria, Piemonte): Cortese and Müller at Monterotondo (a great hill for wine).
25-6	Tagliolo Monferrato (Alessandria, Piemonte): History of Wine 2001 -- 4th annual Dolcetto di Ovada show.
28	Canelli (Asti, Piemonte): A Moscato and hazelnut products show.
September
1-2	Gavi (Alessandria, Piemonte): Gavi and Cortese in the town of Rovereto
1-2	Monte San Pietro (Bologna, Emilia Romagna): Colli Bolognesi wines. An interesting region
3-9	San Vincenzo (Livorno, Tuscany) Sagitta Turris, the reenactment of the Battle of San Vincenzo in 1505.
3-9	Gaiole in Chianti (Siena, Tuscany): Wine tasting in the streets
7-9	Greve in Chianti (Florence) The annual Chianti festival
8-9	Cormòns (Gorizia, Friuli Venezia Giulia): Wine festival with fine whites, some of Italy's best
8-9	Monte San Savino (Arezzo, Tuscany): The porchetta (roast pig) festival. They've got a long tradition of porchetta here.
14-16	Bomporto (Modena, Reggio Emilia): The Lambrusco di Sorbara festival. It's not all spritzy.
14-16	Casale Monferrato (Alessandria, Piemonte) A festival of local specialties
14-16	Lanuvio (Roma): Wine and local specialties
14-16	Soave (Verona, Veneto): Some interesting whites here, despite Soave's reputation.
15-16	Brindisi (Puglia): The grape festival
27-30	Rufina (Florence, Tuscany): 26th edition of the Bacco Artigiano wine festival
28-30	Santa Venerina (Catania, Sicily): Enoetna 2001, the wines of Etna
October
5-7	Bardolino (Verona, Veneto) The Bardolino Festival
6-7; 13-14	Faedis (Udine, Friuli Venezia Giulia): The chestnut and chestnut honey festival
11-20	Taurasi (Avellino, Campania): Wine fest
20-21; 27-28	Moncalvo (Asti; Piemonte): the 47th edition of the white truffle festival
November
Weekends	Alba's Truffle festival, in Alba (Piemonte)
3-11	Imola (Bologna, Emilia Romagna): The international Sangiovese show, and Baccanale, which is to the 18th
6	Canelli (Asti, Piemonte): The San Martino fest and the regional truffle festival.
10-12	Meran (Bozen, Sudtirol): Gourmets International, second only to Vinitaly in size and with many of the best Italian wineries showing. Also Culinaria, a food show. For more information.
12-20	Costigliole d'Asti (Asti, Piemonte): The Barbera festival to illustrate the wine's ties with the land.
22-25	Vezza D'Alba (Cuneo, Piemonte): Regional truffle festival with Roero Wines.

There are more festivals, but these will get you going.

This week's proverb is Tuscan: Piuttosto un asino che porti, che un cavallo che butti a terra. Better an ass that will carry you than a horse that will throw you.

A presto,
Kyle Phillips
Webweaver, About Italian Cuisine

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