Recipes · Italy · Vegetive

Tomato risotto balls hiding a core of mozzarella, crumbed and fried, sold in every friggitoria across Rome.

A soft, open-crumbed focaccia dimpled deeply and flooded with salty brine and fruity olive oil.

Ligurian trofie cooked with potato and green beans, coated in basil pesto pounded in a mortar.

A slow-risen dough topped with raw San Marzano tomato, torn fior di latte and a few leaves of basil.

Three ingredients and a glossy pecorino cream bound with starchy pasta water, peppered right to the edge.

Tuscan salad of stale bread soaked in the juice of ripe tomatoes, with red onion, cucumber, basil and a sharp olive oil dressing.

Sicilian stew of silky aubergine, celery, olives and capers bound in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce sharpened with vinegar and sugar.

Thick Tuscan soup of cannellini beans, cavolo nero and vegetables, thickened with stale bread and reheated until it is almost a stew.

A thick soup of borlotti beans and small pasta, scented with rosemary and garlic and finished with a swirl of raw olive oil.

A creamy risotto with button mushrooms and dried porcini, with chickpeas added to make it a full meal.

Catania's pride, fried aubergines, a basil-scented tomato sauce and a shower of grated salted ricotta.