La Cucina Italiana Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bagna cauda

Typically served in Piemonte in the winter months, bagna cauda is in fact quite easy to make. Put anchovies and chopped garlic with plenty of olive oil in a blender, and mix to a smooth mass. Season with salt and pepper. Then pour this mixture in a large pan (similar to a fondue pan), cook for 15 minutes and serve very hot. Keep the pan on a heat source so the sauce doesn't cool.
As soon as the sauce is served, everyone can dip vegetables or breadsticks. In Piemonte one of the favourite vegetables to dip in the bagna cauda is the cardoon (an edible thistle, related to artichokes).

Answer: Minestrone

There are so many recipes for minestrone that it is hardly feasible to publish the ultimate recipe. The Italian chef Angelo Pellegrini insists that the minestrone should include borlotti beans. Here's my own recipe of minestrone. I start with frying onions and a shank, add fresh tomatoes and water. I add various herbs and spices, including bay leaves, basil, rosemary and thyme, as well as salt and pepper.

When the tomatoes fall apart, I remove the shank (it can be used the next day for a delicious stew) and the bay leaves, and I mix the remaining ingredients.

Then I add various vegetables: diced carrots, peas, beans (white beans or borlotti beans), some diced tomatoes, perhaps a few dices of turnip, and let simmer for at least 10 minutes until the vegetable dices are done.

At the last moment before serving, I also add some chopped parsley.

Answer: Caponata

Caponata is a typical Sicilian dish. I found a recipe in Italian on ricette.giallozafferano.it, that I've translated and summarized as follows.
For the aubergine: slice in dices and fry in plenty of olive oil. Keep apart and keep warm.
For the vegetables: slice white onion and celery. Dice some tomatoes. Roast pine nuts. Remove the pits from green olives. Heat olive oil, fry the onions, add the celery, add some capers, the pine nuts and the tomatoes, and cook for about 20 minutes.
Make the sauce by adding tomato concentrate and sugar to some vinegar, and add the sauce to the vegetables. Cook until you don't smell the vinegar anymore. Then add the fried aubergines and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Answer: Insalata caprese

Insalata caprese is very easy to make. Slice tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and serve with olive oil and fresh basil leaves. You may use some salt to season it to your own taste. If you can find it, use the mozzarella of Italian buffalo milk - many sources confirm that the buffalo mozzarella is much tastier than the imitations made with cow's milk. The insalata caprese stems from the island of Capri (hence its name), close to Naples - the origin of the pizza Margherita with exactly the same ingredients on pizza dough.

In both cases the colours of the dish represent the Italian flag: red (tomatoes), white (mozzarella) and green (basil).

Answer: Fritto misto

Fritto misto can be made with meat, fish and/or vegetables.
Suppose you make fritto misto di pesce (with fish), then you need a few different small fish, large shrimps, and calamari (squid). Clean the food (for instance remove the intestines of the fish and the shrimps), cut into pieces if necessary (you need to end up with everything in parcels of equal volume). Meanwhile make a batter of flour, salt and water - not to lumpy. Then drench each food parcel in the batter and fry a short time in very hot vegetable oil - the food has to be golden-brown. Serve immediately.
If you want to make a fritto misto di carne (meat), you have to take into account that some meat needs longer to fry. The mix of all foods should be served on the same time, while it still is hot.

Answer: Saltimbocca alla romana

Saltimbocca (literally "jumps in the mouth") is quite easy to make.
Take a veal scallop, place one or two sprigs of sage on it and roll up in a slice of ham. Marinate for a few hours in wine, olive oil or brine. Then cook in butter and dry white wine (some sources prefer Marsala wine).
As with many dishes, there are variations. You can for instance use chicken fillet or pork tenderloin instead of veal.

Answer: Risi e bisi

Risi e bisi is one of several risotto dishes. It is typically served in springtime in the region Veneto (north of Venice). I found this recipe on ricette.giallozafferano.it and translated and summarized it. First of all, you need to take the peas out of their pods. Meanwhile cook a vegetable broth and let it cool down. Rinse the peapods thoroughly and add them to the broth. Cook for at least an hour, mix and then press the green broth through a sieve. Keep the broth warm. Fry some onions in butter, add pancetta and parsley, followed by the peas. Add some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and then add the rice. Cook until the rice is al dente and the rest has a soupy consistency. Add butter and grated cheese.

Answer: Pesto alla Genovese

Pesto alla Genovese is a green sauce to accompany pasta dishes.
Here's how I would make pesto. Roast some pine nuts. In a mortar, put the roasted pine nuts, some chunks of garlic, salt, grated cheese and fresh basil leaves. Drench with olive oil and crush to a smooth sauce. There is even a biennial competition to make pesto alla Genovese using mortar and pestle.
As modern kitchens more frequently have a blender than a mortar and pestle, most people would put all the ingredients in the blender and mix it. This would result in an even smoother sauce.
There are of course several variations. The best known is the Sicilian alternative pesto rosso, where the pine nuts are substituted with almonds and with the addition of tomatoes. But it appears that there is also an orange pesto, made with carrots, coriander and cumin (I'm afraid this one won't get the approval of true Genovese).

Answer: Zabaglione

Zabaglione is a custard made from egg yolks, sugar and wine. It is usually served over the fruit of the season.
The most simple recipe is as follows. Separate some egg yolks from the egg whites. Beat the yolks with sugar to a creamy consistency. Then pour into a bain marie (a large pan with hot water holding a smaller pan) and add Marsala wine while whisking. Serve lukewarm.
If you want to prepare this dessert without any alcohol (for instance to serve for young children), you can substitute the wine with other fluids. But then it is no real zabaglione anymore. The dessert without wine but with strong coffee is called uovo sbattuto (beaten egg).

Answer: Panettone

Panettone is a special type of bread stemming from Milan. It is usually served on winter holidays such as Christmas and New Year.
Contrary to the other recipes mentioned in this quiz, panettone is the pinnacle of "slow food": you need several days to make it. (Personally I don't make it but buy it at the supermarket.)
Start with making the dough using flour, yeast, and water. Knead the dough thoroughly and let it rise in a cool dry place (one recipe recommends the refrigerator) until it doubles in volume.
While the dough rises, soak fruits (raisins, diced dried fruit...) in a mixture of rum and water.
Then mix eggs, vanilla, sugar, orange zest and a bit of salt through the dough. Knead and add some butter. Let rise a second time, this time at least for the whole night.
On the final day, spread the dough, top it with the drained fruit mixture (and if you like it, some chopped almonds). Fold and let rise a third time. Then bake in a hot oven.