Pasqua Romana / Pasqua Greca

Pasqua Romana*



'Romana' as opposed to 'Greca'; Roman Catholic Easter as opposed to Greek Orthodox Easter, both of which we celebrate.

We had a most enjoyable lunch on Easter Sunday thanks in large part to the delightful company of some friends who came by on short notice: many thanks to them for coming despite the last minute nature of the invitation! Here are some of the things we ate:

Homemade bread.


Small cracked green olives, which we marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and cracked coriander seed.


Zucchine alla scapece.


Also part of the antipasto course but not pictured here was a platter of salume and cheese: prosciutto di parma, sopressa, mortadella, fior di latte, tuma.

Since this was a somewhat impromptu lunch, the primo/secondo structure was streamlined a bit, in that the two were cooked together. As we usually do, however, the meat that was involved was set aside and served as a separate course. The dish I made was...

Fettuccine al sugo di funghi con salsicce

Two kinds of sausage were included:


The main flavouring of the sauce came from dried porcini and fresh crimini, along with a fairly basic battuto.


This sauce doesn’t need to cook all that long...


... and on this occasion was finished with a generous dose of my miraculous and quite tasty indoor sage.


Here is the finished dish:


At table, pecorino romano and ricotta fresca were available for facultative application.


The sausages, along with the homemade bread and a simple salad constituted the secondo/contorno stage of the meal.

Che bella vita, ma si durasse!
Antonius


Links to other recipes and cooking notes by this writer: http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=55649#55649

Antonius wrote:
Zucchine alla scapece.

Zucchine alla scapece is an interesting preparation, which I have never made (usually I fry, with no vinegar dressing), but which I know I can use when it's raining zucchini late this summer. Looks like you used a clear vinegar rather than a dark balasamic (though it's a little hard to tell in that bowl)?

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:
Zucchine alla scapece is an interesting preparation, which I have never made (usually I fry, with no vinegar dressing), but which I know I can use when it's raining zucchini late this summer. Looks like you used a clear vinegar rather than a dark balasamic (though it's a little hard to tell in that bowl)?

David,

One of my few complaints about Spacca Napoli was their scapece, which I found rather insipid on the one occasion I had it. I also remember the owner describing the dish and mentioning 'balsamic vinegar' as one of the ingredients. To my mind, that is oh-so-wrong. In my family, we do this dish the old fashioned way, with good, cheap red wine vinegar. My further secrets I won't give away (unless for a price).



Antonius