Main Ingredient: Pork
Arrosto di Maiale
Roast Pork with Garlic
For this recipe it is best to use the hind leg of the pig (otherwise known as the ham) with its delicious skin. The skin is cut here to let the fat escape and to enable the meat to absorb all the flavours of the fat and seasonings. And, on top of that, it's delicious to eat!
Il Gran Bollito Misto
Mixed Boiled Meats
This is a great winter celebration dish for a large gathering. It is found in other regions, but this version is very typical of Piedmont. Gran bollito combines at least five different types of meats, and has several little accompanying sauces: salsa verde, salso rossa (tomato and onion), salsa bianca (onion-based), and mostarda do Cremona (fruits candied slowly in a heavy sugar syrup flavoured with essence of mustard).
Pici o Pinci al Ragu di Maiale
Tuscan Pasta with Pork Sauce
Pici is possibly the only original Tuscan handmade pasta. It is made by pulling on a piece of dough made of durum wheat flour (usually no egg) until you have a lengthy string the size of a bucatino without the holes. It's similar to the Venetian bigolo, so quite substantial. In Tuscany, it is regularly eaten with a ragu of wild boar, hare, rabbit or pork.
Salsicce Fatte A Mano Con Lenticchie
Umbrian Lentil and Home-made Sausage Stew
This dish is truly wonderful when using the fresh sausages made by the local Norcian master butchers, who are known as norcini. As they may be difficult to find, I suggest making the sausages from scratch instead - it's not too complicated, and it is well worth it. You can get hold of Castelluccio lentils, the Italian Puy lentils, in a good delicatessen.
Tagliatelle al Ragu Bolognese
Tagliatelle with Bolognese Sauce
This is by far the best-known Bolognese recipe which, to be genuine, has to be made with fresh tagliatelle and not spaghetti.