A Tavola Con Ellynne in Italia: Part 4
Pranzo Con Amici — Food With Friends
My friend, Anne, and I are so lucky to have made friends in Lido during our first trip here in March of 2012. And we are even luckier because they love to share their own recipes with us.
Over dinner at our favorite Pizzaria Ristorante, my friend Daniela Ducceschi shared her recipe for Pattate Fritte (French fries) which she had ordered one evening along with a side dish of grilled vegetables. She says she cuts the potatoes and fries them in a mixture of olive oil and butter. She also advised that you can always tell if the fries will be good based on their color…they should be white. When the fries are a darker color, then that means the oil has been re used too many times. She highly recommended the fries at this particular restaurant as they always use fresh oil. And yes, they are delicioso!
On June 21, the first day of summer, our friend Patrizia Mel invited us to share her family cabana on the beach at Lido for the afternoon, and as a special treat she served us a lunch of baked tomatoes (pomo dori), so I will call this recipe Pomo doro di Patrizia! Her directions are to first slice the tomatoes, then remove the seeds. Add salt, and let the slices sit a while. Then gently squeeze out any excess water. Pack parmesan cheese (freshly grated or cubed) into the spaces where the seeds were, then add bread crumbs, sprinkle with basil and olive oil and bake at 400 degrees until slightly browned. On the side she served us Genovese Pane with olives and for dessert she prepared yet a different type of bread (store bought) with a chocolate spread that was similar to Nutella, but a slightly fancier, creamier blend (Solidad was the brand name and on the label the ingredients named were crema spalmabile con nocciole e cacao magro).
Contact Ellynne at LynnieBDavis@gmail.com
