Italian Kitchen Secrets

This is a good "sunday recipe".
Easy to make, delicious, tender.
My mum was used to prepare it when I was little and even now, even if less often cause me and my sister are old enough to eat also different things ^^.
This roast is made in a pot, on stove and not in the oven: here in Italy is often the privileged cooking solution for roasts.


For 4 serves you need:


1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin tied with string

3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or butter

2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper

4 cups fresh whole milk

1 sprig fresh rosemary

a little carrot, chopped tiny


In a heavy pot heat the olive oil with garlic and carrot pieces and brown the roast well on all sides.
Add salt and pepper.
Add the milk and bring to boil, then turn the heat to low and let the meat cook for about une hour and half, turn the roast now and then and mix the sauce to prevent burning.
When the meat is ready the sauce should be thick, of a golden brown colour, with some kind of grumes, really tasty.
Wait untill the roast is cold before slice it, it's even better if you prepare it one day in advance then cut sometime before serving, heat again meat and sauce and serve slices with souce on top.
It's perfect with sauteed spinach or mashed potadoes.

Another Italian must where rosemary is protagonist, very popular as street food, a good treat for children douring school break, the delicious focaccia.
It seems a little bit demanding, the recipe is long but it's longer to read than to prepare!
If you have a bread machine or something similar you can prepare the dough with it then spread it in the pan and let it rise once again, it's even quicker.
You can eat it plain as snack or you can serve it diced in squares, warm, with salami, ham, cheese...
It could be a strong appetizer of an informal dinner if served with that sort of things or a great, cheap, quick idea for party buffets (even children party).


You need:

2 - 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast


1 - 1/3 cups water lukewarm

6 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

3 - 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon coarse salt

2 - 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water.
Set aside for a few minutes.
Add 3 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil to the mix.
In a large mixing bowl, add the 2 teaspoons salt to the flour.
Add the yeast-water mixture into the flour.
With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir vigorously stir to combine.
Knead with your hands until soft dough is obtained.
Lightly spread another large bowl with olive oil, transfer the dough into the bowl.
Rub the dough around the walls of the bowl to cover its surface with oil.
Cover the bowl with oiled plastic wrap, and place the pan in a warm corner of the kitchen (like the oven, turned off) to rise for about 1 hour, or until about doubled in size.
Spread extra-virgin olive oil lightly on a 12 x 16 inch baking pan.
Invert the dough from the bowl into the pan.
At this point the dough is very light and soft.
Avoid pressing or stretching it too much or it will not rise weel in the oven.
Flatten the dough with the point of the fingers until it reaches the edges, and the pan is fully covered.
Dimple the focaccia with your fingertips to create small depressions.
Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap, and place the pan in a warm corner of the kitchen to rise for 1 more hour.
Preheat oven to 450 F °, spread the remaining olive oil, the coarse salt, and the rosemary leaves uniformly on the surface of the focaccia.
Bake the focaccia on the lower shelf of the oven for about 25 minutes, until the surface is golden and the bottom is gold.
Lift a corner of the focaccia to check readiness before removing it from the oven.

It's a winter soup, it's eaten especially in North of Italy (Veneto, Lombardia, Emilia Romagna and in Tuscany too).