Primi piatti, or main dishes, are in Italy often hearty, healthy, and flavorful. Many are relatively easy to prepare, despite their fabulous flavor. Herbs and sauces are artfully used to enhance simple ingredients such as fish or chicken, and many dishes feature cheeses and vegetables -- and of course wine!

Additional Recipes:

Chicken Parmasan

Pollo Arrosto

(Roast Chicken)

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 chicken
3 tablespoons salt for cleansing
1-1/2 lbs. small red potatoes
1 onion
1/2 cup fresh parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
Salt and black pepper to taste

Remove gizzard, neck, heart, and liver from the inside of the chicken (wash with the rest and save for chicken broth). Cut off and discard all visible fat.

the wings on the underside of the breast, guiding the knife so it will cut through the joints, then cut the legs using the same procedure. With a set of kitchen shears, cut along the back beginning on the side of the neck. Cut off both thighs so that only the breast is left. From the inside, make a small cut on the cartilage where the wishbone begins, then pull the breasts apart, remove the cartilage and cut off the wishbone. Now cut each breast in half. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and sprinkle them with the salt, mix well and set aside.

Pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees.

In the meantime, scrub the potato skins with a vegetable brush and water and cut them in half. Peel, wash and slice the onion, wash and chop the parsley.

Rinse the chicken pieces, pat them dry with paper towels, and place them in a large baking dish. Add the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients, including salt and pepper, and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil.

Stir the pieces and cook for 40 minutes or so, when the top of the chicken should be golden, then turn each piece over and stir the potatoes. Cook for an additional 20 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and the chicken color is gold. Arrange on a serving platter and serve hot.

The neck and insides of the chicken contribute additional flavor to chicken broth and are tasty though different in texture from the chicken meat. In addition, they are delicious when cut in tiny pieces and added to pastina soup.

With chicken and fish, many people will recommend a white wine such as a chardonnay, but red wines are also complementary served alongside a rich chicken dish such as this one. A nice pinot or even a chianti would pair well with this dish.

Grandma's chickens had their pen by the barn, but they loved visiting the house when they got out on occasion by some mistake. One day I had just mopped the kitchen floor when a young man came to visit. As I opened the kitchen door to let him in one of the blessed chickens got in and promptly messed up my clean floor before I could shoo it out.

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Between embarrassment and mortification I cleaned up the floor, but I was so mad that as soon as the young man left I went to grandma and threatened to kill all her chickens.

About a year later I got married and my family provided their wine and other such things for the reception at the restaurant -- and among these things were a number of grandma's chickens. Needless to say, she didn't let me soon forget.

Involtino di Bue

(Flank Roll)

Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour, 45 minute
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1/2 pounds flank steak
3 tablespoons salt for cleansing
1 pound mushrooms
1 tomato
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup parsley
2 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup white wine
Salt and black pepper to taste

In a bowl, sprinkle the steak with the 3 tablespoons of salt, set aside. Soak the mushrooms in a bowl with water and a few pinches of salt for 10 minutes. Wash and chop the parsley, peel, wash and mince the garlic, wash and dice the tomato. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth or paper towel, rinse them and slice them.

In a medium skillet, saute' the garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil (reserve the rest) for 2 minutes or until light gold, add the mushrooms and cook covered for 5 minutes or until the juices have come out of the mushrooms. Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Drain the juices from the mushrooms and return them to the stove, add 1 tablespoon olive oil (reserve the rest), add the eggs, and cook for 3 minutes stirring constantly

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees. Place the meat on a cutting board, spread the mushroom and egg, parsley, grated cheese, salt and pepper over it, leaving a 1/2 inch margin all around the perimeter. Begin rolling the meat, taking care to obtain a tight roll. Pin the edges with several toothpicks, or tie it with butcher string, then place it in a medium baking dish with the rest of the olive oil, the wine, the tomato, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Uncover it, turn it and bake it uncovered for an additional 25 minutes. If it looks dry, add more wine or water, then turn it again and bake 25 more minutes to obtain an even gold color. Cool for 20 minutes, then cut in 1/2 inch slices, arrange on a serving platter, spoon some juice over the slices, and serve.

On special occasions we got together with family and friends, which usually added up to a good number of people. To cook a quantity of rolled flanks, grandma had a large "tegame" a terracotta pot with four handles, about 18 inches in diameter and 9 inches high, that she had bought when she was a bride. My mother still has it; she used it to make stew for the evening guests at my brother's wedding.

Salsicce e Peperoni Sott'Aceto

(Sausage and peppers)

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

6 large potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves
5 fresh Italian sweet pork sausage links
1 jar (16 ounce) sweet yellow wax peppers in vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste

Peel, wash and cut the potatoes in 1 inch cubes, pat them dry. Heat the oil in a large skillet; carefully add the potatoes, taking care not to splash hot oil. Fry at high heat, stirring frequently, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden, soft in the inside, crisp on the outside.

Peel, wash and cut the potatoes in 1 inch cubes, pat them dry. Heat the oil in a large skillet; carefully add the potatoes, taking care not to splash hot oil. Fry at high heat, stirring frequently, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden, soft in the inside, crisp on the outside.

Meanwhile, peel, wash and slice the garlic; cut the sausage links in 6 or 7 pieces each; wash the peppers, remove the cores, seeds, and white membranes, cut them in 1 inch strips and pat them dry.

With a slotted spoon, move the potatoes from the skillet to a paper towel-lined dish and set aside to drain.

Return the skillet to the stove and saute' the garlic in the remaining oil for 1 minute. Add the sausage pieces and pepper slices, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 12 to 15 minutes or until the sausages are cooked through; then add the cooked potatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve hot with Italian bread.

Pickled peppers can easily be made. Use any color sweet bell, wax, or Italian peppers. Simply fill any size jar with peppers (washed, cored and cut into cubes or strips whole if they are small enough to fit in the jar), and cover with half water, half wine vinegar, plus salt (1 tablespoon per quart) and let them sit. Shake the jar every few days; can be used after a week. These peppers also make a flavorful addition to green salads.

Mom and Grandma preserved peppers in wooden containers called "tini" the size of 20 to 30 liters, using strong wine vinegar and coarse sea salt by the handfuls. In order to keep the peppers below the surface of the vinegar, they used pieces of wood to cover the tops of the tini, with large rocks on top.

They were left in cool storerooms and used during the fall and winter. Nowadays, my mom conserves them in much the same way, only she uses glass containers instead, because the wooden containers are not as readily available

Pesce al Burro

(Fish Filet in Butter Sauce)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 12 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

6 small pieces red snapper filet
2 tablespoons salt for cleansing
3 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup parsley
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
6 lemon wedges

Sprinkle the filet pieces with the 2 tablespoons of salt and set aside. Peel the garlic, wash, and mince both garlic and parsley. In a large skillet melt the butter, add garlic and parsley, sauté at medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add the fish pieces, sprinkle the top side with half the cayenne pepper and the desired amount of salt, cook at medium heat for 3 minutes. Lift the side of one piece with a spatula; the color should be golden brown. Turn the fish over, sprinkle the remaining cayenne pepper and salt as desired and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

NOTE: The cooking time is affected by the thickness of the fish pieces. It may be necessary to cook them a little longer if the pieces are thick, but take care to not overdo it. It should be flaky and tender.

Pollo al Marsala

( Chicken Marsala)

Ingredients:

6 chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons salt for cleansing (optional)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb small Portobello mushrooms
4 garlic cloves
1 cup chicken broth
1-1/2 cups Marsala
3 tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly grated pepper to taste
1/2 cup parsley for garnish (optional)

Place the breast halves in a medium bowl, sprinkle with salt, set aside for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, place the olive oil in a large frying pan and turn the heat to medium.

Rinse the chicken pieces, pat them dry with paper towel, add them to the hot and cook for 5 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, peel the garlic and cut them in quarters and then in quarters again. Wash the mushrooms pat them dry and cut them in slices.

Place the semi-cooked chicken breast pieces on a plate and set aside. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently, then add the mushrooms stir and cook for 5 minutes.

Pour in the Marsala, sprinkle the flour and mix well with the liquid and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the broth, the breast pieces, salt and pepper, and cook for an additional 10 minutes turning the breast pieces once. Arrange it on a serving platter, sprinkle the parsley over the top and serve hot.