Between the Reggia di Caserta and a Chartered Accountant father

Annamaria was born in Caserta famous for amongst other things the Reggia dei Borbone. Annamaria's father was a Chartered Accountant, in fact he was the President of the Order of Chartered Accounts of the city but his secret vocation was cooking, therefore he virtually banished his wife, three daughters, his mother-in-law with her personal maid, house servants and moreover torinese noblemen from the kitchens where he dedicated himself to preparing refined dishes of the campano-partenopea tradition.

Our Cesarina's menu proposes a choice of stuzzichini locali (local appetizers) to be eaten whilst standing admiring the Gulf of Naples from the high ground of Via Tasso.  Local ricotta, small balls of mozzarella di bufala, olives with chili pepper and in the oven which are accompanied by rustico bread which in Naples is called "palatone" and here is combined with small Pennolo tomatoes, so-called because first they hang from the shoots of the plant and then from the trellis in which they are kept.

The sartù di riso is dedicated to her father.  It is the same recipe that was used by her parents who had lightened this originally quite heavy dish replacing the ragù of pork which was a thick sauce of tomatoes and meat.  It is one of the many traditional dishes of the Napoletan aristocracy, the name sartù being a napolenatization of the French word sourtout. At times Annamaria prefers to offer the thin tagliatelle tart also this ancient Court recipe has a long and complicated preparation. 

In Italy the same name is often used for different dishes. This has also happened with the veal cutlets with parmigiano cheese, garlic and parsley. The word braciola is commonly used to signify a slice of meat on the bone that by its nature is considered perfect to be cooked on the barbecue, however in this case it is used for a rolled stuffed roulade. After the discover of America these involtini or rolls were usually prepared witha tomato sauce even though the "white" version is the oldest version of the recipe.

The meatballs with lemon cream arrive while the sunset reddens the Gulf and the reflected light lands on the table. The polpette vary in size from the north to the south of Italy, large in the north and usually only as big as a fingernail in the south.  These are made with chicken, veal and pork a combination which refers to her paternal grandmother's recipe which are accompanied with a lemon cream that represents one of the most typical sauces of a place in which these citrus fruits are ever present. 

The influence of the Court is also felt in the fagottini pasta with scarola which is a type of large leafed salad with a strong and quite elastic leaf form allowing it to be rolled around a stuffing of which the main components are pine-nuts, sultanas and capers.  Home Food is conducting a study of the historic social reasons for some approaches to taste such as agro-dolce (sweet and sour) which were particularly widespread in the places where there was a Court. 

The pastiera, a typically Neapolitan sweet which was at one time prepared between the Epiphany and Easter is proposed in its original version in which the grains of wheat are soaked in water for 3 days, contrary to all the semi-industrial commercial shortcuts currently proposed.  Now that the sun has set into the sea we take comfort from the wonderful tagliata di frutta of coloured fruit that dominate the table.