STIR CRAZY
romance and rome, at home
If there is one evening of the year to eat at home rather than go out to a restaurant, it is on St Valentine’s Day. Treat yourself and your beloved the Italian way (after all, the saint was supposedly a Roman):
Start with finger food. Buy ready-prepared titbits such as artichoke hearts in olive oil, slivers of fennel salami, stuffed olives and grissini (bread sticks) to nibble at while you sip prosecco (much smarter than Champagne).
For a speedily cooked main course, try the Roman saltimbocca, literally ‘jump in the mouth’. Use very thin
fillets of veal or, if you prefer, pork, on each of which you have laid a sage leaf and a slice of parma ham. Fry for a few minutes in olive oil and butter.
For a side dish, wilt spinach, drain and scatter with pinenuts and raisins for a Venetian classic; or stay Roman with thinly sliced grilled courgettes with olive oil and fresh mint. Note: no garlic. Mashed potato rarely fails to hit the spot and you can buy it ready prepared.
For pudding, cool down with the Sicilian ice cream cassata, which is studded with dried fruit and looks even better in a cone.
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT
For a side dish, wilt spinach, drain and scatter with pinenuts and raisins for a Venetian classic; or stay Roman with thinly sliced grilled courgettes with olive oil and fresh mint. Note: no garlic. Mashed potato rarely fails to hit the spot and you can buy it ready prepared.
For pudding, cool down with the Sicilian ice cream cassata, which is studded with dried fruit and looks even better in a cone.
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT
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