Chapter 7 · Secondi

Main courses, in the sense that a menu needs the word for something, though half this family would tell you the pasta two chapters back is the real point of the meal and this is simply what comes after. Meat, fish, and two dishes that prove neither one is actually required.

• Pollo alla Cacciatora Cacciatora means hunter's style, and the story every Italian grandmother tells is the same one: a hunter comes home with nothing, and the family makes a proper dinner…
• Frittata di Zucchine e Cipolle This is the dish that quietly uses up whatever zucchini didn't make it into anything else that week, and nobody in this family has ever apologized for serving it as…
• Torta Pasqualina Legend says the original dough for this had thirty-three layers, one for every year of Christ's life, rolled so thin you could read through it.
• Peperoni Ripieni These disappear fastest in late summer, when peppers are cheap and good at the market and nobody in this kitchen needs much convincing to fill something with rice and…
• Bistecca alla Fiorentina Ask my father how he likes his steak, and he will simply stare at you, because in this house there has only ever been one correct answer, and it isn't really a question… ◆ includes a story from the dining room
• Involtini di Melanzane Involtini like these turn up across Sicily in more than one version -- some kitchens roll the eggplant around a coil of thin pasta instead of cheese, which sounds…
• Branzino al Forno Nothing hides on a whole roasted fish, which is exactly why this dish appears on the menu the way it does -- unfussed, and trusting the branzino to be good enough on its… ◆ includes a story from the dining room
• Polpette al Sugo This is the dish that shows up, uninvited but welcome, whenever someone in this family has had a difficult week. ◆ includes a story from the dining room