by Carmen Oppedisano of Bon Appetito in Bainbridge, OH

Lazio...it was love at first sight. I was fifteen years old when I took my first trip to the magnificent city of Rome and I loved it my first day there. Six months later I moved there. The capital, with more then 2,500 years of history, was indescribable. But what I loved more was what surrounded area, like Castelli Romani with their enchanting fortresses; Frascati; Marino; the wine producers and the Ostia and Fiumicino coastline, which I enjoyed during the summer. Terminillo, the beautiful mountain that reaches 1,500 meters high, has beautiful ski resorts to be enjoyed during the winter months. There are so many more beautiful places in Lazio -- too many to mention all of them. I spent nine years in this area and never had one boring day.

But what I loved most of all was that I found the love of my life, Lana, in Lazio. My wife has filled my life with joy and love for the past fifteen years.

Of course, that is not all. Like the Romans always say “non solo l'occhi ma anche la panza vole la su parte,” which means “not only will beauty fill your eyes, but the belly will also want to share.” And they weren’t kidding. The Lazio region has an overwhelmingly wide variety of food to offer. These are my favorite recipes from Lazio:

Tagliatelle Alla Ciociara

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh tagliatelle or fettuccine egg noodles
3 oz. pancetta or prosciutto, cut into thin julienne
6 oz. ground beef
6 oz. fresh Porcini or shiitaki mushrooms
3 oz. sweet peas
3-4 oz. Parmiggiano Reggiano, shredded
olive oil
½ white onion, julienne
salt and pepper
1 can whole plum tomatoes, cut into thin strips
½ cup of water

Preparation:
Put olive oil, onion and pancetta in a large saucepan and cook until golden. Add ground beef, mushrooms and peas, cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add plum tomatoes and water, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Uncover and cook for 15 more minutes, or until the sauce has a light, thick consistency.

Cook the tagliatelle in boiling water, drain and add the sauce mixture. Mix well. Let it stand for 1-2 minutes (the pasta will absorb the flavors). Serve and sprinkle with parmesan. Serves four.

Coda Alla Vaccinara

Ingredients:
4-6 lb. oxtail (can be substituted with veal or beef shank)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 (4 oz.) celery, chopped
1 cup dry red wine
1 12 oz. can ground tomato
7 tbsp. olive oil
chopped parsley

Preparation:
Put three tablespoons of olive oil and onion, carrot and celery in a food processor. Chop and make a mixture that resembles pesto. Put four tablespoons olive oil and meat in a heavy baking pot. Let it brown on one side, turn over and add the pesto mixture. Cook for 3-4 minutes and then add wine, deglaze. Add the tomatoes, cover the meat with water and add salt and pepper. Let it cook on low heat, semi-covered with a lid. The original dish for oxtail required 6 hours of cooking, but if you use veal shank, 2 to 2 ½ hours will be good. It may be faster to bake it at 325°F. Either way, it will not be ready until the meat is falling off of the bone. Serves four.

Bigne’ di San Giuseppe
Cream-filled Pastries

8 oz. all purpose flour
5 oz. unsalted butter
8 eggs
3-4 oz. powdered sugar
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pinch of salt

Bring water, butter, one ounce sugar and salt to a boil in a medium sized pot. Remove from heat and stir in flour, mixing constantly with a wooden spoon. Replace on heat, mixing until the dough separates from the sides of the pot. Remove from heat and stir in eggs one at the time, mixing very well each time an egg is added. Set aside and let it stand for 10-15 minutes. The mixture should then be fluffy and soft.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Drop dough into heated oil one teaspoon at the time -- it will form like a cream puff. DO NOT cook more than six at a time. Turn them over as they become golden in color. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel. Repeat process until all of the mixture is used and let it cool off. They can be filled with custard or whipped cream. The traditional Roman filling is a mixture of ricotta whipped with sugar, marsala and heavy cream. Arrange bigne' like a pyramid and dust with powdered sugar. Serves four to six.

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