Il Convivio--Italian Meals With Friends

Pina de Gaspardis, the vivacious chef-owner of Al Fogher in Rome, who recently visited The Times during a weeklong celebration of the healthful Italian cuisine in Los Angeles, threw on an apron with a gustatory sweep and sighed as if she were drinking in the air of the Italian Alps.

“What joy there is in food. What happiness there is in sharing. How beautifully food brings people together,” she exclaimed.

Which immediately tells you that food is not the only thing you bargain for when you dine Italian style.

It’s the table. It’s the camaraderie. It’s the talk that goes on while you eat. It’s the laughter, the tears, sadness and joy. It’s life and soul. It’s . . . it’s . . . ah, yes, the phrase is il convivio, meaning the friendly gathering around the dining table.

“Italians approach food both spiritually and intellectually,” explained Fredi Chiappelli, director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at UCLA.

“To fully appreciate Italian cuisine, you must understand the idea of il convivio, the food that is eaten at the table with friends. Even the tales of Boccaccio were spun in the company of dining friends without class distinction so that all life could be represented without prejudice,” said the professor.

(In the Renaissance tales, there is mention of such dishes as wild herb salad, ravioli “tumbling down a mountain of Parmesan cheese” and roasted falcon.)

Well, il convivio is not a concept easily understood for many Americans whose idea of dining is driving through McDonald’s golden arches, or munching meals by stopwatch.

But it is an appealing idea to contemplate, and those who are swayed to give it a try might find the dishes introduced in the following pages perfect inspirations for good conversation and good feelings.

Two of the recipes are from De Gaspardis and Alberto Ciarla of Alberto Ciarla Ristorante in Rome, both of them chefs who participated in a recent event titled “L.A. Cucina Italiana” to help publicize Italy’s healthful Mediterranean diet.

And healthful the Italian diet is, despite dramatic dietary changes since World War II. According to Marcello Ticca of the National Nutrition Institute of Italy, at an interview during “L.A. Cucina Italiana” week, calorie consumption in Italy rose from 2,400 calories per capita per day in 1951 to 3,300 calories per day in 1985. “Italians are eating a new kind of diet with more fat, protein and animal products,” said Ticca. “It’s a result of Westernizing our diets and life styles.”

Diseases of overconsumption are, therefore, on the rise, with heart disease and cancer at the top on the list, as they are in many Western countries where overconsumption is prevalent. Still, according to Ticca, the Italian diet is far closer in achieving the U.S. Dietary Guidelines than the American diet itself.

For instance, Italians consume about 35% fat and 38% carbohydrates, compared with 45% fat and 25% carbohydrates for Americans. The Dietary Guidelines urge Americans to consume 30% fat, 48% carbohydrates and 12% to 15% protein. Both Americans and Italians are today consuming 12% protein, according to data from the National Nutrition Institute of Italy.

De Gaspardis, the only female chef in the visiting group of chefs, prepared a vegetarian lasagna to highlight the healthful aspects of the Italian cuisine.

“It’s the traditional Mediterranean cuisine of my grandmother, which is almost disappearing. My job is to rediscover it, cook it and bring joy to people dining on it,” she said.

De Gaspardis, a former pianist who gave up music for cooking because her first love is cooking, regards cooking much as one might perform a Bach fugue. “Cucina is music of full-tones and semi-tones; a piano sonata or Bach fugue--two voices culminating in joyful reconciliation,” she said.

De Gaspardis’ idea of bringing music to her cooking could be exemplified in a nutritious--and delicious--lasagna made with homemade semolina pasta dough, and using sauteed leeks and radicchio as fillings and a cheese-loaded bechamel sauce to bind it all together. The cheese, of course, is the tender heart of a wheel of Reggiano Parmesan, which melts smoothly and easily in sauces, unlike American-made Parmesan cheese, which tends to lump and have a texture similar to sawdust when used in a sauce. Reggiano is now available in some gourmet food markets here.

The vegetables are sauteed and splashed with white wine for added flavor. But the beauty of this dish is that any vegetables can be used. You can vary them as you want according to season. Some suitable vegetables in whatever combination desired are spinach, broccoli, mustard greens, asparagus, artichoke bottoms, carrots, turnips, potatoes, greens of all kinds and roasted peppers. The bechamel sauce with cheese added can be prepared ahead, if desired. In fact, the entire dish may be assembled in advanced and cooked before serving, or it can be fully cooked and reheated in the microwave oven, if desired. There is, however, no substitute for freshly made food, no matter what it may be.

Visiting Chef

Alberto Ciarla, the chef and owner of Alberto Ciarla Ristorante in Rome, was a visiting chef at Emilio’s restaurant in Los Angeles during “L.A. Cucina Italiana” week when he prepared swordfish with tomatoes and olives, crowned with a sprinkling of pine nuts.

Pesce Spada del Tirreno (Mediterranean Swordfish) , the dish he prepared, exemplifies the freshness and nutritional value of the Italian cuisine. Fresh swordfish is added to a wine-reduced sauce of onion, anchovies and light, almost blond, fresh tomatoes. The fish is steam-cooked in the sauce after cooking only two or three minutes at the most. Nothing could be more fresh or simple than fish prepared Ciarla’s way. You can adapt the idea to chicken and other meats, fish or shellfish to vary the dish. The sauce is a basic one to keep in mind throughout the year.

Celestino Drago, chef-owner of Celestino Ristorante in Beverly Hills, prepared for “L.A. Cucina Italiana” events an eggplant souffle (or custard) in a tomato-basil sauce. One of Los Angeles’ finest Italian chefs, Drago cooks the souffle in a timbale, a straight-sided, round metal container used exclusively for charlottes or timbales. (Charlottes are the French equivalent of the Italian timballo .) Timbale cookery, incidentally, goes back to medieval times, or possibly before, and timbales can be spotted in numerous period paintings throughout the history of Italian painting.

The timbale is an excellent vegetable accompaniment to a roast. Drago thinks they make excellent party food because they can be prepared well ahead and reheated to serve.

Emilio Baglioni, owner of Emilio’s restaurant, dug into his own past as a young man growing up in Abruzzi, a region known for its ricotta cheese and an unusual pasta dish called alla chitarra, in which the noodles are formed into fine threads by rolling the sheet of dough on guitar strings, hence the name. “There is hardly a family in Abruzzi who does not have its own chitarra, an object resembling an actual guitar with thick steel strings,” Baglioni said.

The pasta is spread and then rolled over the strings to produce fine spaghetti, similar in fineness to angel hair pasta. It is served with a tomato or meat sauce and heavily doused with cheese and drizzled lightly with virgin olive oil.

However, the pasta can be rolled on a pasta machine, or you can use dried fine spaghetti or spaghettini in lieu of chitarra.

LASAGNA ALLA PINA

3 leeks, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/4 cup butter

Pepper

1/4 cup red wine

2 radicchio, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Bechamel Sauce

4 (13x9-inch) sheets fresh Lasagna Noodle Dough, or 12 packaged lasagna noodles, cooked

1 to 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, preferably Reggiano

4 small or 3 medium tomatoes, sliced

Parsley

Saute leeks in 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Season lightly with pepper. Add 2 tablespoons red wine and cook until wine evaporates. Set aside.

Saute radicchio in remaining 2 tablespoons butter until tender, about 3 minutes. Season lightly with pepper. Add remaining 2 tablespoons red wine and cook until wine evaporates. Set aside.

Prepare Bechamel Sauce. Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of Bechamel Sauce to leeks and mix lightly. Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of Bechamel Sauce to radicchio and mix lightly.

Place 1 sheet Lasagna Noodle Dough rolled wide enough to fit pan (or 4 packaged lasagna noodles) in bottom of well-buttered 13x9-inch baking pan. Spread half of leeks over noodle layer. Sprinkle with some of Parmesan cheese. Top with 1/3 of remaining Bechamel Sauce. Add half of radicchio mixture, spreading evenly. Dust with more cheese and cover with another Lasagna Noodle Dough layer.

Repeat layering. Cover with dough and spread remaining 1/3 of Bechamel Sauce over dough. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Garnish with tomato slices and parsley. Bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes or until lasagna is pale golden in color. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve. Makes 6 servings.

Bechamel Sauce

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 quarts milk, about

Salt

1/2 to 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until well blended. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and continue to simmer and stir until creamy and smooth. Stir in salt to taste and cheese and cook, stirring, until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. If too thick, add more milk. If too thin, stir in more cheese.

Lasagna Noodle Dough

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/2 pound semolina flour (about 2 cups)

Beat eggs and water lightly. Place flour on board and make well in center. Add egg-water mixture and incorporate into flour until soft, pliable dough is formed. Roll dough out on pasta machine or by hand until too large to handle. Cut in half and roll each half 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 4 (13x9-inch) rectangles.

SPAGHETTINI ALLA CHITARRA

(Emilio Baglioni)

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 small chile

Extra-virgin olive oil

8 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced, or 20 canned Italian plum tomatoes with juice

1 bunch basil, chopped

Salt, pepper

1 pound spaghetti

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Saute onion, garlic, celery and chile in 1/4 cup olive oil until onion is tender. Add tomatoes, half of basil and salt and pepper to taste. Saute 10 minutes.

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until firm-tender. Remove 1/3 of sauce from pan and add spaghetti to sauce in pan with remaining basil. Toss lightly but well. Pour remaining sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste. Serve at once. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

PESCE SPADA DEL TIRRENO

(Mediterranean Swordfish)

(Alberto Ciarla)

1 onion, chopped

4 anchovy fillets, mashed

1/4 cup olive oil

6 pear tomatoes, peeled and diced Salt

4 (3- to 4-ounce) pieces swordfish

6 ounces dry white wine

1 cup black olives

1 tablespoon pine nuts

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Cook onion and mashed anchovies in olive oil in large skillet until onion is tender. Add tomatoes and cook, mashing and stirring, 4 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Add swordfish. Add wine to pan and cook over high heat until reduced, about 4 minutes, being careful that fish does not scorch. Turn fish carefully, then reduce heat and add olives. Cook over low heat 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer fish to serving platter. Cook sauce 1 minute longer over high heat and pour over fish. Sprinkle with pine nuts and parsley. Makes 4 servings.

CELESTINO’S EGGPLANT TIMBALE IN TOMATO-BASIL SAUCE

1/4 cup olive oil

7 Japanese eggplants, peeled and cubed

1 medium potato, peeled and sliced

1/2 medium onion, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon ground oregano

Salt

1 tomato, seeded and peeled

1 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons bread crumbs

2 eggs

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 sweet red pepper, diced

Tomato-Basil Sauce

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add eggplants, potato, onion, oregano and salt to taste. Saute until onion is golden. Add tomato and cook 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Pour tomato mixture in food processor and blend. Add Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and eggs to processor and process 5 seconds.

Butter souffle cups or timbales generously. Cover bottoms of cups with diced zucchini and red pepper. Fill remaining space in cups with eggplant mixture.

Place in larger pan filled with water to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake at 450 degrees 40 minutes or until custard is firm. Do not overcook. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before unmolding. When ready to serve, place small amount Tomato-Basil Sauce on plate and invert timbale onto sauce. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.

Tomato-Basil Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 tablespoon minced onion

3 cups chopped tomatoes

1 bunch basil

Salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

Heat olive oil in skillet or saucepan. Add onion and saute until golden. Add tomatoes, basil and salt to taste. Cook 10 minutes over low heat until tomatoes are soft.

In separate pan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Add butter-flour mixture to tomato sauce and cook a few minutes longer until well mixed. Remove basil sprigs from sauce and process sauce in blender until smooth and creamy.