Terroir. Terrain. An expression covering the land and all it produces, so this might indicate the crops produced in a particular region, together with the herbs growing there in abundance; the woodland with its provision for hunting, which might include game birds, wild boar, deer and rabbits and so on. Terroir covers the whole life of a rural landscape.
"Turk's head." A special carnival pastry from Sicily made with the same bubbly, wine-based pastry as cannoli, enormous in size and resembling a huge flat-brimmed Turkish helmet, the brim heaped with cannoli filled with coloured ricotta.
A name in the Etna region of Sicily for the black boletus mushroom.. Excellent to eat from August to October whether raw in salads or cooked or preserved and also freezes well.
A name in Calabria for the big-scale atherine, a type of atherine similar to the sand smelt. A marine fish, usually deep-fried, it is a small, silvery fish similar to the argentine. When tiny it is treated in the same way as whitebait. This fish grows up to 12 cm.
"Calf's head in the style of Norcia." Pieces of calf’s head, with ham, pork fat, mushrooms, butter, parsley and bread, wrapped in a pig’s membrane, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried in oil.
A piquant sauce made with a purée of yellow squash and given heat with chillis. Traditionally served with cuscussu all'Ebraica.
A versatile baked layer concoction, always containing potatoes, usually rice and vegetables, with meat, cheese or seafood.
Spring lamb cut into chunks and baked in the oven with garlic, oil, oregano, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and white wine. This method is common in Naples and the south.
"Kettle drum." Timballo originated in Italy in the 19th Century. It is a formed dish which traditionally had a shell of pastry, but is now more likely to have an aubergine (US: eggplant) or red pepper casing, stuffed with pasta - a sort of pasta pie. The pasta stuffing is made from macaroni mixed with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, chicken livers, wine, cheese and ham.
