Typical of many of the soups of central Italy this particular recipe comes from a village in the foothills of the Appenines in Abruzzo. Look for an Abruzzan olive oil if you can but otherwise any well-flavoured central Italian olive oil will do. Pecorino cheese is made from local goat's milk and the new Pecorino fresco is grated over the soup. If you are really hungry pour the soup over hunks of day-old Italian peasant bread in the Tuscan style.

Ingredients:
75g large white dried beans*
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 litre vegetable stock or water
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
225g round green beans, topped and tailed
75g spaghetti or spaghettini
200ml tomatoe juice
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsley chopped
3 small zuccini, trimmed and sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Topping:
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 bunch fresh basil, coarsely chopped (10 large sprigs)
150ml Italian extra virgin olive oil
100g fresh Pecorino cheese, grated

Method:
Soak the beans in cold water overnight or, if time is short, in boiling water for 2 hours.
To make the soup heat the olive oil in a very large pan and fry the onion until transparent. Add the drained beans and stock. Bring the mixture to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the beans are almost cooked.
Prepare the potatoes and green beans and add to the soup with the pasta and tomato juice and cook for a further ten minutes. Now add the tomatoes, zucchini and seasoning and return to the boil. Simmer for five minutes until the pasta and green beans are just cooked.
To prepare the topping, pound the garlic with the basil in a pestle and mortar or process very quickly in a blender. Stir into the extra virgin olive oil and pour over the soup. Stir once and serve with grated Pecorino cheese to sprinkle on top.

* If you do not want to be bothered with dried beans you can used canned beans instead. However, you may not be able to find the large white beans which are traditional but larger butter beans or smaller Canellini beans will do instead. You will need about 175g of the canned and drained beans. Cook the onions with the potatoes and green beans and add the canned beans to the soup with the tomatoes and courgettes.

RED MULLET IN PAPER CASES

This is a really popular way to cook red mullet in the South of France. Use a light Provence oil such and Nyons or Cailletier and as much or as little garlic as you like. Serve with boiled potatoes on the side.

Ingredients:
4-12 whole cleaned red mullet, depending on their size
4 shallots, very finely sliced
225g tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon tomato puree
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
6-8 fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
pinch dried rosemary
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
Plenty of French extra virgin olive oil

Method:
Set the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Wash and dry the fish. Place some finely sliced shallots in the belly cavity of each fish and divide the fish between four large double-layered squares of greaseproof or bakewell paper. Mix all the remaining ingredients together except the parsley and spoon over the shallots. Pour on plenty of olive oil. Carefully close up each parcel, folding over the edges so that no steam can escape. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. Serve in the paper cases so that each person can unwrap their own portion.

CAPONATA

Serve this lovely Sicilian dish as a vegetable dish with roast or grilled meats or even better serve chilled as a starter with a rocket garnish.

Ingredients:
1 onion, skinned and chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large aubergine, cut into medium sized cubes
½ small red pepper, seeded and cut into small pieces
1 small courgette, diced, optional
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons capers
1 tablespoon concentrated tomato puree
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch ground cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup white wine

Method:
Fry the onion gently in the olive oil for a couple of minutes. Do not allow to brown. Add the rest of the ingredients except the wine. Stir well. Pour in the wine. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour. Turn the contents of the pan over with a spoon occasionally. The liquid should reduce to small amount in the bottom of the pan and the veg should be nice and soft. Serve hot or cold.