Boso Falconeria is a farm deeply rooted in the territory; our family is a meltingpot of different cultures. Hence our ‘contaminated’ cuisine, which combines the products of our land in ways at times traditional, at times transversal.

Pasta with Borage
Pasta cooked with borage is comfort food in our household. Wash very carefully and roughly chop a large bunch of tender borage shoots. Break spaghetti (about 4 oz. per person) into inch-long pieces. In a pot of abundant boiling salted water cook the borage, adding the spaghetti after the water has come back to a boil. Cook until the pasta is al dente; don’t drain, but ladle out the pasta and the borage together with as much of the broth as you want. Serve with extra virgin olive oil and grated cheese.

Fennel and Orange Salad
Serve thin slices of raw sweet fennel together with carefully peeled and seeded orange segments (a tarter juice orange is better here than the sweeter Washington navel) and dress with salt, black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil, Optional additions are pieces of anchovy or smoked herring, pitted black olives, chopped spring onions.

Fennel and Citron Salad
Citrons are not easy to come by, but fresh citron makes a delicious substitute for the orange segments in the preceding recipe. Cut off the yellow peel carefully, leaving the white pith on the pulp. Cut into quarters and then cut into very thin slices. Proceed as for Fennel and Orange Salad, but omit the optional ingredients.

Guacamole
A typical Mexican dip to serve with tortilla chips, bruschette or crackers, guacamole can also accompany roast meat. Crush the pulp of two avocados with a fork until quite smooth, add very fine slices of spring onion, lemon juice, salt and red pepper flakes. You can also add the pulp of a very ripe tomato, peeled, seeded and diced very fine. Mix well and put in a serving bowl; if you are not serving it immediately, cover with film so it won’t turn color, and refrigerate.

Lentils Linosa-style
Wash half a kilo of lentils and put them in a saucepan together with 2 diced carrots and 2 diced celery stalks. Cover with abundant cold, lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender but keep their shape.

Chop 2 garlic cloves and 1 small hot pepper (or 1/2 t. dried red pepper flakes) and heat in a frying pan with 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil. Add a cup of fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, and reduce to a thick sauce. Rinse and chop 2 T. salted cappers, add to the tomatoes and cook a minute or two longer. Add the tomatoes to the cooked lentils, and simmer for two minutes. Serve the lentils with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and slices of toasted semolina bread.

Chickpea or Cicerchia Soup
Soak half a kilo of chickpeas overnight in cold water. Rinse and put them in a saucepan together with abundant cold water, salt, 2 garlic cloves and a piece of hot red pepper. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat until tender, about 45 min. for chickpeas, longer for cicerchie.
Chop 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 celery stalks, and sauté in a large pot in 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil until tender. Add 2 bunches of wild chard, spinach or other strong-flavored greens, chopped, stirring until the greens have wilted.
Reserve about 1/3 of the cooked legumes, and purée the remaining legumes together with the cooking water. Add the legumes both whole and puréed to the sautéed vegetables, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the greens are cooked.
Accompany the soup with slices of semolina bread toasted and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and grated cheese. To vary, cook separately pasta such as ditalini apart, drain two minutes short of the time indicated on the package and add to the soup, continuing to cook until the pasta is al dente.