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EXHIBITIONS
Cooking in Maximum Security has been presented in various places and contexts, triggering a wide range of debates with professionals from different disciplines, exhibitions, performances, and more.
12th December, 2025
Cooking in Maximum Security book by Matteo Guidi in dialogue with Prisoners Inventions by Marc Fisher, both published by Half Letter Press, with the two authors in attendance. An event supported by the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago.
9th December, 2025
CMS project at Wall Turned Sideways in Chicago. A debate between Matteo Guidi and Joe Sorrentino on food and detention in Italy and the United States, accompanied by projections of drawings by Mario Trudu. Introduction and moderation by Marc Fisher and Sara Ross. An event supported by Ramon Lull Institut.
November, 2025
October, 2025
Cucinare in massima sicurezza has been republished in a new edition by Meltemi. This new publication, with graphic design by Alessandro Lanfrancotti, contains new curatorial texts as well as recipes and other previously unpublished material from the prison.Cooking in Maximum Security has been presented in various places and contexts, triggering a wide range of debates with professionals from different disciplines, exhibitions, performances, and more.
12th December, 2025
Cooking in Maximum Security book by Matteo Guidi in dialogue with Prisoners Inventions by Marc Fisher, both published by Half Letter Press, with the two authors in attendance. An event supported by the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago.
9th December, 2025
CMS project at Wall Turned Sideways in Chicago. A debate between Matteo Guidi and Joe Sorrentino on food and detention in Italy and the United States, accompanied by projections of drawings by Mario Trudu. Introduction and moderation by Marc Fisher and Sara Ross. An event supported by Ramon Lull Institut.
November, 2025
The first English edition of the book Cooking in Maximum Security, published by Half Letter Press in Chicago, has just been released and is already a huge success in the United States.
October, 2025
Cucinare in massima sicurezza has been republished in a new edition by Meltemi. This new publication, with graphic design by Alessandro Lanfrancotti, contains new curatorial texts as well as recipes and other previously unpublished material from the prison.
June 15th, 2018
Retomar sonidos [Take Back Sounds] – a visual-sound piece realized in CMS phase 2 – won the first prize at Amposta Biennal – BIAM 2018. A jury composed by Juan Canela (independent curator and co-founder of Bar Project); Núria Enguita (Director of Bombas Gens Art Center – Valencia); Alexandra Laudo (art critic and independent curator); Martí Manen (art critic and independent curator) and Manel Margalef (Director of Lo Pati Art Center) selected Retomar Sonidos as a winner art piece keeping in mind the quality of the work and the social sensitivity that comes up. The exhibition will be opened until July 29th.
May 20th, 2018
Retomar sonidos [Take Back Sounds] – a visual-sound piece realized in CMS phase 2 – will be showed in Amposta (Spain) within the framework of Amposta Biennal, an exhibition curated by Centre d’Art Lo Pati. A jury composed by Juan Canela (independent curator and co-founder of Bar Project); Núria Enguita (Director of Bombas Gens Art Center – Valencia); Alexandra Laudo (art critic and independent curator); Martí Manen (art critic and independent curator) and Manel Margalef (Director of Lo Pati Art Center) selected the 17 art pieces that will be exhibited in the biennal, between them Retomar Sonidos. Opening June 16th, 2018 at 7 PM. The exhibition will be opened until July 29th.
May 16th, 2018
is the title of an article written by Matteo Guidi for Visual Ethnography Journal issue. The article presents the weaves of a research method applied to total institutions where ethnographic investigations have very difficult access. Read more…
July 22nd, 2017
Retomar sonidos [Take Back Sounds] – a visual-sound piece realized in CMS phase 2 – will be show in Jakarta within the framework of Ok Video – Indonesia Media Art Festival running from July 22nd until August 16th. Opening July 22nd, 2017 at 7 PM – RURU Gallery, Gudang Sarinah Ekosistem Jl. Pancoran Timur II No. 4, Jakarta.
June 3rd, 2017
CMS project is collaborating with COCINA DE GUERRILLA. The first activity will be run in Madrid in plaza Jacinto Benavente on Saturday 3 of june, from 12 to 8.30 PM. Cocina de guerrilla is a cooperative project that refocuses the cuisine and the gastronomy, its knowledge, techniques and capacities towards the satisfaction of the basic alimentary necessities of all the people, promoting the food sovereignty like guarantee of the alimentary and human rights.
April 7th, 2017
Matteo Guidi has been interviewed from Pilar Sampietro from Radio4 rne about kitchen practices in penitentiary and other new projects related to food and closed context. listen the program here. [Intro about Matteo Guidi and his work at minute 1 and all the interview (in spanish) from minute 23.50].
February 3rd, 2017
Matteo Guidi is invited from Grapa – Grup de Recerca en Antropologia i Pràctiques Artístiques (Research group in anthropology and art) for a speech with the title Kitchen practices in penitentiary context: two comparative cases. Tuesday February 3rd at Faculty of Geography and History, UB – University of Barcelona, Spain
December 1st, 2016
Matteo Guidi will hold a speech with title Practicas de cocina en contexto penitenciario: dos casos en comparación [Cooking practices in penitentiary context: two cases in comparison] during the Irun Open Innovation 2016 (Irun, Spain). Here the entire program of the event.
November 17th, 2016
A collaboration between CMS project, Istituto alberghiero Santa Marta (Catering Institute) and Casa Circondariale di Pesaro (Pesaro Penitentiary) has generated an event composed by a lunch and a debate. The lunch will be a selection of recipes from CMS publication and prepared by students of the Institute Santa Marta with the kitchen utensils made by the inmates of the Pesaro penitentiary. Following there will be a reflection on the theme of everyday life in Italian prisons with the presence of Matteo Guidi the director of the Penitentiary and other people involved in this collaboration.
September 29th, 2016
Matteo Guidi will hold a talk at Sindicato dos Magistrados do Ministério Público, an union representing Portuguese magistrates – 6.30 pm, Rua Cándido dos Reis, 74 – 3· Room 3 – Porto
August 11th, 2016
Retomar sonidos [Take Back Sounds] – a visual-sound piece realized in CMS phase 2 – will be show in Medellín (Colombia) within the framework of Lo que no se cura se pudre, an exhibition curated by Por Estos Días collective. Opening August 11th, 2016 at 7 PM – Cra 38 # 26-385, Medellín-Colombia.
June 25th, 2016
Matteo Guidi will hold a workshop within the framework of Briser la glace, an exhibition curated by the members of the 25th session of the École du MAGASIN – Chen Ben Chetrit, Laura Caraballo, Eleonora Castagna, Chloé Curci, Giulia Pagnetti and Armance Rougiron. In the exhibition it will be also show Retomar sonidos, a visual-sound piece realized in CMS phase 2. Briser la glace – may 29th to setmeber 4th 2016 – Magasin Centre National d’Art Contemporain in Grenoble – France
April 21st, 2016
Matteo Guidi has been invited to present CMS project in the framework of Culturas 2016 – from 6.30 PM to 8 PM at CaixaForum Barcelona.
Cagliari Capital of Italian Culture 2015
December 30th, 2015
Matteo Guidi has held a cycle of workshops with a group of women detained within the DONES U sector of BRIANS 1 Penitentiary (Catalonia, Spain). The results will soon be presented in Food Cultura Satellite BQ located in the Boqueria Market of Barcelona.
September 23rd, 2015
is the title of an article written by Gianluca Pozzoni and Alberto Mucci for Munchies in VICE magazine. The article also includes interviews with people involved in the process.
June 29th, 2015
A number of pieces from the CMS project has been selected by curator Rosa Pera for her new exhibition Out of Place, part of FADfest 2105. The FADfest will run from June 29th to July 5th at the Design Hub Barcelona. The entire exhibition will last until October 31st
Matteo Guidi held a discussion with Jesús-Angel Prieto, professor of Escola Massana, during the Ús Festival. The debate began with a presentation of Guidi’s Anthropology Degree thesis (Special Effects: photography within life inprisonement, 2011, unpublished).
April 8th, 2015
Matteo Guidi is invited to present the CMS research within the framework of the Anthropology and Psychology of Food and Gastronomy course held by professor Joan Ribas.
March, 2015
One year after its first release, CUCINARE IN MASSIMA SICUREZZA was sold out. Now it has been reprinted and is available in italian bookshops and online book sellers.
Department of Justice of the Government of Catalunya
February 25th – March 1st, 2015
CMS book and CMS silkscreen prints (A folder containing six 24 x 33 cm prints based on the original drawings of Mario Trudu) will be in ARCOmadrid International Contemporary Art Fair with Múltiplos Books (Barcelona).
November 16th, 2014
A folder containing six 24 x 33 cm prints based on the original drawings of Mario Trudu is now available for purchase. Each print in the series is numbered from 1 to 100 and signed by artist-director of the CMS project.
For more information about the CMS silkscreen print folder, please contact CMS staff or (galleria +) oltredimore.
Escola Massana (Barcelona’s municipal Art and Design centre).
October 21st, 2014
This month, a group of inmates from the penitentiary Quatre Camins dedicated their programme CUINA MIX to CMS. The audio file is available in the Universo Cultural Magazine, where it is possible to listen to the broadcast (starting from 15’35”).
September 5th, 2014
The first issue of the new Swiss online magazine Mirus dedicates a section to CMS.
Galleria Più – with Fabrizio Lollini (Assistant Professor of Medieval Art History).
Espai Capra – with Rolando d’Alessandro (writer and activist).
June 19th, 2014 – 11 am
June 20th, 2014
Espai Capra, Barcelona, Spain
Matteo Guidi presented the book Cucinare in Massima Sicurezzawith Rolando d’Alessandro (writer and activist).
A conversartion with Aldo Mazza (director of a publishing house and a language training center operating in Bolzano Penitentiary), Markus Lobis (expert in social communication), Nicolò Degiorgis (photographer) and Martina Dandolo (designer and curator of the Cooking in Maximum Security project in Merano).
A dinner performed by the restaurants sous-chefs from Bollate Penitentiary.
Montagnola Park Auditorium
A conversation with Pina Lalli (Professor of Sociology of Communication).
University of Bologna.
S.a.L.E. Docks, Former Salt Warehouse
a conversation with Marco Rigamo (Global Project Editor), Giulia Girardello (Independent Curator), moderated by Marco Baravalle (Activist with Sale Docks).
Maiano Maximum Security Penitentiary.
A conversation with Gino Gianuizzi (Independent Curator and professor in the academy of fine arts of Bologna).
XI Workshop on Social Enterprise
With Giuliana Racco (Artist) and Gino Gianuizzi (Independent Curator and professor in the academy of fine arts of Bologna).
Resistance Literature Festival
A debate with Francesca De Carolis (Journalist and Writer), Marcello Baraghini (Publisher and Editorial Director of Stampa Alternativa, Cucinare in Massima Sicurezza’s publishing house) and Letizia Nuciotti (Writer and Chef).
Amid the spectacular setting of the old city of Pitigliano, the group focused on literature produced in prison and other forms of resistance, including cooking. During the presentation, Letizia Nuciotti spoke of her latest book on disability as a form of detention, while preparing the recipe for Frittelle alla Sughera using the same tools and methods described in the book.
Saints Cosmos and Damian Sanctuary
A debate with Don Francesco Mariani (Priest and Sociologist), coordinated by Michele Tatti (Journalist).
In ìcollaboration with Giuliana Racco (Artist) and Alessandro Petti – Sandi Hilal (Architect and Urbanist co-founders of DAAR).
Semmai Factory Contemporary Art space
A conversation with Stefano Taccone (Art Critic and Curator) and Vincenzo Estremo (Art Writer and Curator).
A debate with Francesca De Carolis (Journalist and Writer), Marcello Baraghini (Publisher and Editorial Director of Stampa Alternativa the publishing house of Cucinare in Massima Sicurezza ), Paola Gianelli (Psychologist), Gino Gianuizzi (Independent Curator).
A debate ith Milena Prisco (Lawyer). The center of the discussion was about question of security in prison context.
A debate with Francesca De Carolis (Journalist and Writer), Mirko Mazzali (Lawyer), Nadia Bizzotto (Prison Volunteer), Franco Bomprezzi (Journalist).
Il Vivaio del Malcantone Centre for Research in Cultural Practices
A conversation with Pietro Gaglianò (Curator) and a culinary performance made by Francesca Zannoni (Vegan Chef).
O’ Non-profit Centre of Contemporary Art
A debate with Luca Bigliardi (Architect).
A debate with Sofia Venturoli (Anthropologist), and Ernesto (waiting to be born).
Double Room Visual Art Gallery
A conversation with Pino Roveredo (Writer), Cecilia Donaggio (Multimedia Artist), Teresa Donaggio (Social Educator), Lilli Zumbo (Social Worker).
A conversation with with Sandro Pascucci (Philosopher).
TALKS & PRESENTATIONS
Cooking in Maximum Security has been presented in various of places and contexts, triggering a wide range of discussions with professionals from different disciplines.
Cagliari Capital of Italian Culture 2015
Matteo Guidi held a workshop-talk, in collaboration with the artist Giuliana Racco, within the framework of Passavamo sulla storia leggeri, a cycle of events curated by Antonia Alampi and Jens Maier-Rothe, taking place at the Cagliari Museum of Modern Art as part of Cagliari Capital of Italian Culture 2015. On this occasion, Guidi presented the general CMS project and also presented CMS phase 2 for the first time.
Department of Justice of the Government of Catalunya
Escola Massana (Barcelona’s municipal Art and Design centre).
Galleria Più – with Fabrizio Lollini (Assistant Professor of Medieval Art History).
Espai Capra – with Rolando d’Alessandro (writer and activist).
University of Barcelona – XXI JORNADAS DOCTORALES Y DE INVESTIGACION DEL ODELA (Observatorio de la alimentaciò).
Ost West club Est Ovest – with Aldo Mazza (director of a publishing house and a language training center operating in Bolzano Penitentiary), Markus Lobis (expert in social communication), Nicolò Degiorgis (photographer) and Martina Dandolo (designer and curator of the Cooking in Maximum Security project in Merano).
28 Posti Restaurant – with the restaurants sous-chefs from Bollate Penitentiary.
Montagnola Park Auditorium – with Pina Lalli (Professor of Sociology of Communication).
University of Bologna.
S.a.L.E. Docks, Former Salt Warehouse – with Marco Rigamo (Global Project Editor), Giulia Girardello (Independent Curator), moderated by Marco Baravalle (Activist with Sale Docks).
Maiano Maximum Security Penitentiary.
The Hub – with Gino Gianuizzi (Independent Curator and professor in the academy of fine arts of Bologna).
XI Workshop on Social Enterprise – with Giuliana Racco (Artist) and Gino Gianuizzi (Independent Curator and professor in the academy of fine arts of Bologna).
Resistance Literature Festival – with Francesca De Carolis (Journalist and Writer), Marcello Baraghini (Publisher and Editorial Director of Stampa Alternativa, Cucinare in Massima Sicurezza’s publishing house) and Letizia Nuciotti (Writer and Chef).
Amid the spectacular setting of the old city of Pitigliano, the group focused on literature produced in prison and other forms of resistance, including cooking. During the presentation, Letizia Nuciotti spoke of her latest book on disability as a form of detention, while preparing the recipe for Frittelle alla Sughera using the same tools and methods described in the book.
Saints Cosmos and Damian Sanctuary – with Don Francesco Mariani (Priest and Sociologist), coordinated by Michele Tatti (Journalist).
Akademie der Kunste der Welt – with Giuliana Racco (Artist) and Alessandro Petti – Sandi Hilal (Architect and Urbanist co-founders of DAAR).
Semmai Factory Contemporary Art space – with Stefano Taccone (Art Critic and Curator) and Vincenzo Estremo (Art Writer and Curator).
Pastificio Cerere Foundation – with Francesca De Carolis (Journalist and Writer), Marcello Baraghini (Publisher and Editorial Director of Stampa Alternativa the publishing house of Cucinare in Massima Sicurezza ), Paola Gianelli (Psychologist), Gino Gianuizzi (Independent Curator).
Trebisonda bookshop – with Milena Prisco (Lawyer).
Literature Festival – with Francesca De Carolis (Journalist and Writer), Mirko Mazzali (Lawyer), Nadia Bizzotto (Prison Volunteer), Franco Bomprezzi (Journalist).
Il Vivaio del Malcantone Centre for Research in Cultural Practices – with Pietro Gaglianò (Curator) and Francesca Zannoni (Vegan Chef).
O’ Non-profit Centre of Contemporary Art – with Luca Bigliardi (Architect).
Modo InfoShop Bookshop – with Sofia Venturoli (Anthropologist), and Ernesto (waiting to be born).
Double Room Visual Art Gallery – with Pino Roveredo (Writer), Cecilia Donaggio (Multimedia Artist), Teresa Donaggio (Social Educator), Lilli Zumbo (Social Worker).
Giunti Bookshop – with Sandro Pascucci (Philosopher).
Cooking in Maximum Security is a research project developed by Matteo Guidi on the cusp of art and social anthropology and designed to be implemented in different prisons throughout the world. CMS bases its potential on a social and human reading of “cooking methods” that inmates generate with the minimal resources existing in their environment.
It was conceived in 2009 with a group of inmates of an Italian maximum security penitentiery and developed with prisoners of differents penal institutions, focusing on the culinary methods that apply the limited available resources found within prison cells. Phase 1 was developed in Italy while phase 2 is currently being developed in Spain.
The passion many prisoners nurture for cooking is also a tool for redemption and the formation of a new identity. Men from patriarchal socio-cultural contexts –where gender differences are strongly demarcated through a clear division of tasks–, men who had never set foot in a kitchen before, now find themselves inventing culinary spaces, methods and tools. Kitchen practices reposition the “traditional” male figure through a transformation of the role and values both within the family and the penal world, where certain categories connected to gender usually tend to exacerbate themselves. Cooking and sharing a meal (often the cook invites other inmates into his cell) become acts of personal construction and development, involving many different aspects of the human being: psychological, social, cultural, emotional and identity-related.
Cooking in prison becomes a means to find dignity and a social space among the prison community and, inevitably, also triggers a repositioning within the family of origin. It is precisely from the family, particularly the female memebers, that support is requested, be it in terms of raw materials, money to buy certain food and tools, or recipes and information concerning the preparation of traditional family dishes.
The project originated with the intention to create a book: a manual where kitchen utensils -described and illustrated in detail- are the connecting thread with a special emphasis on their construction and uses.
Our aim is to continue this research through the formation of study groups in different countries.
Moving from the first investigation which lead to the production of the “cookbook” and the second investigation which will also be finalized in a book publication, we now wish to extend the research –both methodologically and thematically– by looking into the social impact on territory, including research on food and culinary practices in prison as a form of psycho-social redefinition on the part of the inmates.
This redefinition also carries the functions of a symbolic exit from prison and the reconquering of a space within the family; a relationship that is often exacerbated by distances and other problematics (especially in the case of maximum security). The subject of the research remains the culinary practices of inmates and its effects on their identity and on their roles, inside and outside of prison, particularly in relation to the family of origin.
In countries where cooking in cells is not permitted (as in the case of Spain), the focus hinges on the relationship between the prisoner and what s/he eats, both in terms of that which is offered by the institution and that which is purchased in the vending machines. Furthermore, a look into the culinary practices of female inmates has, from a first exploratory investigation, proven to be highly interesting: it appears that cooking occurs less frequently in these cells than in those of their male counterparts. This may be interpreted as a form of rejection of the penal condition.
The aims of the research will be:
RECIPES
TOOLS
● egg
● aluminium spoon
● 20 l bucket
● plastic knife
● round container with lid
● plastic cup
INGREDIENTS
● water
● vinegar
● fennel
● cauliflower
● carrots
● celery
● hot green chilies
● green peppers
● unripe tomatoes
● dried curly fennel seed sprigs (Doses can vary to taste,
but the amount of water should always be proportioned)
● salt
INSTRUCTION
For the brine: pour 8 l of water into the bucket, add 1 glass of vinegar and 16 tablespoons of salt. Mix with your hands until the salt is dissolved. Immerse the whole raw egg and play with it by pushing it towards the bottom with your hand. Note that the egg tries to stay afloat, or at least does not sink to the bottom. This will show whether the salt levels in the brine are correct. For the “Giardiniera”: cut the fennel into 4 parts, the cauliflower into small tufts and the carrots lengthways. Make a small vertical cut on the hot pepper; do the same with the green peppers. Cut the unripe tomatoes and celery in half into cubes of about 8 mm, wash them well and soak them in the brine together with the herbs. In the other container, pour 2 l of water and 4 tablespoons of salt so that the water does not ‘smell tinny.’ Close the lid and place the bucket inside, so that it is close to the surface of the brine. Cover the bucket with a piece of fine cloth tied around it. Let it sit for a month without touching it so that it ‘cooks.’ Cut into pieces and add a drop of oil before serving.
TOOLS
● 1.5 l plastic bottle
● razor blade or Chicco scissors
● small cooker
● saucepan
● plastic strainer
INGREDIENTS
● 600 g whole chilies
● extra virgin olive oil
● wine vinegar
● water
INSTRUCTION
Boil water and vinegar mixed in equal parts, immerse the whole chilies and leave to boil for 1 minute. Turn off the cooker and leave the chilies in the pot for another minute, then drain and leave them to dry for 24 hours. With the Chicco scissors [glossary p. 112] or a razor blade, cut the plastic bottle in half and use the bottom part as a container, while the top part will be used as a lid. Place the chilli inside the container part of the bottle, filling it with olive oil. Cap the bottle by jamming the top part into the bottom half. The chilies must always be covered in oil. Mushrooms can also be prepared following the same procedure. You can eat the chilies even after a year.
TOOLS
● pot
● plastic knife
● plastic ladle (pierced with the tip of red-hot Chicco scissors)
● razor blade
● frying pan
● cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 500 g dried broad beans
● 300 g lard or fatty bacon
● 500 g pork ribs
● extra virgin olive oil
● salt to taste
INSTRUCTION
Fill a pot with water and pour in the broad beans. Leave them to soak for twenty-four hours, then drain them and refill the pot with water. Pour in the broad beans together with the pork ribs and cook everything over a very high flame. Cut the bacon into thin slices using a razor blade. Fry the bacon in the frying pan. Add the fried lard to the broad beans and pork ribs. Add a little oil and a pinch of salt. Serve piping hot.
TOOLS
● 7 cm diameter hard plastic cup
(recyclable from limoncello ice cream)
● broom handle rolling pin
● plastic fork
● plastic knife
● small table
● small pot
● plastic gas can with (large) lid
● nail
● small cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 1 kg “00” type flour
● 2 eggs
● lukewarm water
● ragout
● seasoned pecorino cheese
● 600 g fresh cheese (use mozzarella or “Galbanino”
if fresh cheese is unavailable)
● 1/2 tablespoon of salt
INSTRUCTION
Put the flour in the container; add the eggs and salt. In the meantime, heat a little water in the saucepan and start mixing. Pour the mixture onto the table after it solidifies, and continue to knead in order to obtain a firm dough. Put everything back into the container and leave to rest for about 1 hour. With a broom handle [rolling pin], start rolling out the dough, making sheets as wide as twice the circumference of 2 glasses and 3 mm thick. Pierce the bottom of the empty gas canister that is used as a grater [see p. 25]. Place the fresh cheese cut into cubes on one side of the pastry, about 1 cm apart and 2 cm from the edge, together with grated pecorino cheese. Cover with the rest of the pastry and pinch the edges together with a glass. Shape and pierce the ravioli with a fork so that they do not come apart while cooking. They’re best cooked when dipped two at a time into the boiling water. Season them with meat sauce. Best served hot and freshly seasoned.
TOOLS
● skimmer
● 5 l pot with lid
● plastic bowl
● needle
● cotton thread
● aluminium fork
● plastic knife
● small cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 1 guineafowl
● 1 onion
● 2 carrots
● 2 garlic cloves
● 200 g dried tomatoes
● 1 celery stalk
● 4 bay leaves
● 1 small bunch of parsley
● 100 g ham
● 100 g bacon lard
● 250 g breadcrumbs
● 3 eggs
● 1 saffron sachet
● salt and pepper
INSTRUCTION
The guineafowl must be opened and the wings trimmed. A kitchen worker can help with this. Clean the guineafowl by removing the entrails and set them aside with the neck and wing trimmings. In a pot, boil 3 l of water with the garlic, bay leaf, parsley, head, neck and wing trimmings of the guineafowl. In a bowl, prepare the stuffing by mixing the chopped ham and lard, the breadcrumbs, the chopped guineafowl innards, 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, the chopped dried tomatoes, the saffron, a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the beaten egg yolks and mix everything together. Place the guineafowl on its back and stuff it with the mix. Using a needle and cotton thread, sew the poor animal’s belly starting from the 2 tail openings and ending at the neck. Now plunge the guineafowl in the broth and cover with a lid. Turn the heat down and let it cook for about 1 hour.
TOOLS
● 2 plastic bowls
● spoon
● plastic knife
● plastic cup
● piece of laminate
● frying pan
● small cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 1 kg golden apples
● 800 g cabbage
● 1 red onion
● 50 g butter
● red wine
● red wine vinegar
● 2 bay leaves
● dry bread
● sugar
● salt to taste
INSTRUCTION
Clean the cabbage and wash it well. Cut it into fine strips using a piece of smooth laminate obtained from the edge of the cabinet. Peel the onions and cut them into strips. Peel the apples and slice them. Place the sliced apples in a bowl with cold water to prevent them from turning brown. In another bowl, mix half a glass of red wine, half a glass of vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar. In a frying pan, brown the butter with the onion. When the onion is golden brown, add the cabbage, the apples, the bay leaves and salt to taste. Cook everything while adding the mixture of wine, vinegar and sugar. Stop when all of the vegetables are well cooked. Serve on a plate, placing a few slices of dry bread on the bottom of the plate.
TOOLS
● flat pan
● aluminium spoon
● saucepan
● pot
● plastic spoon
● 3 plastic bowls
● stool
● bath towel
● steel plate
● small cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 75 g chocolate
● 175 g sugar
● 175 g butter
● 3 eggs
● 175 g flour
● milk
INSTRUCTION
Butter a flat rectangular pan that can hold 1kg of contents. You can remould a round pan if necessary. In a saucepan, melt the chocolate in a doubleboiler and let it to cool for a while. In a bowl, mix butter and sugar until fluffy. In another bowl, beat the eggs and add them to the mixture, gradually incorporating the flour. Pour in 2 tablespoons of milk and mix everything together energetically. Put half the mixture into another bowl and in 1 of the 2 bowls pour the chocolate previously melted in a double-boiler. Pour the clear mixture into the buttered mould and then the chocolate mixture. With a teaspoon, draw waves through the two types of dough to create a marbled effect. Place on the steel plate previously set on top of the cooker, which is positioned inside the stool and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the cake is cooked throughout. Leave to cool in the mould for 5 minutes. It can be served warm, but it is best enjoyed cold.
RECIPES
TOOLS
● egg
● aluminium spoon
● 20 l bucket
● plastic knife
● round container with lid
● plastic cup
INGREDIENTS
● water
● vinegar
● fennel
● cauliflower
● carrots
● celery
● hot green chilies
● green peppers
● unripe tomatoes
● dried curly fennel seed sprigs (Doses can vary to taste,
but the amount of water should always be proportioned)
● salt
INSTRUCTION
For the brine: pour 8 l of water into the bucket, add 1 glass of vinegar and 16 tablespoons of salt. Mix with your hands until the salt is dissolved. Immerse the whole raw egg and play with it by pushing it towards the bottom with your hand. Note that the egg tries to stay afloat, or at least does not sink to the bottom. This will show whether the salt levels in the brine are correct. For the “Giardiniera”: cut the fennel into 4 parts, the cauliflower into small tufts and the carrots lengthways. Make a small vertical cut on the hot pepper; do the same with the green peppers. Cut the unripe tomatoes and celery in half into cubes of about 8 mm, wash them well and soak them in the brine together with the herbs. In the other container, pour 2 l of water and 4 tablespoons of salt so that the water does not ‘smell tinny.’ Close the lid and place the bucket inside, so that it is close to the surface of the brine. Cover the bucket with a piece of fine cloth tied around it. Let it sit for a month without touching it so that it ‘cooks.’ Cut into pieces and add a drop of oil before serving.
TOOLS
● 1.5 l plastic bottle
● razor blade or Chicco scissors
● small cooker
● saucepan
● plastic strainer
INGREDIENTS
● 600 g whole chilies
● extra virgin olive oil
● wine vinegar
● water
INSTRUCTION
Boil water and vinegar mixed in equal parts, immerse the whole chilies and leave to boil for 1 minute. Turn off the cooker and leave the chilies in the pot for another minute, then drain and leave them to dry for 24 hours. With the Chicco scissors [glossary p. 112] or a razor blade, cut the plastic bottle in half and use the bottom part as a container, while the top part will be used as a lid. Place the chilli inside the container part of the bottle, filling it with olive oil. Cap the bottle by jamming the top part into the bottom half. The chilies must always be covered in oil. Mushrooms can also be prepared following the same procedure. You can eat the chilies even after a year.
TOOLS
● pot
● plastic knife
● plastic ladle (pierced with the tip of red-hot Chicco scissors)
● razor blade
● frying pan
● cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 500 g dried broad beans
● 300 g lard or fatty bacon
● 500 g pork ribs
● extra virgin olive oil
● salt to taste
INSTRUCTION
Fill a pot with water and pour in the broad beans. Leave them to soak for twenty-four hours, then drain them and refill the pot with water. Pour in the broad beans together with the pork ribs and cook everything over a very high flame. Cut the bacon into thin slices using a razor blade. Fry the bacon in the frying pan. Add the fried lard to the broad beans and pork ribs. Add a little oil and a pinch of salt. Serve piping hot.
TOOLS
● 7 cm diameter hard plastic cup
(recyclable from limoncello ice cream)
● broom handle rolling pin
● plastic fork
● plastic knife
● small table
● small pot
● plastic gas can with (large) lid
● nail
● small cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 1 kg “00” type flour
● 2 eggs
● lukewarm water
● ragout
● seasoned pecorino cheese
● 600 g fresh cheese (use mozzarella or “Galbanino”
if fresh cheese is unavailable)
● 1/2 tablespoon of salt
INSTRUCTION
Put the flour in the container; add the eggs and salt. In the meantime, heat a little water in the saucepan and start mixing. Pour the mixture onto the table after it solidifies, and continue to knead in order to obtain a firm dough. Put everything back into the container and leave to rest for about 1 hour. With a broom handle [rolling pin], start rolling out the dough, making sheets as wide as twice the circumference of 2 glasses and 3 mm thick. Pierce the bottom of the empty gas canister that is used as a grater [see p. 25]. Place the fresh cheese cut into cubes on one side of the pastry, about 1 cm apart and 2 cm from the edge, together with grated pecorino cheese. Cover with the rest of the pastry and pinch the edges together with a glass. Shape and pierce the ravioli with a fork so that they do not come apart while cooking. They’re best cooked when dipped two at a time into the boiling water. Season them with meat sauce. Best served hot and freshly seasoned.
TOOLS
● skimmer
● 5 l pot with lid
● plastic bowl
● needle
● cotton thread
● aluminium fork
● plastic knife
● small cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 1 guineafowl
● 1 onion
● 2 carrots
● 2 garlic cloves
● 200 g dried tomatoes
● 1 celery stalk
● 4 bay leaves
● 1 small bunch of parsley
● 100 g ham
● 100 g bacon lard
● 250 g breadcrumbs
● 3 eggs
● 1 saffron sachet
● salt and pepper
INSTRUCTION
The guineafowl must be opened and the wings trimmed. A kitchen worker can help with this. Clean the guineafowl by removing the entrails and set them aside with the neck and wing trimmings. In a pot, boil 3 l of water with the garlic, bay leaf, parsley, head, neck and wing trimmings of the guineafowl. In a bowl, prepare the stuffing by mixing the chopped ham and lard, the breadcrumbs, the chopped guineafowl innards, 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, the chopped dried tomatoes, the saffron, a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the beaten egg yolks and mix everything together. Place the guineafowl on its back and stuff it with the mix. Using a needle and cotton thread, sew the poor animal’s belly starting from the 2 tail openings and ending at the neck. Now plunge the guineafowl in the broth and cover with a lid. Turn the heat down and let it cook for about 1 hour.
TOOLS
● 2 plastic bowls
● spoon
● plastic knife
● plastic cup
● piece of laminate
● frying pan
● small cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 1 kg golden apples
● 800 g cabbage
● 1 red onion
● 50 g butter
● red wine
● red wine vinegar
● 2 bay leaves
● dry bread
● sugar
● salt to taste
INSTRUCTION
Clean the cabbage and wash it well. Cut it into fine strips using a piece of smooth laminate obtained from the edge of the cabinet. Peel the onions and cut them into strips. Peel the apples and slice them. Place the sliced apples in a bowl with cold water to prevent them from turning brown. In another bowl, mix half a glass of red wine, half a glass of vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar. In a frying pan, brown the butter with the onion. When the onion is golden brown, add the cabbage, the apples, the bay leaves and salt to taste. Cook everything while adding the mixture of wine, vinegar and sugar. Stop when all of the vegetables are well cooked. Serve on a plate, placing a few slices of dry bread on the bottom of the plate.
TOOLS
● flat pan
● aluminium spoon
● saucepan
● pot
● plastic spoon
● 3 plastic bowls
● stool
● bath towel
● steel plate
● small cooker
INGREDIENTS
● 75 g chocolate
● 175 g sugar
● 175 g butter
● 3 eggs
● 175 g flour
● milk
INSTRUCTION
Butter a flat rectangular pan that can hold 1kg of contents. You can remould a round pan if necessary. In a saucepan, melt the chocolate in a doubleboiler and let it to cool for a while. In a bowl, mix butter and sugar until fluffy. In another bowl, beat the eggs and add them to the mixture, gradually incorporating the flour. Pour in 2 tablespoons of milk and mix everything together energetically. Put half the mixture into another bowl and in 1 of the 2 bowls pour the chocolate previously melted in a double-boiler. Pour the clear mixture into the buttered mould and then the chocolate mixture. With a teaspoon, draw waves through the two types of dough to create a marbled effect. Place on the steel plate previously set on top of the cooker, which is positioned inside the stool and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the cake is cooked throughout. Leave to cool in the mould for 5 minutes. It can be served warm, but it is best enjoyed cold.
