Four Italian recipes to try at home from the kitchen of Les Marmitons Sandy Springs

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 dried bay leaf

12 ounces kale, torn into small pieces

2 cans cannellini beans with liquid

6 cups chicken stock

1 3/4 cups crushed tomatoes

3 cups day old bread, torn in pieces

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Parmesan, grated to taste

— Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, onion, carrots, celery and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Saute until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

— Add kale and saute.

— Add beans, stock and tomato.

— Bring soup to a boil.

— Stir in bread and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until soup thickens slightly.

— Remove from heat and stir in chopped basil. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Yield: four servings

PAPPARDELLE WITH TUSCAN RAGU

Semolina pasta

2.5 ounces Semolina flour

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces eggs

4 ounces water

3 ounces olive oil

— Mix all ingredients to make dough.

— Knead until dough is well combined.

— Wrap in plastic, rest for 20 minutes.

— Sheet dough.

— Cut into desired thickness.

Ragu

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

3 ounces pancetta, diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced

1 carrot finely diced

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound Italian sausage, crumbled

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cups tomatoes, crushed by hand

3 sprigs of Italian parsley, chopped

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to taste

— Heat oil in a heavy sauce pan, medium heat. Add onion and pancetta. Cook, stirring frequently until translucent, about 5 minutes.

— Add celery and carrot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring the vegetables to coat them well with the fat.

— Add meats, a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper. Crumble the meat with a wooden spoon, stir well until it loses its raw red color.

— Add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat everything well. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.

— Season with salt and pepper to taste.

— Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

Yield: 6 servings

TUSCAN STYLE PORK ROAST

10 garlic cloves

30 leaves fresh sage

1/2 cup fresh rosemary

3-pound center cut pork loin with rib bones

4 long rosemary branches

Olive oil

2 cups dry white wine

2 pounds baking potatoes cut into wedges

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

— Mince together garlic, sage and rosemary. Stir together with 1/4 cup of salt in a small bowl and season with pepper. Set aside.

— Remove rib bones from roast in one piece. Set aside.

— Make slit through the center of the loin to the other end

— Stuff slit with 1/2 of the garlic mixture, pushing it through with the handle of a long wooden spoon. Insert one of the rosemary branches into each end so that it forms a tassel.

— Rub remaining garlic mixture all over the roast. Reassemble with bone and arrange remaining rosemary sprigs on top. Tie the roast at 1-inch intervals with twine to shape.

Cover and marinate at room temperature for one hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

— Put loin, fat side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Coat with oil.

— Roast for 15 minutes, baste with wine and reduce temperature to 350 degrees.

— Add potatoes to roasting pan and baste with pan juices.

— Cook for 1 1/2 hours until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees, basting every 20 minutes with wine and pan juices.

— Transfer pork and potatoes to platter and let rest loosely covered for 20 minutes.

— Add 1/2 cup of wine to roasting pan and simmer liquid while scraping up the drippings from the bottom of the pan. Skim off the fat and season the sauce with salt and pepper.

CANTUCCI

2 pounds all purpose flour

24 ounces sugar

Rind of one lemon

3 teaspoons baking powder

8 eggs

1 pound whole almonds

1/4 cup milk

Egg wash (1 egg plus 1 tablespoon of water beaten)

Sugar for coating

— Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

— Combine the flour, sugar, lemon and baking powder in a large bowl.

— Add the eggs, almonds and milk. Mix until all ingredients are well combined.

— Divide into five 10-inch long rectangles. Place on trays lined with parchment paper. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle tops with sugar.

— Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes.

— Lower oven temperature to 275 degrees.

— Cut the rectangles horizontally into 1/2-inch slices and return to oven. Bake 20 minutes.