The feast begins with a starter, called Antipasto in the language of Italian cuisine. We’ve chosen chicken liver crostini, served with crisp toast. It’s fast to put together and cook, and you can get it done in under three quarters of an hour.

Crostini di fegato (Chicken liver crostini)

• One carrot.
• One onion.
• One stick of celery.
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil.
• 300g chicken livers.
• White wine or stock.
• One dessert spoon capers.
• 4 anchovy fillets.
• Freshly chopped sage.
• 50g butter.
• Salt.
• 500g unsalted bread.

Cut the onions into rings. Chop carrot and celery. Fry them in a little oil. Add chopped liver, brown and cook well. You can add a little stock or white wine if the mixture looks in danger of drying out, but make sure that the end result is not moist at all. Add capers, anchovy fillets, chopped sage and butter. Then use a large kitchen knife to mince the mixture finely.

Serve spread on toasted bread.

As you enjoy the crisp treat, you’ll like to think that you’re tasting what Italians have been savouring for many centuries. There’s a history behind this dish. It is an old favourite, and was called peverada in old Italy. Originally, saffron was one of the ingredients, because the fragrant flower was cultivated around the region of Florence.

Don’t eat too much of the crostini, because the first course or Primo piatto is coming up. We’re going to have Tortellini in brodo di Cappone or Pasta parcels in clear capon broth.

While pasta is easily available off the shelves, there’s a special joy in making it at home, and once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. The pasta maker is simple to operate, so investing in one would be a good idea.

Here’s the recipe, which uses home-made pasta, and serves 4.

• For the pasta:
• 250g flour
• 1 drop extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 egg
• 3 egg yolks

For the filling:

• 1 small chicken breast (about 200g)
• 40ml double cream
• 200g pancetta
• 200g mortadella
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 litre chicken stock (recipe below)

To serve:

• Grated Parmesan (optional)
• Grated black truffle (optional)

To make the pasta, sieve the flour, pour into a food processor, add the oil and salt, then beat at medium speed. While it is beating, slowly add the egg and egg yolks. When the mixture comes together, transfer to a clean work surface and knead for 10-15 minutes until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour.

Put the chicken breast in the food processor, with a little cream to loosen if necessary, and beat until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve to remove any sinews. Return to the processor, add the pancetta, mortadella and the rest of the cream, along with some pepper, and beat again until smooth. Add the egg yolk and whip. Refrigerate until needed.

Cut the dough in half and flatten slightly with a rolling pin, pass through a pasta machine on the thickest setting, then fold in half and put through the machine again. Repeat, moving the machine on to a finer setting each time, until the pasta is about 0.5mm thick. Repeat with the other half of dough. Lay the resulting two thin pasta strips on a work surface and from each cut out about 30 squares, each 5cm by 5cm. Fill the centre of each with about three-quarters of a teaspoon of the chicken mix, then brush the edges of the square with beaten egg and fold over two of the edges to make a triangle. Take each triangle, point upwards, and bring the two ends straight down and underneath, then press the pasta together to seal.

Bring the stock to the boil in a big pan and cook the pasta for four to five minutes. Serve in bowls, with grated Parmesan and/or black truffle on top.

Are you replete? I hope not, because at the Italian table, there’s a lot more to come.

The first course is followed by a second one. You’re going to have Bollito and salsa verde.

Bollito Misto

• 2-1/2 pounds beef (muscle, tongue, etc., for boiling)
• 2 beef bones
• 1 onion, peeled and left whole
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch lengths
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 tomato
• Parsley
• Sea salt to taste, about 2 tablespoons
• One-half capon or boiling chicken, optional

Place all the ingredients in a large soup pot, and cover with water. Bring to a slow boil, and cook covered for 1 hour. Skim the fat from the surface. Add the chicken and cook for another hour. When the beef is tender, remove it and the vegetables from the broth. Throw away the tomato, parsley and beef bones. Strain the broth and replace the beef in the broth. Refrigerate overnight. Remove the solidified fat from the broth the next day, and take out the beef.

Use the broth for the tortellini you made earlier, reheating it with the tortellini it, and serve with garnished with parmesan cheese.

You can slice some of the beef and serve it with the tortellini, and reserve the rest for the Lesso Rifatto (recipe follows).

The best parts of bollito misto are the sauces that go with it. Olive oil and salt were the traditional side plates, with salsa verde, mostarda di Cremona (candied mustard fruits), and maybe even mayonnaise or mustard. Pickled Italian vegetables or giardiniera make a good accompaniment.

Salsa Verde

• 1 cup Italian parsley, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 anchovy filet
• Red wine vinegar, to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 slice white bread

Finely chop the parsley, capers, garlic, and anchovy. Put the mixture into a serving bowl and add olive oil and red wine vinegar. Adjust seasonings.

Remove the crust from the slice of bread, and soak the bread in red wine vinegar. Then crumble the bread into sauce.

(You can substitute the bread with chopped pine nuts).

Salsa verde can be served on hot green beans and boiled potatoes.

Lesso Rifatto

• 1 pound leftover boiled meat, chopped into small cubes
• 1-1/2 pounds red onions, finely sliced
• 2 cups stewed tomatoes, or red wine
• Olive oil
• Salt

Sauté the onions in olive oil; when golden, add tomatoes or red wine. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil and let cook for 10 minutes. Add the beef and cook covered for an additional 20 minutes. To make this even richer, add some cubed raw potatoes to the pan with the onions.

Here’s wishing each one of you a wonderful Christmas Season.