If the Sicilians have their Pasta alla Norma, to honour Mr. Bellini, well, in Emilia-Romagna we can rightly celebrate the great Maestro, Giuseppe Verdi, with this simple and tasty recipe!

What you need (for three people):

2 courgettes (or zucchini)
60 gr. courgettes flowers
80 gr. pancetta (or bacon)
½ onion
250 gr. tagliolini (o taglierini, very thin egg tagliatelle)
the tip of a teaspoon of curry powder
1 tablespoon stracchino (or other soft cheese)
olive oil, a little butter, salt and pepper
fresh pecorino or parmigiano reggiano cheese

How you do it:

Chop the courgettes and lightly fry them with the onion and the bacon in a mixture of olive oil and butter (choose the proportion according to your taste). Add slat, pepper and the curry powder to flavour and some water (hot!) if the sauce starts to stick to the pan.

Add the flowers, torn by hands, at the very last moment (don't cook them otherwise they go all mushy and soggy, yuc!). Mix the pasta (boiled al dente, of course!) with the sauce and the cheese in a pirex bowl.

My mother adds a little saffron at this point, as, she says, she likes it VERY yellow…!