Una vita Difficile

Directed in 1961 by Dino Risi, this one in particular is one of my absolute favourite scenes of Italian cinema.
A young couple is casually invited to eat in the house of a family which supports the Monarchy, on the night of the Referendum of the Italian Republic.
Everyone is seated and the food is being served, we see the royals serve themselves one olive while the young couple fills their plate with 'pasticcio'. As soon as the results are announced, with the fall of the Monarchy and the rise of the Republic, the hosts lose their appetite and leave the couple alone at the table.
Alberto Sordi turns towards Lea Massari and asks: 'What should we do? Should we leave?', and she answers: 'Let's eat first and then we leave!'
The waiter walks in with a bottle of champagne and the couple eats on the notes of Mameli's Fratelli D'Italia.
This is a great moviw and a fun way to see Italy's history, everyone should watch it, here is the clip of the famous dining scene:

Pasta al tonno (with a twist)

Whenever there is no time to shop and there is the need to make a meal from whatever I have sitting in my cabinet I resort to the simple and quick Pasta al Tonno, in other words pasta with tuna.
Most people will always have a can of tuna and a pack of pasta (Italians will for sure) sitting in their pantry so this should be easy for everyone.
While I usually use Tuna to make this dish, this time I didn't have a can of tuna but I had a beautiful box of Mackerel I had brought back from Italy a while ago. This works just as well, if not better.
The thing I love about this pasta dish is that you cook the sauce while the past is cooking, meaning that it all takes about 5 minutes!

Here is this simple recipe:

(for 2 people)
1 clove garlic
some cherry tomatoes
1 can tuna
200 grams of pasta (I prefer a shorter shape)

-Boil a pot of water
-Chop up the garlic and let cook until golden
-Add the cherry tomatoes (cut in half) and the can of tuna (drained)

-You can add a drop of white wine to the sauce

There are many other ways you can vary this recipe, here are just a few things you could add if you like or have them sitting around:

Capers
Black olives
Parsley
Lemon Grind

Buon Appetito!

Sophia Loren and 'La pizza fritta'

Here is a clip of the beautiful Sophia Loren making pizze fritte in the alleys of Naples. Directed by De Sica in 1954, the movie is composed of 6 different episodes. In this episode which is called Pizze a Credito Sophia Loren and her husband have a stall were they sell 'pizze a credito', meaning you could eat right away and pay when you had the money "mangi subito e paghi tra otto giorni'.
I love this scene, I love Naples, and I love Sophie Loren!