Pasta of the Italian Flag

One of the more unusual declarations of love I have ever heard is sung by Maurizio to the title character in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur: “Bella tu sei, come la mia bandiera delle pugne fiammanti entro i vapor,” which can be translated as, “You are as beautiful as my flag in the smoke and flame of battle.” I wonder if Adriana takes that as a compliment. Though I devised this recipe, cooks in Italy have combined these ingredients for centuries. The inspiration, of course, is the red, w