Italian summer

Nobody does casual summer cooking with quite so much flair as the Italians, so I asked Leonardo Fasulo—of Osteria Fasulo (2657 Portage Bay East in Davis, (530) 758-1324) and Sacramento’s recently closed Il Posto—about his favorite hot-weather dishes. His answer, in true Italian style, came in the form of a complete, multi-course meal:

1. “For an appetizer, a classic Caprese salad with mozzarella; or prosciutto and melon; or swordfish carpaccio with lemon olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil, a little capers and oregano.”

2. “For pasta, probably just plain spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, parsley and crushed pepper—aglio e peperoncino.”

3. “For a main course, plain veal scaloppine with salt and pepper. Just with lemon and olive oil is really the best—it’s so hot, you don’t want any sauces.”

4. “And strawberries to finish, with sugar and lemon juice.”