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The typical products
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The province of Vicenza offers different typical food specialites, each linked to a precise time of the year and to a specific wine of the area. The creativity of the tradition of Vicenza is evident in some typical products: from baccalà alla Vicentina, cod with soft polenta according to the Vicentine tradition, to capponi alla canevera, capon, to capretto sullo spiedo, roasted kid, to castrato con risi e bisi, rice and peas with broth, to all the different "risotti", among which the risotto whit peas from Lumignano. April, May, June, is the time of the asparagus from Bassano. It is diuretic, depurative, and rich in vitamins.
Famous are also Sopressa, kind of salami, from Pasubio and Recoaro Valleys, generally eaten with a slice of grilled polenta polenta brustolà, trouts from Valdastico, torresani, pigeous from Breganze served with fried polenta, bigoli con l'arna, home-made egg-pasta served with duck bolonaise from Thiene, tacchine (paete) con il melograno (malgaragno) di Montebello, turkey with pomegranate from Montebello.
IL BACCALÀ ALLA VICENTINA - I RISTORANTI DEL BACCALÀ
HISTORY: by Alfredo Pelle
In 1432, Piero Querini, nobleman of Venice, sailed to the harbours of the Hanseatic League to sell wine from Creta, bags of spices, perfumes and brocades. But, "once in Calese, due to the low tide in S. Pietro, the ship touched a rock, causing the distruption of the rudder. On 57 mariners only 12, on lifeboats, safely arrived to the Lofoten islands, in Norway."
Here the Querini found 2 things: stockfish hanged to dry and very friendly Norwegean women. He imported the fish in Italy, but it wasn't immediately appreciated.
During the centuries, its use became more and more common and, nowadays, the Veneto Region uses the 80%of the dried-cod produced in Norway (over tahn 1,000 tonnes).
CURIOSITY:
In Veneto, stockfish is called "Baccalà"; in the rest of Italy it is more commonly called dry-cod. We do not know the reason of this, but it was probably influenced by the spanish word "bacalao".
RECIPE:
This recipe is certanly popular, orally transmitted from generation to generation. It was been adapted to every change of taste and new ingredients. In the years it became a habit to serve "Baccalà" with polenta, necessarily soft in order to absorbe the sauce.
INGREDIENTS: (for 10 people)
- 2,5 kg. bacalà already pounded and wet
- 500 gr. of onions
- 1 lt. extra-virgin olive oil "delicate"
- 3-4 salted anchovies
- 1/2 lt. fresh milk
- 50 gr. parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- chapped parsley, salt and pepper.
BROCCOLO DI CREAZZO
IL BROCCOLO FIOLARO di Roberto Ostuzzi
Also called Broccolo di Creazzo. It is one of the 3,000 spieces of "brassicacee" plants, cultured in various cold and mild regions of the world. Since the ancient times, many of these were also used for their beneficial effects.
Broccolo has a good quantity of calcium, 60% of which is completely absorbed by the human body; its antioxidant substances help to prevent cancer of the digestive tract (especially colon, rectum, stomac), of the respiratory tract (lung), breast, prostate and endometrium cancer. It also help to cure high blood presure, thanks for its percentage of potassium.
Herewith some receipes with Broccolo Fiolaro di Creazzo, suggested by some of the restaurants in Vicenza, during wintertime:
LE CILIEGIE di MAROSTICA - Cherries of Marostica
In Vicenza and surroundings, spring is announced by the appearence of a white veil of flowers. This is the moving spectacle offered by the cherry tree, which from time immemorial has flourished around Marostica, the centre of its cultivation, in the Chiampo valley and on the Berici hills. It is impossible to describe its range in brief terms: centuries of selection have brought about ripening periods which vary from early to late, and colours from yellow to dark red; the pulp varies in consistency from crisp to soft and the flavour is finely graded from sour to sweet. To mention some local varieties at the risk of missing others/ the Sandra di Marostica and the Durona del Chiampo. Many are the festivals: at Marostica, Villaganzerla, Pianezze san Lorenzo, Castegnero, Chiampo and Mason, between May and June, providing an ideal excuse to make a journey to discover the many flavours of the spring in Vicenza and surroundings.
White aparagus of Bassano
The asparagus of Bassano, delight of northern Vicentino, is a shoot which has not yet broken the earth and owes its characteristic whiteness to its brief underground existence. It has a faint pink colour when it has just been picked, which is the only colouring allowed, since even the slightest greeness declassifies it. The Bassanese has been boasting about and profiting from this early production for centuries. It is first mentioned in the Venetian chronicles, which in 1534 record the purchase of white asparagus for the Doges' tables, but the origins of its cultivation are even more distant. In Vicentino white asparagus still manages to be the protagonists on the table, usually served with rice in a first course of simple elegance, to demonstrate the virtuosity of avant-garde cooks. However, according to the tradition, boiling water and a very simple egg-based sauce are sufficient to enjoy the asparagus at its best. This is how it can be enjoyed at the Mostra dell'Asparago (Asparagus show) which is hold in Bassano in April, with a tempting gastonomic display.
Le manifestazioni e I Ristoranti
Ham of Val Liona
Once people used to rear a pig, sell its legs as ham in order to buy a new animal for yourself and keep the rest to make sopresse and salami. A family practice but also an affair of state, since Veneto ham is mentioned as early as the Fourteenth century in the chronicles of the Venetian Republic. Today's Berico-Euganea production derives from this tradition, rewarded in 1996 by the community recognition of Protected Denomination of Origin (Pdo). The specification describes a ham "pink in colour, tending towards red in the lean part, pure white in the fat part, with an aroma that is delicate, sweet and fragrant", then going into details regarding he processing of the meat, strictly from Pesante Padano pigs. The production area extends roughly to the Montagnana-Lonigo-Noventa triangle which forms a bridge between the Berici and the Euganei hills. The hams will reach the charcuterie stalls after a maturing period lovingly prolonged for 10-12 months, with a guarantee for the consumer: the consortium trademark with the wingded lion of San Marco.
Black truffles of the Berici Hills
Although in simple terms they are tubers, like potatos, science calls them hypogean fungi, that is, organism which have chosen to vegetate under ground, in close symbiosis with caducous-leaved trees and particulary with oaks. Born of a delicate balance, they are clear environmental indicators and only flourish where the wood is healty. To the pride of Vicentino, in the Berici Hills there are four species of black truffle: Tuber Melanosporum, or "esteemed" - Aestivum, "summer" or scorzone" - Brumale, "winter" - Mesentericum, "ordinary", the only one of minor gastronomic importance. The epicenter of the researching area is Nanto, which in July honours this gift from the Hills with a festival, an occasion not to be missed, wheter to appreciate some of its gastronomic uses, or to purchase it.
Asiago Pdo
Asiago was one of the first typical Italian products to obtain the community recognition of Protected Denomination of Origin (Pdo). Deserved recognition since, by unanimous consent, it is one of the greatest protagonists of the Italian cheesemaking industry. Heir of the Vezzena of ancient tradition is the so-called "Asiago d'allevo" (matured), medium fat with compact texture, with a sharp flavour which varies with ageing:"mezzano" after 120-180 days; "vecchio" or "stravecchio" after one or two years' ageing. Also on the market is the so-called "pressed Asiago", because of the special processing, a product of recent history, which was intended to align it with changing tastes: made from whole milk, it is ready for the table, soft and attractive, after an ageing of between 20 and 40 days. There are a number of opportunities to personally verify the quality of this cheese: in addiction to visiting the protective Consortium's shop, there is, since 1997, the "Open Cheese Factories" initiative, where at the end of August and at the end of October under the slogan "see what you eat", the doors of the sanctuaries of Asiago are opened to all those who are curious about the genuine article.
Grana Padano Pdo
Grana is the most widespread and ancient cheese of the Po valley: its origins go back to the Middle Ages, when various monastic orders undertook the cultivation of large streches of land wrested from the marshes. It was precisely the need to prolong the duration of the cheese, which was one of the most commercially viable products, that brought about the development of the technique of salting which has resulted in the birth of the characteristic cheese with its hard texture, which has reached the tables. A turning point has occurred in its history in the last few decades with the codification of the productive cycle and the delimitation of the typical zones. Thus "Parmigiano Reggiano", limited to the two Emilian provinces, is distinguished from "Padano", extending over a good part of the southern land, Vicenza included. The latest community specification linked to the recognition of the Protected denomination of Origin (Pdo), regulates each productive phase, from the selection of the fodder to the quality control which authorises the stamping of the romboid symbol of the protective Consortium. Less poetry and more technology, therefore, but still with respect for tradition. There is no better opportunity than the "Open Cheese Factories" day, at the end of August and October, to see for yourself.
THE PEAS OF LUMIGNANO
LA POTATO OF ROTZO
OIL OF NANTO
THE CORN OF MARANO, THE CHERRY OF MAROSTICA, THE BEAN OF VAL POSINA, BROCCOLO (Broccoli) FIOLARO DI CREAZZO, IL BACCALA'(stockfish) ALLA VICENTINA, LA SOPPRESSA E I SALUMI VICENTINI, CICENZA'S CHEESE.... |
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