The antipasti as grandma made them
Do you think by chance that the classic Lombard appetizer is limited to a few slices of ham and salami, two acetles, nerves and a Russian salad? Here, you are very wrong!
Even for those who are not omnivorous, the kitchen of the fog offers typical appetizers and traditional vegetarian dishes suitable for those who do not eat meat. Here are some!
The pipetto or nuset del cremasco
Also known as pipeto, with a single "t", it is a typical dish of the Cremona and Cremasco countryside, prepared in late autumn, left to simmer for hours on the side of the stove.
Among the basic ingredients of the tradition, in addition to cabbage, some cookbooks also indicate butter (in extreme cases even lard!), Ingredients that are replaced by extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients for 6 people
> 1 kg of cabbage;
> 1 clove of garlic;
> 300 g of grated parmesan;
> 1 egg;
> extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Preparation
Blanch the cabbage cut into strips in salted water for about a quarter of an hour, drain and squeeze; mix them with the egg, salt, pepper and parmesan and put to rest for 2-3 hours.
Fry the poached garlic in a pan with three tablespoons of oil, without it turning golden; remove it and add the cabbage mixture; cook until golden brown, serve hot.
Another variation involves the use of spices such as cinnamon and powdered cloves, to be blown together with the fried garlic. And only at the end the beaten egg with the grain is incorporated with a hot plate.
Michette with quartirolo, pepper and walnuts
The Milanese michette or the classic miccone - protagonist of so many snacks of Pavia, little streets and Oltrepò - are the classic types of northern bread.
Their taste and tradition are well known, accompanied by simple cooked ham, but its versatility is equally appreciated with other typical local vegetarian products, such as quartirolo.
Just crumble some of this low-fat cheese on the slices of the fresh miccone or in the middle of a rosette, sprinkle it with good oil, pepper and a handful of walnut kernels.
Tarozzi or Taroz con Casera
Here you go down directly from the Valtellina, bringing a poor dish of peasant tradition : the one you have in the garden and some good cheese.
Here is the slightly revisited recipe .
Ingredients for 4 people:
> 200 g of Casera PDO cheese;
> 4 or 5 large potatoes;
> a handful of green beans;
> 100 g about borlotti type boiled beans;
> 1 onion;
> extra virgin olive oil;
> salt, black pepper.
Preparation
Cook the beans with peeled and chopped potatoes for about 20 minutes, drain and coarsely mash the vegetables with a fork.
Fry the onion in a little oil, then add the vegetables, including the boiled beans, cook everything for five minutes over a low heat. Finish with the chopped cheese, salt, freshly ground black pepper, serving as a tasty boiling winter appetizer.
Polenta medallions with nails
Combining two special dishes, mushrooms and polenta, in a starter is a winning move. B
will prepare as usual the favorite yellow polenta, instant or not, spread it for a centimeter of height on lightly greased baking paper and obtain round medallions with a pasta bowl.
For mushrooms, the hardest thing is to find the nails: they can also be replaced with the mushrooms, but the traditional recipe loses a little. Tacks are the classic small Lombard mushroom of the mists, which grow between weeds, under the stumps along the banks of the ditches.
After having cleaned them, boil them for a few minutes and then sauté for a few minutes in a fried garlic, onion, some tomatoes, salt, pepper and, if possible, some basil leaves.
Useful sites and books to get ideas on Lombard recipes:
> Lombardiafood.it;
> Italian Gourmet Club Lorenzo Vinci; Mondodelgusto.it;
> "La cucina delle nebbie", by Roberta Schira.
