When the poor cooking was even poorer: from polenta with Venetian herring to pasta with Sicilian sardines, all the jewels of the "skinny" kitchen.
After the last glories of the Carnival, for some days now we have been immersed in the Lent. Time of renunciation and penance, according to the precepts of religion Christian Catholic, especially the Friday, day of abstinence from meat consumption. That is what has always been considered as food luxurious for excellence. But the precept, today, must be extended to all the fat and "rich" foods par excellence. It is difficult to think of doing penance by eating caviar and lobster. The same Episcopal Conference remarked in 1994, which invited the faithful to moderate themselves in the expenses in food goods, in the smoke and in the alcohol, in the expenses destined to the popular festivities (and above all to the religious ones), in the frenetic work that does not leave time to reflect and pray, in the excessive consumption of television and other means of communication that can create dependency and hinder or even prevent personal reflection and dialogue in the family.
Curious battles
Provisions on which, at one time, there was no joking. During the reign of Charlemagne the transgression was punished with the death penalty, and often the sale of meat on Friday was even forbidden. Throughout Christianity, the Lenten period inspired the "skinny cuisine", which included poor vegetables and fish. It was already spoken of in the thirteenth century in a curious French poem, La bataille de Caresme et de Charnage (The battle of Lent and Carnival), surreal battle over the clash between the armies of fish and those of meat. A singular parody, perhaps of the luxury of the "lords", or perhaps of the knightly honor code of the time. In which the personification of Lent rides a "mulet" (mullet, but also mule), against the Carnival riding a big wild deer with powerful horns. The army of the cavalier Quaresima is formed by hake, flounder, mackerel and eel, which clash with roasted capons, beef and pork sausages. Curiously, vegetables serve on both sides, depending on how they are seasoned: raw peas or oil on one side, peas with lard on the other. A nice comparison, immortalized even in 1559 by the Dutch painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder, in its Fight between Carnival and Lent. Carnival is a stocky man with a large belly, sitting astride a barrel and goes to battle with a spit on which stands a pig's head. In front of him, Lent, gaunt, dressed in a poor habit. It has a hive on its head, reminiscent of the honey of fasting days, and wields a long shovel that holds two herrings.
A sad Wednesday (but not too much)
But, separate representations, what are the "lean" foods of the Italian gastronomic tradition? stand out bread, polenta, soups or vegetable soups, tortelli stuffed with herbs, fresh or preserved fish. The humble was the true "companion" of the poor people herring: dry and dry, but strong in flavor and inexpensive. A particularly strong custom a Motta di Livenza (Treviso): the town, in 1499, was attacked by the Turks coming from the Balkan peninsula. Who hoped to have an easy life, given that the population was distracted by the revelry of the Carnival. However the inhabitants noticed the danger and the attack was rejected: but the next day, implacable, comes the Ash Wednesday and i festivity for the victory they had to be celebrated … with blows of polenta and herring. And the "mercore grot"(Sad Wednesday), today the occasion for an unmissable" sagra dea renga "(herring festival). In Treviso the dried or salted herring came from the North Sea via Venice, then spreading inland. The poorest families hung it with a string on a kitchen beam and contented themselves with seasoning a slice of polenta by rubbing it repeatedly on the fish. The "polenta and renga"Veneto is getting ready dissalando herring, putting it on embers and then removing the head and the bones. Put the fillets on a plate, and cover with oil, garlic and bay leaves: this way, herring can be kept for several weeks, as well as used to dress polenta. Alternatively, herring can also be boiled for a minute and sautéed in a pan before being put in oil. Not only: the poor "renga" is also excellent with bigoli, so much that it could appear "sinful" …
Capuchin cod
Remaining in the North-East, another famous symbol of Lent is the famous one bacalà alla vicentina (actually based on stockfish). While, in Friuli, to dominate is the capuchin cod, this is based on cod. Which, once soaked, is cut into pieces, floured and placed in a pan. Where will be seasoned with a fried onion and then bay leaves, pilchards, pine nuts, raisins, lemon peel, salt and pepper, over – sometimes – with sugar and cinnamon. And above all, by no means sinful cocoa grated bitter: one of the few cases in which, in our kitchen, this ingredient is used in savory dishes. The cod, in this way, is cooked over a low heat, with the occasional addition of vegetable broth and wine; finally sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake until it forms a light golden crust. He is also usually served with polenta.
The thin cappon
Typical of the Liguria is instead the Cappon Magro, complex and far from poor recipe: starting from a base of toasted bread (or better, the traditional sailor's biscuits) flavored with oil and vinegar, layers of vegetables and various types of fish (sea bass, sea bream, hake) overlap each other , croaker, capon fish, snapper, red bream, capon, scorpion fish, gurnard …), interspersed with layers of green sauce prepared with capers, pine nuts, anchovies, garlic, eggs, parsley, breadcrumbs, green olives and extra virgin olive oil. The Ligurian Lenten recipes also include the cod with potatoes and it stockfish in zimino, cooked with chard. Throughout Italy the appeal to the stockfish and cod, during Lent, it becomes more frequent. In Piedmont, instead, the typical Lenten dish is made up of great thin lasagna, in which instead of the ragu, a rustic sauce based on butter, oil, anchovies, parmesan and pepper appears.
Moderate sweets
A typical "lean" recipe Florentine consists of the rosemary bread, dessert prepared with flour, oil, rosemary, raisins and zibibbo. While in Rome to dominate is the maritozzo. Among the desserts, both in Liguria and in Tuscany are then widespread Lenten. Those Ligurianin particular, it seems to have been invented in a convent in Genoa by a group of nuns who wanted to encourage respect for abstinence from fat. They are made with almond paste, sugar, orange blossom water, egg white, flour, fennel seeds, packaged in the shape of small donuts and garnished with maraschino-flavored sugar, pistachio, lemon or coffee. The Lenten Tuscan instead, they are simpler, egg biscuits with sugar and cocoa powder in the shape of letters of the alphabet.
Heirs of the garum
In Naples, among the dishes of Lent we find the scamaro omelette, that is a condiment made from capers, pine nuts, anchovies and black olives, also used to season pasta. But equally widespread in the Center-South is the pasta with anchovy sauce, so similar – along with some Ligurian sauces and to the pilchard Calabrese – to that garum of which they were greedy i Romans. The step that separates it from the pasta with Sicilian sardines, after all, it is very short.
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