A passion, that for food, which Iva feels she has in her DNA almost as much as music: «I can't say I'm a great cook. My grandmother was, maybe I took a little from her. I do a few dishes, but the ones I do are very good. Am I presumptuous? Also (laughs, ed) . A love manifested already at a very tender age: «After having eaten I always started to cry. My mom was desperate, she wanted to call the doctor. Then a great-aunt said: This little girl is hungry. He made me pancotto. Do you know what is it?". I answer her vaguely, hoping that this too is a typical dish of Ligonchio (answer: no, it is made a bit everywhere): "I ate it, I fell asleep and I haven't cried anymore. From there we understood everything .
Would you return to the Festival? She is the woman who has won the most, three. "This year I really try, you are the first to whom I tell". The return of Zanicchi after the Måneskin victory, everything seems right: «Those guys are an Italian miracle, I'm very happy for them. Would you invite them to dinner? “Sure, I'd make him fries with a nice Milanese. With the handle, the real one. They are young, better than the hamburgers they eat in America . Or, why not, at this point even a nice pattona. From Los Angeles to Vaglie is an instant.
Pattona of the Emilian Apennines
«Mix the flour with a whisk, combining sparkling water (approx. 130-140 g) and a pinch of salt until you get a rather fluid batter. Prepare a mixture of lard, a sprig of rosemary and a little garlic, melt it in a pan (ø 22-24 cm), then strain it into a bowl. Pour a ladle of batter into the greased and hot pan and cook a thin crepe on both sides: it is the "solada" or "insole". Mash the hot potatoes, mix them with the egg, salt, nutmeg and the filtered beaten mixture; mix the cheeses: you will have to obtain a rather compact puree. Spread it on the crepe forming a 4‐5 cm layer, no lower. Serve the pattona, decorated as you like, like an omelette on a serving plate or cutting board, in large wedges or squares, for an aperitif. You eat with your hands ".
Ingredients for 4-6 people
500 g boiled potatoes
75 g flour 00
70 g grated parmesan
60 g lard
20 g grated pecorino
1 egg
sparkling water
garlic – rosemary – salt – nutmeg
Text by Filippo Ferrari
Photo by Giacomo Bretzel.