It has never happened to you that you need a steaming plate of pizzoccheri, fragrant and stringy, and then they suggested to season them with a teaspoon of a chopped scented garlic and black pepper, to add that extra quid to your superb dish? Do you know what it is? Of the pesteda, a mixture of spices, garlic and aromatic herbs, finely chopped, to give more flavor to pizzoccheri, but not only. The pesteda fact goes well with white and red meat, with young cheeses and gives an intriguing touch to fish fillets such as sea bass and sea bream.
Pizzoccheri: mistakes not to be made
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Browse the galleryThe ingredients of the pesteda
Apparently the pesteda seems only a mixture of salt and pepper, but as soon as you approach the nose, a scent of garlic pervades you, leaving you no more. At that point it will be impossible for you to taste any plate of pizzoccheri without being able to sprinkle over this fragrant preparation. Then asking the chefs, you will find that in the pesteda, in addition to salt and black pepper, are chopped Juniper berries, thyme leaves is dwarf achillea.
Yarrow dwarf, a plant that loves the peaks
It grows only in the regions of northern Italy above 1400 meters and up to 3800: the Adwarf chillea it is a perennial seedling that loves the heights and the cold temperatures. Made of small white flowers and lanceolate leaves, it emerges from stony soils, mostly with silica. It has always been considered a medicinal plant: leaves and flowers have diuretic and anti-hemorrhoidal properties. Almost all the Achilles are then used for the preparation of aperitifs and herbal liqueurs.
The recipe for pesteda
Take 120 g of coarse salt, 120 g of black pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, 25 juniper berries, 20 g of yarrow dwarf and 20 g of thyme. Finely chop the pepper and salt in a mortar, apart from the garlic and then add the yarrow, the thyme and the chopped juniper berries. Mix everything together. Let the pesteda rest in a hermetically sealed glass jar for a week before using it. Thus preserved, it remains for up to six months. The pesteda must always remain moist: if it should become dry, moisten it with a few drops of grappa or red wine.
In the tutorial some more information on aromatic herbs that are used for pesteda
