The Vatican is the smallest country in the world, but also one of the most mysterious, inaccessible, and with a millenary history and culture. On a culinary level, however, we have always imagined it as a district of Rome, at least until now. A book in fact denies us: The Vatican Christmas Cookbook it is a new cookbook that opens the doors of the Vatican kitchens or, better, of the Swiss guards who live in Rome to protect the Holy See.
Against all expectations you will not find aristocratic recipes from cardinals, poor dishes of Roman cuisine or typical of the lands of origin of the Popes that have followed one another in history, but the more everyday ones of the Swiss guards: Swiss in name and in fact. Fondue of Gruyere, Emmentaler and a mixture of Swiss, Polish, French and Mediterranean cuisine. The recipes, rewritten and organized by David Geisser, emeritus cook and Swiss guard, are a mix of great classics and dishes so picturesque that we think that after all the Vatican is much further away than it seems.
We will omit the carbonara according to the Vatican, but we propose three that we found curious: the raclette pizza (yes, they are pizzas cooked in the raclette pan), the tomato fondue and the apple pan, which resembles a strudel for the ingredients , but it is a unique dough that becomes a loaf, to see it, truly divine.
Raclette pizza
Ingredients for the dough
4 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of dry yeast
2 cups of water
2 tablespoons of oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of oregano
The seasoning is to taste, everything is fine, from bacon to mushrooms
Method
Mix oregano, salt and flour in a bowl. Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Put the water and oil in the bowl of flour and knead until it is no longer sticky. Let it rest for at least an hour. When it has grown, divide the dough into balls the size of a lime, no more, and let it rest for another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the ingredients for the topping into small pieces and arrange them on the table each in its own bowl. Oil the raclette pans and flatten a ball of dough inside, season it to your taste and cook it in the raclette until the cheese turns golden brown. Eat immediately and prepare another one.
Tomato fondue
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of butter
1 crushed clove of garlic
1 finely chopped sweet onion
3 peeled tomatoes
1 cup of white wine
4 cups of grated Gruyere cheese
2 ½ cups of grated Emmentaler
4 teaspoons of cornstarch
1 glass of sherry
Nutmeg, pepper, marjoram, oregano
Method
Sauté garlic and onion in butter over low heat. Add the white wine. Add the cheese and bring to a simmer over a very low heat, stirring constantly. Add the corn starch and dilute it vigorously, then add the sherry little by little. Season with herbs and spices. Cut the tomatoes into cubes, add them to the fondue, mix lightly and serve immediately.
Apple loaf
Ingredients
1.5 kg of apples
210 g of figs
210 g of dried plums
100 g of dried apricots
100 g of dates
60 g of plum liqueur
2 cups of chopped hazelnuts
210 g of sugar
6 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of baking powder for cakes
5 tablespoons of cinnamon
2 ½ tablespoons of gingerbread spice
1 ½ tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 level tablespoon of salt
Method
Grate the apples, cored, with the peel, taking care to save as much juice as possible.
Divide the figs, plums, apricots and dates in half and mix them together with the apple with the plum liqueur. Leave to rest for at least 2 hours. Then add all the other ingredients and mix well. Form two loaves and bake them at 180 degrees for 50/55 minutes.
Serve in warm slices with melted butter on top.
Text by Jacopo Giavara, Margo Schachter
