Escarole, tiny meatballs, and memory: the Christmas Eve soup told by Jared, a descendant of Pietraroja who emigrated to America. Watch the video recipe. Jared shares with us a story of flavour and memory, rooted in Pietraroja and in the traditions of his family, who emigrated to the United States back in 1888. For generations, every Christmas Eve, escarole soup with meatballs has celebrated the identity of this family, keeping the memory of its Italian origins alive.
Ricotta ‘mpanata is a humble dish from rural memory: warm ricotta cheese poured over stale bread. Simplicity that tastes like home. Watch the video recipe. A simple dish with a wealth of history and flavour, ricotta ‘mpanata (ricotta cheese on bread) has all the warmth of traditional cuisine. The list of ingredients is very short, but they have to be carefully selected: freshly-prepared sheep’s ricotta cheese, warm and creamy, and stale bread, best if home-made, cut into large pieces. The recipe is very simple. Pour warm ricotta cheese onto the bread after having removed the ricotta from the whey, and wait for a few minutes so that the slices of bread soften.
Mutton chop ragout is the traditional sauce for carrati pasta. A slow preparation, symbol of Pietraroja’s family cooking. Watch the video recipe. According to tradition, the carrati pasta that is a Pietraroja speciality is seasoned using mutton chop ragout. Ragout was and still is a reference to the family. Its preparation, for which time and care are the “essentials invisible to the eye,” has the sacrality of ritual. But how are the chops prepared? First of all, the fat has to be trimmed from the meat, which is then cut into pieces and seasoned with garlic, parsley, salt and a pinch of pepper. The meat is then rolled and tied with string to preserve the chop’s shape. At this point, a traditional countryside ingredient is added, lard, used instead of olive oil to fry the chops. In the meantime, prepare the tomato sauce: fry finely chopped onion and carrots, and add home-prepared tomato purée. When the sauce is ready, add the chops and leave to cook for at least three hours…
A winter soup that tells the story of reuse cuisine. Heirloom cabbage, ham scraps, and slow cooking for a humble dish rich in flavour. Watch the video recipe. In countryside cooking, nothing was thrown away. Re-using leftovers was essential: any remaining meat, seasonal vegetables and even offcuts became ingredients for soup or omelette. Soup made using traditional cabbage and ham trimmings represents the essence of low-cost cooking, enhancing simple ingredients by means of slow, skilful preparation.
Serónta was the shepherds’ breakfast: a humble yet nourishing dish made with stale bread, bacon, onion, and eggs. A symbol of rural ingenuity and tradition. Watch the video recipe. Countryside cooking represents a perfect example of ingenuity and sustainability. Things that today are considered as “waste” were once turned into tasty, nourishing recipes. The breakfast that shepherds and farmers in Pietraroja ate before beginning a hard day’s work consisted of serónta. This simple but nourishing dish is made using just a few humble ingredients – bacon or guanciale, onion, eggs, stale bread and extra-virgin olive oil – which are combined to make a recipe full of flavour and tradition. Its name Serónta reflects its origin from “siero” or whey: when making cheese, whey used to be added instead of water. The bacon is trimmed and cut into thin slices and put into the pan. The onion is peeled and finely chopped. The onion and bacon are fried in a little olive oil, until the…
Carrati are Pietraroja’s traditional handmade pasta, shaped with a spindle. An ancient tradition that takes time and technique, best enjoyed with mutton ragout and walnuts. Watch the video recipe. Carrati, Pietraroja’s traditional pasta shapes, are made exclusively by hand. They are named carrato because the pasta is “carriata,” meaning “dragged,” on the table. In the countryside, they were seasoned with olive oil and vinegar. In the old days, they were sun-dried. Two types of flour are used to make them, durum and soft wheat flour, mixed with two eggs and a little water. After pouring the flour to form a mound, a hollow is made at the centre, where the eggs are added. A fork is used to mix the pasta, gradually adding water to create a smooth dough. No flour should remain on the table: this is the indication that the pasta is ready to be put aside to rest. The dough has to be firm, because during the time that it is left aside, about two hours, moisture is created, and this…
