Friuli is one of the ‘out of the way ‘ regions of Italy and it lies in the Alpine region bordering what was once known as Yugoslavia. As everywhere in the Italy, the food is the stuff of legends and it is home of the St. Daniele prosciutto, the Montasio Cheese and for the wine lovers, the Collio Grave del Friuli. In fact, the Friuli winegrowers are amongst the best wine producers in Italy today. Trieste, a “town of many people” has a cuisine that flirts with the Austrian, Slovenian, Croatian and Hungarian to create it’s own food tradition – unique and exciting.

One of the staple foods is polenta and the myriad of dishes that have been created,  prove with no uncertainty, that it is no longer the food of the poor but an ingredient that can be transformed into meals fit for the tables of emperors. In a few words, the food of Friuli is spicy yet uncomplicated and typically superior – as is the case with any cuisine born from the traditions and cultures of nations that had the mental sophistication to accept, marry and transform their food into legend. As is the case with all the food of Italy, the food of Friuli is something exceptional – it is famous for it’s pork and many families rear their own pigs.  When the pigs are ready for slaughtering they call in a peripatetic (travelling) butcher to process the meat. The slaughter is extremely important and is done with great ceremony with the whole family waiting for the purcitar, at which time a toast is drunk and the event starts. Nothing is wasted, absolutely nothing!

Organ meat with raisins and pine nuts are turned sanguinaccio, mule or mulze (types of blood sausages) and pan de frizze dolce (a kind of sweet bread with crackling) is a favourite amongst locals.  Musetto is a boiled sausage loved by Friulians and is made with ground pork flavoured with white wine (or Masal) mixed with the rind and the snout and seasoned with cinnamon, coriander, allspice and pepper. The casings are made from beef intestines that lend the characteristic shape to the sausages, similar to the zampone of Emilia-Romagna. Here in Friuli the musetto is eaten with brovada (turnips marinated in marc and then allowed to ferment) – the two are boiled together to make a satisfying one pot meal. The more expensive cuts of meat are turned into salami, especially the typical garlic salami and often made in the town of Sauris in Carnia a northern region stuck in the Alps where people from the Tirol and South Germany arrived and lent their genius with sausage making and  bacon to the people of the region. Sauris bacon, famous throughout Italy is matured for 18 months and the local pancetta only matured for seven months.  All Sauris pork comes exclusively from Friuli because the animals are so carefully tended and fed only on acorns, fruit and whey enriched grains. Because Carnia is a cheese producing area, whey is naturally plentiful, so in the spirit of the current economic situation we chose  a simple meal this time.

SALSICCE AL VINO

Ingredients

• 4 Salsicce (pork sausages – go to your local Italian butcher and ask for something suitable)
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes and cooked until just done
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (the real stuff)
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 1 fresh bay leaf, finely chopped

Method

• Prick the salsicce a few times and begin to fry them lightly and sprinkle with the vinegar – traditionally white wine vinegar is used but we prefer the balsamic here.
• Add the potatoes and toss and season (potatoes tend to need salt)
• As soon as the vinegar has been absorbed, pour on the wine and continue frying.
• Watch the sausages and when they are ready, served with slices of grilled polenta or mashed potatoes (if you don’t have access to the polenta).

San Daniele ham is Friuli’s pride and joy and it is one of the few regions that produce a DOC ham – iow, legally defined and controlled. The ham is produced using only the local Valpadana pigs that can reach a weight of 200 kgs! Try a few slices of the ham with ripe figs, sweet melons or ripe watermelon for an easy starter to a meal.

BAKED POLENTA WITH ASPARAGUS AND DRIED TOMATOES

Ingredients

• 125 ml dried sun-dried tomatoes
• 500 boiling water
• 70 ml olive oil, for frying
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1, 5 l chicken broth
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 375 ml Italian instant polenta
• 100 ml crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 125 ml basil chiffonade
• 125 ml grated Asiago cheese
• 125 ml grated Mozzarella cheese

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 C
• Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in the boiling hot water for 30 mins, remove them and squeeze them dry.
• Roughly chop the tomatoes and set them aside.
• In a small skillet, heat the olive oil on medium heat.
• Add the garlic and fry a few minutes until just lightly golden.
• Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Oil a  large baking dish with some olive oil.
• Bring the stock to a boil in a large pot on high heat and season with the salt..
• Add the polenta into the boiling stock in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon – don’t stop stirring.
• Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add the sun-dried tomatoes, fried garlic, Gorgonzola, half the basil and the Asiago cheese.
• Put the polenta into the oiled baking dish, cover it with foil, and put it into the oven.
• After 20 minutes, sprinkle the top with grated Mozzarella cheese .
• Continue baking the polenta 15 minutes, remove and top with the asparagus and a few tomatoes for colour and

In the 17^th century the city state of Venice ruled Friuli and didn’t give a hoot about the area even though it drafted their men to serve as soldiers (friulani) in the defence of Venice against the invading Turks.  The inhabitants of Friuli were starving because their men were awasy and famine widespread, the only food at their disposal the maize that had been brought in from the Americas a few hundred years before. Maize actually originated in the Tehuacán valley about 500 BC and was highly prized by both the Aztecs and the Mayans.  Venetian merchants started importing corn a century before the Ottoman invasion but it was only when Friuli was starving that serious attention was paid to it and it started flourishing in the area. As is typical with Italians, they used the maize , known as gran turco (Turkish corn) with gusto and polenta, bread, cakes and so on started to appear on the dinner tables. Today maize is served in the most expensive restaurants and with venison, tomato sauces and even sea food. It’s is simple to make as it only requires about a tablespoon of polenta to 750 ml of lightly salted water and after having boiled briskly for 45 minutes on medium heat, a substantial meal is created. It should form a crust at the bottom that can be delicious and – the only snag is that it needs constant stirring unless one buys the instant polenta available everywhere nowadays.

Seafood in Italy is good and in the sleepy fishing port of Marano it is particularly good –  the town is still relatively unspoilt with the  Venetian styled homes guarding the past. Around the Laguna di Gardo and the fishing village of Portogruaro tiny fisherman cottages (image above) can still be seen – the straw-thatched homes a relict of the past. The lakes are beautiful, breathtakingly so and the vast expanse of water, dotted with tiny islands. The ancient Roman city of Aquileia was once a trading city and the the luxurious life style of the citizens allowed the early Christians to become established here and it soon became a Christian stronghold. Sadly, when the Huns arrived, they destroyed the city and the inhabitants fled to the islands where they survived on fish and wild birds. Water was scarce but fish provided everything they needed, from oil for cooking to fuel for their lamps. They even painted the hulls of their boats to make them watertight. It took centuries for Aquileia to recover from the devastation by the Huns and it was only in the Middle Ages that they recovered to such an extent that the city became a city of patriarchs with almost as much power as the Pope. Today many of the old values still remain and the men work on the boats and woman in the kitchen.

SCAMPI FRITTI

Ingredients

• Fried Shrimps
• Ingredients
• 24 shrimps, cleaned and gutted
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Light olive oil for frying.

Method

• Beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
• Toss the shrimps in the flour, then dip in the egg and then fry in the hot oil for a few minutes.
• If you prefer a thicker batter, toss in the flour, dip in the egg and then toss in the flour again before you fry.
• Drain on paper towels and serve hot.