OLD WORLD COOKERY

Lots of strange recipes were brought to the new world by our ancestors. Many of them are still around today and are beginning to be served in restaurants across the country.

I don’t know much about recipes of other families, but the strangest one in our family brought from "Le Marche" region of Italy has to be “Putachio”, “Putach” for short. I’ve never seen it on a menu in any restaurant that I’ve ever been in nor have I ever met anyone other than family that has ever heard of it. However, immigrants from the same area also know of this dish.

This recipe originally was always made with lot of wild game, but nowadays, many of us just use store bought meats. It also has lots of onion, garlic, white vinegar, rosemary, allspice and potatoes. Sometimes, I also add carrots and gnocchi. Below is a picture of what I made recently using chicken.

Another tasty dish that I do see now in restaurants is Polenta. This is a sort of cornmeal mush dish which can be served with just about any topping you can think of…..meat, tomato sauce, pesto sauce, shrimp, cheese…..use the imagination!

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Lonza is a food from the old country we always enjoyed. Never have I seen this in a restaurant or grocery store. This is a cured pork loin. In my opinion it’s a pain to make, but a joy to eat. To make this, you use a 7 or 8 lb pork loin, cover it with salt and let it stand for 24 hours. Wash off the salt with vinegar and hang to dry. When it’s dry, beat it with a rolling pin or baseball bat or any large club to flatten and then add pepper, garlic, nutmeg, and allspice rubbing it in well. Next, roll the meat into a round shape like a bologna roll and wrap in cheesecloth. Tie tightly with heavy string. Hang in a cool dry place for 40 to 50 days to cure.

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Sounds easy enough, but don’t try this at home unless you really like a lot of work!!!

This last one is something we usually ate around Christmas time. I never thought to ask why, we just took it for granted that was the time to eat it.

Lupini beans are considered to be native to Italy. However, their popularity is growing in other parts of the world due to their unusual taste as well as their nutritious and health-beneficial qualities. These beans are high in protein and fiber content among other things.

Lupini cannot be eaten until they are soaked, salted and rinsed daily for 14 days. If this specific procedure is not followed, there is no way to eat these beans because they will be way too bitter.

After the procedure is followed, on the 15th day, they should be ready for testing. If not bitter, then pop them out of the skins and enjoy! Lupini also go well with olive oil, garlic, and parsley. Italians serve them with olives at Christmas. The beans are good for hot and cold salads.

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These are just a few of the unusual recipes brought from the "old country". Hope you enjoyed reading about some of them. Stay tuned, there may be more coming!

Remember,

Stay on the sunnieside!

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Photo # 2 Property of the author