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Vegetables and Sides From Friuli Venezia Giulia
Friuli Venezia Giulia boast a number of ingredients people don't commonly associate with Italy -- Sauerkraut, for example. Then again, the region was part of Austria-Hungary for centuries, and had very close ties with neighboring Slovenia. So it's not that surprising.
Beans with Pancetta and Radicchio -- Fagioli con Pancetta e Radicchio
And here's a recipe from Friuli that has a little pork -- we're told pork is considerably less risky than beef -- Fagioli e Radicchio, Beans with Radicchio. It's a winter dish, and you do have to like pork:
Brovada: Friuli Venezia Giulia's Pickled Turnips
Bernarr writes, "I have a question for you. Do you have a good recipe for brovada? I had some when I visited Venzone last year and I really liked it." Brovada is pickled turnips, a specialty of Friuli, and ideally include wine marks, the grape skins and other solid matter that remain in the bottom of the tank when the newly fermented wine is racked off. Since they're not easy to find, you can use vinegar, with results that aren't quite the same but are in any case acceptable.
Cabbage Salad, Cappuccio in Insalata
This simple cabbage salad from Friuli Venezia Giulia will be equally tasty with red or green cabbage, though I might choose green because it will contrast with the red of the pancetta.
Cooked Sauerkraut -- Capuzi Garbi
Cooked Sauerkraut, or Capuzi Garbi: Though you may associate pickled cabbage with Germany, it's also common in a great swath that extends across Friuli and down into the Balkans. Here's a classic way of cooking them, from Cesare Fonda.
Crauti, or Cappucci Acidi - Sauerkraut
Though one may associate pickled cabbage with Germany, it's also quite popular in the Alto Adige (which is ethnically Germanic), and common in a great swath that extends across Friuli Venezia Giulia and down into the Balkans. While one can buy perfectly good commercially prepared sauerkraut, with time and patience one can also make it at home.
Green Bean Salad: Fagiolini in Insalata
A quick, refreshing summer string bean salad from Friuli Venezia Giulia. Good for a picnic too!
Potatoes with Sour Cream -- Patate con la Panna Acida
Potatoes with Sour Cream, or Patate con la Panna Acida: Sour cream is quite rare in most of Italy -- it's not always available in Florentine grocery stores, for example -- but one does find it in Friuli Venezia Giulia, which was long under Austrian rule and has absorbed many Mitteleuropean influences.
Stuffed Cabbage Leaves: Rambascìci
Though one might expect richer fare for Christmas Day, these stuffed cabbage leaves were one of the standard dishes among the Italians living in Dalmatia, perhaps because they were introduced by those who fought the Turks in the mountains.