Friuli Venezia Giulia, the far northeastern corner of Italy, has many recipes one simply doesn't find elsewhere in Italy. Things with sauerkraut, for example. Or savory strudels. Unusual and tasty!
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.
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.
Friuli Venezia Giulia is in many ways distinct from the rest of Italy: tomato is much less popular, and one encounters cinnamon and other spices that are perhaps more common in Mittel-European cooking. The region was, after all, long an Austro-Hungarian province.
A quick, refreshing summer string bean salad from Friuli Venezia Giulia. Good for a picnic too!
Dalmatian Christmas Ring Cookies, or Buzzolai Negri de Nadàl: Buzzolai are ring-shaped cookies, and were an essential part of every festivity in Dalmatia, in part because their round shape brings coins to mind, and in part because they're quite tasty. Every family had a recipe for them, and they vary greatly. Here's a more elaborate recipe for Christmas Day.
Buzzolai Bianchi, or Dalmatian Ring Cookies: Buzzolai are ring-shaped cookies, and were an essential part of every festivity in Dalmatia, in part because their round shape brings coins to mind, and in part because they're quite tasty. Every family had a recipe for them, and they vary greatly. Here's a simple recipe for Christmas Eve.
Anise-Laced Christmas Cookies, or Imbragioni: These cookies from the Isle of Veglia, in Dalmatia, and were traditionally dipped in either Vinsanto, Prosecco, or Marsala.
Frico with Potatoes, or Frico con le Patate: Frico is a cheese fritter made by heating grated Montasio cheese in a skillet until it crisps with other ingredients, in this case potatoes. I had it in a little place up a hill on the way from Cividale to Udine; they had Refosco (a red wine) by the jug, and the combination worked quite well, with some polenta on the side.
Frico with Onions, or Frico con le Cipolle: Frico is a specialty of Friuli Venezia Giulia, grated Montasio cheese (similar to Parmigiano but sharper and more crumbly) heated with other ingredients (often potatoes) until it melts together and becomes crusty. In this case, Montasio works wonders with onions.
Fruit strudel, filled with apricots or cherries.
Strudel filled with walnuts, and glazed with chocolate. Tasty!
A classic from Friuli Venezia Giulia.
An unusual squash strudel (for want of a better name) from Friuli Venezia Giulia.
The potatoes are in the dough; the filling is loaded with apples, nutmeats and other goodies.
Dalmatian-Style Roast Turkey, or Dindio: "Turkey was never absent from our winter holiday meals," says Gioia Colussi in Sapori de Dalmazia, and goes on to say that they usually prepared the hen rather than the male (until recently Italian male turkeys had much less breast meat than the females), and that the bird should weigh about 2 kilos, which is about 5 pounds. In other words, one could do this quite well with a good chicken...
An extraordinarily rich baked polenta, a perfect centerpiece for a festive meal.
A quick, refreshing summer string bean salad from Friuli Venezia Giulia. Good for a picnic too!
his meatless soup was the traditional beginning of Vigil meals, especially Christmas Eve, when the chill of the Bora (a strong wind from the east) gives cabbage added bite, among the Italians who lived in Dalmatia prior to Tito's ethnic cleansing of the region during the Second World War. It calls for fish broth, which the cook would have had on hand because boiled fish is one of the standard second courses of a Vigil meal.
Friulian Minestrone with Barley, or Minestrone alla Friulana con Orzo: Barley is very common in Friuli, and contributes nicely to this decidedly wintry soup, which will warm your heart and your kitchen. It builds on a basic minestrone that you can make the day before, if need be.
Barely and Nettles Soup, or Sòpe di Uàrdi e Urtìes: Nettles, as you will know if you have ever put your hand upon one, are urticants, in other words they cause a painful stinging sensation when touched -- their attempt to avoid being eaten by grazing animals. However, if you wear gloves to avoid the stinging and blanch the nettles when you get home, they're very tender and are delicately flavored.
Barely Minestrone, or Minestrone d'Orzo: This is a very simple, frugal soup from Friuli Venezia Giulia; day in and day out in poorer homes it would have been made merely with milk and water, while the addition of the lard would have been limited to more special occasions.
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.
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:
Barley and Bean Soup, Minestra di Orzo e Fagioli: A simple soup from Trieste.
Brovada, pickled turnips, are a specialty of Friuli Venzia Giulia, and though one more commonly finds saeurkraut in this soup (pronounced Yota; see here for the original version), around Cormons they use brovada instead.
Rich Jota, or Jota Ricca: Though one might not associate sauerkraut with Italy, it's common in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and is central to one of Trieste's signature soups, Jota (pronounced yota.) The original version of the soup was extremely frugal, but as prosperity has increased in the region people have enriched it, and this is a tasty modern version.
Basic Jota, or Jota di Base: Though one might not associate sauerkraut with Italy, it's common in Friuli, and is central to Jota (pronounced Yota), a simple, hearty soup from Trieste.
A thick barley and nettle soup that will also work well with other greens.
Yellow Squash Gubana, or Gubana alla Zucca Gialla: A gubana is a very traditional pastry from Friuli Venezia Giulia that somewhat resembles a strudel, and though they generally come with a minced apple filling and enough grappa to tipple a teetotaler, there are other variations on the theme. This one features Italian yellow squash, which is quite similar to butternut squash. You'll need:
Potato Strudel, or Struculo di Patate: The potatoes are in the dough, not the filling -- a strucolo is a Friulian strudel, and in many cases the dough includes ingredients other than flour. The cooking methods are also variable, and in this case the strudel, which is filled with apples, nuts, and other good things, is boiled rather than baked. The recipe is from the city of Gorizia.
Chocolate Strudel, or Strucolo al Cioccolato: A strucolo is a Friulian strudel; in some cases they're wrapped in cloth and boiled, but here it's baked.
Apricot or Cherry Strudel, Strucolo di Albicocche o Ciliege: A strucolo is a Friulian strudel; in some cases they're wrapped in cloth and boiled, but here it's baked. There are a great many fruit-based strudels (the classic Viennese Apple Strudel comes to mind), and you could use other fruit here instead of the two I've selected; simply keep the proportions constant and things will work.
Strucolo dei Capuccini: A strucolo is a Friulian strudel; in some cases they're wrapped in cloth and boiled, but here it's baked. The recipe will serve 6. You'll need:
Finally, here's a recipe for a variation on what is known in some areas as shrimp scampi -- a term unknown in Italy, since scampi is the Italian word for jumbo shrimp of the kind that have claws and resemble small lobsters, and calling something "jumbo shrimp shrimp" doesn't make much sense. And also for Scampi alla Busara, a recipe from Friuli Venezia Giulia that's done on top of the stove; you can uses scampi or any other moderately sized crustacean. For 6 you'll need:
Bigoli with Salted Sardines -- Bigoli co le Sardele Salae: This was one of the standard Friday and Vigil day dishes in Dalmatia, and a requirement for Christmas Eve.
String Bean Salad, or Fagiolini in Insalata: This is a refreshingly cool summer dish from Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Stuffed Cabbage Leaves, Rambascìci: This dish brings to mind the stuffed grape leaves of Near-Eastern tradition, and indeed Gioia Calussi says it was introduced to Dalmatia by the Arambaš, the leaders of the Adjuki, the mountain tribes who warred against the Turks. She also says that the dish was a fixture of the winter holidays, and especially Christmas: Nadal senza rambasici xe un leto matrimonial senza marìo; Christmas without rambasici is like a wedding bed without a husband.
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.
A Dalmatian meatless cabbage soup that was prepared for all the days of Vigil when meat was to be avoided, and especially Christmas Eve, when the chill of the Bora (a strong wind from the east) gives the cabbage added bite. You will need the broth from boiling a fish.
Strucolo Istriano -- -- Strucolo from Istria
Potato and Spinach Strucolo, or Strucolo di Patate e Spinaci: A strucolo is a Friulian strudel, which is wrapped in cloth and boiled rather than baked. They're often made with doughs that contain other ingredients in addition to flour. This recipe, which would be served as a first course (or could be a light lunch with a tossed salad), will be a tasty alternative to ravioli.
Potato and Meat Strudel, or Strucolo di Patate e Carne: A strucolo is a Friulian strudel, which is wrapped in cloth and boiled rather than baked. They're often made with doughs that contain other ingredients in addition to flour. This recipe, which would be served as a first course (or could be a light lunch with a tossed salad), is an ideal solution to leftover meats, say from a platter of roasted meat cooked up for Sunday dinner.
Carso Strudel, or Strucolo Carsolino: A strucolo from the inland karst high plains of Friuli; it's an interesting sweet dish that will provide an unusual beginning to a meal, and will be nice with a sweeter wine, for example a passito. The practice of boiling rather than baking a strudel is quite common in the area, and I expect, given the cinnamon and sugar involved here, that the recipe is quite old.
This savory strudel will be a tasty first course.
This savory strudel is boiled, rather than baked, and will be a tasty first course.
This savory strudel is boiled, rather than baked, and will be a tasty first course.
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.
Mostarda, fruit in syrup that gains a healthy zing from mustard seed, is common throughout northern Italy, and likely goes a long way back. This particular recipe is Dalmatian, and will work quite well as a gift.
Onion Sauce, or Salsa di Cipolle: This is from Trentino Alto Adige, and will perk up boiled meats or starchy vegetables along the lines of potatoes.
Strudel di Radicchio Rosso -- -- Red Radicchio Strudel
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.
Venison Ribs, or Costolette di Cervo: Agnello scottadito is lamb chops grilled over the coals, and is a great delicacy. This version, made with venison chops, is from Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
Venison Goulash, Goulasch di Cervo: Though people generally associate goulash with Hungary, it's also popular in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy's northeasternmost region, which was an Austrian province until the end of the First World War.
Roast Roe Buck, or Capriolo al Forno: Classic mountain cooking from Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Roe Buck Salmì Friulana Style, or Salmì di Capriolo alla Friulana: Cottura in salmì, cooking in salmì, is a traditional technique for marinating game, especially furred game, so as to complement and balance the gaminess wild meats can display. It's analogous to the Piemontese (and French) cottura in civet, and is quite different from the French Salmis technique, which calls for partially roasting feathered game, and then boning the meat and cooking it in a sauce.
