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.
Ingredients:
- 6 1/2 pounds (3 k) fresh white turnips
- 3 quarts red wine marks, or 3 quarts red wine vinegar
Preparation:
The above will fill a two-quart jar.
Trim away the leaves of the turnips and peel them, then macerate them in the vinegar for 20 days, in a lead-free ceramic bowl. De Agostini doesn't suggest it, but I would put a plate that's smaller than the mouth of the bowl over the turnips to keep them submerged. Once 20 days are past you're ready to use them. How?
Tradition dictates they be served, thinly sliced, with 1/2-inch thick slices of cotechino (a gelatinous sausage similar to a zampone, which you will find in Italian delicatessens). The cotechino you simply boil per the instructions on the package.
To prepare the brovada for four people, slice a pound of pickled turnips thinly and sauté them for a half hour, covered, over a low flame with a clove of garlic in 1/8 cup each olive oil and lard. Should they begin to dry out add a tablespoon or two of water, and when they're done season them with salt and pepper before serving them with the cotechino.
Another option? Jota, a hearty bean soup that those living in Cormons also put brovada into.
Trim away the leaves of the turnips and peel them, then macerate them in the vinegar for 20 days, in a lead-free ceramic bowl. De Agostini doesn't suggest it, but I would put a plate that's smaller than the mouth of the bowl over the turnips to keep them submerged. Once 20 days are past you're ready to use them. How?
Tradition dictates they be served, thinly sliced, with 1/2-inch thick slices of cotechino (a gelatinous sausage similar to a zampone, which you will find in Italian delicatessens). The cotechino you simply boil per the instructions on the package.
To prepare the brovada for four people, slice a pound of pickled turnips thinly and sauté them for a half hour, covered, over a low flame with a clove of garlic in 1/8 cup each olive oil and lard. Should they begin to dry out add a tablespoon or two of water, and when they're done season them with salt and pepper before serving them with the cotechino.
Another option? Jota, a hearty bean soup that those living in Cormons also put brovada into.
