“TRADITION IS SERVED”

SHORT HISTORY OF TERNI

FOOD TRADITIONS IN 1900TEACHERS AND CLASSES

• Sandra Passarella• Maria Cristina Stefanini

• 1°C / 2°C

Truffle croûtouns

This i san ideal hours - d’oeuvre for a formal dinner. You need good

quality black truffles cleaned carefully with a small brush, washed and

then grated fine. In a small pan slightly heat 3 o 4 tablespoons of oil and

1 clove of garlic. Out of the flame add the truffles, mix well then put the

pan back on a very low flame for just 1 minute. Take care not to let the

oil fry or else the truffles will lose their genuine aroma. Finally add 1

boned and mashed anchovy and the juice of ½ lemon. Spread this

mixture on lightly toasted slices of bread.

TRUFFLE OMELETTE

You had better prepare this omelette when you have a fresh truffle of good quality, so you will obtain a particularly delicious dish. For 6 persons you need 150 gms. of black truffles, cleaned well with a small brush, washed and sliced finely. Heat them lightly in a pan with a knob of butter. Beat 6 eggs, add the truffles and some salt, then go on as usual for omelette. In order not to spoil the aroma of the truffle, do not overcook the omelette which should take on a pale gold colour but prove soft inside.

Pie under fireThis is an ancient recipe, once widely spread out among peasants, who used to cook this pie over burning asked to avoid any direct contact with the charcoal that could burn it. Nowadays of course, it is baked in the oven, however it keeps a genuine taste. The authentic ingredients were only maize flour, salt and water. Nowadays it is enriched with eggs, cheese, oil. This is the recipe: sprinkle 200 gms. Of maize flour and the necessary’ salt into 1 litre of boiling water. Stir continuously and allow it to cook for about 30 minutes. Out for the flame add 50 gms. Of grated parmesan cheese ( or else half parmesan and half “pecorino”), ½ glass of oil and 4 eggs. Finally add a sprinkling of pepper. Grease a baking-pan generously and place the maize mixture in it. Bake a hot oven for about 20 minutes.

RIBBON-SHAPED PASTA, SPOLETO STYLE

The characteristic of this home-made noodles consist in being made without eggs. For 6 persons mix together 600 gms. of flour and enough water to obtain a solid dough. Roll out a thin sheet of dough and cut it into strips 1 cm. large. Leave the noodles to dry for some hours. Lightly fry 2 cloves of garlic in ½ glass of oil, as soon as the garlic takes on a gold colour, remove it and add about 1 kilo of ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into pieces, abundant basil, salt and pepper. Leave the sauce to cook for about 30 minutes. Boil the noodles in abundant salted water until chewy but not soft (this is one of the secrets that can ensure the good result of the dish). Season immediately and serve with grated parmesan cheese.

RICE AND LENTILS SOUP

For 6 persons clean 250 gms of lentils carefully.If you use the famous lentils of Castelluccio,which are small and tasty,you needn't let them soak.Boil the lentils in abundant cold water flavoured with 1 stick of celery.The cooking time is about 30 minutes.In the meanwhile lightly sauté some chopped lard,1 clove of garlic,1 sprig of chopped parsley 3 or 4 ripe tomatoes,peeled and without seeds.When done,add the drained lentils and 1 litre and a half of hot broth.As soon as the broth begins to boil,check the salt and add 250 gms: of rice.Mix now and then until the cooking time is over.

Chickenpeas Soup For 6 persons leave 300 gms of chickpeas to soak in water overnight.If you prefer to buy already soaked chickpeas, calculate a slightly bigger quantity.Fry chopped lard , 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil 2 cloves of garlic and 1 stalk of rosemary in a fairly wide pan.Add the chickpeas, 150 gms of ripe tomatoes, peeled and cleared of the seeds, salt, pepper and cover with water.Leave the cook and, if necessary, add some more water.Just before adding the pasta, check if there is enough water, then put 300 gms of home-made pasta into.Serve as soon as ready adding a drop of oil and a sprinkling of pepper.

STOCKFISH FRITTERS

This is an old,typical food of popular inns,generally eaten in abundant quantity drinking a good glassful of wine.For 6 persons buy 1 kilo of already soaked stockfish,skinned and cut into small pieces.Prepare a batter with 1 egg,3 tablespoons of flour,1 pinch of bicarbonate of soda,salt and enough water or milk to get a batter of the right consistency.Dip a piece of stockfish at a time into the batter so as to cover it completely,then fry it in abundant boiling oil.Sprinklr the fritters over with salt and eat piping hot.

Umbria Rost Pork

t is a must to speak of the roast pork prepared in Umbria (even if it is not a dish you can prepare at home) in order to show the difference between this preparation, the one made in Sardegna, where they cook a sucking pig, and the one made in Roma, where on the contrary it is cooked a big-sized pig.In Umbria this dish is prepared using a mountain wild pig weighing about 50 kilos and fed only on acorns.On festive occasions peasants cut the pig’s abdomen lengthwise, then hung the pig so as to let its blood drop, which takes a whole night at least. Then they remove the entrails that are first washed, cut in to pieces and half cooked (with abundant fennel, cloves of garlic, pepper and salt) and then used to fill the pig. After sewing the pig, they cook it for 3 to for hours in a hot oven with a wood fire. When the cooking time is over, the fire must be enriched with small pieces of wood so that the skin of the pig becomes olden and crackling.

Jugged wood pigeon

March and october are the right months for hunting pigeons in Umbria.This game fed chiefly on acorns and berries has a particular taste and is the most appreciatedby hunters of Umbria.This is not a traditional stew but a recipe easy to prepare with good results.After cleaning and washing the pigeons,cut them into pieces(calculate 1 pigeon for 2 persons),fry them in ½ glass of oil with chopped onion,carleaves,1 stalk of thyme,2 cloves,1/2 glass of wine and ½ of vinegar,salt and pepper.Leave to cook on a low flame for about 1 hour.Strain the gravy,then mix it with 1 chopped anchovy,1 crushedd clove of garlic and 1 tablespoon of vinegar.Heat this sauce ,pour it onto the pigeons and serve very hot with toasted or fried slices of bread.

Roast wild game

To fill the game bag is getting more and more difficult, so it frequently happens that a hunter who left for shooting woodcocks, must come back with different kinds of wild game. However the ideal way of cooking wild game is on the skewer.Clean and pass the shot birds over a flame, skewer them alternating each bird with slices of bacon, sage leaves, toasted bread and, if you like, small pieces of pork liver. Roast the skewers pouring a drop of oil on them from time to time. Salt the birds only when done and serve them piping hot.

GRILLED TROUT

Umbria,which is an internal region without any opening in the sea,gave full value to fresh-water fish,especially to the trout of the "Nera" river.The cooking on a gridiron is very easy and,what is more,emphasizes the peculiar taste of this fish.In a bowl mix 3 or 4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs with the juice of 1/2 lemon,some tablespoons of oil,1 spring of chopped parsley,salt and pepper.Open the trout and stuff it with the filling.Finally season it with a drop of oil and grill it brushing it over frequently with olive-oil.

Broad noodles with hare sauce

For 6 persons you need 500 gms. Of hare, cleaned well and cut into pieces or else minced. Chop ½ onion, 1 stick of celery, 1 carrot and 100 gms. Of bacon, fry all of them in little butter and some tablespoon of oil. Then add the hare, 2 or 3 cloves, 1 tablespoon of flour and leave to fry lightly on a low flame for about 15 minutes; moisten then with 1 glassful of dry white wine, with is to evaporate. Add 500 gms. Of ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into pieces, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and leave to cook until thickened well. In the meanwhile prepare the noodles. Mix together 600 gms. Of flour, 6 eggs and ½ cup of white wine. Knead the dough vigorously and roll out a thin sheet. Cut in into fayrly broad, long strip. Leave them to dry for same hours, then boil them in abundant salted water until chewy. Drain and season them with the prepared sauce and abundant grated parmesan cheese

Spaghetti with asparagus

Along the chainof mountains crossing Umbria it is possible to find wild asparagus, that, even if small in size, are very famous because of their taste. Hence the idea of using this delicious product of the soil to season pasta. For 6 persons you need 1 good kilo of wild asparagus. Keep only the top of each asparagus, clean it carefully and cut it into pieces. In half glass of oil fry 2 cloves of garlic until coloured lightly, then remove them and add the asparagus tops. Leave to cook for about 15 minutes, mixing now and then. Add 500 gms. Of tomatos, peeled and without seeds, salt and le the sauce thicken. Boil 500 gms. Of spaghetti until chewy drain and season them immediately with the sauce.

Chicken liver croutons

This dish is both an excellent hors-d’oeuvre and a good accompaniment for roasts and wild game. For 6 persons clean 3 or 4 chicken livers carefully, clear them of the gall and mince them until mashed. Then cook them with 1 chopped sprig of parsley in 1 knob of butter. Out of the flame squeeze 1/2 lemon onto, add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped capers, check salt and pepper.Spread this mixture generously on toasted or fried slices of bread and decorate the dish with lemon crescents and small sprigs of parsley.

BABY LAMB'S OFFAL OMELETTE

This dish shows the old custom of cleverly exploiting also parts of the animal that are considered of little value.For 6 persons you need 2 lots of offal,cleaned well and cut into pieces.Fry 1/2 finely sliced onion in 2 tablespoons of oil,add the offal in the following order:first the lung and the bowels(that take a longer time to cook),then the heart and finally the liver.Should they get hard,add 1/2 glass of white wine and leave it to evaporate.When done,add salt and pepper.In a bowl beat 6 eggs,add 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan and the necessary salt.Add the eggs to the offal and go on as usual for omelette.

Cooked water

This is a recipe that Umbria, although whit some variants, has in common with Toscana. It's taste is particularly pure and genume. For 6 persons fry 1 kilo of finely sliced onions in

little oil and 1 tablespoon of chopped lard with salt and pepper. When the onions are soft but not coloured, add 500 gms of ripe tomatoes,

peeled and without seeds, and some mint leaves. According to your taste, you can add basil instead of mint. After about 10 minutes,

add 1 litre and half of water, then leave to cook for 1 hour. Check the salt, then pour the soup into soup plates, where you should have

previously put stale or toasted slices of homemade bread. Season with a drop of oil,

abundant grated "pecorino" or parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of pepper. Wait a few

minutes before eating the soupe so as to allow the bread to absorb the broth.

EGG SOUP

For 6 people prepare 2 litres of meat broth and bring it to the boil. In a saucepan beat 5 eggs, add 5 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese, 1 scarce tablespoon of folur,1 pinch of nutmeg and, if you like, ½ teaspoon of grated lemon rind. Pour this mixture into the boiling broth and remove the soup form the flame as soon as egg begins to harden. Serve very hot with abundant grated parmesan cheese.

Easter Savoury

This is a traditional rustic savoury for Easter breakfast which is generally accompanied with salami, hard-boiled eggs and a good glassful of wine. It is a typical of the country round Terni. Mix into dough 300 gms. of already leavened bread dough, 500 gms. of flour and enough tepid water to obtain a soft mixture. Wrap it in a white muslin and allow it to rise until it has doubled its volume. At this point add 100 gms. of lard, 4 whole eggs, 10 gms. of brewer’s yeast melted in little water, 300 gms of grated “pecorino” cheese (a kind of hard, piquant cheese), some tablespoons of oil, salt and pepper. Little by little add some more flour so as to get a thick dough. Place the dough in several deep moulds previously buttered and coated with flour. Leave the dough to rise for some hours. Then bake it in a hot oven until nice and golden. It will take about 1 hour.Leave to cool, then remove the cheese savouries from the mould.

FALSE SAUCE

It is an easy and cheap seasoning suited for the every-day cooking. For 6 persons chop 50 gms. of fat-and-lean ham, ½ onion, 1 carrot and 1 stick of celery. Fry them until goldenin 50 gms. of butter, or in half oil and half butter, then add 400 gms. of ripe tomatoes, peeled, cleared of the seed and chopped. Add some basil leaves, salt, peper. Leave the sauce to thicken, then, if you prefer, strain it. It is an excellent sauce for any kind of pasta and calls for abundant grated parmesan cheese.

Aubergines with parmesan cheese

Clean 1 Kilo of aubergines, and cut them into slices; drain them from their water , then dip them into flour and beaten eggs. Fry the aubergines in boiling oil, then let them dry on an absorbant paper. Prepare an abundant bechamel sauce as follows: boil ½ litre of milk, separately melt 50 gs. of butter and blend it with 50 gms. of nutmeg. Add the hot milk little by little and let cook for about 10 minutes mixing continuously to avoid lumps. Grease a bake-and-serve disk, arrange a layer of aubergines alternating them with the béchamel, tomato false sauce and grated parmesan. Put some flakes of butter on the top layer and bake for about 20 minutes.

Spicy rolls

This sweet has a country side origin and

is generally prepared during Christmas

time. Buy 50 gms of walnut kernels, 50

gms of almonds, 50 gms of raisins, 50

gms of diced candied peel and 50 gms

of bitter chocolate cut into pieces. Mix

them with 200 gms of honey and

enough flour to obtain a mixture of the

right consistency. Divide it into round

pieces 10 cms in diameter, brush them

over with honey and put them in a

buttered baking-pan. Bake in a medium

hot oven until nice and golden.

Macaroni And Walnut Kernels

In all Italians regions the Christmas

dinner obeys customary rules; in Umbria

one of the most traditional dishes is both

a sweet and a first dish of pasta. Prepare

noodles as usual with water and flour

without eggs. Boil and drain them, then

season at once with sugar, cinnamon as

you thinck fit, chopped walnut kernels,

grated rind of lemon and, if you like,

sweet cocoa. As to the quantity of the

ingredients, there is not any fixed rule:

you can put them freely according to

your taste. Mix well and serve cold.