|
|
|
|
Ceriana Eats The sausage is the queen of Ceriana cooking. Its fame has travelled for many years beyond the ridges of the steep hills of the Armea valley. Don't ask a native of Ceriana how he prepares sausage. He will never tell you because it is a secret. We can, however, discuss the recipes for cooking it; in a town divided into 4 brotherhoods, it is logical that there must be at least 4 different recipes, and all deserve to be tasted in the special festival held on the 1st Sunday after 15th August. It would seem, however, that the two recipes that are the most true to Ceriana are the salsiccia al vino rosso (sausage cooked in red wine), with taggia olives and cloves of unpeeled garlic, and the salsicia al sugo (sausage cooked in a sauce): the part of the sausage that breaks p into the sauce is used to dress the pasta and the whole, compact part that remains is eaten as a separate dish. Another traditional dish is the paela serianasca, based on a boiled chopped chard, poached eggs and pecorino cheese, the whole thing is crowned by a fine ring of sausage. A delicious local delicacy are the fritters of Holy Week, not to be missed on Holy Thursday and Friday, when the procession of the brotherhoods parades through the alleyways of the village, to the chant of the 'Miserere'. There are three different versions of the fritters: they can be made from beans and chard or dried salted cod or they can be sweet, made from apples and represent, together with a good glass of red wine, the main food of the village families in years gone by, during the days of the Passion. To save, when things were hard, instead of using chard, left-over vegetables soup was used to accompany the beans. The local gastronomy also includes 'zeraria' (meat jelly), vegetable pie (a fugasa), chard quiche and a tasty black pudding. Certainly, black pudding doesn't have an easy taste, not everyone likes it, but if you don't try it, how can you judge? The zeriara is eaten mostly in winter and is a substantial dish based on pork rind and meat, boiled for hours in broth and then made into a jelly. The vegetable pie is made from pastry made from flour, water and oil, with a filling of seasonal vegetables such as courgettes, peas, chard, pumpkin, eggs and parmesan cheese. 'Lunch with the Count' is another important gastronomic-cultural appointment that is held on the third Sunday of July and, which, with songs, theatrical performances and a variety of music, follows the route taken by the Good Friday procession, stopping at the four squares of the churches where the brotherhoods are based.
The restaurants of Ceriana
If it is true that the left slopes of the Armea Valley are wild and woody, some parts of the right-hand slopes beneath Ceriana are covered in jolly terraces full of vines. There is a great deal to learn about the local wine that we can enjoy in the village restaurants or in our toasts with friends. Most of the wine produced here is a light local red that is around 10.5º and is obviously to be drunk young and shouldn't be allowed to age if you want to avoid disappointments. However some producers grow more noble grapes and we can find a delicious Vermentino (obviously white) alongside a fairly good production of fine reds such as Ormeasco and Ciliegiolo, which is amazing t find here since it is a grape that is typical of the Southern part of Liguria. The country folk who know about wines say that other very old species of forgotten grapes can still be found around the village. Ceriana is one of the 21 municipalities along the Srada dell'Olio Terra della Taggiasca (the Taggiasca oil route)a project designed by the Special 'Riviera dei Fiori' Company of the Imperia Chamber of Commerce together with GAL 'Development of the Valleys of the Province of Imperia'. If the olive is the main crop (together with flowers naturally) of the hills of the Riviera dei Firori, the Taggiascia variety is the queen of these olive groves, covering 99% of the olive-growing area. This is a local cultivar, whose fruit is used both for producing il, olives in brine, and olive paste. Taggiasca olive trees can grow very high in favourable conditions, reaching 15-16 metres. the olives are long, cylindrical and slightly fatter at the base: when they are ripe they are purpish-black in colour, with rather thin, very oily flesh. An extra-virgin oil is obtained from the olives of the Riviera dei Firori (and therefore from Ceriana) that has been awarded the Denominazione di Origine Protetta 'Rivieria Ligure - Riviera dei Fiori', guaranteeing a minimum 90% content of Taggiasca olives. this oil has a high content of oleic acid (greater than 70%), a low content of linoleic acid and low acidity. It is yellow in colour, with a ripe fruity smell, a fruity flavour and a definite sweet, not at all bitter or pungent, sensation. The maximum total acidity expressed in oleic acid, by weight, does not exceed 0.5 grams per 100 grams of oil.
Typical products of Ceriana are dried tomatoes, mushrooms in oil, and pickled olives. As to gastronomy, there are several meat specialties: rabbit, thrush, wild boar, stuffed beef and meat in aspic in addition to 'caglietto' (blood sausage) and 'ciousun' (beetroot pie). The traditional 'crustoli' will please any sweet tooth. Other specialties of the area are snails (lumache); beans (fagioli); muscles with gnocchi; chestnuts castagnaccio; and pistachio tart. Markets selling local produce amongst other products are held in Ceriana on the first and third Sundays of the month. In May the Primavera (Spring) market is spread all down the main street.
Traditional recipes of the Riviera dei Fiori Frisciöi Succulent, soft and pale yellow coloured fritters, “frisciöi” are traditional finger food employed as hors d’oeuvres, but wonderful and tasty also as snacks. Once, they were sold in all frying shops, while nowadays they are mostly found in the historic areas of villages where the love for tradition and the respect for local culture are still strong. Born of inventiveness and ability, these old but yet modern tasting fritters are found in all country fairs, parties and afternoons spent outdoors. Batter is the basis to which many different ingredients can be added according to taste, such as green beets, borage, spring onions, quartered artichokes, courgettes, beans, squash flowers, stockfish, and so on. For a crispier batter delete the eggs, for a thicker one use brewer’s yeast. Yeast can be substituted with sparkling mineral water or beer. Ingredients:
Batter
(yields approximately 30 fritters) 2 whole eggs, approx. 100 gm flour, 2 glasses
beer or sparkling water, salt to taste. Mix the ingredients to get a smooth
batter with which you can “write” on oil.
Courgette fritters. Coarsely grate 250 gm of courgettes, add 4 finely sliced spring onions, a pinch of marjoram, and a pinch of salt. Add to the batter and spoon into deep hot olive oil. Squash fritters. Dunk whole squash flowers into a batter of water, flour and salt. Fry in deep hot oil.
The
best known gastronomical product from Ceriana is the sausage, whose recipe is a
jealousy kept secret by the people who make it.
Ingredients:  A "Stroscia” from Pietrabruna It is a well-known fact that the local variety of olive called “Taggiasca”, has, for centuries, been the main source of income and the main dressing on all the dishes of the province of Imperia. So, we are not surprised to learn that in Pietrabruna, in the upper S. Lorenzo valley, a cake is also prepared whose main ingredient is actually extra-virgin olive oil: the Stroscia. This is a small, very crumbly cake with a very pleasant taste; the simple and characteristic way it breaks or “strosciarsi” has earned it its name. Here are the ingredients for this cake that is very simple to make: 500 grams of flour type 00, 300 grams of olive oil, 120 grams of aromatic wine (vermouth), 1 envelope of powdered yeast and 250 gr of caster sugar. Mix the ingredients well and then pour the mixture into a round, shallow cake tin, and dust with sugar; place in a hot oven and leave to cook until it turns golden. You don’t need a knife to cut it, as the name tells us. Just break it with your fingers. It keeps well.Michetta Ingredients: 1 kg. plain flour; 200 g. sugar; 200 g. olive oil; 4 eggs; 100 g. yeast; grated rind of one lemon; 1 pinch of salt Preparation: Mix the ingredient until and knead until smooth. Leave the dough to stand for 30 minutes. When leavened, knead again and divide the dough into egg size shapes. Roll them on the pastry board with the palm of your hand and form a number of cylinders. Placed them on a greased baking tray and bake for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and serve. Stuffed lettuce leaves Lettuce certainly doesn't have a very memorable taste but it becomes incredibly delicious when stuffed in this typical Easter recipe. Ingredients: 3 lettuce leaves, 1 teasp marjoram, 1 clove garlic, 50 gr of the soft part of a loaf of bread soaked in milk, 1 egg, 3 spoons of grated Parmesan cheese, 3/4 of a glass of dry white wine, salt and pepper. Wash the wide lettuce leaves, blanch their hearts and chop with the garlic and marjoram. place the mixture with the chopped soaked bread, the beaten egg and the cheese and form a doughy, thick mixture; spread spoons-full onto the lettuce leaves, joining three together and opening them out to form a fan. When they are stuffed, tie them with kitchen string. Place the stuffed leaves in a pan, pour in the wine to a depth of 1 cm, cover and cook on a low heat for 15-20 mins. making sure they do not dry out by adding more wine as necessary. Remove and place on a dish and serve.
|
|
Send mail to
information@ceriana.co.uk with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
%20035.jpg)
%20034.jpg)
%20031.jpg)
