Maremma experienceGENUINE PRODUCTS

The recipes of the Ardenghesca
The ancient knowledge of the women of Civitella Marittima

organised by the Proloco Association of Civitella Marittima

The work of recovering Civitella's ancient recipes has been carried out by the Proloco Civitella Marittima and by Le Ardenghesche, a group of women from Civitella committed to recovering the historical value of the town and its traditions. They have worked with some of the women in Civitella who preserve this ancient knowledge handed down from generation to generation and who, at the ripe old age of eighty years and more, enthusiastically accept the idea of collaborating on a book.
Below are three among the many recipes collected in "Le Ricette dell'Ardenghesca".

THE SCHIACCIA COI FRICCIOLI (Focaccia bread with fried meat trimmings)

Ingredients:
- 1 kg. of bacon
- 500 gr. of flour
- 25 gr. of brewer's yeast
- 250 ml. of water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar

Procedure:
The day before preparing the schiaccia, cut the bacon into small cubes and put it to cook in a pan over a low heat, stirring to prevent it from sticking until the cubes take on a golden colour. Using a sieve, let the lard drain off until the friccioli remain in the sieve.
Prepare the dough by mixing the yeast dissolved in water, salt and sugar into the flour until an elastic dough is obtained.
Heat the friccioli in a pan with salt and pepper and add them to the dough, mixing well. Leave to rise for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough into a baking tin and leave to rise again for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200° and bake for about 20 minutes.

I FRASCARELLI (pasta)

Ingredients:

For the frascarelli
- 250 g flour
- 1 whole egg
- pinch of salt

For the broth
- 1 medium onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- 4 basil leaves
- 2 sprigs of parsley
- 1 celery stalk
- - extra virgin olive oil from the Ardenghesche Hills
- pinch of salt

Procedure:
Roll out the flour on a pastry board. Beat the egg and salt in a bowl and with a fork "splash" it over the flour.
Gently mix the flour with the egg "splashes" using your fingers and rub it between your hands to obtain small "crumbs" of various sizes. Once all the flour has been rubbed in, pass it through a sieve.
What remains in the sieve are the frascarelli. Meanwhile, fry the onion, celery, garlic, parsley and basil in extra virgin olive oil. After browning the mixture for a few minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes with a glass of water.
Put everything through a vegetable mill to remove the skins and add
enough water to to make a broth, then add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and pour the frascarelli into the broth.
Cook for 5 minutes, stirring continuously with a whisk.

CIAMBELLINI WITH GREASE

Ingredients:
-5 whole eggs (beat the egg whites separately)
- 1 yolk (put the white one aside)
- 500 gr. of lard ( grease )
- 500 g of sugar
- 1 kg of flour
- 1 liqueur glass of mint rosolio
- 20 bitter almonds, peeled and chopped
- juice and zest of one orange
- juice and zest of one lemon
- 1 sachet of yeast
- 50 g vanilla sugar

Procedure:
Make a well in the flour on a pastry board and add 6 egg yolks, the cold lard, the sugar, orange and lemon juice and zest, the finely chopped almonds, the mint liqueur and the yeast.
Knead well with your hands, leaving the excess flour to one side,
add the 5 egg whites, properly whipped, and knead well, adding the remaining flour.
Remove a piece of dough and turn it between your hands until it forms a stick a little larger than a finger. Proceed in this way until all the dough has been used up. Use a knife to make light cuts in the biscuits and brush them with the egg white you have set aside and whipped until stiff.
Bake in the oven at 200° C, taking care not to place the biscuits too close together to prevent them from sticking to each other, and cook for 10-15 minutes, checking that they are golden brown.

The Maremma will surprise you with its lively explosion of flavours! The cuisine is reflected in the territory and therefore includes both sea and mountain recipes. We would like to offer you a quick round-up of the names, often self-explanatory, of some typical recipes that you will certainly want to try. When you visit taverns and restaurants with typical Tuscan Maremma cuisine, remember to look for some of these delicacies on the menus.

TO TRY AND NOT TO BE MISSED:

• L’antipasto maremmano (the Maremma starter)
• La panzanella maremmana (Maremma bread salad)
• L’acquacotta (tuscan vegetable soup)
• La zuppa di verdure o ribollita (vegetable soup)
• Il tortello maremmano (the Maremma "tortello" pasta)
• Le pappardelle alla lepre ("pappardelle" pasta with hare sauce)
• Il cinghiale alla cacciatora (wild boar "cacciatora" style)
• Il cinghiale alla maremmana (wild boar "maremmana" style)
• Il buglione di agnello (boiled lamb)
• Il caldaro (fish soup)
• Lo scaveccio di anguilla (deep fried and marinated eel)
• Il baccalà alla maremmana (Maremma codfish)