An Italian Feast includes over 800 recipes from the 109 provinces of Italy's 20 regions. "You've got to distinguish between the historic cuisine [of Italy], the food of the rich, and the food of the common people," says James Beard Award-winning food writer Clifford A. Wright. Up until the mid-20th century, Italy didn't have a middle class, so there was either the elevated cuisine of the aristocracy or, at the opposite end of the social spectrum, the food of peasants. La Grassa, the well-known nickname for the city of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna, translates to "the fat" and refers to the richness of the cuisine.
After the Black Death in the mid-14th century, much of the land was left uncultivated, giving game animals more space, so even the poorer classes ate more meat. Simple, frugal foods, rooted in barbarian traditions — a loaf of bread, a couple of liters of wine, a misestre, a focaccia made of beans and millet spread with animal fat — were eaten several times a day. Minestre, a thick soup that contains a grain, was the dish of the citizenry.
The pasta of the North is made of soft wheat and eggs, as opposed to hard wheat and water farther south. Tagliatelle is most often served with a traditional Ragu Alla Bolognese. The first depictions of pasta being made are from a 14th century health manual called the Tacuinum Sanitatis, a Latin translation of an Arabic medicinal book written by Ibn Butlan in Bagdad.
Wright shares a more obscure recipe from the province of Modena called "calzagatti." Translated to "drives the cat away," the typical peasant dish is made with corn and beans. Legend has it the dish was created by accident when an old woman tripped on a cat while preparing polenta and beans, combining the two.
Wright's latest book, An Italian Feast, spans over 1,200 pages.
Calzagatti
Polenta and Beans
Serves 4
This is an old recipe from the peasant cooking of the province of Modena with an unusual name that means something like “drives the cat away.” It was poor people’s food consisting of their two staples, maize and beans. It is the kind of dish made by one’s grandmother perhaps twice a week, alternating with tigelle (page 369) or crescente. Legend has it that the dish was invented by accident when an old woman preparing polenta and beans tripped on the cat crouching on the floor and the bean pot spilled into the polenta pot. The terrified cat bolted away, giving the name to the new dish, which turned out to be delicious. Calzagatti is also the name of the pot it is cooked in and, depending on the areas of the province, can also be called cazzagai, calzagalli, ciribusla, or bagia. The leftover polenta and beans will solidify and can be cut into squares and fried or grilled, seasoned with sausages, cheese, or prosciutto. Calzagatti, the food, are also called paparocia, malfatti, and malfet.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound (1 cup) dried white beans
- 1/2 Polenta recipe (page 1139)
- 2 tablespoons pork lard or extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1 small onion, sliced
- One 6-ounce ripe tomato, cut in half, seeds squeezed out, and grated against the largest holes of a box grater
Instructions
-
Place the beans in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil
until tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Turn the heat off and leave the beans in their pot. -
Meanwhile, prepare the polenta.
-
In a saute pan, melt the lard or heat the oil over medium heat, then cook, stirring, the pancetta
and onion until almost crispy and yellow, about 4 minutes. Add the tomato and cook, stirring, to
thicken a little bit. Drain the beans, saving the water, and add to the tomato sauce. Reduce the
heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. -
Stir the beans, sauce, and 3/4 cup bean cooking water into the polenta and cook for 5 minutes,
then serve soft.
An Italian Feast by Clifford A. Wright is a follow up to his James Beard Award-winning cookbook, A Mediterranean Feast. Photo courtesy of Clifford A. Wright.