In Italy as a script from a film by Italian director from Tuscany Leonardo Pieraccioni is the holiday "Kitchen of humble origins" – personification of territorial and national self-respect, reports BNR.
For Italians, their kitchen is something sacred: it is a mother, birthplace and national pride.
There is no Italian who refuses a dish - be it from his own or from the other end of the Apennine peninsula. In summer, there is no village that does not celebrate its time-honored specialties. People from the whole surrounding area gather, and they attract tourists - with music and typical food.
In Tuscany, the village of Castellina Maritima has been celebrating local cuisine for 33 years. It was a mining settlement from the time of the Etruscans, where alabaster was mined.
The combination of miner's work, deprivation and the virtuosity of creating a sample of available food products is immortalized in a book of recipes presented as poetry.
They are collected in the cookbook "Under the Shadow of the White Stones". ("All'ombra dei Sassi Bianchi") with subtitle "Thirty legends for 30 recipes".
It was written in 1987 by Aldo Castellani and Iraldo Mangoni.
It is published by the municipality of Castellina Maritima, and in the introductory material it is written: "This is part of our history, characterized by the simplicity of everyday life in a vibrant territory, rich in culture, emotions, taste, aromas and sensations, from which the man of the 21st century century needs".
It is through the book that the two-day celebration "Della cucina povera" is organized. – literally translated as the poor kitchen, i.e. of humble origin.
For the holiday this year, a concert was performed on the stage in front of the Ecomuseum by the "Miners' Choir from Santa Flora" - also a mining village in Tuscany. His songs tell about the hard work in the mines, and about the sky and the sea as wealth. Those present at the concert were also entertained with a song dedicated to Silvio Berlusconi, whose name now bears the airport "Malpensa". in Milan.
The guests of Castellina Maritima also lined up to try the food prepared according to the recipes from the book "All'ombra dei Sassi Bianchi".
Among them: "Maccheroni al sugo di Coniglio" - macaroni with rabbit sauce, "Minestra di briciolelli" – crumb soup, "Uova trippate" – eggs on an omelet, cut into strips, in a sauce of fried onions, carrots and parsley.
Tripe is a very respected food in the Tuscany region in a variety of variations.
Castellina Maritima has her recipe "Kastelinsky tripe", about which cook Tiziana told BNR:
"Cooked with skill, tripe is a finger-licking delicacy. It is eaten well warmed and sprinkled with cachocavalo, and you melt the bread in the greasy sauce.
The recipe in the book also states that "well-washed tripe is boiled, then cut into strips and pieces. In a copper or aluminum pan, in pure olive oil, make a soup of finely chopped onions, garlic and parsley. Add the cooked tripe, mix and add salt. Red pepper is also added. When the tripe absorbs this mixture well, add pre-heated water and let it boil, making sure it doesn't boil completely"
"This modest dish", says a poetically written recipe, "doesn't lose its taste and aroma, even if it is reheated many times - on the contrary, it becomes even tastier and only needs good homemade red wine.
In the book of recipes in verse form "All'ombra dei sassi bianchi" however, nowhere are the quantities of the products used.
They are felt - as much as there is.
Good sense and mood are important.