The Cooking and Cuisine of Friuli Venezia-Giulia

[Kevin72]

For March we will be focusing on the cooking of Friuli Venezia-Giulia, the northeasternmost region of Italy.

As I’ve said several times, I find this to be, second or even equal to Sicily, the most exotic Italian cooking I’ve worked with that could still be called Italian. So I’m pumped to be coming back to it particularly in March. While certainly there’s no shortage of robust winter-esque fare (if you’re still laboring under cold fronts and snow, you really need to give the soup la jota a spin), there is also a surprising delicacy to many dishes that lends itself well, in my opinion, to the transition to spring.

Friuli Venezia-Giulia appears to be a relatively recent “discovery”, at least in U.S. cooking literature, though it is now being recognized as a formidable cuisine in its own right. Both Ada Boni and Waverly Root wrap FVG and Trentino up with the Veneto under the broad heading of “Veneto”. Claudia Roden’s FVG chapter is woefully short. But there’s also Fred Plotkin’s La Terra Fortunata, an immensely informative book. In fact, I’d almost say too informative: I’d have liked to have seen maybe 20 pages shaved off of the long intro chapters for a few more recipes in exchange. But you can’t argue that you don’t know a hell of a lot more about the region coming out. There’s also, to a limited extent, Lidia Bastianich’s first cookbook, La Cucina di Lidia, which, while it has a number of pan-Italian standards, also focuses significantly in on her upbringing in and around Istria. There’s a whole chapter on game, and even one chapter devoted to making prosciutto!

Housekeeping note: The polls are still open for Q2 voting and only two people have PMed me with their choices so far. Think Spring, and think three regions that you’d like to pair with those months on up through June, the start of summer.

[Brad Ballinger]

The wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia are something of a well kept secret (unless you happen to live there). The highest quality wine (at least according to Italian wine quality laws) is Ramandolo, which is the only DOCG wine from the region. It's a sweet white wine than can pack a tannic punch in certain vintages.

But the more "well-known" wines from the region are from Collio, along the Slovenian border north of Gorizia, or Colli Orientali del Friuli, running parellel to Collio, closer to Udine. These wines are usually labeled by grape variety (which happens in some regions of Italy, but not all). This is where you'll find some of the best pinot grigio and tocai friulano among the whites, though you will also find chardonnay, riesling, pinot bianco, sauvignon blanc (just labeled sauvignon), and malvasia. However, one white grape variety that I recommend seeking out is ribolla gialla, which can make juicy, yet crisp, wines with a strong citrus profile.

Although the whites may enjoy more popularity outside of the region, there are many reds worth seeking out. Although cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and pinot nero are grown, some of the grapes more unique to the region include refosco, schioppettino and pignolo. These grapes make deeply colored, very intense wines.

My absolute favorite wine that I've had from this region is a Picolit from Dorigo. Picolit is a white grape made into sweet wines. I've had several, and Dorigo's have been consistently the best for my palate. A close second is Moschioni.

For more information on the wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia -- click here.

[hathor]

I'm with Kevin on this one, I'm excited to be exploring this cuisine again. Kevin's done a great intro on the the cookbook side, here is the historical info:

Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Even the name is quite a mouthful, it’s a fusion name, for a region that is a fusion of cuisines. Within Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the province of Pordenone has always been under the spell of Venice; Carnia is heavily impacted by Germany and Austria; Gorizia reflects years of Hapsburg domination and the port city of Trieste is home to a rich history of Jewish, Greek, Slavic, Turkish and Albanian influences.

So, where is Friuli-Venezia Giulia? In the extreme northeast corner of Italy, bordered by the Veneto to the west, Austria to the north, Slovenia is east and the Adriatic Sea borders on the south.

The region has had inhabitants since 1000 BC when the Illyrian, Venetians and Gallics lived there. In 181 BC, during the reign of the Roman Empire, the city of Aquileia was founded. This period left a lasting legacy in traditional dishes such as brovada (slice sour turnips cooked in lard), marcundele (pork wrapped in caul fat), prosciuttio in crosta, and sopes indorates (stale bread sweetened with honey, dipped in egg and fried).

The Barbarians occupied the area after the fall of the Roman Empire but did not leave a lasting influence in the kitchen.

In 1420 Aquileia joined the Venetian republic, followed by the cities of Sacile, Cividale, Udine, Carnia, Tenzone and San Daniele. This led to a mixing of languages, customs and cuisines. Sarde in saor, baccala mantecato and bigoli in salsa show up on the table. Gorizia and Trieste stay under Austrian rule, and dishes such as strudel and palacinka are common.

It’s not until 1866 that Friuli becomes annexed to Italy, with its capital in Udine. At the end of WW I, Gorziano and Trieste become part of Italy. After WW II, a large section of the region is given to Yugoslavia causing much tension in the area. This area is now known as Slovenia. Since 1964, Friuli-Venezia Giulia is declared autonomous with special status in Italy.

Cuisine in the mountain and hill regions can be simple grilled meats prepared in the open hearth fogolar, foods are preserved in lard (think confit), polenta shows up everywhere and game animals and birds are plentiful.

This will contrast with the more refined and sophisticated dishes found near the coast and influenced by Venice. Here the seafood of the Adriatic will play a primary role.

One of the most famous products of the region is the delicious prosciutto of San Daniele, which has a DOP rating. Also with a DOP rating, is Montasio cheese that is used in making frico.

The area is mostly known for excellent white wines such as Collio and Tocai, although there are also some very good reds being produced in the area.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is geographically varied with lovely mountains and coastline, and above all, there are the warm, generous people who live there and who are happy to share their bounty.

[Kevin72]

Brad, would you happen to know if Tocai is still on track to switch to being called "Furlan" or "Friulano" this year? According to Plotkin in Terra Fortunata, the EU ruled that the name "tocai" can only be applied to the Hungarian sweet dessert-ish wine, Tockay(sp?) and, as of this year, FVG had to switch to callling it something else.

Tocai or whatever it will soon be called has carved out a nice niche in the Italian Whites section of Central Market here, though there are also a few Pinot Grigios. I don't believe I've ever seen Picollit here.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Kevin72 (log)

[Kevin72]

First rate writeup as always Hathor, thank you!

[Brad Ballinger]

Brad, would you happen to know if Tocai is still on track to switch to being called "Furlan" or "Friulano" this year?  According to Plotkin in Terra Fortunata, the EU ruled that the name "tocai" can only be applied to the Hungarian sweet dessert-ish wine, Tockay(sp?) and, as of this year, FVG had to switch to callling it something else.

←

Kevin,

I don't know where this stands. Last I was aware, the Friulani were losing. The odd thing is that the grape tocai friulano is closer to the grape tokay-pinot gris in Alsace than the grape furmint in Hungary. Furmint is the grape that produces Tokay/Tokaji wines in Hungary. What will be a little bit interesting should "furlan" have to be used is that there is a producer in Friuli named Furlan.

[Kevin72]

Yeah, I guess we won't even see how this shakes up, name-wise, for another year or so here in the U.S.

Thanks, though, especially for the wine writeup!

[ludja]

I'm pretty fascinated with the food of this region partly because my family comes from slightly north of the border in southeastern Austria. It is interesting to see the similarities and differences in the cuisine and how it has melded together in both regions.

I've been reading La Terra Fortunata and I have Lidia's first book so I'll be looking at them for guidance and ideas.

Here are some recipes I found on the internet:

Jota—Bean and Pork Soup Link

Fruili recipes Link

Patate alla Triestina

Pasta of choice, potatoes, butter, onion, stock, salt and pepper.

Raviolini di Pere

Dried pears, fresh ricotta cheese, butter, onions, flour, salt, hot water, oil, milk.

Frico

Cows' milk cheese, very mature cheese, potatoes, olive oil.

Salame all'Aceto con Polenta

Tender smoked 'nostrano' salami, onion, vinegar wine, olive oil, polenta.

Schweinsbrotn

Loin of pork, garlic, thyme and cumin spices, quarter liter of water.

Gubana

Sultanas, butter, broken nuts, pine nuts, candied fruit, almonds, bread crumbs, eggs, caster sugar, lemon, orange, 'Malaga' wine, white flour, Aquavite.

Punte di Cuscino

Flour, butter, yolks, 'panna', white wine, sugar, pinch of salt.

Venison Goulash Link

[ludja]

Ive used this first website to find many good regional Italian recipes. Here is the link to those from Friuli Venezia-Guilia along with a listing of the recipes below: Link

1st course

Bean and pork stew "Jota"

Cialzons or agnolotti carnici

Lasagne with poppy seeds "Lasagne ai semi di papavero

Prune gnocchi

Scampi risotto "Risotto di scampi"

Spinach soup "Paparot"

2nd course

Crayfish cooked with herbs and white wine "Giambars"

Goulash Triestino style "Gulash triestino"

Hare in sauce "Lepre in salsa"

Minced meat cooked in cabbage leaves "Rambasicci"

Spiny spider crab Triestina style "Granseola alla triestina”

Other

Crunchy cheese fritter "Frico"

Herb omelette "Frittata alle erbe"

Peasant style polenta "Polenta alla contadina"

Polenta with cheese and cream "Tosella alla panna"

Potatoes cooked in the pan "Patate in tecia"

Dessert

Almond tart "Crostata di mandorle"

Crostoli of the Friuli "Crostoli friulani"

Nut and dried fruit baked roll "Gubana"

Two recipes from Lidia: Link

Montasio Cheese Crisp “Frico di Montasio”

Gubana (dessert)

Lots on nice information on Istrian cuisine here; including articles on local viticulture and how to make your own grappa!

Navigation on this site is a little ungainly. There are also additional links on the sidebars,.including an article in English on the foods of Trieste.

Edited March 1, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Boris_A]

The odd thing is that the grape tocai friulano is closer to the grape tokay-pinot gris in Alsace than the grape furmint in Hungary.  Furmint is the grape that produces Tokay/Tokaji wines in Hungary.

←

The dominating principle is the protection of a locality, of the name of an origin. Two centuries ago, "Tokay" was a generic name for sweet wines, just like "Champagne" for sparklers. Back then the producers tried to take profit of the excellent reputation of the sweet wines produced in Hungary.

[hathor]

The last I heard, but that was 6 months ago, the Tokai thing had not been settled. Not surprising. Picholit (sp??) is amazing. Its a sweet desert wine made from these little bitty grapes. Absolute nectar from the gods. Unfortunately its very limited production. If you see it..buy it!

Nice links Ludja! Thanks!

[russ parsons]

i think it's picolit. i spent a couple of weeks in friuli several years ago and wormed my way into the tre bicchieri final tasting. some truly amazing wines, if you love whites with acid (and i do). terre alte from felluga is one of my favorite big-deal whites and is still a pretty amazing steal considering the quality. also, i tasted joe bastianich's tocai friuliano the other day and it was great ... all green apple and mineral.

the region is fascinating. it really doesn't seem like italy at all (and until after world war i, it wasn't). it's much more austrian/german/slovenian. great smoked meat and lots of pork fat. oh boy.

[azureus]

Ta-Da! Last month was beastly for me, and I barely had time to cook. I hope to get more cooking done this time around. I certainly feel more inspired. Amazingly, I had all of the ingredients on hand for the version of La Jota found in Culinaria:

I ate the thick soup peasant-style, with just some home-made bread to accompany it. I love the contrast of the tangy sauerkraut with the starchy beans and potatoes.

The recipe in Culinaria called for dried lima beans. However, can anyone comment on whether or not this is a typo or mis-translation? The beans in the photo in the book are clearly common dried garden beans. Other recipes on the web call for dried garden beans. I used dried beans that I harvested from my own garden last Fall. They cooked up very quickly and ended up falling apart toward the end of the cooking, so they're not very visble in the finished product. The bacon was the last of my stash of some locally-made smoked bacon. I would love to try this soup again, but make it with brovada.

Thank-you, everyone, for your informative posts today on this region's food and wine. I'm learning alot! These cooking threads must be generating quite a bit of interest in cooking regionally. Last month, I could find several copies of La Terra Fortunata for sale around the web. Today, I could only find two, and one was a new listing. It's surely not coincidence.

And congratulations to Kevin72 on becoming the new forum specialist!

April

[albiston]

April,

Great looking Jota!

I too think lima beans are a mis-translation. I spent a couple of years very close to Trieste during my teens and as far, as I can remember, every time I had Jota there it was made with borlotti beans, which I believe are cranberry beans in the US.

You mention brovade: are you planning to prepare those from scratch? That would be impressive!

[Adam Balic]

I like the Culinaria series (some more then others), but in many instances I have noticed that things have been mis-identified (especially fish), so I would always check with a secondary source to comfirm any suspect information.

[Kevin72]

Yes, La Jota! One of my favorite dishes from this region. You'd never think sauerkraut in a soup would work but it does so well. Did you thicken it with polenta?

And, yeah, the lima beans thing is probably a mis-translation somewhere down the line. Totally speculating, but there are the lamon beans in neighoring Veneto, so maybe that's what they were going for . . . ? I agree with Adam; as much as I enjoy Culinaria, I do have to do a double-take on the recipes and ingredients.

[Kevin72]

Well April beat me to being the first out of the gate with a meal this month, but here's mine from last night, two items from Terra Fortunata.

Frittata with baby shrimp and white asparagus:

Pear and Montasio salad:

I used more radicchio from Central Market (our local paper's food section did a writeup), this time the narrow, fingerlike kind and the elongated Treviso variety. There was a definite contrast in flavors, surprisingly, one was bracingly bitter, the other much more mild. Both were standing in for arugula, which was nowhere to be found at the store that day.

My wife was excited as I was that we're back to cooking from this region again. I'm going to try to get to a few items I didn't make last time around, and my wife has said she wants to pick a meal from my old thread for me to re-cook.

[azureus]

Thanks for confirming my suspicions, everyone. I'll have to read the recipes in Culinaria more carefully.

I'm definitely planning on trying to make brovade, even though I will have to substitute

red wine vinegar. No winemaking going on around here. If I start some this week, it should be close to ready at the end of this month. That way, I can make more La Jota,

thickened with polenta. Sorry, Kevin, I followed the Culinaria recipe this time, which called for flour.

April

[Kevin72]

No apologies necessary on not using the polenta as a thickener. I really bastardize it and serve it with cornbread, then I don't thicken it at all!

[azureus]

My wife was excited as I was that we're back to cooking from this region again.  I'm going to try to get to a few items I didn't make last time around, and my wife has said she wants to pick a meal from my old thread for me to re-cook.

←

That meal looks delicious, Kevin. So, has your wife given any hints as to her picks?

April

[Kevin72]

99% sure that it's the frico, gnocchi di cjalson, and prosicutto in crosta meal (here), since that's what she was looking at when she said she wanted to pick meals for me to re-cook. Let's see, in one meal you have: melted/crisped cheese, ham, a lard-rich bread, chocolate, and gnocchi, so I can't see what's to object about.

[russ parsons]

kevin, how did that montasio dish work? radicchio is not a usual replacement for arugula. and that particular radicchio, treviso, is usually cooked, which tames the bitterness and makes it actually somewhat sweet and melting. personally, i think a better replacement for arugula is some kind of spice salad mix, or maybe even watercress, which is tougher, but kind of peppery.

[Kevin72]

I chose radicchio not so much as a "like" substitute or standin for arugula, but because of the bountiful display at my market and, hey, Veneto's right next door, so it's not so out of line with their cuisine.

The bitterness of the radicchio worked well with the sweet pear and cut the richness of the cheese. It may not be so clear in the picture, but actually the pear and cheese are grated together over the leaves, so they kind of amalgamated together. Also, I used a spritz of lemon juice to cut things a little better: no acid whatsoever is called for in Plotkin's recipe.

[hathor]

Can I make frico every day while we are in Friuli?? Today's lunch was frico over salad and a quickie pasta with capers, olives and hot peppers. Generically Italian, methinks. Definetely the upside for working from home today!

[Pontormo]

I will definitely search for a local supplier of Montasio after seeing these first posts.

Hathor, did you use a different cheese? I notice that the Gourmet cookbook edited by Reichl includes a version with Parmigiano...with flour added.

And April, I will be joining you shortly. The soups of this region are impressive and the weather has become blustery and cold once more.

Thank you, everyone for the links and references. I do have to wonder about the relationship between this thread and the scarcity of Fred Plotkin's book!

While I haven't been able to consult La Cucina di Lidia yet, I found several relevant recipes in Lidia's Family Table, including a minestra in which readers are invited to dump extra pork into the soup pot to eat separately. There are also two exquisite desserts that reflect Austrian debts: a strudel with winter squash and cranberries, and another with ricotta and prunes that sounds quite a bit like some of the sweeter fillings used for cialzons.

I also consulted Marcella Cucina for the first time, Hazan's cookbook that deliberately explores different regions. She is careful to categorize her recipes as being in the "style" of a particular region, to avoid the "traditional" or "authentic" debate. The index is extremely useful and I wish more authors would list individual regions with their respective dishes. There is not much from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, but one of three soups is especially tempting. She also includes a recipe for pasta in which she urges cooks in the U.S. to substitute lobster for the Italian region's prawns.

Several authors mention orzotto as a modern dish, that is, a risotto prepared with barley, a grain favored in the region even if corn is its biggest crop. I am going to try to do this--with mushrooms, of course.