After the hangovers of tradition and Christmas holidays, I go back to cooking with what I find. Always remembering that it's cold outside and that I need to put something hot under my teeth.
The other night at the village was -3, wolf time, broccoli time! I wonder why I would eat the broccoli all year but with the cold I enjoy them great.
It is the cold that tempers them by giving them that bit of bitterness that distinguishes them. There are several species: in Rome they like a little more sweets, while going down to Naples you find them more bitter.
I choose those of Sezze that is the homeland of broccoli with the famous artichokes. Sezze is located on the side of the Lepini Mountains, along a road that from the Middle Ages was traveled by all those who went to Naples. They called it the Via Francigena del Sud and for centuries it took the place of the Appian Way that after the fall of the Roman empire had been covered by the marshes and was rather unhealthy.
The Sezze land is sunny and rich in iron and perfect for many crops. My classmates from the town of Sezze introduced me to the agricultural institute of borgo Piave. Memorable their sandwich with broccoli!
Recipe of spaghetti with broccoli and sausage
A simple and tasty first course that combines the soft taste of pasta, the decisive broccoli, the scent of the sausage woods and the taste of the canestrato meadows.
Meanwhile, I prepare a cream based on broccoli. As soon as they are boiled, cut them into small pieces and pass them to the blender with a piece of raw garlic to which I removed the soul.
Separately, cook the sausage, stir-fry garlic oil and chilli pepper. Also for the sausage I'm staying in the Lepini Mountains and from my trusted butcher of the Via Trionfale Market I got a specialty. These are the famous sausages made with the black pig that lives in the semi-wild state right in the mountains between Sezze and Bassano Romano. Playing at home. My former classmates would be proud of it.
Let's remember to drain the pasta cooked al dente, so you can skip it in the pan with the cream of broccoli. Then add the sausage cut into thin slices, I know it is a scenographic habit but I like to put sausage in the mouth.
The preparation ends with a sprinkling of Roman canestrato cut into small flakes.
The canestrato is a cheese made with sheep's milk which takes its name from the basket of rushes in which it is prepared. For the occasion I found a tasty
Roman canestrato that drives me crazy with a lamb curd.
Now if you have a lit fireplace I recommend eating this pasta right next to the flame, otherwise you can warm up with a glass of Nero Buono Wine by Pietra Pinta di Cori.
Once again the protagonists are the Lepini Mountains also in the glass. This time I was inspired by the nostalgia of school.
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