Today, a dish from a poor, rural Italy: dried chestnut soup. We know the importance of chestnuts in the diet of Italians living in the Apennine Mountains in the 1950s, and this soup helps us understand the essential nature of the cuisine.
Due to their nutritional properties and the ability to be preserved dry throughout the winter, chestnuts were considered an essential product for the life of mountain dwellers.
In our area, on the inland slopes of the Lepini Mountains, the pre-Apennine chain that separates the Sacco Valley from the sea, the mountains are covered with chestnut groves, and in autumn, the chestnut festivals of Segni, Montelanico, Carpineto Romano, and Rocca Massima are unmissable.
The chestnut, recognized as one of the traditional Italian agricultural products of Lazio, is actually grown in Segni. Numerous chestnut recipes have been created over time, even a pizza made with chestnut flour.
Dried Chestnut Soup with Milk Recipe
We start by soaking the dried chestnuts the night before. I used the mosciarelle, a chestnut from Capranica Prenestina, a village in the Prenestini Mountains, which have become a Slow Food Presidium.
The next day, we cook the chestnuts in lightly salted boiling water for at least 80 minutes.
At the same time, we prepare the tagliolini to serve with the chestnuts. As usual, we mix one egg for every 100 grams of flour. After forming a smooth dough and letting it rest for 15 minutes, we roll it out and prepare our tagliolini.
In a pan, we add oil and brown the onion, then add the almost-cooked chestnuts. Let it simmer and add the milk. Once it boils, lower the heat to prevent it from boiling over. If it thickens too much, add a little water. Let it simmer and then add the pasta, which will cook in a few minutes. A sprinkle of pepper and the soup is ready.
In the glass, add a very young, lightly structured red wine, such as Grignolino, a red wine from Piedmont.
Follow us