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| Brutto ma buono / Ugly but delicious |
It is winter so it should be cold outside. Unfortunately the
weather doesn’t always bother the season confusing nature and mankind. Because
in winter we eat heavy stuff which we might need to sustain the weather.
People in countries with a cold climate, those with a big
difference between summer and winter temperature or those living in the mountains
are used to eat different dishes in winter and summer. Summer serves light plates
with fruits or vegetables containing a lot of water and easy to digest. Think of
salads, zucchini, red fruits, etc.
With the change of the season we also change recipes. Autumn
is perfect for fungi and pumpkin, maybe together with some wild shot in the
woods. And then comes winter. The period in which we eat potatoes, a lot of fat
and hard vegetables which take time to go down your stomach.
This tradition is closely linked to the seasons. When it is
warm outside it is easy to grow fragile food which mainly consists out of
water. Meanwhile in winter the veggies are tougher, because they need to
survive the cold winter nights. Therefore water is a less important part or its
continents. Often they also have a more bitter flavor.
Nature has done a good job creating this different kind of
foods. But also mankind enjoys it. Its body likes to go with the seasons. In
hot summers we need more water which is thus supplied by the food we eat. In
winter we want to protect ourselves from the cold and – besides turning up the
heat and wear thick clothes – we thus want and have to eat food rich in
energies.
I gave it a try last week and ate a good plate of pizzocheri
a typical dish from the high mountains in a valley north of Bergamo. It was a
good dish and a wintery dish. Not very delicate to see, but the more delicate
in its flavor. If you can speak about delicacy if you see the ingredients of this
real mountain-people- recipe.
Off course as a citizen with all the comforts of modern life
we don’t need dishes like pizzocheri very often. It has become a specialty
which we like to enjoy once in a while. While for many others this dish has
become something they had to eat since it was that or nothing else. But it is a
tradition which belongs to winter as eggs belong to Easter. I suggest we keep
dishes like this alive in the city and in the mountains. If necessary just take
a good walk and you will burn them easily.
