AT CARNIVAL (NOT) EVERY SANDWICH IS VALID!
To pay homage to the carnival tradition, don’t choose just any sandwich! The Istituto Valorizzazione Salumi Italiani (IVSI) has created ‘special’ sandwiches with the help of Daniele Reponi, the undisputed king of the gourmet sandwich. The answer could only fall on three of the best-known carnival masks, Pulcinella, Colombina and Balanzone, reinvented in the form of a sandwich, celebrating their territories and deli meats of origin: Campania, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna respectively.
Thus we have ‘Pulcinella’, where Salame Napoli is paired with fiordilatte (a type of mozzarella), coppered onion, artichoke and Amalfi lemon peel. Napoli-type salami is a typical deli meat from Campania (but is easily found throughout Italy) recognisable because the outer surface appears greyish-white, while when cut, the distinction between the bright red colour of the lean meat and the white of the fat stands out. The bun to be used for the recipe is strictly black, like the famous mask.
The star of the ‘Colombina’ is Sopressa Veneta, a salami strongly linked to local peasant culture and gastronomic traditions. Stuffed into natural gut, it has a large size and when cut is pinkish red, with evenly distributed lean and fatty parts. Pepper, nutmeg and garlic contribute to an olfactory harmony that recurs clearly on the palate, made mellow and succulent, savoury, rustic and long lasting. In this signature sandwich, Sopressa is accompanied by radicchio, formaggella di Treviso and mostarda with mixed fruits, all as a mouth-watering filling for a rainbow cassette bread.
And to finish, here is ‘Balanzone’: an appetising fried gnocco, combined with Mortadella Bologna IGP, topped with saffron béchamel and caramelised leeks… a true triumph of flavours. Mortadella Bologna is a PGI product that certainly needs no introduction, but perhaps not everyone knows that for the lardelli (white in colour) the most consistent and valuable parts of the pig, i.e. the throat fat, are used, as envisaged by the production regulations. The fat cubes not only give this sausage its characteristic sweetness, but are also monounsaturated fatty acids, the best for the body.
Click here to find out how to prepare these three delicacies and… happy Carnival!
