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The Comacchio eel
For Comacchio eels are more than just a delicious dish to be enjoyed, they are above all a major source of income for the local population, because this wetland landscape has been the home of eels since time immemorial. In this environment, distinguished by a delicate balance between land and water, between dry and damp, between people and the sea, eels are the kings of the table, with their strong and brackish flavour, so deep-rooted in the gastronomic culture of the area. Highly prized by the population as a whole, eels continue to be caught using methods that exploit the autumn tides and the natural appeal these have on the mature eels, which are caught using the "lavoriero" system, an intricate system of communicating chambers.
Afterwards they are selected and stored, first of all alive in tanks or large submerged baskets (the bòlaghe), then cut, roasted and pickled in vinegar and salt before being packed and marketed. This artisan production method, with its traditions rich in memories and familiar flavours, today relives in the old Manifattura dei Marinati at Comacchio, under the loggia of the Cappuccini, reopened after careful restoration. The Manifattura, which represents a symbol of the town, has restarted its production cycle and the large fireplaces have once more been lit, where the eels were cooked on skewers over wood fires before being marinated. Besides marinated, this gastronomic masterpiece can also be enjoyed in numerous other ways. Forty-eight different dishes exist that go from very delicate risotto to grilled eels, with their intense aroma that makes them a gastronomic rite impossible to resist. |
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Ferrara bread
One thousand years ago, Ferrara bread was made in loaves and strict rules for its preparation were already listed in the Statuta Ferrariae of 1287. Three hundred years after its first appearance, "crooked or twisted" bread, or la coppia of which Cristoforo da Messisbugo speaks, remains one of the most imaginative delights to have passed on down to us from the d'Este court. The coppia became increasingly more famous among the gourmets of the age and, in 1694, the historian Antonio Frizzi, recalling the degree of refinement achieved by the Ferrara bakers, spoke of various types of bread and various shapes which, by going beyond the monotonous concept of loaf, made elegance one of the reasons that enabled this bread to stand out from the crowd.
The famous coppia, in dialect ciupeta, has a centre part called knot or ribbon, grop, from where two rolled crusts depart, the curnit, which terminate with a point. Crunchy or soft, dressed or devoid of fats, Ferrara bread is a real masterpiece of Italian gastronomy and has well deserved the IGP status. But what is the secret of its flavour? Above all the quality of the water and raw materials used, the degree of humidity of the air, the method of production and leavening and a correct oven temperature. It is impossible to walk past a Ferrara baker's without buying a piece of bread that has just come out of the oven: an intense fragrance that penetrates the air and makes you feel hungry; as the writer Riccardo Bacchelli said: "This is the best bread in the world". |
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