L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 36 L'Italo-Americano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES FRANCESCA BEZZONE T h e s a r t ù d i r i s o i s o n e o f Naples' traditio- n a l d i s h e s f o r Christmas: it's a deliciously rich mix of rice, m e a t , c h e e s e s a n d p e a s , baked and served in slices. As it often happens in our cuisine, the sartù has an interesting history and even its name needs to be explai- ned. The word sartù is the d i s t o r t i o n o f t h e F r e n c h " s o u r t o u t " o r " o n everything," in reference to the breadcrumbs covering the entire dish. The recipe itself was created to … make rice more palatable to the Neapolitan court. Let's see why! We are in the 18th cen- tury, when Ferdinand I of Bourbon is king. His wife, t h e A u s t r i a n M a r i a Carolina, wasn't too fond of Neapolitan cuisine, so she hired a bunch of French chefs — called monsieurs at c o u r t a n d , m o c k i n g l y , monsù in Naples' streets — to work in the kitchens of t h e p a l a c e . O n e o f t h e queen's favorite ingredients was rice, but the relation- ship between Naples and the cereal wasn't good: arri- v e d i n t h e 1 4 t h c e n t u r y from Spain, it was known at c o u r t a s s c i a c q u a p a n z a , that is, bland and unintere- sting: a food for the poor and for the sick. In fact, it was mostly administered by doctors when people suffe- red from intestinal or gastric diseases, including cholera. T h e m o n s ù , t h e r e f o r e , had the difficult duty to ensure the queen could eat her rice, but also that her husband would not com- plain about it. This is how t h e y c a m e o u t w i t h t h e sartù: they mixed the rice with Neapolitan staples like meatballs, ragù and fiordi- latte, with the precise aim of masking the taste of rice, so that Ferdinand would eat it. Needless to say, it was a suc- cess. The traditional recipe for sartù is the one below, but many versions exists, with a v a r i e t y o f f i l l i n g s b e i n g allowed. The most famous alternative is the one for sartù bianco, without the tomato sauce: to make it, t h e r i c e i s f l a v o r e d w i t h sugna (lard) and the filling is made with meatballs only. I n g r e d i e n t s ( f o r a 8x5in baking mold) 2 1/2 cups of Carnaroli rice (500 grams) 5 1/2 oz fiordilatte 2 cups of peas (fresh or frozen) 2 hard boiled eggs 4 1/2 oz of egg (this rou- g h l y e q u a l s 2 l a r g e o r 3 small to medium eggs) A pinch of salt Pepper to taste 4 tbsp grated parmigiano For the ragù Napoletano 12 oz of pork ribs (320 gr) 1 1/2 lb of beef ribs (700 gr) 12 oz of sausage (320 gr) 10.5 oz of yellow onions 4 1 / 2 t b s p e x t r a v i r g i n olive oil 3 cups of tomato passata sauce 4 1/2 tbsp of red wine 1 1/3 cup of water For the meatballs 7 oz of ground beef 6 tbsp of grated parmigia- no The sartù was created by French chefs to trick King Ferdinand I to eat rice (Photo: Ruthven, CCo, via Wikimedia Commons) Sartù di riso: Naples' decadent take on Christmas food Continued to page 38

• Cover