THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021
www.italoamericano.org
28
L'Italo-Americano
M
a n y y e a r s
ago, when
I was living
in the town
of Pietra-
santa, located on the coast
o f n o r t h e r n T u s c a n y , a
friend visited from London.
Sitting down in a local trat-
toria, she asked the waiter to
surprise her with something
traditional. The waiter was
so pleased with this request
and promised her he would
bring a local delicacy!
W h e n t h e p l a t e w a s
placed in front of my friend,
she stared at the food with a
little confusion. She then
looked at me and with a hor-
rified expression said, "Has
he just given me a plateful of
lard?" (in her wonderfully
posh London accent). We
all laughed and I told her
that although basically that's
w h a t i t w a s , s h e m u s t n ' t
underestimate the exquisite
flavor and silky texture of
t h i n l y s l i c e d l a r d o d i
Colonnata melting onto
hot crostini.
Lardo di Colonnata is
a specialised, cured lard that
in 2004 earned the presti-
gious IGP status — protect-
ed geographical indication
(PGI). Lardo is obtained
f r o m l a r d l o c a t e d o n t h e
back of the pig, which is cut
into large pieces, weighing
about 7 kg each, and then
placed into Carrara marble
basins to mature. Added to
the lard is a combination of
salt, herbs and spices and
each producer usually keeps
their recipe a well-guarded
secret. Typically, though, it
i s a m i x o f c o a r s e s a l t
together with garlic, rose-
mary, oregano, cinnamon,
coriander, cloves and nut-
meg.
Lardo di Colonnata is a
t y p i c a l p r o d u c t f r o m
Colonnata, a village located
in northern Tuscany on the
Apuan Alps, and is known to
h a v e o r i g i n a t e d a r o u n d
1800 as a poor dish eaten by
the quarrymen working on
the famous Carrara marble
mountains. There is a story
that tells of it being created
almost by accident, after a
quarryman put some pork
w i t h s p i c e s i n a m a r b l e
bowl: unbeknownst to him
TONI BRANCATISANO
Lardo di Colonnata is at its best when served on warm, rustic bread (Photo: Toni Brancatisano)
Continued to page 30
The exquisite, silky lardo di Colonnata
LA BUONA TAVOLA
RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES
