"La Pitina della Valtramontina^®"

The “Pitina” is a typical product from Val Tramontina. It seems it was born in the first half of the XIX century, since it was already prepared by people living in Inglagna and Frasaneit, rural villages situated in Tramonti di Sopra’s commune.

In its ingredients it is very similar to the “Peta” from Andreis and the “Petuccia” from Claut; at first it was exclusively prepared with sheep meat, goat meat or clawed game meat (chamois, stag, roebuck). Its typical rissole shape is due to the fact that, in the mountains it was extremely difficult to find guts to sack the meat in and then to preserve it, so the rissole shape device was used to make up for this lack.

The preparation did not need particular equipment so it was possible to make the Pitinas even in the remotest houses in the middle of the mountains, far from the populated villages. Moreover, their preparation did not need a precise programme: a goat with a broken leg, a sheep died in childbirth, a chamois just killed were the occasional conditions for the immediate preparation of the Pitinas.

.Once killed and boned the animal, its meat was cut into small pieces, as small as possible, flavoured with salt, pepper, spicy herbs picked up in the mountains (Arsinc’), the rissoles were shaped by hand and then they were rolled in corn flour; finally, the Pitinas were put near the fireplace to smoke and they stayed there for several days. Once dried, they could have been kept in any place (provided that it was a dry place) for months. Our Pitinas are seasoned in a way that was used a long time ago when electricity did not exist. The main secret was that, after having been near the fireplace to dry up, the Pitinas were put in a cool and airy room, called “camarin”, for an extra drying; time would have done all the rest. After a fortnight, more or less, a thin layer of white mould started to form on the surface of the product and this meant that it was maturing in the best way. After a month, mould covered the Pitinas almost entirely. This continuous seasoning process was a guarantee of their correct preservation. When time to eat the Pitina came, at first mould should have been brushed away from the surface, then the product was washed using vinegar and water, and only after having been dryed up with a rag-cloth it was cut into thin slices to be eaten. It would have been enjoyed better with a good glass of wine, or cooked in the “brodo di polenta”.

At that time, the Pitinas had a very strong flavour, due to the kind of meat used to prepare them; nowadays, to make the Pitinas less strong and palatabler it is also used pork lard, which is usually added to the sheep, goat or game meat.

At our times, as in the “bassa friulana”, especially among the farmers’ families, survives the tradition of butchering the pork, in Val Tramontina survives the tradition of preparing the Pitinas, and only a few local hunters prepare them using chamois meat.

We usually prepare the Pitinas using he-goat or goat meat and pork meat (stag meat at the beginning of the hunting season only) which come from national farms, rigorously checked  by sanitarian officers and veterinaries.

The genuine ingredients of our Pitinas are: meat, salt, pepper, garlic, red wine, spicy herbs and corn flour. Their smoking comes from the burning of local non-resinous firewood.

We try to prepare the Pitinas in the respect of the old tradition originating in Val Tramontina and Val Silisia, and of the national sanitarian laws.

Nowadays, a lot of dishes have been created using the Pitina and they really are a surprising rediscover of an old taste.

Good appetite!

                                                                                            Filippo.

Come si preparano:

Pitina nel brodo di polenta.

Procedimento:

Tagliare a fettine una pitina e scaldarla in un tegame con un pò di burro. Nel frattempo preparare la polenta. Dopo aver versato la farina nell'acqua salata, quando l'impasto é ancora liquido, prendere due mestoli di questo "brodo di polenta", versarli nel tegamino con le pitine e far asciugare il tutto.

Carbonara con Pitina.

Ingredienti per 6 persone: 500 gr. di spaghetti ; 2 pitine ; olio e burro a piacere ; 4 o 5 uova; 2 cucchiai di panna liquida ; 120 gr. di Montasio stagionato e grattugiato; un bicchiere circa , di vino bianco secco Tocai ; sale e pepe.
Procedimento :

Scaldate l'olio e il burro in una capace padella, unite la pitina tagliata a dadini o sbriciolata grossolanamente. Aggiungete il vino bianco e continuate la cottura finché il vinosi sarà consumato. Intanto sbattete le uova con la panna liquida,metà formaggio, sale e pepe. Lessate la pasta in abbondante acqua salata, scolatela e versatela nella padella, unite le uova sbattute e date una rimescolata  generale.

Servite con il resto del formaggio.

Risotto con Pitina .

 Ingredienti per 4 persone :350 gr. di riso ; 8 dl. di brodo ; 1 pitina ; 1/2 cipolla ; olio e burro; sale e pepe.

Procedimento :

Rosolate 1/2 cipolla in un tegame con olio e burro. Aggiungete la pitina tagliata a dadini. Annaffiate questo soffritto con 1/2 bicchiere di vino bianco. Quando il vino é sfumato versate il riso e mescolando continuamente fatelo insaporire . Portate a cottura aggiungendo al riso del brodo caldo , un mestolo alla volta ,mano a mano che si consuma. Quando il riso é quasi cotto spegnere il fuoco, incorporare, a quest'ultimo, fiocchi di burro . Mettere il coperchio al tegame affinché il burro si sciolga ed il riso si finisca di cucinare.

Mescolare prima di servire .

ß Home

Pitina all'aceto balsamico.

Tagliare la Pitina in fette non troppo sottili. Scaldare in una padella olio o burro a piacere. Rosolare le fettine da entrambi i lati, quindi spruzzarvi sopra dell'aceto balsamico e togliere il tegame dal fuoco. Servire come antipasto su dei crostini di pane abbrustoliti cosparsi di aglio e olio (Bruschetta) oppure come secondo con la tradizionale polenta friulana.

Pitina alla brace.

Tagliare la Pitina in quattro fette grosse, scaldarla sulla griglia per pochi minuti quindi servirla con la polenta abbrustolita.

Pizza Valtramontina.

Tagliare la Pitina in fette non troppo sottili e distribuirle sulla pizza già preparata con pomodoro, formaggio fresco montasio tagliato a cubetti, prosciutto cotto,funghi porcini e origano. Mettere in forno.

Pitina della Valtramontina®  STAGIONATA

COME SI PREPARA:

Togliere dalla confezione la “PITINA DELLA VALTRAMONTINA®” e immergerla in un buon vino rosso per circa 15-20 minuti, quindi usando uno spazzolino e lo stesso vino, frizionare la superficie della “PITINA DELLA VALTRAMONTINA®” per asportare eventuali residui di muffe, alla fine asciugare con un canovaccio asciutto o dei tovaglioli di carta.

Affettare e....... buon appetito!!!.