Typical Recipes of Marche

In the Marche, land of the sea, of castles, fortresses, cathedrals, fortresses, countryside and cities, the intention to remain faithful to one’s geography and history is an exasperated will. Running the kitchen means revisiting places and history.

“Dopo il non far nulla, io non conosco occupazione per me più deliziosa del mangiare, mangiare come si deve, intendiamoci.  L’appetito è per lo stomaco ciò che l’amore è per il cuore. … Mangiare e amare, cantare e digerire: questi sono in verità i quattro atti di questa opera buffa che si chiama vita, e che svanisce come la schiuma di una bottiglia di champagne.  Chi la lascia fuggire senza averne goduto, è un pazzo.” 
From “Opera buffa” by G.Rossini

Polenta (marchescià magna pulenta, Marches eat polenta, admonishes a saying from central Italy), brodetto, vincisgrassi, cod and stockfish, olives, porchetta are fundamental foods. An even choral dish is polenta alla spienatoia: cooked rather soft and poured onto a large chopping board, it is seasoned with a thick meat sauce (more rarely a sausage-based sauce); without the need for dishes, the diners draw directly from them.

The brodetto…we would better say the brodettos: blessed land of anarchists, their recipe changes at every street corner. The three fundamental ways: the one in white, the one with tomato and the one with saffron, thus have an infinite number of very tasty variations. Above all, it goes without saying that the choice and absolute freshness of the fish is important: the first brodetto, you want to have been born in the open sea on the trawlers (so it is legitimate to consider the one prepared in white, without tomato, with strong vinegar as truly original , served on salty, hard biscuit, from the stock reserve).

The vincisgrassi have a foreign name; in fact, it seems that the dish was so called because he wanted to prepare it every day, so much was the prince zu Widdischgratz (in Ancona in 1799 in command of the Austrian expeditionary force for the war against Napoleon) so fond of it. However, it is certain: the recipe was already known; a publication by Antonio Nebbia, the chef from Macerata of 1784 attests this without a doubt.

Cod and stockfish are considered exquisite country food (remember the dialogue between two old farmers; “Cumpà se tu fusci papa che magnerisci?”, “Lu Vecchilà, e tu?”, “Pozzin’ammaite te sei capato lu mejo!” ) so as to require it on both Christmas Eve and Easter. Eat it in potacchio or all’anconetana and you will immediately understand the reasons.

The Marche olives, from Ascoli in particular, have a centuries-old fame: the Picenes sent them, in wooden barrels or in terracotta pots, as a tribute to the Roman protectors who were very greedy for them; so were the Carthaginians: history tells us that they made real raids when Hannibal raged in the region. Ascolana olives are a real delicacy.

Finally, what about the porchetta? I resort to the words written by Luigi Bartolini, an unforgettable man of art and letters, partisan and libertine: “To be able to eat porchetta it is certain that one must not have a stomach ulcer; on the contrary, one must be robust men, no matter how young or old, as porchetta is very digestible, but you need to be, to explain myself better, of the hunter type. Of course, young ladies who want to keep their figure can’t eat a lot of porchetta. And you have to walk a lot through the serene fields and the open skies You need to work up an appetite of those who make your mouth water…”

First Courses