The recipe for longevity? It comes from Emilia Romagna and consists of eating tons of bondiola, called bondiola de la Senza or Ferrara. It is a sausage that has ancient roots, which are to be found in the "bel e cot", a typical cured meat from the towns of Bagnacavallo and Lugo, produced with pork, wrapped in a cloth and fixed with a stick during cooking so that the bondiola never touches the pot in which it is inserted. It is very famous in the Ferrara area, in particular it originates from a small town in the province called Poggio Renatico which has also exported it to some provinces of the Veneto region. And in Poggio Renatico, in the Lower Ferrarese, every year they dedicate a summer festival to the Bondiola.
The preferred part of the pig for the production of Ferrara bondiola is the head, then flavored with red wine, garlic and salt and cooked for about two hours. Subsequently, it is mixed with lean minced meat, placed in the bladder of the pig and left to age. For the more daring producers, since this preparation already gives the bondiola a strong and decisive taste, it is ideal to add spices to the mixture, such as cloves and cinnamon.
Tradition has it that bondiola is eaten 40 days after Easter but, being a sausage very similar to cotechino, it can be a variant of a typical Christmas dish and very consumed even on New Year's Eve. The best-known recipe calls for it to be cut into slices and served with mashed potatoes. The ideal would be to cut the bondiola into slices and serve it with mashed potatoes.
Processing of bondiola
Before stuffing the meat into the large diameter casing, the product is placed to "sweat" at about 25 °C for a couple of days, so that it becomes homogenized and loses water; outdoor drying is no longer used, replaced by modern ventilated cells, followed by further storage in a damp and cool place (from 6 to 10 °C) to favor the "flowering", ie the appearance of mold on the outside. The seasoning lasts from a minimum of six months to a year and beyond.
It is eaten like a cotechino, after patiently boiling in a workmanlike manner. The bondiola, tightly wrapped in a canvas sack, is hung from a wooden spoon and remains suspended in the boiling water, avoiding any direct contact with the pot. When cut, the inside appears brick red, with a coarse structure; the white of the lardons and the beaten rind (mainly obtained from the animal's head and throat) stand out, while the section of the cured tongue is clearly visible in the centre.
A virtuous example in the production of bondiola is that of Ferrara Armando Saccenti owner of La Bottega di Saccenti.
All the sausages of "La Bottega di Saccenti" are still processed today with all manual equipment so as not to alter the maturation process. The pork comes from a slaughterhouse in the area and only selected and exclusively Italian top quality pigs which are supplied personally in order to be able to choose the best parts of the pig.
"This for me means - says Mr. Armando - keeping my roots in a territory that I love deeply, that I would like everyone to know, starting from the products that have always distinguished it and that will not be lost thanks to the passion and commitment of many admirers and artisans like me”.
The Saccenti Workshop Armando & CSas
via Pontisette no. 11
44124 Ferrara
Tel. +39 347 3407848
Email info@labottegadisaccenti.it
Recipe of the "bondiola de la Senza" with lentils
Here is one of the traditional recipes:
Ingredients
- 1 kg of Bondiola
- 300 g lentils
- 1 carrot
- ½ onion
- Vegetable broth
Procedure:
First you need to cut both the onion and the carrot and fry them in a pan with a drizzle of oil. Once the mince is golden, add the already washed lentils and cook over medium heat, keeping the lid slightly raised to let the steam out. Add the hot vegetable broth to prevent the lentils from drying out. Take the bondiola and pierce it with some appetizers so as to allow the inside to cook, immerse it in cold water and let it rest for an hour. At this point, cook the bondiola over low heat for about 2 hours. Drain and serve the bondiola sliced accompanied by the lentils.
