Let's start from the somewhat hermetic name - between the allusive irreverent and its manufacturing methods - to explain the goodness of an ancient dish from Western Liguria whose origins, according to some, date back to 1400. recipe is that of Brandacujun a basis of creamed cod and potatoes which is excellent appetizer spread on bread or a substantial and tasty second course.
The history of Brandacujun
The fortune of cod in food was initially due to the extensive use made of it by sailors on long voyages. The dried cod it ensured a good dose of protein to face long journeys without deteriorating in the holds. Then the Council of Trent when he ordered to eat lean food during the Lenten period. Finally, from the chosen food of the poor over time it also became the protagonist of the refined dishes appreciated by gourmets. And we come to its curious name. During the voyages (but also later on land) the dried cod was found in the water, then the ship's cooks vigorously slammed it into large pots which they held between their legs until it softened. With the force of this operation the pot slid to…intimate heights. And so by putting together the verb brandeggiare which means to shake with the lower parts of the cooks, we arrived at brandacujun! But there is also a less licentious version of the meaning of this dish and it concerns the verb To swing which – we read in Treccani's dictionary – “is the action of rotating any object horizontally, around a vertical axis; it is said in “partic. of weapons and spec. of artillery installations". In this, you don't rotate a military object but the ladle that has to make the cod creamy. We return to licentious jargon with the third option which refers to a Ligurian saying: «Branda, cujon! Branda, that ciu ti brandi ciu u is good!» or: «Shake it, the more you shake it, the better it is!». The choice that best suits you is yours.
The Brandacujun by chef Sergio Circella
That said, if you want to taste an authentic Brandacujun you need to go to Ne, a tiny village in the Graveglia Valley, bordering the coastal municipalities of Lavagna and Sestri Levante, where since 1987 the Circella family animates one of the most authentic, convincing and interesting expressions of Ligurian gastronomy, the La Brinca restaurant, which in ancient Ligurian etymology means steep, steep, steep and hard place like these lands, trattorias among the best in Italy and Bib Gourmand MICHELIN.
explains Sergio Circella owner of La Brinca: here grandfather Tugnin and grandmother Virginin from the 30s with their 5 sons, among whom the youngest was father Carlo, ran a tavern-shop-oil mill-mill which was a bit like a shopping center of the country. At the end of the 60s with the arrival of the carriage road, this little world ended, and father Carlo with mother Franca Giovanna carried on only the activity of olive mill in winter and small local fruit and vegetable trade in summer. The maternal grandparents Vitturin dei Montedonico and Maria dei Podestà were great lovers of traditional cuisine: Maria, with her great-grandmothers Milia and Genotto, passed on to her mother Franca the knowledge of the art of our cuisine, made of simple dishes but with long artisan labor. We three brothers, Roberto, Andrea and myself, grew up in contact with the farmers of our valley, with their hard work and their splendid fruit and vegetable products, their precious oil. And then when Roberto and I decided in 1987 to build the jump, it was natural for us to focus on mamma Franca's cuisine and local products, the result of difficult agriculture but which is the best defense for our lands.
With Roberto, my wife Pierangela and with the new generation of our twins Matteo and Simone, cousin Stefano, grandmother Franca in the vegetable garden and with our splendid girls and boys in the kitchen and in the dining room, after more than thirty years we are carrying on a beautiful story made of so much passion and many sacrifices, looking to the future with the past in our hearts. And their cooking talks about history, that of a territory of great gastronomic heritage, of intense, wild flavours, between land and sea. Dishes with archaic names come to life in the kitchens of La Brinca, such as Prebugiun di Ne, Panella, Panissa, Baciocca, Frisciulle, Testaieu, Picagge, Tuccu, Tomaxelle, Sancrau, Panera, ancient names that recall ancient tastes, revisited with kindness and served to Guests "to tell the history and culture of our land and our people".
The Brandacujun recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g of cod desalted and washed in running water for 2 days
- 400 g Cannellina Nera del Tigullio potatoes (white flesh)
- 2 bunches of parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 50 g pine nuts
- 100 g pitted Taggiasche olives in brine
- Riviera Ligure DOP extra virgin olive oil to taste
- Salt to taste
To taste, a mixed salad of accompanying wild herbs.
Method
Peel and roughly chop them potatoes then boil them for at least 20 minutes in boiling salted water. Halfway through cooking, add the Previously desalted and washed cod in running water for at least a couple of days. Finish boiling until the consistency of both ingredients is very soft. Leave to cool, then drain and place in a container saucepan with low sides equipped with a lid and start "Branding" or shaking the contents until homogeneous.
The part prepare a mince with part of the selected parsley and a crushed garlic (from which the core has been removed) then add to the mixture in the saucepan with salt to taste, the toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of oil, mix with the help of a spatula. For the gaskets prepare a coarse mince with the Taggiasche olives left to dry in a static oven at 100° and a parsley oil by blending the remaining blanched parsley with the oil. Accompany with wild spring herbs like Prebugiun.
La Brinca restaurant
Via Campo di Ne, 58
16040 Campo di Ne
Phone: (+018) 53 37 480
