In the 60s was never missing in a wedding, engagement, birthday, or representation and triumphed in the Christmas menu. It was the gastronomic note that gave elegance and importance to the table. Today is almost forgotten and if you try to ask a millennial what it is, you will only find mute and embarrassed faces.
And yet, Galantina di Gallina or chicken, a dish that requires great skill both in preparation and in execution, has an important story behind it. Hers His origins are distant and very noble. Someone traces it back to Porcus Troianus of the Romans, a pig stuffed with sausages, game and spices which took its name from the Trojan horse stuffed with Achaean soldiers to conquer Priam's stronghold.
The use of stuffed hen or chicken is found in the "De re coquinaria” by the great gastronome Marco Gavio Apicius which provides particular indications on how to stuff a chicken: “Empty the chicken from the neck side. Mince some pepper, some ligustico, some ginger, some chopped and boiled spetta pulp, brains seared in the sauce, break some eggs and mix them. Make the dough. Dilute with the sauce and add a little oil, peppercorns and plenty of pine nuts. Stuff the chicken or broiler so that there is some space left inside. You will do the same with the capon that you will bone before cooking it”.
More similar to the Galantina we know today is the one that appears on the tables of the nobility in the Middle Ages by some chefs who wanted to amaze their masters' guests with sumptuous and impressive dishes, as attested in some tales of banquets in Poland. The custom of stuffing chickens, hens and birds then reached peaks of great and refined elaboration in the French cuisine of the late XNUMXth - early XNUMXth century.
Thus we come to modern times. L'Emilia Romagna, Umbria and the Marches they each boast their own history of Galantina which belongs to the category of dishes cooked in broth and served cold. The animal's carcass is stuffed with vegetables, herbs and spices, eggs, pistachios and truffles. After which it is presented cut into slices to enhance the preciousness of the filling, the harmony of flavors and its great mosaic effect and is covered with jelly made from the cooking broth cut into cubes - hence the name - accompanied by Russian salad.
In Umbrian culinary tradition galantine is considered a Christmas dish. In ancient times it was usually the women of the house - but sometimes the men also tried their hand - who cooked it in exchange for oil, wine and other fruits of the earth or even money. In the gastronomic tradition of Marche and Abruzzo, however, is not seen exclusively as a Christmas dish, but is eaten all year round.
Lo Chef Daniele Citeroni Maurizi, patron of the Osteria Ophis in Offida, awarded by Michelin guide with the Bib Gourmand symbol, and from the Gambero Rosso Guide with Tre Gamberi "grandson of two grandmothers who were masters of cooking, a gourmet from birth and a cook from the early years of adolescence”, he made his restaurant housed in the former stables of an ancient building with brick vaults, a laboratory of authentic Marche cuisine. “My cooking – he says – is firmly anchored in the local tradition and is based on the highest quality raw materials that I love to select and find personally, even if this means getting up early in the morning, going from one farmer to another and finding myself playing every day with what good my land offers. Legumes, seasonal vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, free-range chickens and meat from certified farms are the first inspiration for my dishes. Pasta and bread are homemade with living flour from ancient grains that I love to reintroduce into my customers' diets”.
It is no coincidence thatOsteria Ophis, located in the heart of the beautiful historic town in the Marche region, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, along the course that leads to the square and created inside the former stables of Palazzo Alessandrini, where barrel vaults and caves bear witness to four centuries of history, it's a'Osteria of the Slow Food Alliance of Cooks: the gastronomic philosophy rigorously responds to the principle of good, clean and fair in restoring the fair value to food, in respect of those who produce, in harmony with the environment and ecosystems, thanks to the knowledge of which local territories and traditions are guardians for which the menus change every two months in the maximum exaltation of seasonality, and indicate all the principals used to support the battle for biodiversity.
” I love things well done – says Chef Daniele Citeroni Maurizila my cuisine is the expression of my land, the Marches and, in particular, the Piceno. Real flavours, traditional processing techniques are combined with new generation ideas and methods because in my restaurant experimentation is essential”.
Among the signature dishes of the chef from the Marches the Chicken galantine occupies a place of honor even attested by the Michelin Guide who publishes his recipe: "In the Marches, whose gastronomic tradition does not bind it to a specialty of Holy Christmas, the galantine gladdens the table all year round. In one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, rightly famous for the industrious and patient art of bobbin lace, Offida hosts the Osteria Ophis in its historic center"
The recipe for Chicken Galantina
Ingredients
1 boneless hen
1 Chicken carcass plus some veal bones
1 fresh egg
2 boiled eggs
500 gr Ground chicken, turkey and veal
150 g Diced carrots
150 g Diced celery
50 gr Onion cut into brunoise (very small cubes)
50 g Pitted Ascoli tender olives
20 g Peeled and toasted almonds
20 g toasted walnuts
50 gr Parmigiano reggiano
Salt and pepper
Method
Immerse the chicken carcass, the veal bones and some vegetables in a saucepan filled with cold water and bring to the boil; then reduce the whole thing by 80%. Attention! Do not overdo the salt and pepper, as the broth will reduce.
Start working the old "queen of the courtyard" by opening it on a sheet of baking paper, then add a pinch of salt and pepper. In the meantime, prepare the filling by mixing and seasoning the white meat mince with vegetables, dried fruit, olives, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and a fresh egg, which will serve as a binding agent (although in reality, the white meat is already provided with a natural binder, albumin).
The filling should be placed "like a salami" along the two thighs, while the eggs split in half are inserted in the centre. Optionally, add a slice of black truffle. Roll up with the help of baking paper and tie carefully making everything homogeneous
Slow cooking in the oven will make the meat tender and juicy: 150° for 90 minutes. After it has rested for one night in the refrigerator next to its jelly, the most enviable cooked salami on modern tables will be ready to prepare yours too!
Ophis tavern
Corso Serpente Aureo, 54 B
63073 Offida AP
