Typical Carrara cuisine is hearty and with strong flavors, derived from the necessities of work in the quarry, which is also why it makes up dishes that can often be eaten cold in the days following preparation.
Colonnata lard certainly plays the leading role, becoming a particular ingredient in many dishes, and certainly those who want to taste every aspect of Carrara’s culinary culture cannot avoid starting, as an appetizer, with crostini with this specific cured meat, which placed on warm bread releases, melting slightly, all its flavor. A slice of tomato lightens the strong taste of lard and makes this dish unique.
Among the first courses, the taglierini in beans take center stage, which involves the homemade preparation of taglierini made of only water flour and salt, traditionally “alti al canèd e basi al coltèd,” that is, high in the rolling pin and fine in the cut, which are cooked in a broth obtained from the slow boiling of borlotti beans Savoy cabbage, and potatoes (in summer, green beans and zucchini are also added), while separately sautéing a mixture of chopped Colonnata lard, celery, carrot, onion and parsley to which a fresh peeled tomato is then added, and the whole mixture is blended with the broth from the beans by adding oregano and thyme. Halfway through cooking, half of the beans are mashed and put back on the boil along with the sauté. The result that characterizes this simple but very tasty dish is a thick broth that is also excellent over the next two or three days, cold, after having rested in the refrigerator and hardened so much that it is said that the spoon should be able to stay upright stuck in the center of the bowl. Not to be forgotten is a rind of lard to throw into the pot while boiling.
Among the main courses we should undoubtedly point out marinated cod, which is prepared from the pieces of soaked cod floured and fried with the bone, which is said to give more flavor to the fish; in the same frying oil then fry rosemary garlic and chili pepper to which tomato puree and vinegar will be added. This tasty condiment, the marinade precisely, is then poured over the cod. This must rest for at least a day and can also be eaten cold or warm. This tasty and flavorful specialty was always present in the old cellars, as it invited patrons to have a few more drinks. Typical of the quarrymen was to carry a nice piece of bread loaf at its end, emptied of the crumb, filled with marinated codfish and capped with the crumb itself.
Two products that were a source of sustenance for the local people during times of famine, particularly during times of war were polenta and chestnut flour since there are extensive chestnut forests in these mountains.
As for polenta, beyond the classic preparation, there is a very tasty local variation that tells of the art of making do in lean times: the chained polenta, which is made by adding to the cornmeal boiled eye beans and a good amount of the so-called vine grasses, and that is those dozens of wild but edible herbs that grow wild in the vineyards or along the paths, such as, to name a few, borage, thistle, asparagine, sorrel, mallow, mint lavarone, and wild chard. Of course, the recipe changes according to season and taste. The resulting polenta, if leftover, is fried in slices.
Many dishes are cooked with chestnut flour, but certainly the most typical, in Carrara, is castagnaccio, a very caloric dessert that is prepared especially during the Epiphany season. The dough is composed of chestnut flour, water, a sultana and pine nuts, poured into a pan and baked in the oven with the addition of rosemary branches. In the various local versions we can also find orange peel, walnuts or fennel seeds, although the poor origin of the cake obviously involved nothing more than water, chestnut flour and rosemary.
A unique dish that is very characteristic of the area and combines sea and mountains is mussels, which are called “muscoli” here, stuffed. The recipe calls for boiling the muscles and removing them from their shells to mince them and combine them with a mixture of ground beef, mortadella, breadcrumbs soaked in milk, tomatoes, eggs white wine, garlic and spices. The mixture should then be reinserted inside the shells, which should therefore be large, and then the shells should be tied with twine. When the muscles are ready they should be spiraled into a saucepan and cooked in tomato puree and their broth.
Last but not least is the rice cake. This typical cake that originated as an Easter cake and is unmissable at the feast of patron saints that fall in spring, but is now present all year round, involves a few basic ingredients: rice, eggs, sugar, milk, and a pinch of salt, but the ratio of eggs to milk (in some versions if can count eighteen per liter of milk) and sugar to make up the cream, and the ratio of the amount of cream to rice mean that each village, each hamlet has its own variation, which may also include liqueur (Alchermes, Sassolino, Anise …) and lemon zest. Of course, each locality claims its own as the most traditional and certainly the tastiest version. They are all worth tasting.