A typical Veronese meal: the Tastasal risotto
The Tastasal risotto
After having proposed the recipe for an exquisite dessert like chocolate cake and pear Rosada, today is the turn of a typical dish of traditional Veronese cuisine: the risotto Tastasal.
In the past, in the rural history, pork and polenta ensured a rich sustenance to the people, hence the saying: "El mas-cio is the musina de na fameia", that is "the pig is the piggy bank of a family" .
That's why meat and risotto were real symbols of abundance and prosperity.
In the days of Saint Lucia, the Veronese countryside was in turmoil: this phase of the year, in fact, represented the so-called "tanning" of the meat.
They were days of celebration, in which the men of the house went hunting for pigs and the women cooked, establishing the dosage of salt, garlic and other spices to add to the meat with which the risotto was prepared.
Hence the test of the "tastasal", a dialectal term which means – in fact – "to taste, to try".
The tastasal, today, is a mixture of fresh minced pork meat, flavored with ground black pepper and is also the mixture used to make salami and sausages.
The recipe
Every Veronese citizen has his own recipe for preparing risotto at Tastasal. For example, someone replaces the onion with shallots or adds cinnamon to flavor the risotto.
So, today, we offer you our recipe!
The necessary to prepare this tasty first course is composed of:
• 350 g of Vialone Nano rice
• 500 g of tastasal or salami paste
• 1 liter of filtered meat broth
• Half onion
• 1 glass of white wine
• 1 spoon of oil
• 1 knob of butter
• Grated cheese
In a saucepan, pour the meat broth, heat it up to make it boiling and then pour the Vialone Nano rice, stirring slowly.
In a pan brown the onion (or shallots) with a little oil and in a smaller one the tastasal crumbled, available in any butcher's shop.
When it will take about 3 or 4 minutes to cook the rice, add the sauce, blending it with a little white wine and mixing it, stirring vigorously.
Serve your risotto with some grated cheese and, if you like, add a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon.
We give you some advice: you can serve the tasty Tastasal risotto by combining it with Veronese red wines, such as – for example – Valpolicella or Bardolino.
If you are in Verona, you should definitely try this first course full of taste and tradition!
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