A typical Lombard dish
The winter season, with its harsh temperatures and frequent rainfall, requires a suitable type of nutrition. Everyday cooking often turns back to ancient Italian traditions that offer recipes suitable to be made at this particular time of year. One of the most interesting recipes is rice in cagnone one of the main typical Lombard dishes. It is a dish popular in some particular areas of the region.
The History
Rice in Cagnone is called in Lombardy dialect ris in Cagnun. Its name is very likely derived from the Lombard dialect term cagnun which means insect larva. This is because when cooked the rice grains have a similar shape. Mainly served as a main dish but can also be used as a perfectly matching side dish for scallops or roast chicken.
Here’s another thing: it’s a typical winter dish with humble origins. It originated between Piedmont and Lombardy. Since ancient times it has been present with the same name throughout the northwest area. One of its main features is the high calorie intake it guarantees. It was ideal for shepherds who brought livestock to graze in mountainous areas. The first document in which its recipe is present dates back to 1658 and is Brevità di scalcheria of F Cherubini.
Main Ingredients
The dish is based on simple common ingredients from the territories where it is widespread. The original recipe represents Italian traditions. The rice in Cagnone does not show many variations in relation to the area. In general the only significant change present in the main Italian recipes of one of the typical Lombard dishes concerns the number of garlic cloves that are used for the preparation.
The main ingredients that must be used for 4 people are:
- 300 g rice 1-4 cloves of garlic
- 4-5 Sage leaves
- 100 g butter
- grated Parmesan cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt.
How to prepare it
Take a look at this: the basic preparation is to cook the rice in abundant salt water. This must be brought to a boil. Meanwhile, apart, you have to crush the cloves of garlic in the desired number. At this point you have to fry them with butter and sage until they become hazelnut-coloured. At this stage you have to be very careful not to burn it.
When the rice is ready, after about 13 minutes of cooking, you have to drain it and put it in the dishes. Now you need to discard the garlic previously fried with the
seasoning together with some grated parmesan onto the rice. The suggestion is to serve it right away when it is still hot it is much tastier. The time that is generally required for the realization of this recipe is about 30 minutes.
As you can see the rice in Cagnone is one of those Italian recipes that are particularly suited to winter. In this that is one of the most popular typical Lombard dishes you can rediscover the history of Italian traditions. Have you ever tasted it? If the answer is no, you can now prepare it with this information. See you soon with the next recipe!