Twelve months later, the seasons have move round and once more the fire is lit outside Aristo’s bar in Barga Vecchia, the tables are cleared, and the contest is on in earnest with this time, almost three times the number of contestants putting their best plates of castagnaccio in front of an eager and hungry crowd ready to be judged.

Thanks to the work of the organisers, the Lake Angels, it is once again a strictly controlled event with no names on the plates just numbers with people casting their votes for which in their opinion is the best.

As the accordion played in the background, the votes were counted and the final winner announced to one and all.

listen to ‘Castagnaccio 2011’ on Audioboo

It was a fiercely contested Trofeo Castagnaccio this year with 15 entries (plus a last minute entry with was accepted for tasting but could not be judged as it arrived too late for the votes) but it came as little surprise to anybody in the bar when it was announced that Natale Bertolini was awarded this year’s best Castagnaccio 2011.

Natale Bertolini, the maestro of all things chestnut has been producing castagnaccio from his oven for the past half a century, his skill is widely known in the valley and once more he has proved it by winning for the second year running the Trofeo but coming up close on his heels was his daughter in law, Tiziana Faccio who took the second prize and then the the women from the Altana restaurant who took the third.

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The humble sweet chestnut has been an important ingredient in the Mediterranean diet – Homer mentions them, and Pliny even says which kinds were grown in Southern Italy. With time their cultivation spread throughout the peninsula, because they were one of the few food crops that could be grown on steep mountain slopes, and also one of the few crops that could be expected to provide sustenance through the long winter months.

By the middle ages castagne were the staple food of the peasants in large parts of Italy. In this area it has been the saviour of many people who otherwise would have starved when times got really bad and the sweet chestnut flour is still known to this day in Garfagnana as “poor mans flour”

This afternoon I tried my hand at one of the most easiest and tastiest dishes from Garfagnana and Barga – Castagnaccio The classic sweet dish from this area made from chestnut flour

I sifted 250 g of chestnut flour (good quality chestnut flour from one of the local mills at Fosciandora in Garfagnana) into a large bowl with a good pinch of salt and slowly added 200 ml of water and 200 ml of milk – the added milk does change the taste and the colour of the final castagnaccio .. (the original recipe would have been just 400 ml of water)

I stirred the mix until it was a good liquid batter.

I preheated the oven to 180° and prepared with butter the inside of a large flat oven dish.

I poured the mixture into the dish and sprinkled on top, a good couple of handful of walnuts, some pine nuts, sliced orange rinds* and a few springs of rosemary.

A couple of teaspoons of olive oil sprinkled across the top and into the oven for 40 minutes.

Cut into slices and hey presto in less than 40 minutes from start to finish – Castagniaccio.

Ingredients

250 g of chestnut flour
200 ml of water
200ml of milk
walnuts
pine nuts
sliced orange peel
rosemary
olive oil
salt

* Ok so I cheated a bit with the sliced orange peel. To add just that extra hit of sweetness, I heated them briefly in a small pan in some of the juice of the orange and added two small spoons of sugar to caramelise them. Naughty I know.

I Lake Angels organizzano per sabato 10 dicembre a partire dalle 18 in piazza Salvo Salvi (del Comune) una degustazione di castagnaccio. Durante la serata ci sarà l’assegnazione del 2° trofeo “Il castagnaccio del Natale” per il miglior castagnaccio realizzato secondo le ricette popolari e locali.

So added to the three Bertolini plates of castagnaccio there were also two more from some serious contestants – Elena, who brings her castagnaccio to almost every event at Aristo’s and is highly thought of and a newcomer to bar, no other than the chef, Tanica who brought in a plate with a great presentation – flaming castagnaccio no less.

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Just to add to the mix, an outsider to the event, Cinzia Lenzarini brought in her offering made with chestnut flour from Garfagnana but as she was not on the official list she could not be voted on, maybe in the next event as her castagnaccio brought many positive comments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Rk2nVW2q8

As the musicians played, the votes were counted and the final winner announced.

It came as no surprise to anybody in the bar when it was announced that Natale Bertolini took this year’s award for the best Castagnaccio 2011.

The humble sweet chestnut has been an important ingredient in the Mediterranean diet – Homer mentions them, and Pliny even says which kinds were grown in Southern Italy. With time their cultivation spread throughout the peninsula, because they were one of the few food crops that could be grown on steep mountain slopes, and also one of the few crops that could be expected to provide sustenance through the long winter months.

By the middle ages castagne were the staple food of the peasants in large parts of Italy. In this area it has been the saviour of many people who otherwise would have starved when times got really bad and the sweet chestnut flour is still known to this day in Garfagnana as “poor mans flour”

This afternoon I tried my hand at one of the most easiest and tastiest dishes from Garfagnana and Barga – Castagnaccio The classic sweet dish from this area made from chestnut flour

I sifted 250 g of chestnut flour (good quality chestnut flour from one of the local mills at Fosciandora in Garfagnana) into a large bowl with a good pinch of salt and slowly added 200 ml of water and 200 ml of milk – the added milk does change the taste and the colour of the final castagnaccio .. (the original recipe would have been just 400 ml of water)

I stirred the mix until it was a good liquid batter.

I preheated the oven to 180° and prepared with butter the inside of a large flat oven dish.

I poured the mixture into the dish and sprinkled on top, a good couple of handful of walnuts, some pine nuts, sliced orange rinds* and a few springs of rosemary.

A couple of teaspoons of olive oil sprinkled across the top and into the oven for 40 minutes.

Cut into slices and hey presto in less than 40 minutes from start to finish – Castagniaccio.

Ingredients

250 g of chestnut flour
200 ml of water
200ml of milk
walnuts
pine nuts
sliced orange peel
rosemary
olive oil
salt

* Ok so I cheated a bit with the sliced orange peel. To add just that extra hit of sweetness, I heated them briefly in a small pan in some of the juice of the orange and added two small spoons of sugar to caramelise them. Naughty I know.

Maybe, now is the time to show the other side of the coin – Barga as a viable working community which sometimes flies in the face of what would be recognised as normal practice. One such occasion when it makes one feel very lucky be a member of this community happened this week in Aristos with the arrival of the great characters of Barga Vecchia, Natale Bertolini with a basket full of still warm freshly roasted chestnuts.

[View with PicLens]

The humble sweet chestnut has been an important ingredient in the Mediterranean diet – Homer mentions them, and Pliny even says which kinds were grown in Southern Italy. With time their cultivation spread throughout the peninsula, because they were one of the few food crops that could be grown on steep mountain slopes, and also one of the few crops that could be expected to provide sustenance through the long winter months.

By the middle ages castagne were the staple food of the peasants in large parts of Italy. In this area it has been the saviour of many people who otherwise would have starved when times got really bad and the sweet chestnut flour is still known to this day in Garfagnana as “poor mans flour”

Natale, one of the masters of roasting chestnuts showed just why he is so famous in the whole valley for his technique. We published an article about his methods back in March 2007 (article here)

There are various methods that people try to preserve the chestnuts well past the autumn and into the winter. Some try burying them in glass demijohns and flasks in an attempt to keep them fresh. Others have even tried imitating the squirrels and edible dormice in this area who store the nuts inside hollow trees wrapped up in moss but the most widely used technique (and the one that Natale used even he didn’t want to admit to it in public) was storing them in the deep freezer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETw1rJiwXEE

Then the door to the bar opens and in walks Elena bearing a large tray of freshly baked castagnaccio – the classic sweet dish from this area made from chestnut flour. (A recipe for castagnaccio can be seen here ) Her decision to cook and bring in castagnaccio was completely independent of the arrival of Natale with his mondine – one of those great coincidences which sometimes just work here.

Within minutes the party was on, the red wine was flowing and all helped along by the stirring accordion playing of Giuliano.

Nothing every “over organised” just happening.

Once the chestnuts are dried they are then taken to the mills to be ground down into the chestnut flour that is so important for local dishes in this area.

In Toscana ciò avveniva nel metato, una costruzione rustica eretta nel luogo di raccolta delle castagne. Talvolta, come sull’Appennino Pistoiese e in Garfagnana, il metato era parte integrante dell’abitazione: sostituiva la cucina ed era luogo di incontro, in quanto vi si tenevano le veglie. Le castagne erano poste a seccare sul canniccio o sulle cannaiole, cioè su una impalcatura costituita da assi di legno ravvicinate o da canne a cui il focolare della cucina assicurava un calore costante. Pascoli ricorda un: “metato soletto in cui seccasse a un fuoco dolce il dolce pan di legno: sopra le cannaiole le castagne cricchian, e il rosso fuoco arde nel buio.” (Il ciocco dai Canti di Castelvecchio,) Una volta seccate, le castagne venivano sgusciate con una energica battitura che triturava i gusci dentro robusti sacchi o in un apposito recipiente detto bigoncia. Oggi questi procedimenti sono stati sostituiti dall’uso di macchine sgusciatrici. Anche i metati sono quasi del tutto scomparsi, trasformati spesso in stanze di abitazione o in ripostigli per gli attrezzi. – Margherita Azzari

The sweet chestnut flour is notorious for being difficult to keep for long periods – a certain moth being the most prevalent culprit – turning a bag of precious flour in a horrible biological experiment in a matter of days and so its time to use up last seasons flour before the immanent arrival of the new.

[View with PicLens]

This afternoon I tried my hand at one of the most easiest and tastiest dishes from Garfagnana and Barga – Castagnaccio The classic sweet dish from this area made from chestnut flour

I sifted 250 g of chestnut flour (good quality chestnut flour from one of the local mills at Fosciandora in Garfagnana) into a large bowl with a good pinch of salt and slowly added 200 ml of water and 200 ml of milk – the added milk does change the taste and the colour of the final castagnaccio .. (the original recipe would have been just 400 ml of water)

I stirred the mix until it was a good liquid batter.

I preheated the oven to 180° and prepared with butter the inside of a large flat oven dish.

I poured the mixture into the dish and sprinkled on top, a good couple of handful of walnuts, some pine nuts, sliced orange rinds* and a few springs of rosemary.

A couple of teaspoons of olive oil sprinkled across the top and into the oven for 40 minutes.

Cut into slices and hey presto in less than 40 minutes from start to finish – Castagniaccio.

Ingredients

250 g of chestnut flour
200 ml of water
200ml of milk
walnuts
pine nuts
sliced orange peel
rosemary
olive oil
salt

* Ok so I cheated a bit with the sliced orange peel. To add just that extra hit of sweetness, I heated them briefly in a small pan in some of the juice of the orange and added two small spoons of sugar to caramelise them. Naughty I know.

Seemingly out of nowhere, without a huge amount of  organisation, wood for the fire was brought into the piazza. The heavy metal tray in which the fire was built was transported in by some of the Comune workers.

A sack containing 25 kg of the finest local chestnuts, was opened up and people of all ages sitting outside the bar started to prepare the chestnuts ready for roasting. Three long handled chestnut roasting pans were brought in by various people, the fire was lit and roasting started in earnest.

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Musicians arrived, instruments were brought into the piazza, flasks of red wine were handed round, and the festa was off and running.

Incredible how these things happen, as there is no publicity, no posters informing people as to time and date, nobody really is in charge of organising, but somehow, almost organically, these festas take off.

As darkness descended on the piazza, the chestnuts were replaced by a grill and the smell of fragrant sausages gently cooking filled the piazza.

Somebody appeared with a large plate of castagnaccio, a local sweet delicacy made from chestnut flour (a recipe for castagnaccio can be found in forum) , somebody else arrived with a freshly baked cake and of course the musicians played on (and they kept on playing … a six and a half hour musical marathon, in fact)

Only at 11 o’clock in the evening after the piazza was swept clean, the tables rearranged and the glasses taken inside did the participants of today’s social event reluctantly, very reluctantly finally relinquish the piazza.

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