Trentino-style Strangolapreti

Dear Friends,

Today, I want to propose another dish that is always highly appreciated: Strangolapreti alla trentina. Please don’t confuse them with strozzapreti, which are a type of fresh pasta. It is said that strangolapreti were served and greatly enjoyed by high prelates during the Council of Trent. There are many theories about the origin of the name, but I like to tell the story that a priest, returning from an unsuccessful hunting trip, entered a tavern very hungry. The innkeeper prepared this dish that he liked so much that the priest asked for seconds, thirds… and so on, until he almost choked. Only with a well-placed punch did the innkeeper manage to make the greedy priest spit out the extra bite!

Whatever the origin may be, I invite you to come and taste them. While we wait, since we still can’t travel, you can prepare them following this simple recipe.

Method:

I roughly chopped the bread, but I recommend cutting it into small cubes. I heated the milk and poured it over the bread. I let it soak, and in the meantime, I washed the spinach, drained it, and placed it in a covered pot. As soon as it was cooked, I squeezed it well, roughly chopped it, and sautéed it in a pan with a knob of butter and a clove of garlic to enhance the flavor. I took the soaked bread and started kneading it with my hands. I added the ricotta cheese, the egg, and continued kneading. I added the cooled spinach and kneaded, adjusting the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and grated Trentingrana cheese. I let the dough rest in the refrigerator until lunchtime, then I cooked it in plenty of salted water, shaping the strangolapreti with two spoons. Once they floated to the surface, I let them cook for a couple of minutes, then drained and served them with melted mountain butter flavored with sage and plenty of grated Trentingrana cheese. They can also be topped with tomato sauce.

And there you have it, the dish is ready to be enjoyed!

My tips:

Once the dough is ready, boil a pot of water and try forming a dumpling and cooking it. If it falls apart, add an egg to the dough.
You can shape the dumplings by hand, forming balls and using breadcrumbs to help. Place the balls on a tray that you can put in the freezer, making sure to transfer them to a bag once frozen. To cook them, follow the same procedure: as soon as the water boils, add the dumplings directly from the freezer.
If the dough is too soft, you can add a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
For the seasoning, use good-quality butter that you can flavor with sage and plenty of grated Trentingrana cheese. For a more dramatic presentation, you can prepare speck or Trentingrana cheese wafers.
You can substitute the sauce with tomato sauce ONLY if you are following a low-fat and low-calorie diet!!!!

Trentino-style Strangolapreti

Method:

My tips:

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