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With our passionate Chef Patrizia Ferlini we are going to discover the culinary treasures of the Oltrepò Pavese. The dish we will prepare today is the stale bread cake
As good country tradition teaches, nothing goes to waste. The stale bread cake stems precisely from this need not to throw away old bread. A cake of poor origin made with what was left at home. Today, it is also reproposed in more elaborate versions in local restaurants.
Bread is the emblem of the peasant culinary tradition. The perfect example of how reuse has always been the pillar on which Pavia‘s gastronomy has been based. Just think of the classic and famous Pavia soup made with bread, broth and eggs. It is impossible to talk about these recipes without mentioning miccone, the typical bread of the Oltrepò Pavese.
Also known as ‘miccone di Stradella‘ or ‘miccone Pavese‘, it has made it possible for the municipality of origin, Stradella, to become part of the golden roll of Italian bread. It is a hard white bread made in pieces of around one kilogramme. A long process made up of leavening and balancing of ingredients that make the dough dry and able to remain fragrant for several days, precisely according to peasant needs.
This bread lends itself very well to the making of this cake. In both Oltrepò Pavese and Lomellina, this cake was reserved for special occasions and festivities, precisely because it was enriched with ingredients that were not eaten every day, such as fresh fruit, dried fruit and cocoa. Today it is possible to find even fancier versions, enriched with pine-nut or cream-based sauces. Stale bread cake is an ancient tradition that shows how great dishes can be made even from poor and sometimes waste ingredients.
INGREDIENTS FOR 1 CAKE
● 500g stale bread
● 1 litre of milk
● 80 g sugar
● 50 g butter
30 g sultanas
● 30 g pine nuts
● 50 g of bitter cocoa
● 2 eggs
● 1 tablespoon of rum (optional)
PROCEDURE
Soften the butter before starting the preparation by cutting it into pieces. Also cut the stale bread into cubes and soak it in milk until it is well soaked.
To facilitate the absorption of the milk, stir occasionally. Soak the sultanas in rum for about 15 minutes.
Heat the static oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Grease a cake tin with butter.
Remove the bread from the milk and squeeze it to remove excess liquid. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa, eggs, pine nuts and sultanas. Add the ingredients one at a time to facilitate mixing. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 35 minutes in the hot oven.
Cool before removing from the mould.
The perfect accompaniment to fully enjoy this delicious dish is the ‘Passito Moscato IGT Provincia di Pavia‘ produced by the La Piotta farm.
