Pestìth
Pestìth
Winter food in the Val Cellina and the Val Vajont for centuries, made by macerating the purple-collared turnip. The valleys have many recipes for it and almost as many names.
Designation
- Certification
- Slow Food Presidium
- Category
- Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed
Where it is made
Val Cellina and Val Vajont in the province of Pordenone This Presidium is supported by: the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Region Producers Agriturismo Pian Dei Tass di Marco Tinor Via Pentina 25 Barcis (Pn) Tel. 0427 76282 [email protected] Az. Agricola La Mantova di Mattia Boz Via San Francesco, 1 Barc
How it is made
Seed is selected each year by keeping the best turnips and letting them flower. Sowing falls between 20 and 26 July or between 10 and 15 August, depending on whether root or leaf is wanted; the fields need little work and the young plants are protected with ash or macerated nettle. Harvest is late October into November. The larger turnips are washed, cut in three or four and blanched about a minute, then layered in a vessel with coarse salt, a little vinegar and a few grains of maize, covered with the cooking water so no air reaches them, and weighted under a stone. Once the maceration has started the vessel is closed and set somewhere cold but frost-free until Christmas.