A recipe from the past. The Piedmontese Finanziera.
Finanziera is one of those dishes created to make use of the less noble parts of farm and stable animals: a mix of tasty offal treated with harmony.
It also comes from far back in time when owning chickens and cattle was still a resource to manage the family’s needs. With this stew, nothing was wasted.
In the city of Turin, it was mainly served to financiers: and it is precisely from them that it gets its name. Now few restaurants offer it. It is a humble dish and the ingredients are not easy to find, so the habit of proposing it is being lost a bit. Fortunately, here in the Langhe, we can still find both those who cook it and, of course, also the ingredients.
The recipe I propose comes from an elderly lady who used to tell me about her delights. I learned a lot from her. She had something different about cooking food for her family, so between one coffee and another, we shared our knowledge.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Winter
Ingredients
Sweetbreads, grains, lines, and brains… The less noble parts of animals…
- 1 lbs veal sweetbreads
- 12 oz lines (The spinal cord)
- 10 oz veal brains
- 7 oz testicles (Of veal)
- 9 oz rooster combs
- 10 mushrooms (Fresh or dried, I used trumpet mushrooms, excellent porcini or honey mushrooms. If dried, soften in a little vinegar and then squeeze, you can also use mushrooms in oil, so they will already have a percentage of acidity.)
- 5 oz chicken liver
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup soffritto mix
- Half Marsala (dry)
- to taste flour
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 10 oz ground veal
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 eggs
- to taste salt
Tools
Tools within everyone’s reach: knives, saucepans, bowls, and colanders… Knives, forks, spoons…
- Pans
- Pots
Steps
The steps are many, but by proceeding step by step, you will achieve a good result.
First, clean and wash all the ingredients, dry them and place them on a paper towel to dry. Pre-boil in acidulated water: sweetbreads, grains; while lines and brains should only be blanched. The rooster combs should be singed and cleaned. Spray with a little Marsala after placing them on a tray.
In a large pan, sauté the soffritto mix and mushrooms in a little butter.
Mix the ingredients for the meatballs and cook them after flouring them in a little oil; flour all the ingredients, one at a time, and brown them in a little butter, always keeping the parts separate, and spray with white wine. Once cooked, transfer them to the pan with the soffritto.
Let it flavor for another ten minutes, add a little more wine and Marsala, the parsley, and finely chopped garlic. Excellent when freshly made or reheated later.
The finanziera keeps for no more than two or three days in the refrigerator. Personally, I do not recommend freezing it. Recipes, as often happens in the cuisine of all regions, may have variations: some also add pickled vegetables, others use red or white vinegar or dry wine instead of Marsala, some even brandy. You can also add other chicken or rabbit offal; some add half a cup of tomato, but it is not part of the historical recipe. It is a poor and noble dish, especially in our times, as fresh ingredients are not easy to find.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
If you have any questions to ask, I will gladly answer.
Can I use other varieties of mushrooms?
I had this variety of mushrooms available at home. Naturally, you can substitute it with other varieties: porcini or chanterelles, both fresh and dried, and even honey mushrooms in oil.
I’m allergic to mushrooms.
This is a traditional recipe, but we can easily omit the mushrooms and possibly add other vegetables, as written above, even pickled.
What side dishes go well with finanziera?
It is a poor but rich dish. It pairs well with a good mashed potato or sautéed spinach or Swiss chard with a little garlic to contrast the acidity; you can also serve roasted baby carrots.
What wine is best paired?
Red wines such as: Barbera d’Asti, Freisa, or Roero DOCG.
