▶The Frandura from Montalto Ligure was born in the 1800s in Montalto Ligure, in the Argentina Valley in the province of Imperia.
A dish of humble origins that farmers would bring with them during work in the fields.▶In August (between the 19th and 21st) a festival is organized in Montalto.
▶The original ingredients are: flour, water, salt, pepper, nutmeg, potatoes and the indispensable extra virgin olive oil, from Taggiasca olives.
Over time, variations have been created to enrich the dish and make it more substantial.
Thus, milk replaces water, cheese (originally pecorino, now parmesan) is added, and eggs are included to increase its nutritional value (in the Badalucco version).
▶In the version of the “Codice della cucina Ligure”, published in cards by Il secolo XIX in 1982, besides naming it Frandurà – instead of Frandura – in the batter, tomatoes, basil, and parsley are chopped in addition to the eggs like in the Badalucco version.
▶Traditionally, this pie is baked in a wood-fired oven in copper pans (the pans of the farinata) but if you don’t have them, you can use an aluminum pan covered with parchment paper.
▶▶Potatoes were imported into Europe from the Andes in the mid-1500s by the Spanish.
In Liguria, they began to be used only at the end of the 1700s when Don Michele Dondero, the parish priest of a small village in the Fontanabuona valley in Genoa, managed, with some difficulty, to make his parishioners appreciate them.
▶▶▶ In Ligurian tradition, there are many recipes with potatoes, such as potato focaccia (meaning the use of potato cooking water) and the Baciocca pie.
Another Ligurian specialty, typical of Pietrabruna, a small village in the Imperia area:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 5 potatoes
- 250 g flour
- 1 glass water (or milk)
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste salt and pepper
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- 1 Pan copper 13-inch
Steps
Slice the potatoes thinly and arrange them in a herringbone pattern on a 13-inch copper pan after greasing it with extra virgin olive oil.
Salt them.
Mix the flour with water (or milk), salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Pour the batter over the potatoes.
Bake in the oven at 392°F for 30 minutes.
Using a good extra virgin olive oil is essential, preferably Ligurian and from Taggiasca olives.
Just like using the copper pan also used for making the Ligurian farinata.
