flipTagliere di salumi e Parmigiano
Tagliere di salumi e Parmigiano
Why this dish? Before concerts, Toscanini ate lightly to stay lucid — but Parma's cured meats and shards of Parmigiano remained his pocket comfort, the traveler's and commuter's snack. Parma ham and culatello are the pride of his homeland.
A wooden board laden with thin slices of Parma ham, salami, culatello, accompanied by knife-broken shards of Parmigiano-Reggiano and pickles. The sober, noble nibble of a busy man between rehearsals.
Before stepping onto the podium, never a feast — a heavy stomach puts the ear to sleep! But a slice of prosciutto from home, translucent as glass, and a shard of Parmigiano broken with a knife, never grated, never cut: that, my friend, nourishes a man without weighing him down. A finger of light wine, and that's all. One eats standing, quickly, then works — for music does not wait for dinner!
- •Parma ham (prosciutto crudo) — thin slices (cured meat)
- •Culatello — a few slices (cured meat)
- •Felino salami — as desired (cured meat)
- •Parmigiano-Reggiano — in shards (cheese)
- •Country bread or torta fritta — on the side (accompaniment)
- •Pickled vegetables — a few (acid contrast)
Tagliere di salumi e Parmigiano
A wooden board laden with thin slices of Parma ham, salami, culatello, accompanied by knife-broken shards of Parmigiano-Reggiano and pickles. The sober, noble nibble of a busy man between rehearsals.
Why this dish? Before concerts, Toscanini ate lightly to stay lucid — but Parma's cured meats and shards of Parmigiano remained his pocket comfort, the traveler's and commuter's snack. Parma ham and culatello are the pride of his homeland.
Before stepping onto the podium, never a feast — a heavy stomach puts the ear to sleep! But a slice of prosciutto from home, translucent as glass, and a shard of Parmigiano broken with a knife, never grated, never cut: that, my friend, nourishes a man without weighing him down. A finger of light wine, and that's all. One eats standing, quickly, then works — for music does not wait for dinner!
Ingredients (period version)
- Parma ham (prosciutto crudo) — thin slices (cured meat)
- Culatello — a few slices (cured meat)
- Felino salami — as desired (cured meat)
- Parmigiano-Reggiano — in shards (cheese)
- Country bread or torta fritta — on the side (accompaniment)
- Pickled vegetables — a few (acid contrast)
Ingredients
- Parma ham PDO — 80 g (cured meat)
- Culatello or coppa — 60 g (cured meat)
- Felino salami — 60 g (cured meat)
- Parmigiano-Reggiano (24 months) — 150 g (cheese)
- Country bread or gnocco fritto — as desired (accompaniment)
- Cornichons or giardiniera — a small handful (acid contrast)
Method
- Take the cured meats out 20 minutes ahead to let them release their aroma.
- Break the Parmigiano-Reggiano into irregular shards with an almond knife (never cut it cleanly).
- Arrange on a wooden board in a crown: rolled or fan-folded ham slices, salami and culatello.
- Place the cheese shards in the center and pickles on one side.
- Serve with fresh bread or, for a festive touch, hot gnocco fritto, and a glass of light wine (Lambrusco or Malvasia).
How it was made : In Parma, ham was air-dried on the hillsides for a year or more, and Parmigiano was always broken into shards with a coltello a mandorla (almond-shaped knife) to respect its crystalline structure. Torta fritta (or gnocco fritto), a puffy fried dough, accompanied cured meats in popular osterie.
The contemporary twist : Arrange the Parmesan shards like musical notes on the board, and drizzle a thread of acacia honey to balance the saltiness.
Sources : Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma · Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano
Arturo Toscanini · Charactorium
