flipAringa sotto la cenere (salt herring grilled on bread)
Aringa sotto la cenere (salt herring grilled on bread)
Why this dish? The herring ("aringa") appears in black and white on Michelangelo's drawn shopping list, alongside bread and salad. Salted fish, it kept for months without ice — the ideal food for a solitary, frugal man who didn't want to waste time at the market.
A salted herring desalted then grilled over embers, opened on a large slice of bread rubbed with oil: a salty, powerful *companatico* eaten with the fingers.
Don't think it takes great skill. A barrel herring, you first pass it through water to remove the excess salt, then lay it on the dying embers until the skin crackles. You lay it hot on a slice of bread as wide as your palm, a drizzle of oil, and that's a meal. I noted it on my paper with the drawing, so my boy wouldn't err at the market: a herring, bread, and leave me to work.
- •Salted herring (barrel-cured) — one per person (companatico)
- •Tuscan bread — one large slice (support)
- •Olive oil — a drizzle (finish)
- •Parsley — a few sprigs (freshness (optional))
Aringa sotto la cenere (salt herring grilled on bread)
A salted herring desalted then grilled over embers, opened on a large slice of bread rubbed with oil: a salty, powerful *companatico* eaten with the fingers.
Why this dish? The herring ("aringa") appears in black and white on Michelangelo's drawn shopping list, alongside bread and salad. Salted fish, it kept for months without ice — the ideal food for a solitary, frugal man who didn't want to waste time at the market.
Don't think it takes great skill. A barrel herring, you first pass it through water to remove the excess salt, then lay it on the dying embers until the skin crackles. You lay it hot on a slice of bread as wide as your palm, a drizzle of oil, and that's a meal. I noted it on my paper with the drawing, so my boy wouldn't err at the market: a herring, bread, and leave me to work.
Ingredients (period version)
- Salted herring (barrel-cured) — one per person (companatico)
- Tuscan bread — one large slice (support)
- Olive oil — a drizzle (finish)
- Parsley — a few sprigs (freshness (optional))
Ingredients
- Salted herring fillets (or maatjes/kippered herring) — 4 (companatico)
- Country bread — 4 large slices (support)
- Extra virgin olive oil — 3 tbsp (finish)
- Flat-leaf parsley — a few sprigs (freshness)
- Milk or water — for desalting (preparation)
Method
- Soak the salted herrings in cold water (or milk) for 1 to 2 hours to desalt, changing the water once.
- Drain and pat dry thoroughly.
- Grill the fillets in a very hot pan or under the broiler, skin side up, for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden.
- Grill or toast the bread slices lightly.
- Place the hot herring on the bread, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley.
- Eat by hand, without utensils.
How it was made : Salting was THE great preservation technique for fish before refrigeration: salted herrings and anchovies in barrels traveled from northern Europe and the Mediterranean to inland tables. For the many "lean" days imposed by the Church, this preserved fish replaced meat cheaply. It was desalted, then grilled over the hearth embers.
The contemporary twist : Wine bar tartine version: warm herring, new oil and lemon zest on grilled bread, to share.
Michelangelo · Charactorium
