Apuan Alps
Looking back from the coast at the Apuan Alps you would swear that you were looking at snow covered peaks. In fact what you are seeing is marble, widespread in the Alps, reflecting in the sun.
Carrara
Carrara, the centre of the marble mining industry, is a medieval village nestled into the base of the Alps. This is where artists traveled(think Michelangelo) and still travel to this day, to pick out pieces of marble to carve into masterpieces like “David”.
Marble quarries
The town itself is hardly a tourist attraction. It’s the huge marble quarries up the slope that people come to witness. However, two things worth checking out in the village are the Duomo (cathedral) which was built from the 11th to the 14th century (depicted by the Romanesque architecture at the bottom and the Gothic at the top) built from flawless black & white marble. The other is the Malaspinas’ former residence (rulers for over 300 years), now the Academy of Fine Arts, both were closed when we visited.
Marble extraction
So it was up the slopes we went to take in the massive scale of marble extraction. The sound of drilling and heavy equipment echoed through the valley. Huge trucks with gigantic pieces of marble downshifted and snaked their way around the ridiculously steep, narrow and curving roads.
Blind switchbacks
Driving our little Fiat up and around some of the blind switchbacks we both were praying that we would not come face to face with one of the mammoth trucks, thankfully our prayers were answered. In fact, if two of these trucks happen to meet, the roads are so narrow that one will have to back up (or down) until the other can pass.
Colonnata
Having taken in enough mining action, it was time for the culinary leg of this tour which would bring us to a tiny Roman village called Colonnata.
Up a goat trail of a road
About another 8K past Carrara, up a goat trail of a road, you are greeted by this charming little village with breathtaking views of the mines and valley below. Colonnata is mostly famous for one thing, lardo!
Cured back fat of a pig
Lardo
Italian foodies
Lardo has made a resurgence among Italian foodies and has received recognition as a protected geographical indication. The PGI is usually the name of an area used as a description of an agricultural product or a foodstuff. In this case lardo di Colonnata, whose production, processing or preparation takes place within that geographical area.
Making lardo is quite simple
The process of making lardo is quite simple; the pork is layered into solid marble basins with salt, sugar, garlic, rosemary, cinnamon, bay leaves and pepper, up to three feet deep. It is then covered and left to sit (cure) for as long as ten months.
Laboratorio
We were lucky enough to get a tour of one of the lardo laboratorios by a very nice gentleman at la Marmifera. He showed us the process with an abundance of Italian passion.
Miraculously
In his description, he also mentioned that they had the lardo scientifically tested and they found the curing process miraculously extracted the cholesterol and “nasty stuff” from the lard (ya, and Twinkies are a source of vitamin C!).
Sweet smell of curing pork
Never the less, the town was perfumed by the sweet smell of curing pork, kind of like bacon cooking. It was no wonder considering every other door had a sign that read “Larderia”.
Pancetta
Thankfully they also make pancetta (pork belly) in the same way, so we were able to get some fat with 20% meat instead of just lard.
Cioccolatini al Lardo
After our tour, we picked up some amazing local honey made with wild berry purée and some Cioccolatini al Lardo di Colonnata, chocolates made with “Crema di Lardo” (creamed lardo) instead of cocoa butter, mmm… chocolatey, porky, goodness!!
Special bacon
Now I can’t imagine many of you are going to go out and buy some lardo to make little Johnny his lunch for school (imagine trying to trade that in the lunchroom) but just hold on, lardo can be used in many ways other than just raw on a slice of bread (which is pretty tasty). Think of it as a very “special” bacon, add it to stuffing, lay it over a roast chicken, fatten up a salad or wrap it around a lean cut of meat.
Enjoy it
Try my recipe below for Lardo Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, I think you’ll enjoy it. A word of caution though, unless you are cutting marble for a living, don’t eat lardo every day or you will get a “Lardo asso!”
- 1 medium pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
- 6-8 thin slices lardo
- 1 branch rosemary 1/2 inch longer than tenderloin
- 3 or 4 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 bunch Swiss chard center veins removed, washed & spun dry
- 1 large clove garlic
- extra virgin olive oil
- cracked pepper
- Prepare the tenderloin by folding the thin end under to make a uniform roast.
- Using a sharp, thin knife, skewer the roast in the middle lengthwise.
- Take the rosemary and insert in the cut leaving 1/2″ sticking out of one end.
- Wrap the lardo around the tenderloin slightly overlapping each piece.
- Using kitchen twine, tie the roast up in 1″ intervals to secure the lardo.
- Season with cracked pepper and set aside.
- For the potatoes: In a cold pot of water, bring them to a boil and cook them just until you are able to pierce them with the tip of a knife.
- Drain them in a colander and reserve.
- In a heavy sauté pan, heat 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and brown the tenderloin on all sides.
- Remove and place it in a medium roasting pan. Add the potatoes to the rendered fat in the frying pan.
- Fry the potatoes until golden and move them to the roasting pan.
- Place the roasting pan in a preheated 375F oven until the tenderloin hits 135F on a thermometer, about 15 minutes. It should still be slightly pink in the middle.
- In a large frying pan, heat 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil with the garlic that has been smashed but left whole.
- When the oil starts to smoke, add the chard and wilt.
- Season with salt & pepper and remove the garlic.
- To serve: Remove the rosemary branch from the pork and slice into medallions.
- Serve on top of the wilted Swiss chard with the potatoes.
Here is an extra recipe for you: My take on the French frisée & lardon salad, Italian style.
- 1 head curly endive(frisée) washed with coarse green leaves removed
- 150 g pancetta cut into bricks 1/4" x 1"
- 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
- Fresh shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
- ground pepper
- Brown the pancetta over medium heat in a frying pan.
- Reserve pancetta in a small bowl and pour off the rendered fat into a measuring cup, add extra virgin olive oil to make 1/4 cup.
- In the hot pan add balsamic.
- Scrape any bits stuck to the pan and reduce by 1/3.
- Add the fat/oil back to the pan and warm through.
- Do not add salt, taste it first, it should be salty enough.
- Spoon enough warm vinaigrette over the endive to dress.
- Strew the pancetta over the top as well as the pine nuts and shavings of Parm.
- Finish with a few twists of fresh ground cracked pepper.
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