Cotechino

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January 24, 2007· Filed Under Italian Food, Italy 

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I wrote about lentils and cotechino here a little while back. Well, the other day we had some, only this time the cotechino was not your usual stuff, but Cotechino Riserva.  And, it has to be said that this cotechino was possibly the best I have ever had.  It was not at all fatty, which was odd, in a nice way, because cotechino often is, and the flavour was wonderful, maybe because some red wine had been added.

The producer of this ‘riserva’ quality cotechino was a company known as Villani Spa, only I cannot find their cotechino on the Web, at least not under the name Villani.  Apparently Villani took over another similar company called Maletti (a site complete with Italian music, I discovered after nearly blasting my other half and son out of bed…), and Maletti produces ‘ceste’ - hampers, which include Maletti cotechino.  I assume that Maletti cotechino is not much more than a re Villani cotechino, so it should be good - really good if it has the words ‘riserva’ written upon the box somewhere.

If you have never tried cotechino before try it, if you have had it before, try some of the better quality producers - I think you really do get what you pay for.

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15 Responses to “Cotechino”

  1. David & Raffaella said on January 24th, 2007 5:50 pm

    for cotechino you must take a day trip to the valleys of the Bergamasca! It is a whole new world of flavor.

  2. Alex said on January 25th, 2007 10:17 am

    Thanks for the tip David and Raffaela - I never really associated the Bergamasca with cotechino - I always thought Modena was the place for cotechinos.

  3. Cristian said on January 27th, 2007 4:37 pm

    Actually, Modena is the place for zampones (zampa = trotter), that is a pig’s trotter fileld with the cotechino meat.
    As for your old post, “cotechino” is made of lean pig meat, fat, spices and crackling (i hope it’s right, I mean the pig’s skin) hence the name: “codega” or “cudega” means crackling in lombard dialect.
    Bergamo is a really good place to get cotechinos, maybe with a good slice of polenta, too.

  4. Alex said on January 29th, 2007 10:31 am

    Hi Cristian,

    Thanks for correcting me with regard to the origins of cotechino and zampone. The next time I find myself in Bergamo I shall find a good ristorante etc that does cotechino with polenta.

    Alex

  5. Gianluca said on February 8th, 2007 9:48 pm

    Alex life is beautiful!. Cotechino, wine aeeee, and when the sun go up we don’t wanna go to the master. I council you to try the delicious Neapolitan kitchen: peak, spaghetti, casatiello, other that zampone.
    Enjoy

  6. Alex said on February 10th, 2007 4:15 pm

    Hi Gianluca,

    Spaghetti I know, peak and casatiello I don’t. As you know Massimiliano said he would bring me some casatiello to try. I looking forward to it!

    I understand what you a feeling with regard to the master - it is tough, but it is very worthwhile. Keep plugging away!

    All the best,

    Alex

  7. Gianluca said on February 14th, 2007 11:17 pm

    don’t warry!!!

    we will carry a special Casatiello!!!

    Tnx for your lessons.
    See you tomorrow.

    Gianluca

  8. Adele said on March 2nd, 2007 1:30 pm

    Those of us living in the “new” world, still delight in the tastes of the “old”! I love cotechino and could find it homemade when I lived near New York city 25 years ago (lots of little Italian enclaves found all over Northern New Jersey). Now I can find “Beretta” cotechino imported from Italy, but it does not have the same flavor. Do you know if the Maletti cotechino is exported to the US? If they export it, I’ll be able to find it. Thanks!

  9. Alex said on March 2nd, 2007 3:49 pm

    Hi Adele,

    I have looked at the ‘Villani Salumi’ site - they are the company behind Maletti, but Villani does not appear to distribute its products in North America. They do sell their wares in South America though, so maybe you could get someone there to send you some. If I can find a spare moment, I’ll give Villani a ring and ask them if they plan to sell their cotechinos in North America.

    Failing the above, you could, I suppose, order a Maletti hamper, although it would be a bit expensive to have it sent over to the States. Maybe you could get together with a few people and order a cotechino only hamper, so you could split the delivery costs. Just an idea.

    All the best and thanks for dropping in.

    Alex

  10. Cara said on March 2nd, 2007 4:37 pm

    I love all the information about cotechino! This has been a family dish. My grandfather came from Sondrio in 1929, and though he has passed away, it is something we love when we can get it. We are only a couple of hours north of NYC, and we were very happy the last time we were there that we found some in Chelsea Market! It’s a lot better than busecca, another family dish. It seems that Sondrio is very close to Bergamasca? My grandfather used to tell us in the spring, I’m not sure why he knew which day, that, “This was the day that the sun came over the mountain.” Someday, I hope to get there!

    Thanks again for your blog, we enjoy it.

  11. Alex said on March 4th, 2007 6:15 pm

    Thanks for dropping in Cara. Glad to hear that you like the info about cotechino and the blog. I don’t know what busecca is exactly, but I know some people who will.

    Sondrio is to the north of Bergamo - as you may see if you look at this map: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/italy-northern-interactive-map.htm

    Maybe you could get together with Adele and try to order some cotechino!!??

    I think I know what your late grandfather was referring to when he said “This was the day that the sun came over the mountain.” Up in the mountains the days can be quite short and during winter the sun peeks over the mountains for quite a brief period, whereas during the spring and summer months, it lingers for a longer time. So, I think your grandfather was talking about the beginning of the spring when the sun really starts to shine for long periods and warms up the valleys. I imagine that in his eyes the appearance of the sun signalled that the long cold winter was coming to an end.

    I hope you do make it to Sondrio someday, preferably in spring so you can see what he meant. Wherever your grandfather may be, I’m sure he’d be very happy to know that you understood just he was talking about.

    All the best

  12. Cara said on March 7th, 2007 4:54 am

    Busecca is tripe stew - trippa? I’ve read online, I think it was script of a book written in the 1800’s, that the Milanese style was the only palatable variation. Here it is, if you dare.

    It’s amazing that all of these peasant foods - polenta, grappa, cotechino, busecca - are so in fashion.

    Thanks for the map! I’m a fan of google maps, and the satellite pictures of that region are fantastic! Take a look.

    I’ve attempted links…I apologize if they don’t work. And thanks very much for the tip on seeing the valleys in the spring. I’ve also heard that they make beautiful boats there?

    -Cara and Enzo “il gatto”

  13. Alex said on March 7th, 2007 10:07 am

    Ah, so busecca is a tripe dish. Although I don’t like the stuff, many Italians do, especially, for some reason, women. My other half loves the stuff. However before being put off by the word ‘tripe’ which does not really conjure up images of culinary delicacies, people should perhaps try the tripe, ‘trippa’ as you said, as it is cooked here. The recipe includes tomatoes and various other bits and bobs and the result, even I have to admit, does not look at all bad.

    My advice, would be that if you should ever find yourself in the northern part of Italy, during one of the cooler months, and you happen to be in the company of some Italians and one orders a ‘trippa’ dish, then ask if you can try a little. You never know you may love the stuff, many do.

    I shall mention busecca to some of the Bergamasca students I’ll be seeing this afternoon.

    I’m glad you found the map interesting, - I use Google maps too, and if I had known that you do too, then I would have posted a link to the right spot on a Google map. And you are right, the images on Google maps can be stunning.

    The boats you mention are probably ‘Riva’ - fabulous creations, and fabulously expensive too! Riva does its boaty stuff on the shores of the not too well known Lake Iseo, which is not far from Bergamo.

    Regards

  14. Cara said on April 11th, 2007 8:25 am

    Alex - I’ll be in New York City at the end of next week, and am excited to try one of Mario Batali’s restaurants. (I don’t know if he’s known in Italy or not.) Anyhow, I thought I’d pop by and show you the menu, which includes Trippa Alla Romana - surprising to see it offered on a menu in the US. I don’t think I’ll be trying it, I’m drawn more to the Lamb “Scottadito”.

    And when you’re looking for a good laugh, go to google maps and ask for directions from Milan, Italy to New York, NY. Take a look at step 45.

  15. Alex said on April 13th, 2007 9:21 am

    Cara,

    I’ve never heard of Mario Batali’s restaurants, but that does not mean much. I’ll ask around and see if anyone knows about him.

    Re the trippa - go on be a devil - ask the waiter/ess if you can have a little to try. Lots of people do love it and you may too, but you will never know unless you take the plunge!

    I’ll check out Google maps - sounds fun. I always like a good laugh.

    Thanks for the info.

    All the best,

    Alex.

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