Le Occare, an old Farmhouse within the countryside of Ferrara
Traditional Ferrara Macaroni Cake is an extremely special recipe whose origin goes back towards the court of Este and it is fasts within the Renaissance. It is a very wealthy and elaborated cake by having an exterior sweet pastry fulled with macaroni, a creamy sauce named bchamel, ragout, truffles and if you would like mushrooms. This recipe is extremely old but still prepared within our territory and it is as stated by Pellegrino Artusi in the renamed recipe book “La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene”. This recipe it is also pointed out within the book “Il Gattopardo” by Tomasi di Lampedusa, you recall the movie with Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon. In an exceedingly special dinner the "Pasticcio di Maccheroni" is provided by Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, to the visitors, and the appearance of the great macaroni pies within their tin plated dishes leads to a great effect to his table buddies. The standard preparation needs a special hands made tin plated copper dish, decorated by having an internal design which was unique for each important family in Ferrara. I had been very lucky and could recover certainly one of this ancient traditional dishes after which to possess some copies done by an artisan master.
Using the initial dish greatly increases the recipe, for the ability to offer to the cake the initial domed shape but for the thermal qualities of copper which are required for an ideal cooking from the cake. Another must is by using the pigeon meat for that ragout, following a ancient recipe and also to add some truffle, within this situation the best truffle may be the Tuber borchii Vittadini, that's traditional from the territory and furthermore, differently in the Alba truffle, the valuable Tuber magnatum Pico, isn't deteriorated in the kitchen area. Actually the truffle can be used within the interior from the cake and also have to keep its taste following the lengthy cooking. This really is my recipe:
For that pastry:
250 gr of butter
500 gr of flour
120 gr of sugar
a raped lemon peel
glass water
knead altogether and set it within the refrigerator, paid by an alimentary film for just one day
For that bchamel:
100 gr of flour
100 gr of butter
1 lt of milk
melt the butter, add some flour and also the salt, add some milk slowly and gradually and produce to boiling point mixing constantly.
For that ragout:
1 boned pigeon
200 gr of beef
200 gr of pig
by hand grind the meat and brown it inside a pot with some minced onion. add a glass of marsala
Let to evaporate and add pepper and salt.
Prepare in boiling water 200 gr of macaroni “al dente”, drain and increase the bchamel. Divide the pastry into two pieces. Withe the very first create a disc that you put onto the standard copper dish, then put regarding this a layer of macaroni, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, the truffles in thin slices, the ragout, than make another layer within the same shape and than a different one giving for your construction the form of the cone. Place the other area of the pastry regarding this to shut the cake, firmly close the perimeters, make around the apex just a little chimney having a round hole covered after some dish of pastry hold by three toothpicks.Paint the pastry using the beaten white-colored of the egg, make the oven at 180 degree C° for one hour. Wait fifteen minutes before for everyone. Lots of work, however when you will arrive together with your superb dish the success is assured.
