In the last years Italy has seen a flourishing of Sagre, village fairs, with gastronomic theme. Every village that has a claim to fame through a special gastronomic product organises one, and often even those who don't. Inevitably, whatever the theme of the fair might be, you can always find a stand selling pane e salsiccia, sausage hot from the grill served between two slices of bread or a roll. The sausage can vary, depending on where you are in Italy, but is usually redolent with garlic. Most of the times there's no other addition to this basic match, but eventually mushrooms, grilled aubergines or peppers, sauteed leaf broccoli (the great friarielli from Napoli for example) and even cheese can be added.
For me pane e salsiccia is inevitably linked to Festival dell'Unita', the festival of the former Italian Communist Party. Now, maybe the word communist nowadays, doesn't scare people anymore as it did before (Fundamentalist... buh!!!) but for those who link "communist" to Stalinist dictatorship a brief explanation on the Italian version is needed, trying to be as objective as possible.
The Italian CP, at least after the entry of the Soviet tanks in Prague in 1968, break off from the Soviet influence and played the role of the social/labour party. It was, till the fall of the Berlin wall, the second political force in Italy and a few Italian Regions have been historically "red". It may come as a surprise but Toscana, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna had, for a long time, "communist" local governing bodies. As anyone who's been there can confirm these regions don't exactly show that typical "soviet" atmosphere :-). Another thing that one has to recognise is that those communist could eat! A festival dell'Unita' in any of the bigger Tuscan cities is something one can hardly forget: stall after stall serving inviting food. And they always made great pane e salsiccia! It's probably not a coincidence that Italy's foremost "foodie" magazine Gambero Rosso was originally a supplement to an independent communist newspaper.
This post from Josh indirectly made me think and crave for pane e salsiccia. So on Monday I did my own version of it. For each roll I used: 1 ciabatta "roll" (or mini-ciabatta), a sausage (possibly Italian, garlic flavoured), split in the middle and grilled, some sliced smoked scamorza and some grilled aubergines (ideally marinated in garlic, chilli pepper, mint and vinegar, but I had no time for that). The important thing is to get everything ready at the same time, with the sole exception of the aubergines (which should not, on the other hand, be cold). So as the sausage cooked, I very quickly sauteed the scamorza slices in a very hot pan to form a crisp crust while softening them without melting them completely. I assembled the panino in the order (bottom to top): sausage, cheese aubergine. Oops, as you can see the pic is upside down. You could spread some mayo or mustard on the bread but only if you like. Serve warm and enjoy, I sure did :-).
Oh Alberto, can I come and eat at your house? This looks scrumptious... :)
Posted by: clotilde | January 23, 2004 at 01:31 PM
Clotilde, if you should happen to be around I'd be proud to have such a famous blogger as guest ;-) (and Maxence clearly too). I would even prepare an aubergine-themed menu for you (yes, even the sweets!)
Posted by: Alberto | January 23, 2004 at 01:38 PM
Oh boy, now you are really tempting me!! Remind me whereabout in Germany you live? And how fast can a train get me there? :)
Oh and aubergines for dessert? I once ate at a restaurant in Paris, where the signature dessert was a crepe with an eggplant cardamom filling. It was absolutely delicious!
Posted by: clotilde | January 23, 2004 at 09:51 PM
Alberto, the sandwich sounds fantastic, and very interesting politico-historical analysis to boot.
In New York City, stalls selling sausage sandwiches with onions and peppers are ubiquitous at every street fare. But, these are nothing like what you wrote about. Very greasy, with nondescript bread. The eggplant and scamorza sound delicious.
Posted by: Josh | January 24, 2004 at 06:43 PM
Clotilde: I live in Jena, not too close too Paris but not too far if the temptetiongets too strong ;-). About aubergines and dessert: there's a specialty form Amalfi, chocolate aubergines, which sounds more starnger than it tatses... tempted ;-)))
Josh: Thanks. I agree with the point you make on bread: IMO a good panino starts with a good roll or bread. Even the nicest "stuffing" needs a proper "box" to contain it.
Posted by: Alberto | January 24, 2004 at 11:33 PM
bellissimo, il tuo excursus divulgativo sulla festa dell'unità! I'm adding a note about Italians being divided by a common sausage: it's obiquitous in the north, too, but (luckily for me) with no garlic.
Posted by: rose | February 24, 2004 at 12:11 PM
grazie rose, e complimenti per il tuo blog ed i tuoi interessanti posts.
Posted by: Alberto | February 24, 2004 at 12:34 PM