It is now the week before Thanksgiving, and I as create my holiday menu I am always looking to bring a taste of my Italian adventures to my traditional turkey menu. The newest cookbook in my library provided the inspiration I needed. Rolando Beramendi, author of Autentico, serves Poached Baby Pumpkins with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale to his American friends for Thanksgiving, as either an appetizer or dessert. I don’t find baby pumpkins here, but any hard winter squash will do. The pumpkin is prepared very simply; the dish is made to showcase the extraordinary Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale. Not the runny dark balsamic that you pay $4 for at the grocery store, but a thick, complex, rich syrup that takes years to develop.
Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale hails from the Emilia-Romagna provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena, with its origins dating almost 1000 years ago. It begins with a single ingredient – grape must – freshly pressed grape juice, usually the local Trebbiano, that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The must is cooked for 24 hours. After cooking, the mosto cotto, cooked grape must, is transferred to the barriques, where it sits for the next 2 years. Seems like a long time, but we are just getting started.
In the farmhouses and estates across Reggio Emilia and Modena where Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale has been produced for centuries, enter their well ventilated attics and you will see one or more series of wooden barrels of increasing size, called a battery. The number of barrels in a battery may vary, but the minimum is 3, and the Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale DOP regulations require at least 7 barrels, and a total aging period of at minimum 12 years. The types of wood used for the barrels varies as well, one may be chestnut, one cherry, one mulberry. Storing in the well-ventilated attic is also crucial, the temperature variations throughout the year, the heat of the summer months alternating with the cold and dry winters, contribute to the development of the flavors.
Each year, about 3 liters of vinegar is removed from the smallest of the barrels in each battery, and placed in an even smaller barrel that will go off to be bottled by the Consortium, or used by the family. The smallest barrel is then topped off from the next smallest barrel of the battery, and so on down the line. The sweet, 2 year aged mosto cotto is then used to top off the largest barrel, beginning its slow progress into the wonderful balsamic vinegar – now one may understand why, in Modena, it is said “One generation makes balsamic for the next.”
The difference between the “real deal” and the grocery store options is immediately obvious – this is thick, almost syrup like as it is slowly poured into a tasting spoon. It is not sour, as you would expect a vinegar to be, but has a mellow sweet-tartness. The flavor is complex and rich, with notes of dried fruits, fig, molasses, and chocolate, and flavors of wood. The youngest is recommended for serving with grilled and raw vegetables, prosciutto, and other fresh antipasti. A very special dish for your holiday table.
My article on my visit to Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale producer Acetaia Medici Ermete shares more details on the production process, and reviews the products we find here in the US, and how to select the higher quality products.
Zucca Arrosto con Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale
2 winter squash or 1 small pumpkin
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Slice the stem end and the bottom end off of each squash or pumpkin. Place on a cutting board on one of the two cut ends, and slice the squash in half from top to bottom.
Scoop out the seeds and pulp. Place each half skin side up and slice crosswise into 1/2” slices. Place slices in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, stir to coat the slices with the oil. Season with salt an pepper, stir again to distribute seasoning. Arrange the slices on a sheet pan. Place in the preheated oven and roast until fork tender and brown. Arrange on a platter and drizzle with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale. Serve warm.
