Strangolapreti

Typical recipe of Trentino Alto Adige (Northern Italy)

Posted by Marzia A.

About

Everybody knows the Italian culinary tradition. If you ever visited Roma, Milano or Firenze you are surely familiar with different pasta types and national foods. Many Italian families moved abroad in the past mostly from the South of Italy. That's the reason why I'd love to show you something different from the north of my country. Strangolapreti is a typical recipe here in Trentino, it's pretty easy and not expensive and in my case it is a good way to let my son eat some form of vegetables. I'll describe the classical strangolapreti recipe and add an alternative sauce which was created by my granny one day when other usual ingredients where not in the fridge. Eh eh eh!

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You Will Need (21 things)

  • 400 g Breadcrumbs
  • 600 g Spinach or swiss chard
  • 1 Egg
  • 250 ml Milk
  • 2 tbsp White Flour
  • 1 pinch Nutmegs
  • Salt

  • tomato sauce

  • ¾ l Tomato Sauce
  • Basil Leaves
  • 1 pinch Dried Oregano
  • Olive Oil three or four

  • Butter and sage sauce

  • 100 g Butter
  • Sage a couple of leaves

  • Special Granny sauce

  • 1 l Tomato Sauce
  • Basil 2-3
  • 3 packets Thuna Fish or more at your liking, I use 3 100 gr tin
  • 500 g Carrot(s)
  • 1 pinch Oregano

Steps (5 steps, 45 minutes)

  1. 1

    Get all the ingredients ready. Boil the spinach in salted water, drain them slightly and cut them roughly.

  2. 2

    Mix breadcrumbs, spinach and milk together. Add more salt if needed and a pinch of nutmegs. After a while add the egg, the mix should not be too hot or the egg will cook. Depending on how much water you drained from the spinach add the lukewarm milk. The mixture should be not too hard nor too soft... the right consistency should allow to form little balls.

  3. 3

    Test the little ball by putting it in boiling salted water. If it holds together and it's not to hard you got it right. Should it dissolve in boiling water add a couple of teaspoon white flour.
    Cook the little strangolapreti in salted boiling water 'till they rise up to the surface. Place them in a bowl with the sauce of your choice.

  4. 4

    These are strangolapreti with the sauce my granny invented. It's a normal tomato sauce (tomato sauce, oregano, basil and olive oil) to which she added boiled and mashed carrots and 2-3 small tuna fish tins. It's a good way to let children eat spinach and carrots since with this sauce the strangolapreti taste a bit sweet (just like pumpkin dishes) But you can serve them also with a normal tomato sauce or even better with butter and sage sauce.

  5. 5

    Do not forget to generously add a good grate of Parmiggiano Reggiano. Yummy!