The ‘pan del garzone’ has its roots in peasant life, where young apprentices, the ‘garzoni’, worked on farms. It was prepared with simple ingredients and often considered ‘waste’, such as stale bread and chicken entrails. This dish was not only an example of poor cuisine but also of great flavour and nourishment, ideal to sustain the workers during the tiring days in the countryside.
It is a masterpiece of cucina povera, of recycling, of variety of use
We share with you the basic recipe:
Ingredients
For the worker's bread
Plenty of stale bread
Liver and heart of a chicken, hen, rooster, guinea fowl or rabbit
Fresh marjoram
2-3 code ‘0’ eggs, depending on size
Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic without inner sprout
Boiling broth (preferably chicken or hen)
For the side dish
Very fresh, small Swiss chard or other tender, young field vegetables
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Prepare the loaf:
Finely chop the liver and heart until they are reduced to crumbs.
In a large bowl, mix two large eggs with dry breadcrumbs (about 150 g per egg).
Add a handful of marjoram leaves, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. If desired, incorporate a little grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, but not too much.
Form small sausages as evenly as possible and compact them well with your hands.
Wrap each sausage in a clean cotton cloth and tie with string, without tightening it too much.
Immerse the sausages in the boiling broth and cook for about 10 minutes, until they rise to the surface.
Take them out and let them cool. Once cooled, cut into very thick slices.
Prepare the side dish:
Saute chard or other field greens in a pan over high heat with a little extra virgin olive oil until slightly crispy.
Add salt to taste.
Serving
Serve slices of ‘pan del garzone’ with the sautéed vegetables for a simple but extremely tasty and nutritious meal. This dish is a perfect example of how country cooking can be both economical and delicious.
