Trentino-Alto Adige — Pasta & Primi Authority tier 1

Strangolapreti all'Aglio Orsino — Dumplings with Wild Garlic

Trentino — the wild garlic foraging tradition is widespread in the Trentino beech forest areas. The spring dumpling with aglio orsino is a seasonal preparation of the valley communities who forage the forest floor in April and May.

Overview

A spring variation of the Trentino bread dumpling tradition: strangolapreti made with wild garlic (aglio orsino — Allium ursinum, which grows in the beech forests of the Trentino in April-May) in place of spinach, producing a preparation that is simultaneously more aromatic and more delicate than the spinach version. Wild garlic leaves have a mild, grassy garlic flavour without the harshness of the bulb — they perfume the dumpling without dominating it. The combination of the Alpine bread dumpling technique with the wild garlic of the spring forest floor is one of the most elegant preparations of the Trentino forage tradition.

Flavour Context

Strangolapreti all'aglio orsino have a spring fragrance — the wild garlic's grassy, mild garlic note (nothing like the sharpness of the cultivated bulb) perfumes the entire dumpling. With brown butter and Grana Trentino, they smell of the forest and the mountain spring. It is one of the most seasonal and most immediate preparations of the Trentino year.

Key Principles

Blanch wild garlic leaves briefly (30 seconds) in boiling water — this removes any bitterness. Squeeze completely dry, chop finely. Prepare the strangolapreti base: stale white bread cubed and soaked in warm milk, squeezed dry. Mix the bread with the chopped wild garlic, eggs, salt, nutmeg, and enough flour to bind. The mixture should smell strongly of garlic but taste mildly of it. Shape into rough ovals. Simmer in salted water for 8-10 minutes. Dress with brown butter (burro fuso nocciola) and Grana Trentino.

Pro Tips

Wild garlic (aglio orsino) is available in Italian beech forests from March to May — forage from areas confirmed free of lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), which looks similar but is toxic. Wild garlic leaves can be identified by the distinctive garlic smell when crushed. In season, they can also be used raw in the manner of basil for a pestolike sauce.

Common Mistakes

Over-blanching the wild garlic — it loses its fresh, grassy character; 30 seconds maximum. Using cultivated garlic as a substitute — the flavour is completely different and overpowering. Not squeezing completely dry — the excess water destabilises the mixture.

Source

Slow Food Editore, Trentino-Alto Adige in Cucina; Giorgio Locatelli, Made in Italy

Cross-Cuisine Parallels

{'cuisine': 'German/Austrian', 'technique': 'Bärlauch-Knödel (Bear Garlic Dumplings)', 'connection': "Bread dumplings made with wild garlic (Bärlauch — 'bear garlic' in German) dressed with brown butter — the Austrian Bärlauch-Knödel and the Trentino strangolapreti all'aglio orsino are the same preparation; the species is identical (Allium ursinum); the technique is shared across the Alpine arc"} {'cuisine': 'French', 'technique': "Ravioles à l'Ail des Ours (Wild Garlic Pasta)", 'connection': 'Wild garlic incorporated into pasta or dumpling preparations as a spring forage ingredient — the French tradition of using ail des ours in pasta and the Trentino aglio orsino in dumplings both represent the spring forage tradition of the Alpine beech forests'}